I can’t do a week

So much for my confidence that the test saddle I had was fine, and the only problem was the new shorts I chose with wear.

No, it was more than the shorts.  I have a very unpleasant ride into work, and it wasn’t to do with the rain and dirty and sopping wet leg warmers, or the water than was seeping into my pants or dripping off my helmet.  I was in discomfort more from the saddle than anything else.

I’ve just phoned Dave and asked if I could swap the saddle, I assured him I couldn’t make do for a week.  And hoped that he wasn’t going to encourage me to stick it out, as if somehow it would all come right.

It’s back to the shop at lunchtime to get another slightly different shaped, but still orange and yellow saddle.

One week in

I’ve done a week of my programme and I’m already shuffling things around.

I’m sure Richard wont mind   I’ll fess up tonight when he calls.

So, a full week has gone and I did everything on the programme, just not quite the original order.

I’m really tired, after just the one week.  Yikes.  Still I know the week has been a fairly harrowing one.  I don’t expect to go through the same stress on a regular basis.

When the alarm went this morning I was tossing up whether to bike to work or not.  I hoped it was raining, and yet I thought there’s no good reason not to bike.

Then the weather was on and they mentioned snow.  Well that was all the encouragement I needed to go soft and take the car.  And that’s just what I did.

My programme had me going to the pool tonight for another of Roly’s technical sessions.  I’ve told Barbara that I wont be going again.  I did learn something from the session and I’ll carry on with that myself.  But I’ll do it on my own and spend the majority of my time just swimming.

Having repeated Roly’s drills on Saturday I left having just swum 100m in a set.  I doubted whether I could actually swim.  I really don’t need doubts. 

Instead of any form of exercise I’ve been to the physio tonight.  I’ve got a new exercise to do (shh, I’ve not really been good at keeping up with the old exercises).  I finally could feel the right muscles kicking in but it took a lot of concentration, and Ange’s finger poking into my back.

While my shoulder has just sort of been simmering away, it’s well and truly sore tonight.  It’s hard to imagine that what causes more pain right now will eventually give me the relief I need.

On the bike tomorrow!!  Actually looking forward to it as it gives me another chance to test out the "test" saddle.

My advice, take it, it’s free

Don’t try out a new saddle wearing a new pair of shorts that have yet to go through the wash.

I should have learnt from the first time I wore my 2XU Tri shorts.  It pinched something wicked.

I love those shorts though.  And now I have a second pair.  But I didn’t learn my lesson from the first time did I.  Oh no.  Best I did was think about whether I should or shouldn’t before I got up and put them on ready for the longest bike ride I’ve had since the end of March.

You’re right, 90 minutes isn’t long.  Actually it was 102 minutes.  That’s how slow I’ve gotten.  However, the trip to Sumner is never 90 minutes.  I see that I recorded 95 minutes once upon a time.

I’m also without my bike computer.  It’s decided to be annoying and it stops transmitting.  Taking the batter out of the sensor fixes it, but clearly it’s not right.  And given it’s not a cheap computer, it’s off to get a thorough look over.

Without the computer I had nothing to guide me as to how fast (actually slow) I was going.  I pretty much knew it wasn’t flash.

When I woke and checked the temperature it was –3.  Stuff that.  No need to head out doors just yet.  So I hung around home and completed my core/muscle balance routine.  I knew this would warm me up.

At just before 9am I headed off for my ride.  I realised I couldn’t wait all day for the sun to peek through the low hanging cloud/foggy stuff.

Surprisingly it was the trip home that I felt cold.  I was fine on the way out.  On the way back my left foot was getting so cold it was hurting.  And when I got home and it started to come back to normal temperatures, it was going tingly and that didn’t feel good either.  I have no idea why it was just one foot.

I didn’t ride on the aero bars much, practically none of the ride home.  The discomfort from new cycle pants was too much for me down on the bars.

For all that, the saddle I’m trying out felt fine.  I know the discomfort was from the shorts and not the saddle.  Though it will be good to try out a trip to/from work with different shorts, shorts I know don’t kill me in a certain place.

I don’t think that ride will be tomorrow however, it’s meant to be raining.  Pity, I’d like to have gone on a back to back ride.

And that folks, was my introduction back into cycling.  Overall I was happy to be out there.

Oh, and should Cameron read this, I can assure you I waved at all cyclists even with the "geek" bars on.  Why would I change, just cos I’ve got aero bars

Things are coming together

This morning I headed off to the pool.  A 7am pool start.  It was very cold this morning and foggy.  Nevermind, I managed to find my way there.

I’d been reminded by Rachel, on Ange’s blog about the "catch" when discussing Roly’s description of the catch during our Monday swim session.

