Back to basics.

I have remembered that starting things easy is much easier than flogging myself through tortuous training early-on. My many "first run" sessions followed by euphoric good intentions have been painfully uncomfortable affairs involving stomach stitches every time and ending in me not running for another week afterwards. Sometimes I think I dread the pain so much I give myself stitch before I've even started running.

My "first swim" at the pool was 35 lengths. I swam crawl until I had breathed in so much water and swallowed so much air I felt sick. I gave up after 30 minutes and went home. It was, however, so nice to be back in the pool (even at busy time it wasn't so busy) that it persuaded me to buy a leisure card which gets me a 25p discount every time I go, meaning I have to go at least once a week to get it to pay for itself.

On Wednesday, I decided to go back to basics with the running and repeat the race for life training schedule. The only time in my life I have actually enjoyed running was following the race for life schedule. I couldn't remember it exactly but on Wednesday night, TSK and I went out from the flat and ran for two minutes, walked for one, for a whole 32 minutes. It felt good but it felt easy.

I have since checked the race for life training schedule and found that the first run is four minutes! Though does involve four minutes walk recovery.

And yesterday I returned to the pool. I wangled a free locker token on the way in (small victories). Usually I wouldn't buy one but I had the company laptop in my bike panier. I arrived at 7am and there was a blissful 10 people sharing my space. People weren't even swimming rotations in lanes. I just picked a (slightly grubby) seam in the tiles to follow and ploughed my way through 45 lengths, gradually getting frustrated at the reduced speed of the white tiles passing under my nose at the fairly shallow pool of the Fenlands. It's not right when I can stand in the deep end and not be under water (though there is a special diving pool). I reverted to breast stroke and got all the way upto 52 lengths - a satisfying 1.3km before the sickness started to kick-in again. Less sinking, more swimming required.

Under the race for life schedule, I am now supposed to run again today and even though it is going to have to be at lunchtime, I'm actually looking forwards to it.

Yay for getting back to basics.