The Good Mood Cookbook

Dory Dory

Whoop whoop!!!

Kurt Godel

Nice one, its great you're back in the water.

Oryx wrote: »

Slow because I was taking care not to break the seal on the cast cover

Love the implication; that you'd be fast without it;)

Oryx

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Love the implication; that you'd be fast without it;)

Slower then. (I can't find a roll eyes big enough to put here)

griffin100

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Nice one, its great you're back in the water.



Love the implication; that you'd be fast without it;)

He gives with one hand......and takes it back with the other......

interested

Oryx wrote: »

Drumroll please.....

Saturday am
1300m swim. Fc with pb. Slow because I was taking care not to break the seal on the cast cover. 45mins. It was flipping awesome.

I know its late, so I had to read this twice - absolutely awesome !!!!

a) so soon after (from the little I know) a really bad accident and a significant break with cast - you're back in the pool !! 'Flipping awesome' ??? understatement.

b) Upper body / arm pull - with pull buoy and legs in tow ?? any distance at any speed will really help keep you ticking over during this spell - it can only help recovery imho (without any qualification etc - but hell, anything that keeps you active, and gives you the excercise fix from time to time ...)

c) There's so many cool things you could do ... distance per stroke work, hypoxic breathing, fine tuning head position, timing, rotation ... during this time that will just make you even faster once the cast is off - and you've steadily been making gains with the swimming.

I really am delighted to have read this Oryx - really hope you can get a few more swims in with it (Id say maybe not go to the open water ... but where theres a will theres a way .. and the gals round these parts put a lot of us blokes to shame).

Enjoy the rest of the weekend

Simply Awesome.

Oryx

Thanks interested. As I swam yesterday at one point I was actually thinking about asking you how best to train around this injury!

Sunday
55mins on turbo. I'm gradually increasing the resistance (from practically zero) and duration with each session as the duff leg gets used to working.

Off the bike and cadged a lift to the pool. 2k this time, all but two lengths with pb. Two lengths were enough to establish that I cannot swim without it. This took an hour and wasn't easy. Clearly I've lost fitness but also the floating pontoon that is my leg creates a lot more drag than I expected. But oh my god it is great to actually be doing something again.

In other news MaryB30 who drops in here time to time did SUB 6HRS in his (yes his) first HIM. As he has no log I'm posting a huge well done here, where he will see it. I'm like a proud momma.

Dory Dory

Super congrats to MaryB30!! Whoop whoop!!!

And you, with the pontoon appendage - ^^^ what interested said....you are awesome!

Tell me I can't do something and I'll show you I can.

You're showing us you can.

Oryx

More swimming today, because the opportunity was there and theres little else I can do. 50 mins, 1800m. It does the head good.

One more day closer.

MaryB30

Hey Oryx,

Just back catching up on your blog, its like someone has pressed go go go !! Thanks for mentioning me on your blog, I don't feel the worthiness.

I want to say, I did complete a race over the weekend, thanks must be given to my wife and kids and all, but major thanks to Oryx/Coach for her constant great advice and positivity even in her tough time. THANKS. She is the reason that on kilometre 19 when walking was the only option my usual mantra of "what would the oryx do" came to me. As much as the answer didn't suit at that excruciating time, IT WAS THE ONLY ANSWER. Harden the F"*k up.

Thanks again Oryx, you are the best.

Oryx

Ah here... you have me all emotional.... glad that the imaginary me was nagging you to keep going. And that you did. Brilliant result, and only the beginning of what you can do.

An hour on the turbo tonight. Still spinny, but up another click up on the gear lever. I'm getting there. Today was a tough day, frustration is setting in, and I'm yearning to run. I was wondering at one point while making sandwiches if I could saw the cast off with the breadknife. Getting on the bike helps alleviate silly thoughts like that.

One more day closer.

Oryx

Swam yesterday, but had to cut the session short as my daughter decided she had enough, so mammy had to go too. 1400m of nothingness, but better than sitting-on-your-arse nothingness.

I tried to turbo later, but after 20 minutes I could feel niggly pain, and that's not something I'm messing with at the moment. No point jeopardising healing for the sake of a 40 minute spin. I am getting to put weight on the leg though, and thats making a big difference to getting about. But god my legs are skinny now. Getting back to fitness is going to be a long process.

Oryx

Sat on my arse yesterday. It wasn't the plan, but couldn't be helped. Swam this morning. Straightforward as usual, but my catch felt better than it has done lately. Still getting funny looks and random questions in the pool, people are fascinated by a floating rubber leg. 1800m.

Kurt Godel

Oryx wrote: »

Sat on my arse yesterday. It wasn't the plan, but couldn't be helped. Swam this morning. Straightforward as usual, but my catch felt better than it has done lately. Still getting funny looks and random questions in the pool, people are fascinated by a floating rubber leg. 1800m.

What are you doing to improve the catch? Still trying that "pull from the wrist", or something else?

Oryx

Kurt Godel wrote: »

What are you doing to improve the catch? Still trying that "pull from the wrist", or something else?

