H2O: two parts Heart and one part Obsession

"The water is your friend. You don't have to fight with water, just share the same spirit as the water, and it will help you move". ~Aleksandr Popov


Well what a week of training! Back in the pool and struggling to feel the water I just can't understand it but then I have had 2 weeks of and can't expect to pick up everything where I left of. Yesterdays session has left me with sore pectorals and a tight lower back. Only in the water 30 mins and just having an easy splash about was great....except when sharing a lane with ignorant people. wide arm breast stroke is awful but head up as well just irritates me especially when the lane says fast. A couple of tumbles carefully timed soon showed them I was there and swimming. Since the lake sessions I have decided to stop swimming with the masters and do my own thing. It did help in some ways, I was being pushed but not coached and I still need coaching. My decision is based really on what I have planned next year and that all depends on how I am going in the pool over the longer distances and the winter months. Dawn next week should make me transition from swimmer to fish.

Back on the bike today felt better the sun on my back and the wind in my face....bugs in my teeth. 2 hrs of easy riding around lincolnshire felt strange at first especially as I have been cycling to work all week and today I change bikes and have a purpose to my ride. What I had not noticed before as I rode blinkered around my usual course was all the wonderful colours and smells seeping from every corner of the countryside. Had the training been that focused or had I been that narrow minded and not enjoyed the rides. This is now one of my goals. I look forward to the biking next month as it becomes a personal challenge with big hills and monster descents and agile handling. My bike handling improved after a few sessions in January so 5 weeks should really pay off.

Now my season ended last month in Almere and the refereeing a week later at the Vit. well now the volunteering s about to come to a close. The Last minute sprint is on Sunday and a great way to end the season. The main reason apart from the RAF involvement with competitors is the head to head between Richard Stannard and Andy Tarry. This is going to be quick and with Andy Smashing his own record in May by 3 minutes i think we are in for a great race. My money is on Tarry breaking his record as he has done at every race he entered this year including Dambuster and Wakefield.

Now the sad news! Tomorrow will be my last Breakfast swim of the year. This has become the social event of the week and a great chance to talk and swap ideas and stories after a refreshing lake swim over a cooked breakfast. On the Bright side though the club has grown and the numbers are great now for a session of all abilities including a few novices this year who were scared of entering the water. I can't wait until we start again in April.