My body's internal heating system has *issues*...
Well, my music test yesterday went really well... :)
Yesterday, I finally remembered to bring my swim gear to school, so that I could head down to the pool after my 1:30 class. I used to swim pretty seriously, but it's been about seven years since then, and my form is not so good. Lately, I've been trying to get back into swimming, but it's been a struggle; my muscles aren't reaccustomed to swimming, and a lot of the strokes don't feel quite natural.
I did my usual routine of alternate laps of breaststroke and freestyle, with an occasional lap of backstroke (I've always hated backstroke; it makes me feel like I'm drowning.) Freestyle has been exhausting for me over the last few years, and I've tended to gravitate toward breaststroke when swimming any sort of distance. I've found that doing more than a single lap of freestyle without a break is too strenuous. However, after about sixteen laps, I decided to try doing a second lap of freestyle instead of going back to breaststroke.
I ended up doing 30 laps of freestyle without stopping. I'd been struggling to lift my arms high enough out of the water (I don't have particularly strong shoulders); I was remembering my instructor when I was eleven, telling me to lift my arms higher. By about lap nine, I noticed it wasn't an effort to put my arms in the proper form. At lap fourteen, it felt as though I were in dynamic equilibrium with the water; the movements felt smooth and natural, and I hardly noticed the faint burning in my arms. I continued this way until lap 23, when my feet started cramping up horribly (this always used to happen), and the only solution then and now was to continue swimming another couple laps until it subsided. At lap 30, I felt mildly tired, and I was noticing the soreness in my arms and the burning in my chest a bit more. I pulled myself out of the pool, and found had to concentrate to stand upright. It took a surprising amount of effort to move, and I was dizzy. It's always funny how swimming saps your energy without your notice...
Fortunately, the IMA has a decent sauna that I can use to regain all the lost thermal energy, and thereby combat my body's general tendency to demand an immediate and sugar-saturated refueling following this sort of thing. I've done some of my best thinking while sitting naked in a sauna, too. Few things are more relaxing than basking in the heat with a good (or even not-so-good) book.
It's funny; I'd been wondering if I'd have the energy to do half an hour, and I ended up spending more than an hour in the pool. Perhaps all that running over the holidays made a difference. I still feel like a fat cow, though, even though the scale says I've lost weight. And then, I went to training last night, too. I can definitely feel the soreness today... let's see if I can make myself do a weightlifting routine this afternoon.
Which reminds me... I should figure out more ways to incorporate protein into my diet. Maybe if I ate more protein, I'd be less drained after these little endeavours. I always seem to be tired when I don't eat it...
Oh, and they're replacing my broken refrigerator on Wednesday. It only took them *three weeks*... But at least I'll have a new fridge, rather than an old crappy one that's been halfheartedly repaired.
Yesterday, I finally remembered to bring my swim gear to school, so that I could head down to the pool after my 1:30 class. I used to swim pretty seriously, but it's been about seven years since then, and my form is not so good. Lately, I've been trying to get back into swimming, but it's been a struggle; my muscles aren't reaccustomed to swimming, and a lot of the strokes don't feel quite natural.
I did my usual routine of alternate laps of breaststroke and freestyle, with an occasional lap of backstroke (I've always hated backstroke; it makes me feel like I'm drowning.) Freestyle has been exhausting for me over the last few years, and I've tended to gravitate toward breaststroke when swimming any sort of distance. I've found that doing more than a single lap of freestyle without a break is too strenuous. However, after about sixteen laps, I decided to try doing a second lap of freestyle instead of going back to breaststroke.
I ended up doing 30 laps of freestyle without stopping. I'd been struggling to lift my arms high enough out of the water (I don't have particularly strong shoulders); I was remembering my instructor when I was eleven, telling me to lift my arms higher. By about lap nine, I noticed it wasn't an effort to put my arms in the proper form. At lap fourteen, it felt as though I were in dynamic equilibrium with the water; the movements felt smooth and natural, and I hardly noticed the faint burning in my arms. I continued this way until lap 23, when my feet started cramping up horribly (this always used to happen), and the only solution then and now was to continue swimming another couple laps until it subsided. At lap 30, I felt mildly tired, and I was noticing the soreness in my arms and the burning in my chest a bit more. I pulled myself out of the pool, and found had to concentrate to stand upright. It took a surprising amount of effort to move, and I was dizzy. It's always funny how swimming saps your energy without your notice...
Fortunately, the IMA has a decent sauna that I can use to regain all the lost thermal energy, and thereby combat my body's general tendency to demand an immediate and sugar-saturated refueling following this sort of thing. I've done some of my best thinking while sitting naked in a sauna, too. Few things are more relaxing than basking in the heat with a good (or even not-so-good) book.
It's funny; I'd been wondering if I'd have the energy to do half an hour, and I ended up spending more than an hour in the pool. Perhaps all that running over the holidays made a difference. I still feel like a fat cow, though, even though the scale says I've lost weight. And then, I went to training last night, too. I can definitely feel the soreness today... let's see if I can make myself do a weightlifting routine this afternoon.
Which reminds me... I should figure out more ways to incorporate protein into my diet. Maybe if I ate more protein, I'd be less drained after these little endeavours. I always seem to be tired when I don't eat it...
Oh, and they're replacing my broken refrigerator on Wednesday. It only took them *three weeks*... But at least I'll have a new fridge, rather than an old crappy one that's been halfheartedly repaired.