Rachel re-posted the link to Paul’s blog where he had included a short video highlighting the catch, and while watching that on YouTube another video was listed.  This one:

I found this video really helpful since I could see at a much slower rate what was going on.

Strangely, since the blog discussion I’ve been keen to get to the pool and give this a go.

I had in my head I’d repeat Roly’s technique session and started out with 6 x 50m freestyle and it was during this that I tried to follow what I understand to be the "catch".

I found my right arm would cooperate reasonably well but my left hand was doing something quite different.  I just couldn’t get my elbow to bend so I could drag my hand towards my hip.

At one point I felt like I was sinking so I went with it, and tried to swim down and this allowed me to see what my arms were doing.  I’d say this is the first time I’ve actually been able to visually see what my arms are doing.  It helped.  Somehow seeing what was going on helped my brain and movement to coordinate much better.

The lanes were a bit mucky again today.  We had a friendly, slow and fast lane.  The slow lane had people breaststroking so I was in the fast lane.  Then I decided that I really ought to give Roly’s other technique drills a go.   The awful awful one where you swim freestyle for 5 strokes and then 4 with your head out of the water.

I’ve figured out that I really need to pull with my arms when swimming freestyle to save my legs for the frantic kicking while I’m doing my 4 strokes with my head out of water.

And I needed to use the kickboard too, so I could do the kick 6 and breathe and on and on that goes.  Then there were the 3 strokes one side, then swap hands holding the kickboard, then 3 strokes the other.

I headed for the friendly lane.  There were only 2 others in that lane and I figured no one was going to tell me off for being slow since it was the friendly lane.  None of the others were chatting as they were going or doing some sort of doggy paddle in the middle having a conversation with others in the aqua jogging lanes.

I did better than I expected on the awful 5 freestyle, 4 head out of the water.  But I reckon it was more like 6 going on 8 f/style.  And really using my arms to pull through the water got me to the end quicker than I expected.

The use of the kickboard for the 3 f/style, swap, 3 f/style the other arm was good.  I was able to get the "catch" thing working quite nicely.  So after 2 x 50m I swam f/style for 100m and it was so much better.  Though it works well when I’ve just done that drill than if I’ve gone on with other things and then go back to f/style (so I found).

While doing the kicking for 6, then breathe and kick for 6 I caught up to another lady who was doing b/stroke.

Anyway, I managed to be in the pool for an hour with things to do and not get board.  That’s a first.

I think a few things have clicked with is also encouraging.  But now I’m not so comfortable just swimming on and on.  I seemed to get puffed after 100m.

Then this afternoon I went for a run.

After Thursday’s run group I’ve had very sore legs.  Not muscular feeling.  Just points in my hamstrings, like knots.  I’ve had points in my left quad, well it’s not really my quad.  When I put my foot on the clutch the spasm or whatever it is starts and it’s right up closer to my groin.

As for the hamstrings.  Just standing and putting one foot behind the other with my toes only on the ground kicks in this killer pain.  It’s not discomfort, it’s pain.  So what I found is that the action of running was going to give me grief.  It meant I wasn’t going to be lifting my leg much off the ground because it would trigger this pain, and I couldn’t raise my leg much in the front because it triggered this other pain.

Having established all this, I headed off for an hour run through the forest.  I knew the 10k track had changed, it’s much closer to home now but I didn’t realise just how much of it had changed.  I was going for an out and back run.

The track has more undulations now.  And a good chunk of it ’s through sand.  I hate sand.

Some of the track is the same, the bit that has really really steep uphills and downhills.

What I found was that these didn’t feel like work to me.  And I’d say that’s Jen’s programme helping my glutes.

The run wasn’t flash.  In 60:00:05 I manged 9.30k’s.  That’s a really slow pace, but then it’s not nice and flat where you can see where you’re going.

In fact much more of the track is really only wide enough for one person.  It’s also much more windy which adds extra interest.

So after all this burbling, it was a good day, despite my legs still not forgiving me for Thursday, and believe it or not, my biceps are achy since the run too.  And the shoulder, well the shoulder will probably always remind me that it’s been worked.

But I’m happy with what I got done and learnt today.

Going straight

Hair cut day.  Second visit to the new hair salon True Grit.

During my first visit Amy said next time she’d straighten my hair for me.  I’ve done it a handful of times and have a really good straightening iron.  But it takes so long as my hair is thick (and fine).

Anyway today we needed to be home for 11am for the fire person to take another look at the fire so when Amy suggested it I turned the offer down, and then she carried on telling me it would take no longer.  So I agreed.

This is what it looks like straight.

And no, I will not be bothering to blow dry it and then straightening it.  Not unless there’s a very good reason to spend such a lot of time.  And I can’t think of one.

This was taken 2 hrs after leaving the pool, and still my goggles have left an impression.