Paracetamol.
Apparently competitive athletes aren't allowed it. But though I love the 'good aches' as they tell me I'm strengthening and stretching my muscles, extending my lung capacity and my stamina in a way that is useful for many parts of life, still to be aching and heavy limbed when I haven't actually swum for two days does make me realise what I'm going to be putting myself through in that final week of swimming.
More to the point, the overtired tetchiness that sometimes comes with it is not enjoyable. So paracetamol it is. I'm not in it for gold medals, I'm in it for the money! For FRED! Talking of which, have you sent a cheque made out to Forest Read Easy Deal to
Frank Rainer, Treasurer, Oaklands, George Road, Yorkley, Lydney, Gloucestershire, GL15 4TL
yet?
And as my husband keeps trying to remind me - it's a marathon, not a sprint! Go easy, girl.
I completely forgot to tell you that I tried front-crawl last time. I managed all of a third of a length before gaspingly and spaced-out in my head I reverted to breast-stroke for the rest. I must try to remember my friend Gail's advice and the recommendation from swimming.org:
"Front crawl doesn't have to be a splash and a dash stroke to the wall - swim longer and use your energy more efficiently by using a long and smooth rhythm"
It'll be hard to break those ingrained habits though. I once went swimming with the Venture Scouts as a teenager. Widths across the middle of the pool - not for fun or enjoyment, or improving technique. Oh no, it had to be competitive.
But not being strong of arm and leg nor replete with natural stamina, while others rested I was still finishing. Without any rest I had to turn round and go back again & again & again & again. I left the pool that night feeling humiliated and glowering with resentment.
Notice I say 'with' the Venture Scouts. Technically I was one, too and joined in horrible (though possibly 'character-building'?) experiences like the White Peak Walk.
"20 miles isn't far, Catherine" said a friend of my sister's.
It is when you've never walked that far before, rarely walked with a full pack on your back, when you are in a mixed team and the boys are striding on ahead and therefore navigating and therefore it turns into 25 miles..... Oh, & it's your period and you're in pain and the boy who was supposed to have brought the first aid kit (with the paracetamol) hadn't but the supervisors still let us go out anyway because he'd showed them his lunch box!
For information: the White Peak Walk is described as: A strenuous challenge walk in the Peak National Park following the most rugged parts of the Peak and passing via Rowsley, Birchover, Youlgreave, Monyash, Flagg, Taddington and Great Longstone.
I only really started to develop any stamina & strength after having my children. They were both quite hefty and grew at a tremendous rate - forced progressive resistance weight training!
But yes, Ventures was another example of being on the outside looking in, and of not quite 'getting it'. I joined for something to do, because my lovely older sister suggested it. But I still had that sense of tagging along with her friends, of not really doing it of my own dynamic choosing & volition.
It is this need for FRED learners to come to us because they themselves want to, that is so important in how well they will succeed.
Some of our referring agencies misunderstand this importance: Job Centres and those contracting services from them, for example.
If a learner feels they have to come 'or else', that internal motivation is not as strong. Resentment or other conflicting emotions (being made to face the humiliating possibility of failure yet again?) can dilute it and are not helpful additions to what can already be a challenging and vulnerable situation.
Thursday, 16 May 2013
Wednesday, 15 May 2013
"Aquatic Apes" and "Thinking Frog"
Most scientists think humans evolved from apes who, on starting to live on grassland away from trees, developed our upright gait and other features. But apparently this theory does not explain all our evolutionary developments:
"Humans are very different from other apes," said Peter Rhys Evans, an organiser of Human Evolution: Past, Present and Future. "We lack fur, walk upright, have big brains and subcutaneous fat and have a descended larynx, a feature common among aquatic animals but not apes."
So there is an alternative theory, supported even by David Attenborough, that we are descended from 'aquatic apes'.
However, this theory describes apes that waded in deep water (therefore needing to be upright) not apes that swam. So I can't claim that swimming is something I've evolved to do! But other implications of the theory might apply, for example in our brain chemistry:
"Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an omega-3 fatty acid that is found in large amounts in seafood," said Dr Michael Crawford, of Imperial College London. "It boosts brain growth in mammals................... The crucial point is that without a high DHA diet from seafood we could not have developed our big brains. We got smart from eating fish and living in water."
