It Seems to Stimulate Appetite

Watched Peace, Love and Misunderstanding with The 'Fugee last night. She really liked it. I would give it about 2.5 stars out of 5.

As I was about to get in my car, The 'Fugee asked You're not going swimming tomorrow are you? It was as if The 'Fugee were talking about promaja a.k.a. the dreaded draft that Bosnians fear. You need to protect yourself from promaja or you might get sick.

My swimming bag has been packed for a very long time -- since December. Yes, 'Fugee, I went swimming and, lest you think that I was alone, there was a mother with her infant in the pool. Also Jackie, the marathoner, joined me (in my roomy lane) at the 17 lap mark. Jackie had run a marathon this morning and her knee was bothering her. Jackie, who alleviates her knee tweak (after surgery for a torn meniscus) with swimming, said it was totally colder this morning.

Equate's Dove Version, *****

Went to yoga after swimming and the yoga session almost killed my swimming buzz. The population of the class had exploded. Plus, the room is oddly built so, with that many people, it gives off a claustrophobic vibe. The building was so packed it looked liked a shoe outlet and, as I got dressed, a Band-Aid attached itself to me, ewww. Guess I can't be Zen'd out after every yoga class but I would like to leave without sharing someone else's Band-Aid or the room being so crowded that people are stepping on my mat.

Even a joke that I would normally laugh at (about us being a swarm) in locust pose fell on deaf ears. Hoping to take things in stride, again, sometime in the near future...

Just read this article in the New York Times about the benefits of swimming vs. other activities. The crux of the article for me: It seems to stimulate appetite according Dr. Tanaka who is the director of the Cardiovascular Aging Research Laboratory. Therefore, ergo, watch out for post-swimming hunger if you're trying to maintain or lose weight.

Climbing, Coldness and Compassion

Went climbing after almost a month away and, as Nick said, Anything more than two weeks and you're starting over. I didn't do too bad and my knee, oddly enough, felt less tight after climbing. I was also inspired by Patti who had a 40 plus bicycle outing planned and Nick who didn't want to overdo it with climbing since he had to bicycle about 18 miles to get home...

Again, be compassionate, Gloria said this a.m. as we got into resting swan on the second leg. Even though resting swan is an intense pose, I like it and can usually make a home in it. I did have to be compassionate with my knee though. I had to help my leg get into place. You don't miss being tweak-free until...

After yoga, made a smoothie then made coffee. Decided to forgo a walk and unclutter for 30 minutes then gave myself permission to go to the pool.

Ugh, Jackie said as she got into the water. That's the same way that I feel about the coldness but Jackie is better than I am at ripping off the proverbial Band-Aid.

As I drank a sip of water, I noticed this mother looking in my direction. She was telling her youngster to watch out for me. As I got to the end of the lane, I looked up and saw his little face staring down at me. I gave him the go ahead. Each time, he waited. Such a good listener...

Around lap 11, my counter slipped off my finger. Minor problem. I don't dive -- didn't take that swimming class and not quite confident enough in my abilities. On the return trip, I saw that my lap counter was resting at the bottom of 11 feet of water.

Soooooooo...

Zach, do you mind...?

I'm pretty sure that I surprised Zach by knowing his name but I heard his mother shout Zach!Zach!Zach! on Tuesday night when a water walker inexplicably wandered into his lane even though Zach had been swimming laps (fast) for quite a while.

I asked Zach if we would get the lap counter after he finished with his training because I didn't want him to get in trouble with his mother. As soon as Zach and his mom got to the pool, she told him to find a lane and get in...

Talked to Jackie in the locker room. She has about 20 marathons under her belt and is always in some race. She showed me her swollen knee and advised me to put ice on mine (while watching TV or something). Patti also suggested ice. Don't know why it never occurs to me to try RICE.

Can You Feel It?

Got to the gym earlier today, spent about 10 minutes on the treadmill then trotted off to class where things looked different since there were blue mats all over the floor. The teacher looked different too. As it turned out, the newbie didn't know that Jackie was substituting for Kate and that's how Step and Muscle class turned into Cardio and Muscle.

I missed the step, missed Jackie and Jackie's awesome aerobic workout remix CD. It's amazing how fast you get used to a person.

Wanna know what's more interesting than a jumping jack? A jump squat that segues into a jumping jack. And who knew that a jumping jack, challenging in and of itself, was a modification for mountain climbers which I dislike almost as much as I dislike burpees.

Fast feet or the football jog just about did me in tonight too as did the basketball defense-like back and forth shuffling with a jump somewhere in between.

I was quite verbal tonight with my oohs and aahs since it was a way to absorb the rigorous workout and carry on with the task at hand.

Can you feel it, Kate asked?

I don't know about it but I felt used and abused after the burpees, planks, push-ups, squats et al.

It was cool, though, when many of us wiped out women convened in the locker room to talk about the beat down that we had endured. There was this camaraderie among, mostly, strangers.