HP #29 - Return of the skater
Usual disclaimer applies: this is an old event I'm recounting. See my first HP post for the full notes on these.
Background: Following on from my last post.
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I decided that things needed to change if my skating was going to pick up again and I was going to start with my diet. Since I'd started skating then I'd been dining out on a luxurious, pre-skate breakfast of hot chocolates and cheese toasties from the Costa near the rink. If you're reading this, you're probably like "WELL NO WONDER YOU HAD ISSUES IN YOUR LESSONS", but when you consider that I was getting up at 6:20am to do a two hour coach journey out to the rink then I'm sure you'll agree it doesn't seem so insane that I'd wanted to treat myself a little bit. Plus the group lessons I'd been doing prior to starting with the Tammasaurus were, comparatively, incredibly gently-paced, so I hadn't had any problems before.
But all that stodge was clearly going to have to go if I wanted to properly exercise straight afterwards. Furthermore, when I'd requested breaks in my lessons then the Tammasaurus had been asking if I had some water on hand to drink, which was another obvious and smart idea. So hot chocolate and toasties out, bananas and a bottle of water in.
I also decided that where I would normally try and "balls-to-the-wall" work as hard as I could in my lessons, instead I would try to pace myself a bit better. The Tammasaurus and I were warming up to each other now that we'd been working together for a bit, so we chatted more in lessons. I had been feeling guilty about needing breathers in my lessons, but now that we knew each other better I decided that I could use the chat time more effectively as breaks by remembering the skating questions that I'd think of during the week and deploying them in the breaks to help fill in time educationally. This would let me catch my breath and mitigate any guilt I felt for it, thus reducing the intensity a bit. Lastly, I'd never been great at getting to bed on time, so I resolved to make a greater effort to get to bed on rink nights to get as much sleep as possible.
The transformation was immediate. My energy levels shot up at the rink, I felt so much more engaged in my lessons, no longer stodgy and tired. I still ran out of stamina while we practised but I was much more enthusiastic about the material and I felt like the Tammasaurus and I relaxed into a better rhythm now that I'd sorted myself out and we'd got to know each other better.
Would this trend of self-improvement eventually lead me to the dreaded gym for further personal fitness? I hoped not, but darkly suspected it would...
Background: Following on from my last post.
-------------------------
I decided that things needed to change if my skating was going to pick up again and I was going to start with my diet. Since I'd started skating then I'd been dining out on a luxurious, pre-skate breakfast of hot chocolates and cheese toasties from the Costa near the rink. If you're reading this, you're probably like "WELL NO WONDER YOU HAD ISSUES IN YOUR LESSONS", but when you consider that I was getting up at 6:20am to do a two hour coach journey out to the rink then I'm sure you'll agree it doesn't seem so insane that I'd wanted to treat myself a little bit. Plus the group lessons I'd been doing prior to starting with the Tammasaurus were, comparatively, incredibly gently-paced, so I hadn't had any problems before.
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| Quick Parks & Recreation reference; a show that I heartily recommend! |
But all that stodge was clearly going to have to go if I wanted to properly exercise straight afterwards. Furthermore, when I'd requested breaks in my lessons then the Tammasaurus had been asking if I had some water on hand to drink, which was another obvious and smart idea. So hot chocolate and toasties out, bananas and a bottle of water in.
I also decided that where I would normally try and "balls-to-the-wall" work as hard as I could in my lessons, instead I would try to pace myself a bit better. The Tammasaurus and I were warming up to each other now that we'd been working together for a bit, so we chatted more in lessons. I had been feeling guilty about needing breathers in my lessons, but now that we knew each other better I decided that I could use the chat time more effectively as breaks by remembering the skating questions that I'd think of during the week and deploying them in the breaks to help fill in time educationally. This would let me catch my breath and mitigate any guilt I felt for it, thus reducing the intensity a bit. Lastly, I'd never been great at getting to bed on time, so I resolved to make a greater effort to get to bed on rink nights to get as much sleep as possible.
The transformation was immediate. My energy levels shot up at the rink, I felt so much more engaged in my lessons, no longer stodgy and tired. I still ran out of stamina while we practised but I was much more enthusiastic about the material and I felt like the Tammasaurus and I relaxed into a better rhythm now that I'd sorted myself out and we'd got to know each other better.
Would this trend of self-improvement eventually lead me to the dreaded gym for further personal fitness? I hoped not, but darkly suspected it would...
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