A friend of mine (Vicky) has commented on my post 'That thing they call the wall' via email, saying
"If you accept that the mind and body have to learn to work in concert for the perfect breaststroke, does it really help to beat up on them on those days when they don’t?"
My first reaction is to say 'don't worry: the extreme wussiness comments are somewhat hyperbolic!' But being occasionally given to depression I appreciate her concern. Of more immediate help though is this:
"linking it to yoga principles again; sessions start with noticing how the mind and how the body feel that day, and accepting it."
Because she also links it to the need learners and coaches have to 'acknowledge the baggage of their day' before they can start the learning process.
Thankfully recently I have gone into the pool with a very focussed attitude. Yesterday's swim has produced more of those enjoyably virtuous aches in both legs and arms, a heaviness of limb and sleepiness noticeable when trying to force a double duvet into its clean cover last night. I alternated two lengths of breast-stroke ('thinking frog' as per my friend's more detailed advice) with two lengths of back stroke.
Attempting to engage the aquatic ape's larger brain to get the back stroke right (a sort of flick of the wrist backwards to level your hand as it enters the water?), I endure several bumped wrists and another bump to the head before I also remember to keep an eye on how close to the end of the length I am.
On leaving the pool I also discover another benefit of the aquatic ape theory. Another woman getting out at the same time commented: 'oooh, you feel the cold when you get out, don't you?'
Um, well, no, actually. My exertions have raised my body temperature considerably and it's all being insulated by that layer of sub-cutaneous fat I evolved! I'm positively glowing!
Perhaps she's descended from land apes?
However you think you may have evolved, if you've enjoyed today's blog, please send a cheque to:
Frank Rainer, Treasurer, Oaklands, George Road, Yorkley, Lydney, Gloucestershire, GL15 4TL
made out to Forest Read Easy Deal.
With our thanks
Catherine
"Humans are very different from other apes," said Peter Rhys Evans, an organiser of Human Evolution: Past, Present and Future. "We lack fur, walk upright, have big brains and subcutaneous fat and have a descended larynx, a feature common among aquatic animals but not apes."
So there is an alternative theory, supported even by David Attenborough, that we are descended from 'aquatic apes'.
However, this theory describes apes that waded in deep water (therefore needing to be upright) not apes that swam. So I can't claim that swimming is something I've evolved to do! But other implications of the theory might apply, for example in our brain chemistry:
"Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an omega-3 fatty acid that is found in large amounts in seafood," said Dr Michael Crawford, of Imperial College London. "It boosts brain growth in mammals................... The crucial point is that without a high DHA diet from seafood we could not have developed our big brains. We got smart from eating fish and living in water."
A friend of mine (Vicky) has commented on my post 'That thing they call the wall' via email, saying
"If you accept that the mind and body have to learn to work in concert for the perfect breaststroke, does it really help to beat up on them on those days when they don’t?"
My first reaction is to say 'don't worry: the extreme wussiness comments are somewhat hyperbolic!' But being occasionally given to depression I appreciate her concern. Of more immediate help though is this:
"linking it to yoga principles again; sessions start with noticing how the mind and how the body feel that day, and accepting it."
Because she also links it to the need learners and coaches have to 'acknowledge the baggage of their day' before they can start the learning process.
Thankfully recently I have gone into the pool with a very focussed attitude. Yesterday's swim has produced more of those enjoyably virtuous aches in both legs and arms, a heaviness of limb and sleepiness noticeable when trying to force a double duvet into its clean cover last night. I alternated two lengths of breast-stroke ('thinking frog' as per my friend's more detailed advice) with two lengths of back stroke.
Attempting to engage the aquatic ape's larger brain to get the back stroke right (a sort of flick of the wrist backwards to level your hand as it enters the water?), I endure several bumped wrists and another bump to the head before I also remember to keep an eye on how close to the end of the length I am.
