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Showing posts from June 8, 2008

A paradox....

Why can't I get it into my head that I can swim??? Logically I know that I can swim but I have it in my head that I'm not a great swimmer and I can't shake it. I've done a lot of work overcoming my 'internal dialog' for the last couple of years. I've gotten it out of my head that I'm lazy - not even a little. That I'm weak - I'm stronger then most people I know. That I'm unorganized - okay, still working on that :) But it's in my head that I'm a slow swimmer and I can't shake it. This morning as I was swimming I got a real compliment. The head swim teacher, who also teaches life guards, told me that my stroke was really good and that I was doing great swimming. She also recommended that I join a master's program. So why can't I convince myself that I can swim???

I am hardcore

or crazy, not sure which :) It rained so hard during the night that it woke us up twice. When the alarm went off I went outside to look at the sky. I had to decide whether to ride on the roads or ride my stationary bike. As I walked outside with my coffee the sky was clear and there were lots of stars out. Great! Clearly the rain clouds had moved off. I could ride outside and not worry about rain. Ah....the best laid plans. I got ready to go and headed out. The back roads were a little tricky, the rain had caused some minor mudslides and the road was sketchy in areas. But I made it through. Then, in front of the sewer treatment plant, the road was flooded about 4" deep. Hmmm..... I rode through it on the way out but on the way back I walked around it. My bike was a mess. I needed to do 2 loops to get in the time called for. After completing the first loop, things still looked okay so I headed out on loop #2. I hadn't gotten 2 miles when the rain started. At first...

My last post of the night....

I've been busy updating all my blogs and I'm just plain tired of writing. But I have to log my swim this morning. The schedule called for 2600 m. I haven't swum that far in a long, long time. But I was up for it. Side note: A nice benefit of regular workouts is the ability to wake up early. I go to bed by 9-9:30 and I wake up naturally around 4:30. My alarm is set for 4:45 so I usually lie there planning what I'm going to do when I get up. And, that 7 -7.5 hours sleep is plenty. I'm not tired during the day and feel great. Okay, back to swimming. So I get to the pool early because I have a lot of water to cover - haha!!! First there were 4 x 50 drills for warm up. Those are just fun. I like doing drills. I'm crazy I know. Then there was 5 x 100 at 75%. That's a pretty good effort. I pushed it by racing people in other lanes, even though they didn't know we were racing :) Then came the biggie, 1 x 1200. Yowza!!! I did it though. I will te...

Tag, you're it.....

I've been tagged by Irene , so here goes. The Rules: Tagging is easy. Just copy the following onto your post. The rules of the game are posted at the start of your blog post. In this case, I'm asking you 5 questions about running. Each player answers the 5 questions on their own blog. At the end of your post you tag 5 other people and post their names. Go to their blogs and leave a comment on their blogs telling them they've been tagged and to look at your blog for details. When they've answered the questions on their own blog, they come back to yours to tell you. Got that? (Stolen in it's entirety from Magazine Smiles ;) The Questions: 1. How would you describe your running 10 years ago? 10 years ago I was just getting into running. I had purchased a marathon book in 1995 and had a dream of doing a marathon. But at 225 lbs that didn't seem likely. October 1997 I had started WW for the first time and by March 1998 I'd lost a good amount of weight. I decid...

Not a chill to the winter but a nip in the air

I lay in bed listening to the rain and trying to convince myself that I shouldn't ride my bike in the rain. Luckily I failed. The alarm went off and I popped out of bed like a jack-in-the-box and was ready to tackle my workout. It was going to be a tough one and I was really looking forward to it. On the schedule was intervals. On the bike and running. Intervals. For the bike I was supposed to do 5 - 3 minute intervals @ 90% with 4 minutes rest @ 60%, plus 5 minutes warm-up and cool down. It was dark with ominous black clouds and wet pavement, but I headed out anyway. My 5 minute warm up was easy enough though there was a little nip in the from the dark and the rain. I did my intervals and could feel it in my legs due to my strength training session yesterday. The last interval was tough but the cool down was fun. Now to the run. I actually faced a choice at this point. I could head out on my run intervals or I could do them at lunch. Doing them at lunch really would ...

Some random thoughts

I'm about ready to head out on my run and as I was eating a yogurt I was reading some boards and forums. Most of them were weight loss related and it was blowing me away. Many of the people on these boards are setting themselves up for failure. Before even starting they have their excuses all lined up and ready to go. 'I'm on X medication and it's hard to lose weight on that' 'I injured myself and can't do X' 'I have small kids/animals/elderly parents and can't find the time to eat right and exercise' Don't they realize what they are doing?? Everyone is super busy. Everyone has something in their life that makes this journey hard. If it was easy we wouldn't have these problems, we'd just lose the weight and be done. It just amazes me that people say the want to lose weight but............ and then give themselves an out. I know I do it with my workouts but I'm aware I'm doing it and trying to break it. Plus ...