Move To Mongolia?

I was feeling completely lethargic today and wondered whether or not I should exercise. I've become quite the pushing specialist and decided I wanted to give swimming a try despite my lack of energy. Even if I couldn't manage a single lap, I thought it would be beneficial to float.

I watched this woman march down the pool doing the front crawl. She was doing bilateral breathing every three strokes like clockwork.

For the most part, I practiced the front crawl; I am, hallelujah, able to make it further down the lane. I watched this Natalie Coughlin video for more tips.



Since I was able to get in 17 laps, I'm going to assume that my lethargy is more connected to my emotional state right now -- seeing that I want to drop everything and move to Mongolia and be a reindeer herder and all.

The Threat To Reindeer Herders

On another note, I had no idea that people actually drink reindeer milk. Then again, my grandmother and her siblings used to capture blackbirds and eat them. I forgot to ask g'ma if the birds tasted like chicken.

60 Minutes

When I decided that I would push myself to exercise more, I committed to sixty minutes of exercise whether stepping into the gym or into the concrete jungle. I should have made an exception for the Adaptive Motion Trainer. My workout clothes were quite damp and my legs felt quite shaky once I got off the AMT today. Really, I was used up.

I watched week nine of The Biggest Loser. Tara continues to give her all in workouts and challenges. She's lost 94 pounds in nine weeks. Others have dropped impressive amounts of weight including the hot cousins from the island of Tonga who have each lost 89 pounds.

I wish that there was a Biggest Loser for folks in the second phase of weight loss because I would apply in a heartbeat.

Sugar Ray Leonard and Rocco DiSpirito were the celebrity guests. The blue team worked out with Leonard while DiSpirito oversaw a challenge that had the contestants cooking lower fat versions of fast food like burritos, fried chicken and pizza. DiSpirito suggested cooking with soy flour which I had never heard of until then.

I was watching Survivor earlier. I know, it's like the high fructose corn syrup of reality shows but I don't have cable and I must give proper respects to Taj, who is exquisitely thick; she has large, beautiful arms and was able to win a challenge for her team by holding sandbags (attached to a bar across her shoulders) totalling 100 pounds.

I was reading an August 2008 edition of Fitness magazine. Sigh, I'm a bit behind in my reading. Several Olympians were interviewed including runner Lolo Jones. I loved what she had to say:

...What do I like best about my body? My legs. I have about 20 scars from where I've hit the hurdles over the years -- and I've earned them all.

I'm going to look into Alice Water's The Art of Simple Food, a cookbook that Olympian Natalie Coughlin mentioned in that same issue of Fitness.

The Water Is

One of my coworkers, who is an exclusive front crawler, checked in with me today. She wanted to know how swimming was going.

I told her I was pretty much resorting to the back crawl and sidestroke while practicing the front crawl in between. She believes that the sidestroke is much more labor intensive and that I am thinking about the front crawl too much. What can I say? I do have a penchant for details.

Although I don't really look at them anymore, I still have notes taped to my bookshelf:

long legs, floppy ankles
kick from the hip -- not the knee -- use your whole leg

keep your legs straight but not rigid, with your toes pointed out and kick up and down, continue kicking the entire time

I heard the lifeguard as he was giving a lesson to one of the kids which made me remember this quote from Natalie Coughlin on swimming faster and gliding:

Simply reach as far forward as you can, even if it means temporarily reducing your stroke frequency. Stay focused by imagining there's a mail slot in front of each shoulder and slide your hand into it each time.

I don't know why Coughlin's advice struck a chord with me but it did and as I used this tactic today, it actually helped. I also asked the lifeguard if he breathed through his nose or mouth during the front crawl and he said that it was easier for him to breathe through his nose.

There was a new student at the pool today. Once he got in the water, he kept saying "this is tight." He was amazed by the tricks he could do with a kickboard and I was thinking even when I'm uptight the water is tight.

As I was getting out of the pool, newbie asked me how he could do that -- gesturing by moving his arm backwards. I told him that he would have to learn to float first. But I can't go down there, I might get carried away. That's what the lifeguard told him and, although eager to learn, he was satisfied to explore the shallow end for the time being.