On leaving the pool I also discover another benefit of the aquatic ape theory. Another woman getting out at the same time commented: 'oooh, you feel the cold when you get out, don't you?'
Um, well, no, actually. My exertions have raised my body temperature considerably and it's all being insulated by that layer of sub-cutaneous fat I evolved! I'm positively glowing!
Perhaps she's descended from land apes?
However you think you may have evolved, if you've enjoyed today's blog, please send a cheque to:
Frank Rainer, Treasurer, Oaklands, George Road, Yorkley, Lydney, Gloucestershire, GL15 4TL
made out to Forest Read Easy Deal.
With our thanks
Catherine
Monday, 13 May 2013
On the outside looking in
I'm the third child of four. Two years between my eldest sisters. Two years between my second sister and me. Fifteen months between me and my younger sister.
As a very young child I always wanted people to associate me with my eldest two sisters. They were the 'bees-knees', the ones whose every exploit was to be aspired to.
As we grew however, very often we became known as 'the big two' and 'the little two' and I fear that on too many occasions I was horrible to my younger sister in my resentment.
She & I did sometimes play happily, often with activities which were imitations of the ones I'd seen my older sisters playing the year before (or was it the month before - time is so different for children).
I especially remember one year, begging my mum's old tights and stuffing them, drawing or sewing horses' faces and ears on them and riding them like hobby horses up & down the drive as 'the big two' had done.
The odd thing was that despite copying as well as I could, I still didn't get the point of the game. After all that making and planning, when it came to the finished article and the galloping up and down the drive, my main sensation was 'so?'! I was on the outside looking in.
Later on the 'big two' and their group of friends discovered a lady who lived on a smallholding down the lane. While searching for a friend's missing cat we found someone else's missing tortoise, would you believe? They started to visit the goats, ducks, hens, dogs & cats kept by this lady (not forgetting the geese who had to be sung to, apparently). They began to call themselves 'the Mack Club', this being the lady's name.
But of course, while they could go on these visits independently, my little sister & I were 'too little' (whether this was my older sisters' view or my Mum's I don't know'). Once again, I was the envious outsider.
So the obvious link with FRED is, is that how it feels when reading is difficult? Are you always the one left out, left behind, not quite in the loop?
If you can empathise with this feeling, please consider sending a cheque made out to Forest Read Easy Deal to:
Frank Rainer, Treasurer, Oaklands, George Road, Yorkley, Lydney, Gloucestershire, GL15 4TL
There is at least one thing I copied from my sisters that I did 'get', that stuck, and that I became fully involved in. Under five, I sneaked into my eldest sister's hallowed room, climbed up onto the bed (& it was a climb at that age!) to look at all the things on her bookcase. She must have been at school.
And then and there, I quite clearly and definitely made a decision: 'When I'm big, I'm going to read Enid Blyton'!
As a very young child I always wanted people to associate me with my eldest two sisters. They were the 'bees-knees', the ones whose every exploit was to be aspired to.
As we grew however, very often we became known as 'the big two' and 'the little two' and I fear that on too many occasions I was horrible to my younger sister in my resentment.
She & I did sometimes play happily, often with activities which were imitations of the ones I'd seen my older sisters playing the year before (or was it the month before - time is so different for children).
I especially remember one year, begging my mum's old tights and stuffing them, drawing or sewing horses' faces and ears on them and riding them like hobby horses up & down the drive as 'the big two' had done.
The odd thing was that despite copying as well as I could, I still didn't get the point of the game. After all that making and planning, when it came to the finished article and the galloping up and down the drive, my main sensation was 'so?'! I was on the outside looking in.
Later on the 'big two' and their group of friends discovered a lady who lived on a smallholding down the lane. While searching for a friend's missing cat we found someone else's missing tortoise, would you believe? They started to visit the goats, ducks, hens, dogs & cats kept by this lady (not forgetting the geese who had to be sung to, apparently). They began to call themselves 'the Mack Club', this being the lady's name.
But of course, while they could go on these visits independently, my little sister & I were 'too little' (whether this was my older sisters' view or my Mum's I don't know'). Once again, I was the envious outsider.
