End Of The Tunnel

Hit the pool. Chatty Kath was in one lap lane and this guy was in the other. The latter offered to share but I told him that I would be okay in the larger area of the pool since there was only one kid taking lessons. He said If they get to jumping off the diving board, the offer still stands. A very cool offer.

The kid finished with his lesson at 8:00 p.m. I usually swim for an hour but when the kid is there, I continue to swim so that I don't have to wait on the shower. Twenty laps turned into 25. The next to last person exited the pool when I was at about the 30 lap point.

Even though I felt guilty for keeping the three lifeguards, I continued to swim until I hit 33 laps. It's hard to stop swimming when I can see a mile at the end of the tunnel.

I took a quick shower and when I sat in my car, it was 8:40 p.m. -- still twenty minutes until the pool officially closed. Think that I'll save my longer swim sessions for the weekend because I can't stand the guilty of being the last one out of the pool.

Promising

Had the hardest time deciding on whether I was going to swim or practice yoga tonight but I never feel right when I don't combine some other exercise with yoga. Lack of cardio plus the fact that I felt hot led me to the pool.

When I got to the pool, didn't feel like I was capable of swimming a single lap...

Spotted a faint rainbow and you would have thought I'd spotted a famous author. What is it about rainbows?

I had no intention whatsoever of swimming a mile. A weeknight? No way.  But I found myself at lap 25 which is close enough to 33 to make me want to go for it.

Of course, I hit the proverbial wall but I swam over it and got into a zone. It felt so good. Feel like I've been on autopilot with so many things --  going through the motions. Hope that tonight was a breakthrough and I hope that the lifeguards weren't miffed that I was the last one in the pool and stayed longer than I usually do.

Unplugged: In Water

As I headed to the pool, I told myself You have all day. I wanted to swim a mile which I haven't done in a while. One of my friends does not care for lap swimming. She finds it boring and I totally get that. In fact, I sometimes long for a water MP3 player but I won't buy one because sometimes you just have to be unplugged.

This swimming instructor told her student that he could not go in the lap lanes because they were for people swimming back and forth. Poor child must have been confused as I stood there motionless trying to ready myself for the full brunt of the frigid water...

Needless to say, I am all kinds of inspired by Diana Nyad and, as I struggled to swim one mile, I thought about how she swam 110 miles in 53 hours.

Went to sign up for boxing at the Y and saw that the price had been raised by $12 dollars which, in the larger scheme of things, is not that much money but it's $31 a month and $10 more than I pay for the fitness club that I'm currently going to. Plus, there are other fitness expenses including rock climbing. I wondered if it was time to switch over and get all my fitness needs taken care of under one roof but even if I get a Y membership at $63 a month, I'd still have to pay $31 for boxing because it's a specialty class.

After seeing a picture of Josie who blogs under Yum Yucky, I decided to give boxing a break. Josie works out at home all the time and so does Gingerzingi. I have more than enough DVDs to work out on my own for a couple days a week.

Earlier in the week, my colleague said that she had a feeling of deja vu as I tried to release the tweak in the middle of my back with seated spinal twists, shoulder rolls and shoulder hugs.

It took everything in me not to get down on the floor and do cat/cow or crocodile pose. I wasn't sure what would relieve my side stitch though.

I was feeling the love from mile two of Just Walk* which is the walk and tone segment. The resistance band seemed innocent enough but it worked my back deeper than I had expected. The other Just Walk segments are:

Mile 1: Classic Low Impact
Mile 3: Speed Intervals
Mile 4: Strength Intervals
Mile 5: Ab Walk

I thought about Hazira while I did these miles -- especially mile one. What do you say Hazira? Will you try this one with me?

During mile five, Sansone encourages you to get your navel to your spine and says that Stability gives you power which is true in more ways than one. I also like it when Sansone says Every system of the body works better when you work out -- something that I know but I never tire of hearing.

A woman named Lori joins Sansone and her crew during the cool down. Lori was able to walk off 140 pounds. Hoping that I'll be able to walk off a considerable amount as well.

Can't wait to incorporate Just Walk and other DVDs as I shake up my routine.

*Disclosure: I received this video without charge.

First One In

First One In, Last One Out

Went back to Zumba after almost a month's absence. Laura asked if there were any newbies in class and one brave woman raised her hand. Laura gave her the run down and said The only rule of Zumba....then turned to us and we responded is to have fun.

Laura went on to tell us not to take ourselves seriously. Because if you do, you're going to make me look ridiculous. With my being in the opposite direction of the class many times, I definitely did not make Laura look ridiculous.

Rested a bit after Zumba then went to the pool and swam a mile. At lap 27, the wall appeared. My friend Bob Harper popped into my head -- ...finish what you started. As I did the backstroke, I told myself Your arms still work. Your arms still work. I also thought about a CPR class that I recently took and how compressions require stamina plus good posture and appropriate hand placement. I remember how the instructor said do compressions and breaths until help arrives or until you cannot do it anymore...

300 Hours

Arrived In The Nick of Time

 Effortless effort popped into my mind before I headed to the pool and I must have internalized the message because I felt in sync from the very first 25 yards and I felt like I was working with the water.

Once I hit lap 20, I decided to go for a mile. I swam in my new suit that arrived a day before I was scheduled to leave for vacation. I went with the TYR square neck again -- a navy blue one instead of cabernet this time. I'm pleased with the way it fits as the old one has completely lost its shape.

This suit is supposed to be good for 300 + hours in the pool and I'm looking forward to every hour.

In The Zone or Year-End Review

Ample Lanes And Non-Arctic Temps

I haven't been swimming in over 10 days. Did you feel the vibration as my body shook from withdrawal?

I looked around at area pools, saw what time the high school team would be practicing at this one center and decided to hit the pool after the school's session. My timing was impeccable. A swimmer was leaving as I put my paraphernalia on the bench.

It's awkward being at a different pool with different people and it took me ten laps just to settle down. I had no intention of swimming a mile and I seldom do. My intention is to first swim for 30 minutes or 10 laps. Once I hit my first goal, I relax. I had time and a lane all to myself. Why not go for a mile? The last ten laps wore me out but I dug deep. I ignored the fact that I drifted to the right of the black line. I stopped wiping away the fog from my goggles. I stopped paying attention to the lifeguards rotating stations seemingly every 20 minutes and I stopped worrying about the people on the observation deck. Guess I got in the zone...

After stepping into my first yoga class in May of 2011, this was definitely the year that I got my yoga groove on. There are things that I could dwell on but I'm not. I moved my body a lot in 2012 and my enjoyment, at my body in motion, was profound.

 The year-end review:

10 Minute Solution: 5 Day Get Fit Mix

Cardio Kickboxing, 17 x's

Power Yoga, 3 x's

10 Minute Solution: cardio hip hop

Hip Hop 101, 1 x

House Party, 1 x

10 Minute Solution: Dance Your Body Thin!

Smooth and Sexy Moves, 2 x's

10 Minute Solution: Kickbox Boot Camp

Basic Training, 3 x's

10 Minute Solution: KnockOut Body!

KnockOut Body Blast, 1 x

Ultimate Upper Body, 2 x's

10 Minute Solution: Rapid Results fat burner

Power Sports Drill, 1 x

10 Minute Solution: Tone Trouble Zones!

Arms & Shoulders, 1 x

10 Minute Stretch, 10 x's

Arc Trainer, 1 x

Backs and Biceps Class (San Diego), 1 x 

Bicycling, 15 x's 

Dance It Off & firm up!, 1 x 

Give Me 10!

Bonus Kettlebell ToneUp, 5 x's

Fat Blaster, 1 x

Yoga Stretch & Flex, 3 x's

Kettlebell Practice, 42 x's 

Kickboxing Class, 5 x's

Latin Cardio Party, 1 x 

Personal Training with Jackie: Crunch-Free Xtreme Abs

Standing Crunch-Free Xtreme Abs

Personal Training with Jackie: Power Circuit Training

15-Minute Upper Body Circuit, 6 x's

15-Minute Total Body Circuit, 2 x's

40-Minute Total Body Circuit, 1 x

Pure Barre Class (San Diego), 1 x 

Rock Climbing, 40 x's 

Spinning, 2 x's

StairMaster, 2 x's 

Swimming, 87 x's 

Treadmill, 5 x's 

Walking, 93 x's 

Wii, 11 x's 

willPower & grace, 4 x's 

Yoga, 143 x's

How do you feel about your 2012? Did you find yourself leaning towards one activity more than another?

Less Pussyfooting

As I swam, I saw someone at the other end of the lane. Sigh. It was the same woman from last time. Plus, she didn't ask last time which is "bad" swimming etiquette. Okay, she didn't get in the water until I made eye contact with her.

I’m back, she said. Sigh. Does she not like sharing a lane with anyone else? Was I sending out a special share-my-lane vibe?

But funny things happened whilst lane sharing.

No claustrophobia like when I first started swimming and another person got in the lane with me.

Maybe I didn't feel claustrophobic because I’m better at the front crawl.

As I shared the lane, there was less pussyfooting on my part.

Less experimenting with my body position.

Less trying to breathe into the area of my armpit.

Less concern about the little pinch that I felt in my right hamstring or the quadriceps' tweak.

I think, in the words of Ice Cube, I just did the damn thing because I wanted to be at the opposite end of the lane since I didn't want to do side-by-side swimming.

I also think that my form was better because I didn't want to encroach on the other swimmer's space so it became like moving between two panes of glass like you do with half moon pose or like getting close to a wall to work on your kettlebell clean in order to follow the mid-line to make that zipper-like motion.

Before I knew it, I was on lap 26. You know what that means, right?  I was so close to a mile that I could not pass it up. Maybe lane sharing is not such a bad thing..

Mile-stone

I saw the telltale black swimming suit and black goggles and knew it was Chatty Kathleen. Someone was in the lane next to me but, apparently, not even a lane can keep us apart.

Kathleen: Can you swim and talk?

Me: Shaking my head then no.

Kathleen wanted to talk but she also saw me holding on to the edge of the pool. She advised me to keep my arms level with my shoulders then move my hands as if I was pushing sand aside.

I had actually practiced treading for a bit before she arrived and it seemed easier. Floating seems easier too; I feel as if I could do it forever. What is it about catching on to front crawl breathing that has made me more buoyant?

The most laps that I've done is 28 and, lately, I've been doing 20 or 21 and I wanted to gradually work my way up to a mile. When I was in a WOW (Women on Weights) class, the instructor said that you should gradually increase your weights.

I thought screw it. I'm always paying attention to rules and whatnot. I had the perfect opportunity. There were only five people at the pool and I didn't have to share a lane. I thought about Bob Harper saying stand up and finish what you started.

It took me almost two hours but I did it. I swam my first mile. I'm exhausted as all get out but I feel good about what I accomplished in the water -- 33 laps or 66 lengths or 1650 yards.