January and February's Aikido entrance

For the last few years I have done the January Jam in honor of Mr. David Parcells which means I have logged many long hours in the pool in January but fizzled in February or just hit the ‘no go swim’ wall.  This year I have tried to balance it better with less mileage and taking days off during the month of January and some running to cross train. 

I still have some pretty impressive (to me) numbers but I have not been possessed by it.  This last week will go back to being a little crazy to finish off the month.

In February I plan on staying in the water but also picking back up with the cross training, weights and Aikido again.  A couple of those practices left me crawling around the house so it definitely got to muscles that are underutilized in my swimming and provided a massive core workout that I didn’t expect. 

It is funny how my body still remembers what to do when I fall but I feel so awkward about doing it or going in for a throw, etc.  It is my mind getting in the way of what my body knows.  So I figure it will get better as I relearn not to over think on the mat.

There are other benefits that Aikido brings to me.   I love the people I work out with, the sense of camaraderie is fun and I don’t take things so seriously.  There is also the structure and moments of serenity that come from bowing in to a practice, respecting the founder and taking time to breath.

So this year, February will bring about swimming and balanced training if all goes to plan...