Well our local members in the Cheshire area are in Tier 2 and our unfortunate Manchester members are in Tier 3. No doubt we will hear in the next few days from Nick and Paul about training in December.
Last week I wondered about cold water being beneficial and cold showers!
Typically, I spotted an article I’d missed a few weeks ago about Cold-water swimmers; that they may also benefit from protecting their brain from dementia. Scientists tested 40 people who swam daily in a London unheated lido and found that they had elevated levels of a brain protein called RBM3. This is known as the “Cold-Shock” protein, because its production is triggered by a drop in core body temperature. RBM3 plays a crucial role in restoring connections in the brains of animals coming out of hibernation. Its impact on human brains hasn’t yet been test, but tests on mice bred to develop Alzheimer’s with raised levels of RBM3 showed significant less synapse and brain cell depletion than the other mice. Sadly, achieving a natural boost for us is neither safe nor easy, as it requires the body to enter a hypothermic state. So, we have hope that Cambridge University can develop a drug that mimics the protectiveness of RBM3 if their findings are confirmed. Oh well I’d better turn the cold water off and get out of the shower! 😊
We have a number of speedy ladies at the club. But for speed and endurance the Godwit takes the biscuit – or should that be worm; In September a male set off from its breeding ground in Alaska and flew South. Arriving in Auckland 11 days later. That’s more than 7,500 miles. With speeds up to 55 mph. The birds double their size beforehand and then lighten their load by shrinking their organs!! So don’t take that as an idea for marathon training! 😊
Riddle answer.
Was it easy? A reminder of Friday’s Voltaire’s riddle:
What is the longest, and yet the shortest thing in the world; the swiftest and the most slow; the most divisible and the most extended; the least valued, and the most regretted; without which nothing can be done; which devours everything, however small, and yet gives life and spirit to all things however great?
The answer is Time.