So the obvious link with FRED is, is that how it feels when reading is difficult? Are you always the one left out, left behind, not quite in the loop?
If you can empathise with this feeling, please consider sending a cheque made out to Forest Read Easy Deal to:
Frank Rainer, Treasurer, Oaklands, George Road, Yorkley, Lydney, Gloucestershire, GL15 4TL
There is at least one thing I copied from my sisters that I did 'get', that stuck, and that I became fully involved in. Under five, I sneaked into my eldest sister's hallowed room, climbed up onto the bed (& it was a climb at that age!) to look at all the things on her bookcase. She must have been at school.
And then and there, I quite clearly and definitely made a decision: 'When I'm big, I'm going to read Enid Blyton'!
Friday, 10 May 2013
Calmly does it.....
It's like learning to drive. I was nearly ready to put in for my test, when someone went into the back of the car as we came off a roundabout. Bang! The next time we went out, I'd become a very timid driver again, not confident, tensed up and definitely not enjoying it.
So my instructor decided he'd just take me out along quiet country lanes and out to the coast (I learnt in Newcastle upon Tyne) for a lesson or two. And that did the trick.
So recently I've just gone for business-like but satisfyingly enjoyable swims. Mostly breaststroke with a couple of backstroke lengths thrown in today.
No butterfly. I'm not saying never........ I just need to get my confidence and my calm and the fun back.
Mind you, (& this might be cheating on the 'learning only by reading' front!) I did see someone doing butterfly in the pool today and they seemed to be raising their shoulders quite high out of the water. That might give me a bit longer to take a breath in between strokes, which might mean I get less exhausted.......?
I mostly seem to be doing what swimming.org suggests for backstroke - there's just a little bit I'm going to have to work on:
'Don't immediately pull with your hand after it enters the water - this will create resistance.
Instead, turn your palm so it is facing the bottom of the pool and scull your hand outwards and downwards until it reaches a position in a line between your upper chest and shoulders with your elbow bent.
At this point rotate your hand again so your palm is facing towards your feet, then push through the water until your arm is fully flexed by the thigh.'
I can't quite work this out yet - I might try it out on dry land first. I haven't been aware of any resistance though.
FRED's coaches learn to become as sensitive to their learner's needs as my driving instructor was to mine. Sometimes our learners arrive at a session with the 'baggage' of their day still clutched tightly to their chests (as does happen with us all from time to time). Good coaches recognise that real learning can't take place until that baggage has been acknowledged at the very least. Once acknowledged, everyone can take a breath and turn towards the business of reading.
If you recognise the skill that these coaches offer freely to those who need it, then please take a moment to send a cheque made out to Forest Read Easy Deal, to:
Frank Rainer, Treasurer, Oaklands, George Road, Yorkley, Lydney, Gloucestershire, GL15 4TL
and thank you for helping us continue our work
Catherine
Thursday, 9 May 2013
Awards for All - rewards for FRED? Fingers crossed!
Apologies for the break in transmission.
FRED is bidding for some money from Awards for All to support a development in its work and they wanted some more information.
Probably like me, your initial idea of adults with literacy needs is that they're some kind of homogenised group. But over the past couple of years, I've come to understand the variety lying beneath that phrase.
Some learners go through our main resource straightforwardly and then go on to enrol at College, happy as Larry (who was Larry, by the way?). Some learners, similarly straightforwardly, go through the resource and are quite content with that - it satisfies their need as they saw it.
Others go on to College but find it challenging because of their low confidence levels. Where possible we arrange a transition period of support, sometimes with the coach accompanying them for the first couple of sessions (we're very lucky to have excellent relationships with Gloucestershire College Forest of Dean Campus staff.
Another group do the initial course, but would like help with other aspects of literacy before they feel able to progress further or feel they've achieved what they wanted to achieve. Yet another subset is much slower to go through the book, some of them seeming to reach a plateau. They perhaps need more time & materials for practice & consolidation.
Everybody is slightly different and everybody is allowed to go at their own pace, building their skill and confidence as they need to.
