Sometimes letting Senay book a hotel is a bad idea. Sometimes a good one. This time there was a mistake with the room. A terrible mistake and we ended up getting upgraded to a suite (two couples and a baby sharing a king sized bed is not my idea of fun).
So this suite has at least 10 rooms including a dining room, a smoking room and a lounge, 2 bedrooms each with its own bathroom, massage room, 2 toilets , showers, jacuzzi, uncounted 50" TVs and so on. Gobsmacking. The Toto toilet with it front and rear washing facilities and aftercare drying is amazing!
There wasn't a swimming pool in the room so I had to go downstairs and outside. I then realised that whilst outside pools were sensible in Malaysia in colder climates they are not always entirely practical. Fortunately the hotel had seen fit to heat the water so I swam in blissful 29C water with frost forming on the top of my head (some poetic licence there :) )
There were steps at both ends doing turnaround was a little bit awkward. After a heavy night last night - we're in Macau for a Christmas Circus and Disneyland break - my head was somewhat sore this morning and with not enough sleep for days I was unsurprised that I was a bit slow in the pool. 1'26" was pretty terrible for the first lap,but I was gutted by 1'23" for the second. So the little devils in my head started chattering away again but I ignored them and ploughed on.
One of the big problems I'm finding at the moment is that I'm not totally sure where I should be focusing my swim efforts - building strength or focusing on technique. I find that as I increase my cadence my stroke disintegrates and it becomes totally inefficient for the amount of power that I am applying. At the same time though these terrible strokes are enabling me to increase my strength. How does one go fast - is it through increased cadence, better technique/body positioning, or simply being able to apply more power through the pull. As I am now swimming regularly is this an adaption process that I am going through - my stroke is breaking down as I try to find new ways of coping with the demands of speed and stamina and strength. Will I break through and settle down into a new and better style soon? I hope so.
So I did my 60 lengths in this 25m pool and kept my laps pretty constant at about 1'23" to 1'28". Getting out was chilly with a quick dash to my towel and then inside - to icy air con! Chatting to the pool attendant on the way out I discovered that the pool was actually 33m so I'd done an extra long session and that explained my time which was about right.
I just had an additional thought - that my stroke is not actually getting any worse - it's just that with lots of swimming my perception of what a good stroke is has changed . . . . not the stroke itself. I am more aware of my body in the water.
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You should join our coached swim sessin at Bukit Jalil Pool on a Wednesday night!!
Maybe later in the year. Too busy at the moment to go to the Dentist and I resent the time take to get there and back. It would help though :)
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