Everything feels 'off' with the leg in a cast, so I'm limited in what I can do. Normal techniques and drills are out the window. Really all I have been doing since swimming with the break is trying to elongate the stroke, really reaching from the shoulder and engaging the lats. Rotation is tricky at the moment because my normal buoyancy is screwed, but I'm still trying my own personal trick of lifting my hip out of the way of the hand finishing the stroke. All things combined, today was the first time I could actually feel a bit of pull within the catch phase, it was actually doing something. It could have been my imagination, but Im taking what I can get these days.

Dory Dory

One of the nice things about swimming slow, easy and long is it creates a perfect canvas to work on a complete and technically correct stroke over and over and over again without the element of fatigue or the critical eye of the clock. Take advantage of this downtime to concentrate on the things you don't concentrate on when you're stuck into the pressures of training with targets that you're trying desperately to hit. Correct repetition now will make it second nature later. :)

Kurt Godel

You almost have a built-in Pull Bouy, from the sounds of things. Have you tried tying your legs together? (Maybe that would make you too bouyant on one side though).

Oryx

Kurt Godel wrote: »

You almost have a built-in Pull Bouy, from the sounds of things. Have you tried tying your legs together? (Maybe that would make you too bouyant on one side though).

That was suggested today, but a) isnt required, my legs dont flail, and b) I wouldnt be able to manage turns. I need one leg I can manouvre, in order to get myself around with the other leg kept straight and refusing to sink.

Oryx

One hour and five minutes on the turbo this morning. Minuscule increase, but an increase nonetheless.

Oryx

Okay. Sunday is training day normally so I was on a mission to do something productive today.

Hopped on the turbo first, one hour. I still have a weird strapped to the pedal arrangement for my foot but this worked well and felt more like a 'real' turbo session than anything I've done previously.

Then I got myself to the pool for the main plan. I wanted to swim 3k. I broke it into 3 x 1000, first and last straight swims, mid one with paddles. It was slow and clunky and nothing special but I got it all done in an hour and ten. 100 bs to finish. 3.1k. I'm pleased. I had to prove to myself that I didn't have to take short measures cos I'm injured. I feel more like me and less like a cripple now.

Oryx

Hour long turbo yesterday, same as before; spinny.

Swam tonight, the club session was on but numbers were low so even though I wasn't part of the group officially, I got some pointers from the coach anyway. Mostly worked on slow technique with paddles, concentrating on strong catch and pull. 1600.

Oryx

Looong stressy day. So I did a short non stressy swim. 1400m. Used paddles a lot, but I do wonder what kind of swimming I will do once the cast is gone. Its really messing with my position in the water.

interested

Im guessing you're probably right, but that said, don't underestimate the benefits (so many in so many ways) if you actually just being in the water. Hopefully once casts is off and you're able to get back to kicking, you'll see some of the benefits of the additional pull / stroke work done over these weeks.
Hope leg mending well.

Oryx

One hour turbo. The sweatiest one yet. Still barely base effort though. The sight of my puny muscle-less legs makes me sad.

Dory Dory

I'd gladly trade you your svelte and feminine legs for my ever expanding and verging on "V" shaped upper body.

And speaking of my ever expanding upper body....as interested suggests, you'll reap the rewards of upper body work in the pool for sure as I am realizing just that after weeks/months of exclusive endless pool and pull bouy sessions. You're doing great! And you're now over 4 weeks into this. Woo hoo!!!

Oryx

Another turbo hour tonight. The mindnumbing lack of variety has to be good for mental strength, at least. I can't wait till I can put on BOTH bike shoes and actually GO OUTSIDE to cycle. I'll throw a flipping party.

Pool times clashing with work mean I can't swim till Sunday. All this is like being a normal person AND I DON'T LIKE IT.

RacoonQueen

Have you not figured out a way to run yet?

Oryx

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Have you not figured out a way to run yet?

No but I haven't given up yet.

Though I do keep forgetting I'm broken. I get up to do something and after a few hobbling paces go 'oh yeah' and go back for the crutches.

Oryx

Wimbleball half IM was on today so I had fun tracking people I knew. And eimear did it again of course, brilliant race for her.

Though it was just a little depressing to spin on the turbo rather than tackle the hills of exmoor. 75 mins of the usual.

Then to the pool. Again, I'd rather jump in a lake but cripples can't be choosers so 2150 indoors had to do. Tried to focus on a long stroke with a strong pull. I can swim much better without pb now, that may not be a good thing. I had ripped the cast cover yesterday but my rather large puncture repair held. Thank god. I need my swimming!

Kurt Godel

Doubles! Have to say, for a crippled out-of-action injured streak of misery, you're fitting in a lot of actual training!

Oryx

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Doubles! Have to say, for a crippled out-of-action injured streak of misery, you're fitting in a lot of actual training!

I doubt it is doing anything for me other than preventing a total meltdown. (I would say keeping me sane but you'd argue that one)