By Virginia Winder
Swimming didn't hurt my left shoulder tonight.
Did my 60 lengths, slowly, but concentrated on the style points that Ayla Dunlop-Barrett gave me and it wasn't painful.
She says that when you swim with a straight arm you put a lot of pressure on your rotator cuff, which is group of muscles and tendons that stabilize the shoulder.
I've got friends with stuffed cuffs, but it's possible she's saved mine in time.
Also, the exercises I do at the gym for my lower arms now make sense. "This is good for swimming," the instructor told me.
Now that I bend my arms after reaching out in front, I can feel those muscles working. Goodness knows what I was doing before.
Exercise is a great tonic if you're feeling down.
On Thursday and yesterday, I felt those niggles of depression start to worm their way into my gut and mind.
To be honest, yesterday was a terrible day. Faced some shorter deadlines because of Labour Weekend, slept badly, had stress chest pains again, and had to sleep for 30 minutes between writing stories.
Never got out of my PJs all day, just wrote, slept, wrote slept and felt myself spiralling down. Still felt yucky today, but after getting random hugs from my beautiful husband and talking to an understanding workmate and then a dear friend, I felt better.
Then I had the energy to knock off another story, spend time in the artroom, care for my son who's been feeling sick and then go for a swim.
After my session in the pool the endorphins kicked in and I feel great now.
This has made me rethink the rest day idea. Perhaps, for my own sanity, I need to do something physical, but it could be something a bit more low-key, like a stroll with my husband or a friend (and the dog of course!).
When I was a teenager and feeling a bit blue, my mother would send me off for a run and I'd always come back my bright, chirpy self.
Mum was wise, wasn't she?
Yesterday, I:
Worked for 12 hours
Did no exercise
Slept off and on during the day
Drank 3 cups of coffee
Drank hardly any water
Ate extremely well thanks to my attentive husband
Today, I:
Worked for 6 hours
Swam 60 lengths of a 25-metre pool
Slept deeply for 10 hours
Dranks 3 cups of coffee
Drank some water
Ate fantastically well, including lots of salmon and seasonal veggies
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