Poor Wee Soul

January 25th 2009
It's amazing how time flies and happy new year to you all.

Suzanne and I have struggled a little regarding accessing the blog and the website so I apologise for lack of news. I hope we have rectified this now.

After I last wrote I was OK for a while and was starting to swim a little and I even managed to log my entry for the 5000 meter December challenge with Concept 2. It wasn't as good as I'd hoped but I am still holding my own in the field. I love the rower and I enjoy the challenge the Concept 2 have set us.

We had a lively and full New Year with friends and family around as usual, but I never quite felt well. I never quite shook that cold and cough and that someone had pulled out my plugs! Then on the Saturday after New Year I was floored with the most dreadful flu which took me off my feet for 5 days. I went to the Dr about something else on Monday 5th and she gave me a diagnosis for my flu symptoms...she said I was a poor wee soul and I was to go home to bed!!! What? She obviously doesn't realise that I am an amazonian open water swimming person.....

So much for a winter training programme. I managed to stay positive and just go with it and I got back to work the following week. Since then I have been back in the pool and on the rower but I have to say that when I got on the rower at first I felt very breathless and I could only manage 5 minutes at a time. Harry told me that if you resume training after a nasty bug you have to be very careful. If you feel breathless and sweat profusely you can cause scar tissue in your lungs which will give you problems later in life. Did you know that? No, I didn't either.

So, I was fine at work, but I felt very down for a while when my body just wouldn't keep up. I felt so full of life and excited about being well finally and I was gutted that my body just would not swim run row and even walk like I used to before Christmas. I honestly felt my resolve slipping. The swim felt almost out of reach.

Motivation is not a problem, so here's the deal. I'm swimming with the Stingrays twice or three times a week and rowing in between. Yesterday I ran to Lady Bay (downhill) right along to the Bothy's (flat) and back to the bottom of the hill at the car park. I reckon that's about 4 miles at the most and then I power walk back up to the house. As I was doing it I knew I was doing too much. Stamina wise I felt great and it was the most beautiful day without a cloud in the sky. But my legs were like jelly. Today I am in agony and I can hardly walk. Oh bummer! I did a lot of stretching but it was obviously a bit too much.

So annoying. Sorry what was that? Oh you're reminding me that I am 50 soon are you? And your point is?

I think that's quite enough for one day and I need to go and take some more ibuprofen and sink into a nice hot bath...oh shut up............................