Family life continues apace. Miss Suzy Q No. 2 was quite the Belle of the Ball at her Matric Dance, and Mr SQ now considers himself officially old. Midlife Crisis Number How Many Now? Seriously, he was as proud as punch of his two leggy young fillies, can you but imagine him on their wedding days? After all the preparations and excitement, life in the middle lane seems a little tame, but then there are matric exams to prepare for, driving lessons (we're finally making good progress there, though my hair is a new shade of grey) and university courses and campuses to choose. It did all seem a bit simpler in my day, or did I miss the boat on all this? Miss SQ No 1 is cracking along and doing us all extremely proud on her Law course, it's just that we so seldom see her now that I throw a party whenever I have a chance to chat to her.
As for me, what's been keeping me, you may well ask. Perhaps it's the time I spend admiring the golden autumn colours I so adore, whilst plucking up the courage to tackle the increasingly chilly waters to try to keep up my daily swim. Procrastination is indeed the thief of time, and there seem to be an ever increasing amount of chores to do, whilst decked out in my speedo, abandoned school swimming cap and shower mitts to protect my hands. ( I have Reynaud's Disease, which impairs microcirculation, so I am definitely not the best candidate for cold water swimming, but sensibility be damned, life's gotta be lived, what!? Natalie du Toit and Oscar Pistorius don't let little things like lost limbs get in their way, do they?)
So, yes, I have been gingerly braving the cold Cape Waters, approx 15'C at the moment, just to get my daily thrill and bit of exercise.
Anyway, come the moment when I cannot find one further diversion, I brace myself for my chilly laps, and then when I'm in and swimming up and down our pool, I wonder why I delayed so long and why I can't physically stay in longer, because I just LOVE it. Ok, I might have thought of it, but our babies weren't born by the Leboyer method by any manner or means, but there is something very therapeutic about being submerged in water. Moving in water is of course much better than on land, and the benefits are well documented. Swimming activates most muscle groups without impact, so is a great cardiovascular form of exercise and does not jar joints. I'm trying to think of exactly when I started cold water swimming, and whilst I can't pin it down exactly, it might just tie in with a very bad knee op I had done a few years ago, which required swimming or cycling as a means of recovery. The roads, as I may have mentioned before, are far too treacherous for me to cycle these days, so I took to swimming, and come winter, saw no reason not to stop. This madcap habit or ritual has become something of a daily thrill for me (reminds me that I am still alive and able bodied if not all quite there upstairs) and has stood my bad leg in good stead, touch wood. Those are my reasons, but more recently, whilst researching for my blog for you (see, it's not all been idle play) I chanced upon a website stating at least five good reasons for cold water swimming, which I'll share with you.
1) Boosts immune system- puts body in a state of sub shock and prepares it for worse things to come
2) Gives a natural high - all those endorphins stimulated by cold currents
3) Improves circulation - gets the blood pumping
4) Beneficial for sex life (why save this for fourth place, duh, this could make headlines if marketed properly) as it improves tetosterone and oestrogen levels and reputedly creates levels of orgasmic highs. Need I say more, nudge, nudge, wink, wink...??
5)Burns calories - more so than exercise done at normal temperatures
http://thenextchallenge.org/2010/02/cold-water-swimming/http://thenextchallenge.org/2010/02/cold-water-swimming/
So, having shared all that with you, who's in for the cold morning winter swim? See you there...
With love,
Your frozen but extremely happy, hopefully healthy, Suzy Q xx
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