NORTHERN PLANNER

CONFUSED AS YOU ARE

recent posts

about

Keep your hand in

The culmination of man-flu, workload and laziness kept me out of the swimming pool for a couple of weeks. When I got back in the pool, the swimming was a nearly dire as my singing.

The timing was off, I had no zip in my legs and my shoulders felt like they had hot lead running through them. You lose it that quick. After years of not swimming much, you can imagine how much it hurt when I started again last year.

100_1666

And last week, I was in the curious position of doing a bit of suit work. Not, thankfully, any ‘handling of the client’. A mixture of flu doing the rounds, a new client and the fact I used to be a suit for someone else in their category meant I was seconded to lubricate a mass of press ads through the system, copy check and a whole host of stuff I haven’t done in years. And it was bloody hard.

Suit

It reminded me why anyone who’s not a suit (or in traffic for that matter) should thank the lord for these people who do the things we don’t want to.

Both instances also showed the value of never thinking you’re too good to practice. It’s not just about getting better – the less you do, the worse you get.

Posted in

4 responses to “Keep your hand in”

  1. Rob Avatar
    Rob

    I have always felt suits have the hardest job in advertising – they are absolutely stuck in the middle and know they’re going to be in a position where someone is going to end up a bit pissed.
    But to my real point … I don’t care if you hadn’t been swimming for 78 years, it still wouldn’t be as dire as your singing.
    But I love you for doing it, I think you’re tops!

    Like

    Reply
  2. np Avatar
    np

    So bad it’s good I guess.

    Like

    Reply
  3. Tom Avatar
    Tom

    How long did it take for your muscles to start remembering, np ?
    And you may be able to give me some advice with a little task I am considering setting for myself – swimming the channel. I appreciate it is actually a fucking monumental challenge not just bordeing on but deep inside the ‘stupid’ zone – but what the hell.
    How should I start swimming training ?
    My usual approach is to buy a book on it. Maybe I’ll start there.

    Like

    Reply
  4. np Avatar
    np

    Ayup Tom.
    4 weeks. That’s 5 sessions of an hour and half a week. Then I could start training properly.
    As for swimming the channel. If David Walliams can do it..
    For training. Don’t worry about speed, go for distance. Don’t try and go too fast, or too far at first, work on yor technique first, get that nailed, so it won’t break down when you get tired.
    I’ve never done the channel, nor do I want to, but the idea would be to build up to the distance as you go.
    BUT being able to swim the distance is fine, I reckon I could do that now. It’s the cold. They say you have to be careful to retain some body fat and get used to freezing water.
    Good luck! You’re mad.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment