This is the month in the year where it is almost
impossible to stick to the plan and do every session, as there are
parties to go to and pool/ gym closures to contend with. I had factored
all this in, so was pretty sure at the beginning of the month that I
would be able to stick to my weekly mileage as well as go to the gym.
However, less than a week into December and I was struck by a cold that
quickly made its way to my chest. Ordinarily I would continue to train
through a cold, but having learned from trying to train through colds
previously I decided to take it easier for a day or so.....having 2 days
off in fact and then getting back into it slowly. As I was coughing
all night long I wasn’t sleeping at all well.... and then Mel and the
kids got it.....and they weren’t sleeping so it got really bad.
Mid-month it started to get better so I thought I could train harder
again (obviously I still have not learned my lesson!) and then it got
worse again....all in all the cold/ cough lasted the whole month and at
the beginning of Jan the family and I still have the remnants of it.
So, my training has been hit pretty hard this month, I tried to keep
going when I should have recovered fully.
Interruptions
to training are frustrating, I know I should ease back and I do try,
but if something is taking weeks to recover from, that is weeks of not
training properly. I am learning that this is where the mental strength
comes into play. It is better to have 2 slow weeks rather than trying
to train through it and end up having more time off in the long run.
When I got back in the water just after Christmas to do a swim test I
knew it was going to be bad. Almost a week without any swimming at
all, my arms felt like jelly and my lungs felt like they were going to
burst. I felt like I hadn’t swum in months, not weeks! Perhaps it was
the wrong time to do the test, but perhaps not. It did tell me where I
was and gave me a new focus to my training. The upside to these
interruptions is that it actually doesn’t take that long to get back
into the swing of things and after 3 consecutive swim days I felt much
stronger. This is a fantastic mental boost, I may still be swimming
ever so slightly slower than I was a month ago, but I feel like I am
storming forward in terms of fitness.
I
am sure that there will be more illnesses and possible injuries between
now and the end of July and I know I will have to be sensible with how I
approach them. Converting the knowing into doing is the challenge!
