For those of you unfamiliar with a swimming pool at six in the morning...
It's amazing to me to find that you can program your brain to wake up at a specific time; without an alarm clock! Good brain! Powerful brain! I've been signing up for the 6 a.m. swims (coached workouts) at the pool for the simple reason that these are the least popular times for most people and so I have been able to (selfishly) have a lane all to myself for an hour each morning. On a few mornings this week we've had up to six people in the pool for the 6 a.m. workout but that's okay because we've got seven lanes.
Last night I set my iPhone to wake me at 5:30 a.m. I was up at 5:20 instead and already grabbing my towel and a multi-grain toaster waffle to munch on as I read the news feed on the dining room laptop.
I was the first swimmer on the pool deck today, along with the coaches. Just before 6 two other swimmers showed up and we arranged ourselves into lanes with at least one empty lane in between. Our two coaches didn't bother to write the workout on the whiteboard; we were a manageable group and able to follow spoken workout "suggestions." I'd forgotten how wonderful it is to get a swim out of the way before you fully wake up. You get into a meditative rhythm and the whole workout is complete before you even realize you are tired.
We're getting back into this whole competitive swim thing nice and slow. Today we did about 2,000 yards in a bit less than an hour. We're cutting five minutes off the normal length of time to make a safer transition for the next group at 7 a.m. In years past I would have tried to push the yardage but now I'm content to go slow and make progress-to-fitness a longer journey instead of a mad rush. At 64 years of experience recovery from two months off takes more time than it used to. It's not an aerobic hit but more muscle fatigue right now. But that will pass.
It's a great time to work on technique.
The swimming pool at 7 a.m.
When I got home I went into the office to sign up for all of the slots/time reservations for the workouts I wanted for next week. I've opted to continue doing the 6 a.m. routine. Maybe I'm subconsciously punishing myself for having been too lazy to find another swim venue for the last two months. Just not happy swimming in the lake...
After doing the online sign ups I headed into the house to make a large cup of organic Ethiopian Sidamo natural coffee. Love this stuff. Got another pound from Trianon Coffee just yesterday. Sadly, it won't be available again for several months --- seems the hoarders snapped up as much as they could.
With a travel cup in one hand I joined Belinda for an hour long walk through the hills around our neighborhood. Our usual route is about three miles and has four really nice, long hills. By 9 a.m. I felt like I'd had just enough exercise for the morning and came into the studio to start working on a video about two new lights I'm playing with. Don't worry, they're cheap lights. Barely more cost (per) than a one pound bag of great coffee. And video seems a better tool for talking about these specific lights.
It seems like all the other photo blogs are getting side tracked into discussions of stuff about which I have no interest so I felt like it was okay for me to do one more here about swimming. Arguably no more interesting than speaker wire but at least the exercise is good for people, is inexpensive or free, and makes for a healthier brain and better social bonds (said "Hi" to 14 good swim friends as they came in to do the next workout; said "Hi" to six or seven neighbor couples who were out walking in the neighborhood...) and gave me a chance to once more revel in having a partner who is so calm and sweet. We talked economics, home repair, and future vacation plans. All good. All happy.
Favorite Netflix show of the week: Kim's Convenience.
Feels like a pretty wonderful way, overall, to spend time even as the world seems to be collapsing around us.
Hope you have all the kinks worked out and have discovered new ways to be happy. Best, Kirk
5 comments:
I have as little interest in swimming as I do in speaker wires and yet I read both blogs pretty religiously (well, in fact, the camera posts less assiduously than the other stuff sometimes, which is weird, since it is photography that I am interested but, well, there you go). Anyway, happy lockdown to you Kirk and thanks for all the words.
Hi Kirk:
Please keep up your blog entries on swimming. They inspire me! I have plenty of other internet places I can read about the struggles facing the camera industry. Your blog is a nice diversion.
I can resonate with your biological clock experience. I swim every weekday morning before going to work (now before working from home) and I tend to wake up five minutes ahead of my alarm. Every morning I want to just go back to sleep but I think about how much better I feel the remainder of the day when I get my mile of laps done before breakfast. I am not master's swimmer just a slow lapper but I do appreciate your words of encouragement!
One odd thing about my biological clock: It seems to be able to differentiate the days of the week and lets me sleep in an extra hour Saturday and Sunday. I just wish my little doggie would do the same!
Stay Well,
CDC
Chris, Thanks! And I'm sure you know that swimming a mile at any speed is a great thing and wonderful exercise. Don't begrudge the little doggie the gift of your attention. They are gone way too soon. Best, KT
Just finished my laps; I'm sitting here with a wet head. My dog has discovered a new game -- she drops her ball in the pool at the end of every lap to get me to throw it. Also gives me an extra breath, which is probably cheating. The other day I asked why a kick board, and you said because it exercises the biggest muscles. I'm okay with that idea ( I spent several years doing squats three times a week) but how much forward drive comes from the kick, and how much is the kick just a way to keep your legs up and your body streamlined, while your arms pull you through the water? I've used a kick board a bit, and I'm not exactly motoring through the water...
JC
JC, for a faster and more powerful kick try working on your ankle flexibility. While the kick is a smaller percentage of forward propulsion than arm strokes it's the bedrock of the whole stroke and can actually help with turn over and the rhythm of the stroke. I kneel down and the lean back on the tops of my feet to stretch the feet for better extension. Works.
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