FRED's original constitution was purely worded in terms of the reading side of literacy, but recognising our learners' ongoing requirements meant we took the decision to widen that wording to include literacy generally. But that brings challenges. More & different training for coaches; more supporting resources for extra practice in reading, writing & spelling.
Hence the bid. But please don't think that FRED doesn't need your help if it might get money from Awards for All.
Grant making bodies want bids that are 'projects' - in other words, they don't want to pay for ongoing costs. Our coaches give massively of their time. We still need to be able to cover transport costs, phone calls, postage, stationery.......so if you'd like to help, please send a cheque to
Frank Rainer, Treasurer, Oaklands, George Road, Yorkley, Lydney, Gloucestershire, GL15 4TL
made out to Forest Read Easy Deal. You have my thanks.
I refered to the pleasures of word games a few posts back. Writing this bid has enlightened me to the fact that crosswords, word searches and other word games can all play a part in reading, writing & spelling practice!
And reminds me of something I heard on Radio 4 on the way to work the other day. A wordgame called 'Wordaholics'. One round required contestants to suggest new words for potential new phobias. This contestant swore blind she actually suffered from hers: Prunidigitophobia - the fear of getting wrinkly skin from staying too long in the bath!
It's a good job I don't suffer from it. Though the idea of it did put me off having water births for my babies!
FRED is bidding for some money from Awards for All to support a development in its work and they wanted some more information.
Probably like me, your initial idea of adults with literacy needs is that they're some kind of homogenised group. But over the past couple of years, I've come to understand the variety lying beneath that phrase.
Some learners go through our main resource straightforwardly and then go on to enrol at College, happy as Larry (who was Larry, by the way?). Some learners, similarly straightforwardly, go through the resource and are quite content with that - it satisfies their need as they saw it.
Others go on to College but find it challenging because of their low confidence levels. Where possible we arrange a transition period of support, sometimes with the coach accompanying them for the first couple of sessions (we're very lucky to have excellent relationships with Gloucestershire College Forest of Dean Campus staff.
Another group do the initial course, but would like help with other aspects of literacy before they feel able to progress further or feel they've achieved what they wanted to achieve. Yet another subset is much slower to go through the book, some of them seeming to reach a plateau. They perhaps need more time & materials for practice & consolidation.
Everybody is slightly different and everybody is allowed to go at their own pace, building their skill and confidence as they need to.
FRED's original constitution was purely worded in terms of the reading side of literacy, but recognising our learners' ongoing requirements meant we took the decision to widen that wording to include literacy generally. But that brings challenges. More & different training for coaches; more supporting resources for extra practice in reading, writing & spelling.
Hence the bid. But please don't think that FRED doesn't need your help if it might get money from Awards for All.
Grant making bodies want bids that are 'projects' - in other words, they don't want to pay for ongoing costs. Our coaches give massively of their time. We still need to be able to cover transport costs, phone calls, postage, stationery.......so if you'd like to help, please send a cheque to
Frank Rainer, Treasurer, Oaklands, George Road, Yorkley, Lydney, Gloucestershire, GL15 4TL
made out to Forest Read Easy Deal. You have my thanks.
I refered to the pleasures of word games a few posts back. Writing this bid has enlightened me to the fact that crosswords, word searches and other word games can all play a part in reading, writing & spelling practice!
And reminds me of something I heard on Radio 4 on the way to work the other day. A wordgame called 'Wordaholics'. One round required contestants to suggest new words for potential new phobias. This contestant swore blind she actually suffered from hers: Prunidigitophobia - the fear of getting wrinkly skin from staying too long in the bath!
It's a good job I don't suffer from it. Though the idea of it did put me off having water births for my babies!
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
A bit of a Wednesday.
Glorious Bank Holiday, wasn't it?
Swimming on Friday, gardening on Saturday, allotment on Sunday, more gardening on Monday - and now we're back to swimming. I am feeling fit. If a tad tired.
The unexpected pleasure of my eldest son appearing on the doorstep led to a barbecue on Sunday followed by a very very nice outdoor fry up brunch on Monday (eggs, bacon, sausage, mushroom, tomato, fried potato). And as at this moment, I'm being plied with an after swim 'Marmite on slightly burnt toast' (as per instructions) by that very same eldest, this blog is obviously in danger of becoming the 'greedy pig' guide to swimming.
