I forgot to mention that my husband filmed a small part of my performance during the 5000m charity swim on Sunday. So now I know a couple of things that need to be improved!
1-My hands seem to cross over the half of my body. This certainly slows me down.
2-Every 6 kicks or so, I give a bigger kick. I don't know why, and I don't know if it's always the same leg. I'll need a bit more filming to find out more.
The good news is that I can keep the pace throughout the entire swim, and my arms move in a regular motion, both arms are synchronized, and my gliding seems pretty good. My breathing is also good, and I don't precipitate the recovery, meaning that the amount of time that my arms are in the air when I breathe is the same than the other strokes.
I'm pretty happy overall, especially since I haven't had swimming lessons in over 10 years and was afraid I would just be reinforcing bad habits. I will have to ask my husband to film me from time to time to make sure I'm improving!
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Monday, April 23, 2007
I did it!
Yesterday was my charity swim for Arthritis. 5000 meters straight swim. It took me 1h45 to complete it. Not bad, considering I haven't had time to train as seriously as I would have loved to. It was the first time I swam that far. Now I know I can do it!
The best thing about it, is that I was able to keep my pace the entire time. Some people passed me, and I ended up passing them towards the end. I suppose that my time is not really amazing, but it confirms that I have the endurance. I think I would have been able to continue for a longer time. The hardest part was not physical. It was challenging mentally.
In practice, the furthest I swam was 3500m, and I always had energy left after these. During my swim yesterday, past 3500m, it's not so much the lack of energy but rather the motivation that I had to fight for. The last 1000m was especially hard. I knew I would be able to complete it, but at the same time, I started to be more aware of what could go wrong. I was used to have cramps to the toes, or side stiches during training, and to get some arthritic pain in the finger (from keeping the hand in the same position for a long time) and in the ankles (from pushing the wall repeatedly). So I was expecting some or all of these during my long swim, but fortunately none of them happened!
Of course last night I had to take some antiinflamatories to make sure I wouldn't suffer too much today, but it's surprisingly good! I have some stiffness in the shoulders, but nothing joint related, it's muscular. I also have some finger pain, but nothing really out of the ordinary.
So yes, I'm going to do it again next year. Oh! and I was able to raise over $600 for the Arthritis Society. It was really worth it! For now, my next objective is to do open water swimming. As I didn't do any yet, I don't really know what to expect. But I would like to complete at least a 2000m open water swim before the end of the summer. I will continue swimming in the pool, and also biking outdoor! Spring is here now, and I'll be able to get out there more often! (even being busy shouldn't be an excuse, but sometimes reality and desires are two different things!)
The best thing about it, is that I was able to keep my pace the entire time. Some people passed me, and I ended up passing them towards the end. I suppose that my time is not really amazing, but it confirms that I have the endurance. I think I would have been able to continue for a longer time. The hardest part was not physical. It was challenging mentally.
In practice, the furthest I swam was 3500m, and I always had energy left after these. During my swim yesterday, past 3500m, it's not so much the lack of energy but rather the motivation that I had to fight for. The last 1000m was especially hard. I knew I would be able to complete it, but at the same time, I started to be more aware of what could go wrong. I was used to have cramps to the toes, or side stiches during training, and to get some arthritic pain in the finger (from keeping the hand in the same position for a long time) and in the ankles (from pushing the wall repeatedly). So I was expecting some or all of these during my long swim, but fortunately none of them happened!
Of course last night I had to take some antiinflamatories to make sure I wouldn't suffer too much today, but it's surprisingly good! I have some stiffness in the shoulders, but nothing joint related, it's muscular. I also have some finger pain, but nothing really out of the ordinary.
So yes, I'm going to do it again next year. Oh! and I was able to raise over $600 for the Arthritis Society. It was really worth it! For now, my next objective is to do open water swimming. As I didn't do any yet, I don't really know what to expect. But I would like to complete at least a 2000m open water swim before the end of the summer. I will continue swimming in the pool, and also biking outdoor! Spring is here now, and I'll be able to get out there more often! (even being busy shouldn't be an excuse, but sometimes reality and desires are two different things!)
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Feeling Alive Again!
Yesterday, I went for a long bike ride. Outdoor!!! It was my third bike ride not in front of the T.V. since the start of 2007. 10 perfect degrees (50 f). Lots of wind (40km/h, 50km/h gusts) that seemed to change direction to face me all the time. No sun. Just spring shades of grey and brown.
2 hours and half of pure pleasure. I was far from being fast, averaging 16km/h. I didn't put a lot of miles in (38km, or 23.6 mi). But feeling the wind on my face, getting to see different landscapes, moving and getting somewhere made it the best ride I've had since last summer. I find it's much easier to give a physical effort when you're distracted by other things around you. Don't get me wrong, I pay attention to the road, obstacles, my heart rate, the time and distance. But it's so much easier to push yourself outdoor. Indoor, my demons are catching up too easily with me: "Arg I can't hold that for too long!" Outside, they can't catch me. They vanish in the air. Maybe the wind helped to hold them back yesterday :)
Unfortunately, the next couple of days will not be as nice. Rain and/or snow. So I'll go back to my TV. Oh well, at least I have something to look forward to!
2 hours and half of pure pleasure. I was far from being fast, averaging 16km/h. I didn't put a lot of miles in (38km, or 23.6 mi). But feeling the wind on my face, getting to see different landscapes, moving and getting somewhere made it the best ride I've had since last summer. I find it's much easier to give a physical effort when you're distracted by other things around you. Don't get me wrong, I pay attention to the road, obstacles, my heart rate, the time and distance. But it's so much easier to push yourself outdoor. Indoor, my demons are catching up too easily with me: "Arg I can't hold that for too long!" Outside, they can't catch me. They vanish in the air. Maybe the wind helped to hold them back yesterday :)
Unfortunately, the next couple of days will not be as nice. Rain and/or snow. So I'll go back to my TV. Oh well, at least I have something to look forward to!
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