I'm typing whilst plugged in to a TENS machine attached to my hamstring and sniffling away with a cold.
I spent Halloween at my mothers. She'd done a good job of decorating the house with skeletons, skull candles and such like. It was rather a damp night so that would explain the lack of Trick or Treaters. Had a nice homemade stew.
On Friday, whilst I was having the van fitted with a new exhaust and ball joint arm, I wandered in to town. I bought a pocket fm radio for 99p and sat listening to that whilst having a coffee and reading the Swimming Times. Interesting article in it about the Rother Valley Open Water weekend that I attended.
Yesterday I took part in the Virgin Active Indoor Triathlon. I'd suffered a bad cramp episode in my hamstring in the pool earlier in the week which had left me with a pulled muscle sensation. I was a little wary of going back to strenuous activity so soon after but nevertheless I headed off to Richard Branson's parlour of track suited women in makeup sat chatting whilst sipping lattes.
I hate gyms, especially private membership ones. I view them as posy palaces for Nikeheads and Diadora dolly birds that are too stupid to realise that you don't need a gym to get fit or be healthy. On the Tribesports website I am a proud member of the Get Fit Without Joining a Gym Tribe.
I did the 2.5k treadmill run in 12.44 followed by 10k on the bike spinning thingy in 18.30. I am rubbish on the bike and it didn't help that I damaged my hamstring further because the saddle was too low for my leg extension yet the console was too high for my reach. Being a now quasi-serious triathlete, things like saddle and handlebar height are important to me. The angle and degree of leg extension when pedalling is unique to each individual and paramount when determining maximum effort and power if not to cause injury. My leg is now paying the price for those stupid spinning machines.
To quite literally add further insult to injury, the swim leg took place last instead of first. It was a triathlon where all the events were in reverse order. This was because (and yes, this really is advertised on the Virgin Active website) "to avoid our nice dry clubs getting wet"!
I completed the 400m in a very steady 8.46 giving me an overall time of 40 mins. Out of the 3000 or so competitors I came 1600ish. Fairly pleased with that given that I was full of cold and one-legged in effort.
I went back to my usual pool this morning to do some strength work on my arms using hand paddles.I'd been using them for half an hour when the shift change life guard told me that because I was in the splash session and that there was too many children around I couldn't use them on grounds of health and safety.
I stomped/hobbled off back to the changing room ranting about being hit on the head by a beach ball and what about my health and safety and right to swim blah blah blah! Ordinarily I would have been in the lane swim session earlier in the morning but I was up late after marshalling at the community Guy Fawkes bonfire the night before. Yes, I volunteered and did my bit for the community and made sure that the kids had a safe and pleasant evening yet I was repaid with a health and safety lecture in the pool the following morning for using a swimming training aid.
Paradoxical in the extreme.
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