I didn't feel this positive before my swim. A much more mixed bag of emotions, really.
Receiving a postcard & cheque for FRED from my arty sister, I become a little 'high' on her praise: 'very impressed (way you write, what you say, sticking with the swimming and how you talk about the FRED work'.
She's upped her donation level as a result because, as she says, she 'supports all and every way of connecting people with culture'.
But at 2am this morning I'm awake & stressing about the fact that apparently not much other money has come in.
Cue demotivated feelings.
I know I shouldn't have asked. I didn't mean to, but I would so hate to become a nuisance, nagging people who've already donated. And I wanted to thank people, too. But the self-fulfilling prophecy feelings kick in. The fear that I promise a lot but can't deliver.
Writing this now, having had reflection time in the pool & simultaneously activated my 'feel-good' hormones, I'm reminded of FRED meetings where I've discovered that learners' feelings of failure & their expectations of repeat failure can become huge barriers, not only against them coming forward as learners in the first place, but also as they progress through the resource we use: Yes we can read.
Every now and again, they all hit parts they find more difficult.
And that's when the persistent support of our coaches can be absolutely essential. They try to be there, to catch the hand of the learner and pull them through.
And now that's what I'm asking from you. Catch my hand and pull me through.
If you've been meaning to donate but just haven't yet got round to it, please go and get your cheque book now and make one out to Forest Read Easy Deal. Whatever size. Then please find an envelope, pop the cheque inside and a stamp on the outside and address it to:
Frank Rainer, Treasurer, Oaklands, George Road, Yorkley, Lydney, Gloucestershire, GL15 4TL
Oh! And the title of today's blog?
It's a phrase of my parents'. When on holiday they have a lovely couple of days at first, then they hit a day when they're both niggly, they can't agree what to do, things just don't go to plan..... And then that's day's over and they start to enjoy themselves again.
So obviously, I've just had 'a bit of a Wednesday'. And things will look up again.
Yours, getting my nagging shoes on again,
Catherine
Swimming on Friday, gardening on Saturday, allotment on Sunday, more gardening on Monday - and now we're back to swimming. I am feeling fit. If a tad tired.
The unexpected pleasure of my eldest son appearing on the doorstep led to a barbecue on Sunday followed by a very very nice outdoor fry up brunch on Monday (eggs, bacon, sausage, mushroom, tomato, fried potato). And as at this moment, I'm being plied with an after swim 'Marmite on slightly burnt toast' (as per instructions) by that very same eldest, this blog is obviously in danger of becoming the 'greedy pig' guide to swimming.
I didn't feel this positive before my swim. A much more mixed bag of emotions, really.
Receiving a postcard & cheque for FRED from my arty sister, I become a little 'high' on her praise: 'very impressed (way you write, what you say, sticking with the swimming and how you talk about the FRED work'.
She's upped her donation level as a result because, as she says, she 'supports all and every way of connecting people with culture'.
But at 2am this morning I'm awake & stressing about the fact that apparently not much other money has come in.
Cue demotivated feelings.
I know I shouldn't have asked. I didn't mean to, but I would so hate to become a nuisance, nagging people who've already donated. And I wanted to thank people, too. But the self-fulfilling prophecy feelings kick in. The fear that I promise a lot but can't deliver.
Writing this now, having had reflection time in the pool & simultaneously activated my 'feel-good' hormones, I'm reminded of FRED meetings where I've discovered that learners' feelings of failure & their expectations of repeat failure can become huge barriers, not only against them coming forward as learners in the first place, but also as they progress through the resource we use: Yes we can read.
Every now and again, they all hit parts they find more difficult.
And that's when the persistent support of our coaches can be absolutely essential. They try to be there, to catch the hand of the learner and pull them through.
And now that's what I'm asking from you. Catch my hand and pull me through.
