Long time off pool, how do you start?

[WFEGb]

Hello,

this was the second year with bad swimming times from November to March. One to two pooltimes nearly always resulted in a more or less heavy cold with light feaver. Now it seems to become normal with 3-4 pooltimes per week resulting in "...a poor little boy with a runny nose... "

This and last year it was hard to get my stamina back (well, what I'd call it so).

So Andy wrote six pooltimes and he's back, Terry starts with a metric I can only dream of and CoachStuart swims hours and hours and thinks about losing the focus after two hours(!). (My foci are hard to hold for two laps LCM...)

Well, what I'm interested in: How do you deal with such gaps and how do you begin to find your way back?

Best regards,
Werner

PS: Will revive my old thread about grip fix and write some lines how I tried...

[Danny]

Hi Werner,

I hear you! ZT likes to say that he can't have the flexibility of an elite swimmer, but stretching gets him closer to it. I have to stretch to slow down the rate at which I am becoming less flexible, but becoming more flexible really doesn't seem like an option. I'm sorry you've been having such a bad time of it, and all I can offer are some common sense solutions, which you've probably already thought of, but here goes.

First of all, can you avoid your cold problems if you don't swim at all? If so, then the trick is to see how little you can swim without getting sick. This seems like a humiliating and frustrating experience, I know, but patience becomes a very valuable skill as we age. Getting old seems like something of an art form. We all have this picture of ourselves (or how we like to think of ourselves) and at some point this picture may start to become an illusion which is too hard to maintain. If we are stubborn, we can spend a lot of time trying and failing, which is also frustrating, and the art form is to try to dispense with your old notions of what you think you should be able to do and look more realistically at what you really are capable of. The closer you can get at guessing the right answer, the faster you will find your new rhythm without wasting time. At least that is how I try to look at it.

Hope this advice isn't too far off the mark. It's what I try to tell myself, when I am experiencing different versions of what you described. Good luck!

Danny

[igorner]

Hi Werner,

The head cold experience is something that I have gone through as well. I'm sure that you are well aware that the combination of exercise (depleting the body of its defenses) and public areas (every kid in town goes to the pool , and change room, I use) is the perfect script for getting a cold!

What to do? Start off easy and gradually work up to a reasonable goal. Comparing oneself to Terry and other coaches would seem too much of a reach to start out. To build stamina I walk, and do the gym as well as swim.

As for the cold...I'm experimenting with hand sanitizer....I'll let you know if it helps.

[jenson1a]

Werner

Nice to have you back on the forum.

Regarding your issues, are you sure that you don't have a sinus infection or allergies?

As far as swimming goes, what about the pool you swim in. Maybe they changed some of the chemical additives?

As far as getting back into swimming, why not try swimming 1 or 2 lengths at a time with as little effort as possible. Mat Hudson has several blogs--Aim for stroke length ease, slide and glide, the perfect 25, etc.

Hope your health issues improve.



My husband avoids colds and swears by blowing his nose frequently. Seems to work for him.


Sherry

[WFEGb]

Hello an thank you very much for your answers!

@Danny,

think last year it was a little surgery which took me out and the colds dashed my weakened body more often and longer than usual. This year it was much stress with many overtimes at work what opened a door for the colds. When they are actual it's difficult to find how often to swim to get rid of the infections. It's always too late... And although the years are not steeling my body I hope this will get better when retired end of the year.

What I'd like is a small program where to start after a gap to put myself back on the rails, because I feel the difference when paused for two weeks holydays and even more for some months...



@Igorner,

when comparing myself with Terry, other coaches or far younger athletes like Andy it's always with a twinkle.

The difficult conditions that you mentioned for public pools are additionals to actual health state. And as mentioned above becoming aware is too late...

Hand sanitizer into the nose? Not sure if brave enough...


@Sherry,

hope I don't develop some allergies and it's more a matter of season. I swim in two different pools. One (LCM) clears the water with very little chlorine and mainly with Oxygen(?). The other pool (SCM outdoor tempered) mainly with chlorine and additionals. I for myself can't say this or that one is better, but my wife smells where I swam in our home bath where my trunks are drying...

Yes I'm aware of Mat's "Perfect 25", and I do like working on technique more. But I have to have my (bad) stamina in view and will puzzle it together. (Will write about it in my grip-fix-thread; hopefully this weekend...)

Best regards,
Werner

[igorner]

Werner,

I like your sense of humour, but to make sure no one reading this misunderstands.....hand sanitizer...for hands.

Wife says I'm not allowed to drink it either.

[WFEGb]

Hello IanG,

thanks for clarifying :-)

Talk with your wife, you should try a Babyshampoo-drink, mine tastes little sweet...

Best regards,
Werner


PS: Don't worry, I use it as antifog for the goggles and tasted it only randomly... I think I'm not depending...

[junkman]

I've found that the best thing for flexibility is yoga. Find a teacher that makes a living teaching and has been practicing for 15 years or more. Don't bother with a class at a gym. Gyms are not conducive to yoga classes.

Regarding illness, what are you eating? I've found that I don't get sick when I'm eating clean and am getting good sleep. "Clean" is defined as massive amounts of raw food with as few cheats as possible to allow me to stay clean. I read 2 years ago how healthy tumeric is and now buy it by the kilo from the Indian store. I haven't been sick but can't prove cause, only coincidence. Try using it to brush your teeth. It helps whiten - NOT kidding - ask Professor Google.

Re: Swimming. Jump in. I was watching a bunch of kids. They jump in and start swimming. Old people creap up to the pool, sit down, gingerly put their feet in. They're old and act old. Jump in. It doesn't hurt and gets you going sooner. Swim as relaxed as possible, stop, review, think, decide what to focus on, push off, reach the other end, repeat. Periodically take video so you can see your actual stroke and know what to change. Quit the earliest when time is up or your stroke deteriorates. Come back tomorrow & jump in.

[CharlesCouturier]

Originally Posted by WFEGb

Well, what I'm interested in: How do you deal with such gaps and how do you begin to find your way back?

The answer to this as far as I am concerned is boringly simple. Listen exclusively to your feelings. Ignore most other metrics (time, efficiency indicators, etc). For me (as well as for many many among my followers), resuming after a long time off is = to meeting with a very good friend I have not seen in a long time. It's a special moment, not a painful one.

What makes it so special is that it seems like we "rediscover" swimming. Not quite where we had left with all our ??? and issues, but from the perspective of feeling.

I hope this becomes the same for you because it's very sweet :)

Best
Charles

[WFEGb]

Hello junkman,

thanks for your hints.

...Regarding illness, what are you eating? I've found that I don't get sick when I'm eating clean and am getting good sleep....

My wife has an extremely critical look at all food consumed. I'm vegetrarian (my wife not) for some decades (ovo-lacto with a piece of salmon on feasts...)

My great problem is, I eat much sweets when in stress resulting in several additonal kg (more when not swimming). Can't get rid of either or other, but hope it will get better a little when retired.

Sleep time is often too short. But when in bed I fall asleep while laying down. (Talvi, where are you? Hope your insomnia has improved.)

Last but not least I swim for being well and have only limited interests to invest time in other things (Forum is exception!) to swim well... (Shame on me, but that's the actual state...)

Best regards,
Werner