I have felt just chilled to the bone lately. No, it’s not especially cold outside. In fact, it’s a balmy 40F outside right now. It’s the damp, and I know it.
Damp, raw chill is probably my least favorite weather. Even the swimming pool felt really cold to me before I began my laps today, and they keep that pool pretty warm – usually around 75F. I usually stay pretty warm for several hours after a good workout, but not today.
I’m working snuggled under my slanket today with a rice-filled warmer at my feet and drinking a hot cup of tea. Tea is more warming to me than coffee. I’m not sure why.
I saw an interesting question the other day about swimming. “Will swimming make my shoulders broad?”
Interesting question. The real answer is that yes swimming will most certainly aid in shoulder development. Whether or not you find that desirable is your call. I will point out that you’re not going to look like a member of the East German 1970s women’s swim team without two things A) Steroids and B) Their training schedule. Good luck with that. Me? If I put in three miles of laps in a week, I’m all good.
Which, in this rambling post, brings up another point about steroid use. While not in favor of chemical performance enhancers, meeself, I sometimes think people have a rather unclear idea of how these things work. No-one takes steroids then sits on their butt playing video games and expects to win athletic contests. It’s the drugs and incredibly grueling workouts that do it. It’s not a magic pill (or shot).
And in the interests of even more rambling, I’m noticing I really do respond well to playing video games that feature bright, sunny weather with blue water and sand. I have not wanted to hibernate nearly as badly as I often do on gray, wet days when I spend my coffee break on WuHu Island. I think that surrounding myself with sunny, tropical images is probably a positive thing. I sometimes wonder if Nanny constantly burning things on icky days was a similar thing. I think I get my solar-powered tendencies from her. We might love water, but it’s the combination of water and sun that’s the thing. The only time I’d want to visit the far North or the far South would be sometime around the Summer solstice, I think. I’m hoping for more sunshine than this spring. Last year’s spring and summer were reminiscent of that Bradbury story “All Summer in a Day” and I think another one like it will send me buggy.
And speaking of coffee breaks, mine is over and I need to get back to work.