Pushing It Real Good

I'm doing it. I'm relaxing. I slept in this morning until 8:19 which is as late as I can remember in years. Why I was so tired is a mystery because all I did yesterday was nothing. I had thought about going to Twin Rivers and lifting weights, but I talked myself out of it. Rest is a good thing. Even God took a day off after working for six.

I've also been thinking about my shoulders. They are pretty good, as far as I know, but I have hurt one of them several times though it has never bothered me in the water. Twice I injured my left shoulder lifting weights and recently- a few weeks back now -I took a spill while running the river trail and landed on that same shoulder. It hurt me a bit for a few days.

Also I sleep on my side, usually my left, and I have always had to position just right or it causes me some discomfort. My shoulders are a little wide and sleeping on them has always been problematic. Even on the right side, I have to pull my clavicle up and roll the shoulder in and do some pillow propping or they will feel very ungood.

In addition to all of that, reading about Gordon Grindly and his recent second surgery has flung a bit of caution into my mind. Not that I am swimming that much right now, only twice a week, but with the lifting added in I am hitting them pretty hard. So wisdom tells me to give them some occasional rest. The cats appreciate that as does Juan Valdez.

Speaking of Gordon, he has long been one of the swimmers I much admire. For several years now I have read his blog with delight. The volume of his swimming coupled with the quality of it is impressive to say the least. His sense of adventure is something else that appeals to me. Not only that, but his love of and attempted promotion of the Great Salt Lake reminds me of my love of and attempted promotion of catfish pond swimming. I think, however, he is have far more success with his promotion than I am with mine.

So I took a day off yesterday and am starting a slow one today. I am also giving some serious thought on how to approach lifting over the next several months. I believe in periodization but actually putting that into practice has always been difficult for me. I not only want to keep pushing, but to "push it real good." (See what I did there?)

For the week (1/19-1/25),  I

swam 11,698 meters and
lifted weights four times.