THE DAY AFTER THE 25KM SWIM, WHAT WILL THIS FEEL LIKE???
Low on fuel…… I am pleasantly tired, I arrive home from Indian on Sunday afternoon at 3:30pm and go about getting situated, unpacking and preparing myself for the week ahead, work, family and the Colonies Zone Championship Meet that I am racing in on Friday.
Monday morning 5:15am, time to arise and down to the pool for our masters workout group practice. I am creaky to say the least, the best way I can describe it is there is nothing there when I pull, I swim easy recovery sets, even when I try to pick up the pace it is a feeble response, my usual comfortable 200 meter repeats on a 2:50 are now taking me 3:05, my 2:35 beat the tide pace has “left the building”. My other deal is a nasty pain in my right wrist, I ponder what it is, the wrist is swollen and hurts to pick up the lightest of objects and kills to twist the top off my water bottle, “hmmmm weird, only one hurts in my right arm”, the light bulb goes off and I come to the conclusion that I have a ” FEEDING SORENESS’, yip an “EATING INJURY”, can you believe it? I have been training and training to swim, fast feeds, to tread while I am feeding, to pee while I am swimming, to speed up, to slow down BUT I have not practiced ripping my feed bottles off 14 times with force at ” Race Pace”, I smile, isn’t it funny the things you discover.
RECOVERY
I go about icing my wrist and even though it is hard moving not only my wrist but my entire body I do it…… I know gentle movement will enhance my recovery, increasing the blood flow to my beat up muscles and ultimately helping them repair stronger than they were before, all while improving the range of motion of my joints……if I rest completely I will stiffen right up and with a meet coming up on Friday, tight stiff muscles and limited range of motion is not something I have time to contend with and certainly won’t lead me to my best performance.
Here is how the week goes…
Sunday Afternoon: Yoga 30 minutes ( it is painful, I am creaky, but better afterwards)
Monday Morning: Swim EZ 2500 meters, Teach Fitness Class one hour, light lift, one hour Yoga ( tonight’s Yoga class makes a big difference, my back bend releases the tension in my right wrist, thank you Cynthia my teacher!)
Tuesday Morning: Teach 30 minute Fitness Class, Masters Swim Practice 3000 meters, Open Water Swim 5000 meters, Yoga 20 minutes ( Back in the Open Water I feel strong again, magical loons help me restore!)
Wednesday Morning: Masters Swim Practice 3000 meters, Teach One Hour Jump Rope Class, Lift 20 minutes
Thursday Rest
Friday THE MEET
Sunday & Monday I am still feeling banged up, by the time I get back into the Open Water late Tuesday afternoon I am BACK, excellent! I also have a massage on Wednesday with Kate Graves, she does body work and energy work with me once a month, I have purposely booked a session with her this week so she can help me restore, she does and is pleased with the range of motion of my shoulders, she works on my tendon, it is feeling better.
TIME TO RACE!
Friday rolls around and me and my team mates are off to the meet, we leave at 9:30am, me Cynthia, Cara and Cara’s 3 week old baby Aurora are tucked into the Mini and we are off for the 90 minute ride to Middlebury College, it boasts an impeccably kept 50 meter pool, I am excited to swim today….” How weird going from a 25km Race to a 1500 meter race, 7 Hours last weekend down to 20 minutes and change today”
We check in and warm up, at 12:00pm the meet starts, I am in the final heat, I will swim around 3:30pm. Cynthia, Margaret and I enjoy an extended session of Yoga while we wait.
Paula swims, Margaret swims, heat 9 it is my turn, I step up behind the block, I am yawning, ahhh sleepy, the starter soon jolts me out of my relaxation trance and I am off the block, the laps go by FAST, I have gone from 1 hour 23 laps in the 25km Nationals to a 1 minute 16 second first lap today in the 1500 meter finals, Wow that wall comes up again fast, I find myself slipping into my big long Open Water Stroke! Pick it up, Pick it up, my brain is barking at my physical body, I have no idea to predict my time, I am planning to swim as fast as I can today, the final lap, I sprint into the touch pad, PUNCH….I am done! 1st place in the 45-49 year as age group in a time of 20 minutes and 26 seconds, nice, and a New England Record, breaking the previous record of 20:32.82 set in 2005.
I warm down, then on to the 800 meters, I am alert and into race mode the first 100 meters I take out at a 1:14, then it is the fastest steady pace I can hold, I feel like I am a fish in a fish bowl, so constrained compared to the vast open water, up and down, up and down in my own little confined lane, no fish, no loons, no stones to look at on the bottom, I think of my team mates in the stands, I think of the steady temperature, no wind and waves, I have everything in my favour and the time to kick it in with all I can is now, ” temporary discomfort”!
The last 100 is here and I open up all that is left, I see swimmers beside me, I swim by and punch the wall, lane 5 , 10:38, 1st place, I barely hear the announcer, ” Charlotte Brynn, sets her second New England Record tonight, breaking the old record of 10:43 set in 2004, I look up in the stands my team mates are cheering, jumping up and down and pumping their fists in the air, what fun!
Time to cool down, shower and head home, I arrive home at 9:15pm, Jeff has a steak waiting, I eat and roll into bed, nite nite time.
Next up an Open Water Training Swim Sunday and then off to Ireland on Thursday for Ned Denison’s 9 day training week in the Irish sea, lakes and rivers, said to be colder and rougher than the English Channel itself, I have my work cut out for me in the upcoming weeks!
More about Ireland? I ‘ll keep you posted