Sunday 1 June 2008

Not yet

A rather disturbing week, following the onset of my shoulder problem. I have not been able to swim since last Saturday at Sandycove. I actually went to the gym yesterday to have a little check the progress of my recovery, swimming in the pool for a just a few minutes without any strain caused some mild pain directly at the site of the injury. I therefore made what I thought was the sensible decision to delay my water re entry for a few more days. I was on nights over the weekend, when at one point in the early hours of Sunday I foolishly without thinking went to the assistance of a colleague to push a motor car out of the main road, this caused me some serious pain and I was kicking myself immediately for being so stupid.

The worst of the pain brought on from that momentary lapse was gone this morning when I was woken after 4 hours sleep! I am still on the nsaids and hope that tomorrows physio appointment is worthwhile. I am seriously considering cortisone injections as an option and have been re reading Michele Macys website re this (she swam the English Channel last year in 10hours!)

We are going to Dover this Friday come rain or shine therefore I am hoping for some progress as the mental side effects are getting me down. I am beginning to feel as though the last two years training are going to waste, especially as I am aware of how well training is progressing in Dover Harbour under the guidance of Freda Streeter. Don’t get me wrong, I am reasonably confident that I can cope with the current penance being imposed by Freda which for the majority of swimmers this weekend was 4 hours, it just feels like I am watching from afar, I am desperate to get back into the salt water and hope that the rest I am getting whilst I nurse my shoulder proves to be a blessing in disguise.

Thursday is pencilled in for a RV with Joni Storer, for a swim in the North Sea, he has suggested I obtain a magnetic shoulder strap to accelerate my recovery, I will probably do so being that I am prepared to try anything that may help.

7 comments:

Chris Pountney said...

Hi Mark

Are you coming to Dover for the whole weekend or just Friday?

I really think the best thing is complete rest this week, at least until Thursday.

It may even turn out to be a positive thing - sometimes a rest is just what the body needs and you will come back stronger than before.

Keep thinking positive, and hopefully I will get to meet you at last this weekend!

Chris

Hoffy Swims said...

Chris - Good advice. I think Mark should give it total rest this week. He has done an immense amount of training and the body is saying "Woah, Woah, hold it - I need a rest".

Mark, you won't lose any fitness over this period, and when you enter the waters of Dover again this weekend, you will be glad you did when The General says "Mark Robson - 5 Hrs!" LOL!

Good luck and see you both at the weekend.

Hoffy & Bex.

Hoffy Swims said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
M said...

Thankyou for the comments boys, I am def resting this week...not that I have much choice in the matter.

Chris, I will be there with KGB for the whole weekend...340 miles is a bit too far for just Friday..

cheers

MARK

Jevon said...

Mark
rest well and heal quickly. You'll be fine for the big day... our bodies try to prevent us doing these things by cranking up injuries nearer to the time.

I swam for an hour in the atlantic whilst in portugal recently. It was very choppy and it confirmed to me that I'd take no pleasure in putting myself through a year of sea swimming... so.... looks like another ironman :-)

but you know I'll be watching your progress on the big day. Remind me of your window again... and will you be updating your blog to let us know if you've been called off... is there anyway we can keep up to date with your progress whilst you swim?

Jevon

Jevon said...

just one more thing... have you thought about adding an RSS feed to the blog so we can get updates automatically? go to the RSS link on mine to find details of how to do it.
J.

Bruce Stewart (施樸樂) (ブルース・スチュワート) said...

I swam Masters for 3 or 4 years in Kona, HI and so got used to a variety of sets, obviously aimed at the average person. Here I tend to make up the set as I go along, since I usually have to share lanes with all kinds of swimmers, which means that you can practice accelerating to get past two slower swimmers at once. Today, I swam faster with more rest between sets, but also my second thousand was a non-stop 1000m. I had a good steady "partner" in my lane and I could lap him at least two times during this set. I am cutting back on overall distance for now as my left shoulder is a little sore, so to compensate I am trying to increase speed. After all, I want to race over about a mile.