If you've been meaning to donate but just haven't yet got round to it, please go and get your cheque book now and make one out to Forest Read Easy Deal. Whatever size. Then please find an envelope, pop the cheque inside and a stamp on the outside and address it to:
Frank Rainer, Treasurer, Oaklands, George Road, Yorkley, Lydney, Gloucestershire, GL15 4TL
Oh! And the title of today's blog?
It's a phrase of my parents'. When on holiday they have a lovely couple of days at first, then they hit a day when they're both niggly, they can't agree what to do, things just don't go to plan..... And then that's day's over and they start to enjoy themselves again.
So obviously, I've just had 'a bit of a Wednesday'. And things will look up again.
Yours, getting my nagging shoes on again,
Catherine
Friday, 3 May 2013
Tomato sauce sandwiches
Here I am at 8.31am, fresh from my swim and having just finished my tomato sauce sandwiches.
Yes, you heard!
When I first proposed this swim, my sister (the arty one) told me I'd get hungry, and that I'd better get some bananas in. As my granny would have said (but about her knitting) 'me and bananas have fallen out'. At 18 months old actually, as Rachel very well knows. 'Peanut butter sandwiches, then?' - but I find those a bit 'claggy'.
I tried flapjack - but it was a bit sweet so early in the morning. Marmite sandwiches are fine. Lovely in fact - & I could go for Marmite & peanut butter together. But today I indulged myself. There are some things you just have to experience for yourself - it can't all come from reading. It's even better on toast too. Especially if the toast is just a little bit burnt.
And how was my swim?
Well, I only managed 16 lengths before they gently kicked me out at 8 o'clock. So I'll either have to do 24 next time to make up (which would be pushing it in the time) or do 21 four times.
Two reasons really. The first: in order to get my swim in and get my son to school he has to come with me, which means I have to get him up half an hour early. At 6.30. Not something likely to go down well with a teenage lad but he's been very good about it so far (he even swam the first time). But this morning he just couldn't get a wiggle on.
The second reason is that darned butterfly thing.
I started out thinking I'd do a few lengths of leisurely breaststroke to warm up, not being in the best of tempers. By the second length though, I'd started doing it properly. Or at least more properly - the face going under the water, the feet coming up to my 'seat' (as they phrase it in the advice) and then kicking firmly outwards. How pleasing to think the neural pathways are starting to develop! But it is more tiring than my former style (I am actually putting proper physical effort in these days) and I find I have a little pause at the ends of the pool where I wouldn't have before.
Conscious of the time I go for a butterfly length fairly early on - length 6, I think, and far from 'just doing it' I actually try to do it consciously, remembering some of what I've read.
'The leg action comes from the hip' - I realise I've just been flapping my lower legs so try to change this. 'Powerful downbeats of the feet then propel the body forward' - so I try to exert more power. Far from being propelled forward I become convinced I'm swimming on the spot!
Dredge the memory for more help: 'Try to keep your legs close together with your ankles relaxed'.....Well! That's fine for you to say!
My brain is juggling all these messages - to keep my legs together I have to exert muscles at the top of the legs in an inward direction whilst firmly and powerfully making the feet go down (for propulsion) while simultaneously keeping the ankles loose.
I told you this was a ridiculous stroke!
Meanwhile the arms are going round and round as they should (hopefully, that is. I haven't really read the detail of that bit yet). I'm gasping for breath every time my head breaks the surface. It's totally exhausting. I vaguely remember that some people take a breath every other stroke and try this towards the end of the length. Disaster strikes - I swallow water and start to cough, grabbing for the end rail while my legs revert to a lifesaving breaststroke kick. What was it my friend Gail said? 'Don't drown.....'!
I scull a length on my back to recover but, since I'm already writing my blog in my head, I relax too much and my head meets the wall with a crashing 'ow!'
Back to breast-stroke then for a few more lengths till I gather up the courage to fulfil yesterday's promise of doing butterfly twice. I don't try to do it 'properly'. I just do it. Get through it. Get it done. Still hate it. Still feel embarrassed by it. I read back over my posts for the first time & am relieved to confirm I only promised to do one length of butterfly over the five days. I don't have to keep making things more difficult for myself, surely?
But I re-read the 'Butterfly? Why on earth?' one. And feel slightly as though I'm giving up.
