I seem to have lost my oomph.
I'm not sure why, but lately, going to the pool has become a real chore and I just don't feel like I'm making any progress. I've been working on my technique for a good 5 months now, and although I think there are some positive changes there, the work of drilling those in is long and slow, and I'm still finding that I slip back into old habits when I try to go fast, or swim for any distance. This has always been a tension for me - one of the reasons I love to swim is the quiet head space of inattentive, zoned out long swimming, but the work of becoming a better swimmer requires exactly the opposite. So now I just feel frustrated and demotivated.
I'm sure that a lot of this has to do with being confined to the pool, which is just nowhere near as much fun as the open water. Plus, I don't have a big swim planned for this year, so the motivation to knuckle down isn't there in the same way to get me through the dog end of winter. But whatever the reason, my oomph is missing in action.
So if you see it lying around, I'd very much like it back.
Hi Karen, my oomph, as in pace, has gone but enthusiasm is overflowing in St Neot and we have some to share. So if you fancy a river dip or two or more let us know. Saturday mornings we always swim and could go to another local river in the afternoon if you want a 2 river double dip. Why not apply for teh 10k Brighton sea swim, Channel Rules on 6/7/12 if you fancy a 'focus my mind swim', or we have a shorter 3.8km on 22/7/12 at Grafham Reservoir "the Great Grafham Swim" Happy swimming and keep on looking, Bryn
ReplyDeleteI struggled looking for my oomph. In December I did all of 12K yards in the pool. January was better, but I spent more time cross training than in the pool. Have you tried that? It took me until late February to really get going, but I was looking at a late June swim so the pressure was on. I don't know how I could get through the winter without a big swim.
ReplyDeleteI rarely venture indoors, preferring to do shorter swims as the temperature drops. I've entered a 3.5k and a 10k swim this year and am supporting some cross-channel aspirants, find that the oomph comes and goes, but tends to spark up once in the water. My difficulty is getting to the pool and reminding myself that 6 degrees C isn't that cold.The pre-swim chatter is sometimes lengthy.
ReplyDeleteSadly, it's a good hour to my nearest winter OW, so winter swimming's not a realistic option...but I'm living in hope that my oomph will return when the season restarts. Not long now.
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