I was really looking forward to Saturday's session. Unfortunately, by Thursday night I could tell I was coming down with something. I had a sore throat and felt off. I took measures to reinforce my immune system and decided to go anyway. Tyler was in town, so that was a nice surprise since I hadn't seen him since the Xmas holiday when I got my face bashed in by his surfboard (I've already forgiven him).
Anyway, we arrived at after 2pm (later than usual) and it was decided that I would go first. I was skeptical about my performance given my health--but I still wanted to do as many statics as possible.
Same pattern as before:
4min breathe-up: 4 breaths + 20 hold (strangely enough, I found I was getting too alkaline--light headed--during this breathe up--which made me worry about my recovery, which is why I came up early.
1st static: 5'38" (first contraction at around 3'30")
5min breathe-up: same lightheadedness
2nd static: 5'29" (I didn't feel as good during the static, uncomfortable and my mind was wandering all over the place)
10min rest talking with Tyler and Eric
5min breathe-up: this time I tried taking two breaths then holding for longer than 20 seconds, which seemed to work better
3rd static: 6'00" first contraction at 3'18" for 2'42" of contractions (a new best)
5min breathe-up: same as #3
4th static: 5'29" this time I was running out of steam and feeling depleted in general. I couldn't focus my mind on the task at hand.
I am pretty amazed by the results despite the fact that I am now sick (the next day). Three weeks ago I could not make six minutes without blacking out, and now I can make six minutes while I'm sick! That's a great confidence booster for a competition, when you can't be sure you're going to have your best day. Also, the routine is starting to become familiar and the static really starts at the 5'30" mark when it's time to figure out how much you have left in the tank. Another thing was that I could tell that I was too alkaline and was able to fine tune my breathe-up on the spot to compensate.
I wonder how being sick affects blood pH? Anyone? You would think you would get more acidic as the immune system devours oxygen to fight off the invaders. That's probably an oversimplification. It seemed so easy to over ventilate from breath to breath that by the end of the session I was taking two quick breaths (8-10 secs each) and then holding my breath for 30-40 seconds.
Pete
Vancouver, BC
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