So, tomato sauce sandwiches. Do you think I deserved them?
Finally, don't forget, if you've ever enjoyed tomato sauce sandwiches, think of me & send a cheque made out to Forest Read Easy Deal, to: Frank Rainer, Treasurer, Oaklands, George Road, Yorkley, Lydney, Gloucestershire, GL15 4TL
Yes, you heard!
When I first proposed this swim, my sister (the arty one) told me I'd get hungry, and that I'd better get some bananas in. As my granny would have said (but about her knitting) 'me and bananas have fallen out'. At 18 months old actually, as Rachel very well knows. 'Peanut butter sandwiches, then?' - but I find those a bit 'claggy'.
I tried flapjack - but it was a bit sweet so early in the morning. Marmite sandwiches are fine. Lovely in fact - & I could go for Marmite & peanut butter together. But today I indulged myself. There are some things you just have to experience for yourself - it can't all come from reading. It's even better on toast too. Especially if the toast is just a little bit burnt.
And how was my swim?
Well, I only managed 16 lengths before they gently kicked me out at 8 o'clock. So I'll either have to do 24 next time to make up (which would be pushing it in the time) or do 21 four times.
Two reasons really. The first: in order to get my swim in and get my son to school he has to come with me, which means I have to get him up half an hour early. At 6.30. Not something likely to go down well with a teenage lad but he's been very good about it so far (he even swam the first time). But this morning he just couldn't get a wiggle on.
The second reason is that darned butterfly thing.
I started out thinking I'd do a few lengths of leisurely breaststroke to warm up, not being in the best of tempers. By the second length though, I'd started doing it properly. Or at least more properly - the face going under the water, the feet coming up to my 'seat' (as they phrase it in the advice) and then kicking firmly outwards. How pleasing to think the neural pathways are starting to develop! But it is more tiring than my former style (I am actually putting proper physical effort in these days) and I find I have a little pause at the ends of the pool where I wouldn't have before.
Conscious of the time I go for a butterfly length fairly early on - length 6, I think, and far from 'just doing it' I actually try to do it consciously, remembering some of what I've read.
'The leg action comes from the hip' - I realise I've just been flapping my lower legs so try to change this. 'Powerful downbeats of the feet then propel the body forward' - so I try to exert more power. Far from being propelled forward I become convinced I'm swimming on the spot!
Dredge the memory for more help: 'Try to keep your legs close together with your ankles relaxed'.....Well! That's fine for you to say!
My brain is juggling all these messages - to keep my legs together I have to exert muscles at the top of the legs in an inward direction whilst firmly and powerfully making the feet go down (for propulsion) while simultaneously keeping the ankles loose.
I told you this was a ridiculous stroke!
Meanwhile the arms are going round and round as they should (hopefully, that is. I haven't really read the detail of that bit yet). I'm gasping for breath every time my head breaks the surface. It's totally exhausting. I vaguely remember that some people take a breath every other stroke and try this towards the end of the length. Disaster strikes - I swallow water and start to cough, grabbing for the end rail while my legs revert to a lifesaving breaststroke kick. What was it my friend Gail said? 'Don't drown.....'!
I scull a length on my back to recover but, since I'm already writing my blog in my head, I relax too much and my head meets the wall with a crashing 'ow!'
Back to breast-stroke then for a few more lengths till I gather up the courage to fulfil yesterday's promise of doing butterfly twice. I don't try to do it 'properly'. I just do it. Get through it. Get it done. Still hate it. Still feel embarrassed by it. I read back over my posts for the first time & am relieved to confirm I only promised to do one length of butterfly over the five days. I don't have to keep making things more difficult for myself, surely?
But I re-read the 'Butterfly? Why on earth?' one. And feel slightly as though I'm giving up.
So, tomato sauce sandwiches. Do you think I deserved them?
Finally, don't forget, if you've ever enjoyed tomato sauce sandwiches, think of me & send a cheque made out to Forest Read Easy Deal, to: Frank Rainer, Treasurer, Oaklands, George Road, Yorkley, Lydney, Gloucestershire, GL15 4TL
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