WEEK 10 Life is complicated...

Week 10 is off to a rocky start. My car is in the shop, so I can't go swimming at the pool before work, and I am riding my bike home, which is some exercise. It's probably a good thing. After my big swim I kept to my schedule and I think I over did it. Because when my friend Suzie suggested a six hour swim last Saturday, my mind said , "Sure, great idea", but my body said, "Whoa, slow down there girl." My right shoulder burned and I was cold! I never get cold...unless I am sick...and lo and behold, today I am sick! Shit! I am so mad. Tomorrow is The Five Coves of Death and I had planned to swim five coves at 5:00 am and then five again at 5:00 pm for fun and as part of my training. I am supposed to be swimming more longer swims back-to-back to build my endurance...and I am off track. I wish someone would tell me what to do. I know that I still have ten weeks to train, and that I could probably swim Gibraltar today successfully, but the swim isn't today. And I need to keep my fitness, and my cold acclimation, and not get injured in the next ten weeks. I have deviated from my plan a lot since I was told to swim "Gibraltar" every week (or at least the equivalent distance). That's not as much swimming as I was planning on doing. I think I am supposed to swim the equivalent of Gibraltar (about 12 miles) every week and include a long swim every weekend. My long weekend swims are supposed to increase by an hour each month, so I should be up to five hours this weekend. But the Five Coves of Death times two would be five hours or more of swimming on a Wednesday. So what should I swim on Saturday and Sunday? See how confusing it can be? And of course it doesn't really matter as long as I swim a lot every week and for a long time one or both days of the weekend. But this is when I run into trouble, because life gets in the way and I don't swim enough, or life works out conveniently and I swim too much...I have a plan, but I don't stick to it. I don't stick to it because I get worried that I am not swimming enough. Like Suzie inviting me to swim for six hours? I'm not up to six hours, why did I sign on? I set myself up to fail and get sick...then I get worried that I'm not training hard enough. I need t take my head out of the equation and just follow the plan. I will get back on track after Wednesday and the Five (hopefully ten) Coves of Death. I will ask my Channel chums which is more productive, to swim 4/3 hours back to back or push for a six hour swim on one day of the weekend. And if I am still sick, I won't do either. But I will worry until I get a six or seven hours swim under my belt.