Sunday 2 June 2013

Bone weary but proud

My last two swims dedicated to my father, recovering in hospital having undergone major surgery on Friday.

Friday's swim: I awake muscle-achey after 3 swims & a drive to Birmingham and back. Half the pool is privately booked, two people in the medium lane, so I share the slow lane. I start at the opposite end to usual so front crawl is achieved in length 14 rather than 13 as I still can't face going from shallow to deep on that one. But it is achieved and all other lengths also.

When I leave the pool I'm no longer aching, but after hearing my father's out of surgery & doing well, I find I have to sleep for two hours.

Saturday: Of course having slept in the day means I don't sleep at night! Not achey but weary today. Seriously lost count of my lengths so, to be certain, I did possibly 22 instead of the necessary 20. But it may even have been 24!

Front crawl is still traumatic and has to be approached by giving myself a preliminary pep talk: 'Slowly. Slow down your breathing. Take everything slowly. Slow arms. You can do it.' Even so I keep myself going towards the end, not only with this mantra, but also by remembering 'The Highwayman' poem by Alfred Noyes. Not at all suitable for slow rhythm really but, as I said, these last two swims are dedicated to my father and he read this to us at bedtime when we were little:

"The Highwayman came riding, riding, riding
Up to the old inn door.'

If you read the blogpost entitled 'Success, pride and the pleasures of persistence', 'The Highwayman' was one of the poems I used to enthuse one of the Forest View School groups during World Book Week. They adored the rhythm of the words (I made them close their eyes so they could see the pictures in their heads); they adored the fact that it was my father who had shared this with us; they adored also the fact that 'some people think it shouldn't be read to children' because 'it's a bit bloodthirsty!'.

Always a good plan I find, to appeal to children's desire to be a little subversive when you're trying to enthuse about something.......! I wonder if it works with adult learners too?

And on that note I celebrated my final swim with a final length of ......would you believe....Butterfly?!

There will be one final post in just over a week's time when I hope to share with you (and thank you for) the money we have raised for FRED. But of course, there is still time for you to contribute if you'd like to. Please  send any donations to:


Frank Rainer, Treasurer, Oaklands, George Road, Yorkley, Lydney, Gloucestershire, GL15 4TL

Cheques should be made out to Forest Read Easy Deal.  Thank you.

And now, I think I need some more paracetamol.......  :-)




No comments:

Post a Comment