A Steady Eddie Week, Feeling Good.

A steady week in deed! Struggled to train at my best while working on my feet all day but managed to work three days without missing any planned sessions. In fact metres wise my best week this year at 14450 metres. The month was down from around 49k in Jan and Feb to 41600 in March. So after the first quarter of the year 140025 metres, way ahead of my original plan. I just need to make sure I keep a good quality training going and not do metres for the sake of achieving a high total. Thought I would lose at least 2 lbs this week but only managed a single lbs loss to take me to 16.04. It is taking me along time to get down to Under 16 stone but should get there in 3-4 weeks.. No swimming meet this weekend or the next one. Gives me the chance to build as much training as I can between now and the British Champs at Sheffield in May. Coach tells me we are doing a weeks taper for this event and keeping the long taper for the Nationals also at Sheffield in October. I have my personal warm weather training in July. We have booked a friends Villa for a week in Spain which has a shared 25 metre pool. Hoping I can swim evenings and mornings with plenty of room. Will be asking the coach for 8-9 sessions to follow. Am working Mon to Fri next week so training will be a challenge. I admire anyone who does a physical role and trains full time as well. I am lucky that generally I only work 2-4 days a week so have energy left for training most of the time.

Ups and Downs.

After getting my diet back on track last week I managed to hold the weight at 16.05 so not a total cock up on the diet front but I need a diet boost to get me down to the weights starting with 15. This was always my initial target cause I am pretty sure it has been at least 25 years since I last saw a 15 at the start of my weight. I also worked Monday to Thursday and did a few hours on Thursday hoping this would have helped the weight loss but I think it just made me hungry in the evening. Because I was competing last Sunday I did not train and then while working I was too knackered to train also. I did take a 1200 metre gentle paddle on Wed evening and finally managed a club session on Thursday. Finally a local public lane session on Friday gave me a 6900 metre week the lowest this year. I think it did help me with my swims at the weekend though, with the easy swimming week. This brings me onto the ups for the week. Swam at Millfield School in the Royal Navy Masters Open Meet on Sunday. Of course with the clocks going forward on Sunday morning I hd a shortage of sleep especially as my neighbour held a family party at the village hall on Saturday night (which is opposite my house) I think I managed around 5 hours sleep before rising at 0530 and leaving at 0600. A quick stop for breakfast and arrived in plenty of time for the 0900 warm up. Great meet this one and with record attendance again this year. I swam 200 free with a 0.01 PB beating my time from Sheffield last year.I also managed a Post suit PB for the 100 fly, a Seasons best for the 50 free (even though the automatic timing failed for this heat) and the only less than good swim for the 50 back. I had been training to improve my starts and turns by increasing My under water sections but failed by starting too shallow then wallowing about between fly and back kicks while almost at the surface. The turn was slightly better but more practise required I think. Already into this weeks training with a lunch time session today and am now sat on my sun lounger in shorts updating my blog and my training/competition records on the iPad. Think I might have a doze now no work til Thurs.

Happier week and happier Blog.

Well I managed to get the 3lbs weight back off plus an extra one to keep me smiling. Week 11 -4lbs down to 16.05. Back on track, now the difficult bit to keep it going to the end of the year. Swam at the Welsh Masters Open over the weekend. Poor turnout by Gloucester Masters for various reasons but hopefully Will have better turnouts for future events. Very happy with my swims, all the times quicker than similar dates last year and not far off my seasons bests last year at Nationals. I do however need to sort my Breaststroke technique out as I seem to work so hard and get no where! Thought the Swansea Pool was excellent and the meet was organised very well. It's a pity more swimmers from the Midlands and South do not attend. The meet should easily rival the SE Masters meet at Crawley. The pool is certainly better in all aspects. The Wales asa need to push this meet far more than they currently do. Managed to eat pretty well to start the week especially as I was away in a Hotel at the weekend. Fellow swimmers taking me to an all you eat place for dinner on Saturday made me work hard at restraint. Hoping to keep the diet working for the rest of the week. Working 3 days this week so training will be a little reduced but will be swimming 3 sessions up until Saturday before swimming the Royal Navy Masters Meet at Millfield School on Sunday. Another chance to improve my 50 free and a first try for a 100 fly this year. Also doing a 200 fs and a 50 back. Should be fun. Training metre's down last week and likely to be down again this week. Oh well will try and keep the quality of the sessions I do up as high as possible.

Don't Blog Bad News ?? Changed my mind.

I missed my blog on Saturday. I was not happy with the fact that I had no good news to blog!
But life is not always a bed of roses and as with any challenge they don't always go to plan.
Historically I have responded poorly to piss poor performance which is why my fight to improve my fitness, speed and weight has not always gone smoothly and sometimes failed .
So the news from last week. Managed to put on another couple of lbs to add to the one from the previous week. In summary 3 lbs increase over 2 weeks. Training was also a fuck up. After my Sunday club session my shoulder was a little sore, I trained in public lanes on Monday and managed only a few hundred metres before my shoulder seized up. The rest of the week I ice packed the shoulder and rested it with no swimming.
I really thought something had gone again, I was all ready to give up the diet give up swimming and go back to playing golf cause I definitely do not want any more surgery. I checked in with my doctor who thought it was a little over exertion causing inflammation of the rotator cuff tendon.
Luckily by Friday the shoulder felt a lot better and I swam gently on last Friday and Saturday then went back to a club session on Sunday. Although the shoulder is still a little sore and backstroke is painful it has improved remarkably. I am planning to swim less sessions but ensure the quality of the ones I do is high. So panic over for now. I seemed to have quickly lost the 3 lbs of increased weight so hope by the end of week 11 this Saturday I will be back to where I was in week 8 (16.06) or better with luck.
I know exactly why I lost control for a a week or so but am back on plan. Looking forward to my starting with 15. stone in a few weeks.
Swimming at Swansea at the Wales Masters Open Meet this weekend, hoping my rest and improved run up to the weekend gives me a little more speed than I have managed so far this year. Have promised myself a new pair of racing Jammers as a reward. That's better than a blow out meal eh?

9th week of my diet ! Slow swims at Bracknell.

Well after 8 weeks of consistent weight loss, sometimes undeservedly I came unstuck this week. I think because I have got away with poor diet on a number of occasions I finally overdid the treats and lazy eating this week and put a lb on. Back up to 16.07. A total of 18lbs. I will make certain I at least reverse this gain during the next 6 days.
Training still OK as bogged during the week. 10K total for week even with a day off on Friday and a competition on Saturday. Swam a 100IM, and another 50 free and 50 fly. Not very impressed with any of the times although the IM was the first for a year and just a little faster than the last one but a long way from a PB the fly was slower than two weeks ago the Free just better than two weeks ago.
I am hoping I am swimming slow pools and my continuous training is not helping my speed.
I must check like for like results from last year.
This week should be fun. Working Monday and Wednesday and off to the Olympic Pool on Thurs to watch some proper swimmers at the trials. May struggle to get my metres in but hopefully OK.
Off to training tonight, need to chat to the coach re basic speed and where it might have gone.

Feburary Training. Two months gone already!

A quick midweek post as it is the end of the month. Training still going relatively well except that I don't FEEL that I am getting fitter or faster but I must have faith.
Managed a small increase from Jan with 49,525 metres giving me a year to date of 98425 metres.
I should break through the 100,000 metre mark in about an hours time after a short lunch time session. My Feb total was completed in 20 sessions so am averaging 5 swims per week.
I have swam two open meets, one LC and one SC with my third meet this Saturday at Bracknell.
I will take tomorrow as a rest day before driving to Bracknell on Saturday morning.