Extreme Conditions

The best that can be said about today is that it has been character building. Largely due to the conditions while I have been training. It has been a tale of two extremes.

This morning I headed to the pool and everything was fine until I hit the water.  My local pool is a bit of a dive really, if you will excuse the pun. It is an old run-down public bath that the council can’t decide whether to renovate or close. While they try and make up their minds they are not spending any money on maintenance. Hence one end of the pool has been roped off for months as it is unsafe.

So it is not unusual for things at the pool to be broken, however today they surpassed themselves. The heater for the pool had malfunctioned but rather than a freezing cold pool it was boiling hot. Well not literally, just very, very warm. It was actually quite pleasant until I put my face in the water and started to swim. I felt claustrophobic and it was hard to catch my breath. Every few lengths I had to stop and stand-up while I cooled down and got my breath. It was horrible and after half an hour I just had to get out.

Then this evening was long run day in rather different conditions, raining and very windy. It would not have been so bad if I had checked the weather forecast this morning. But in my infinite wisdom I decide today would be a good day to wear shorts instead of tights for running and I wouldn’t need a jacket. So I got cold and wet. However I stuck at it and did my full long run, though I didn’t enjoy it much. I also think I may have been slowed down by my over-indulgence at the weekend. Pasties and red wine are not conducive to athletic performance it would seem, which is a real pity.