Speedo man, let me share your lap lane

Swimming. Most of you probably haven't swam laps since you were in school or during an "adult swim" at a local neighborhood pool. But starting Monday this has been my main form of exercise.

And it sucks.

I mean, sure I have the fancy goggles, and I really know how to rock a black speedo, but... um... is it really exercise?

Let me explain.

Monday, I had a mini lesson from Joe, who looks old enough to be my so---err----young cousin... and he was telling me about my stroke. Lift the hips, breath when the arm comes up, use the floaty thing that keeps up your legs... stuff like that. I spent about 30 minutes in the pool doing this, back and forth... back and forth....

I got out of the pool and bam! I felt.... um... the same as I did when I got in the pool. Did I even work out? What happened to those last 30 minutes of my life? Should I stretch? Cool down? Wait, I am cool...I was just in water.

This morning, I get up super early to hit the pool before work. This time, it is more stuctured and looks more like this:

5 minutes warm up with a kick board
45 minutes of lap swimming - mostly freestyle and breaststroke
10 minutes of water jogging in the deep water with a float belt
5 minutes of stretching in the warm water pool

Did I even work out? How can I tell if I am not sweating? I was out of breath at times... but not consistently. How can I find out my heart rate??

But perhaps the big question is... what kind of "exercise" is this when I am swimming along side of middle-aged men in speedos?

I know what you're thinking: Fierce

That's right. Tyra's got nothing on me when I'm rocking these super-awesome mirrored Speedo goggles.

I'm taking this swimming thing very seriously.

Goggles that make me look like an alien? check.
Uber-ugly Speedo bathing suit that does absolutely nothing for my figure? check.
Swim cap to protect my $100 dye job and highlights? check.

Now I just need a pool. I am joining the fitness club at work and ... get this... getting a swim lesson to teach me proper technique. Apparently, just jumping in and swimming is not good enough.

And, unlike the super cute running skirts, neato running shoes, and sweet tanks running has to offer, swimming in no way lends itself to making you, the swimmer, look cool.

Um... looking at the photo above, I think that's fairly obvious.

Sadness...

My PT told me today that I most definitely need to rest - everything - for AT LEAST 4 to 6 weeks.

I told her I already tried the resting thing for 3 weeks... I did nothing, totally lost fitness and still saw no change in pain level in my knee. And now, after 4 weeks of PT, still no change.

She says tissue needs at least 4 to 6 weeks of complete rest.

I urged... let me do something, please... what about swimming? Biking?

The verdict?

Try swimming, bike without resistance... no running.

So, now, I need to join a gym for at least 2 months.

Ca-Ching.

Things are still "happening"

I've been busy... still running... but let me tell you, it is so nice to run when I feel like, not beat myself up if I don't wake up at a certain time for a specific distance run. I'm enjoying it! I got in 16 miles since last Friday! 10 of which were over last weekend in the HOT HOT HEAT.

Still, things have been "happening" and I decided to just post some random thoughts and photos.

Visited the Valley and saw little Beau again:



Hot, Hot, Hot. Jason and I went to the Lehigh Parkway...did some rails-t--trails... Awesome. He rode, I ran. Hot as hell, but it was great to be back in the Valley, enjoying the scenery, and all the Valley has to offer.

Manages to get some activities too. The "America on Wheels" car/auto/bike exhibit. It was so interesting, we saw fun stuff, but I was most impressed with this:



Yes, it is the EV1... subject of the controversial film Who Killed the Electric Car? I thought all of them were crushed, but this shell was saved and taken to the museum.

I immediately got all sorts of angry....

Mom and Dad off in Prague. Hope they're having fun!

Went out with Nick and Jason for dinner and drinks. Felt old at the bar :( Everyone was annoying.

Jason and I checked out a British Car Show in Saucon Valley.



Then we came back and all took naps before heading to Jersey:



Last night we saw Death Cab for Cutie. They were playing at the Mann Music Center. It took us about 1:30 hours to get there, and I would say 1:15 of that time was spent in line trying to get in. It was obnoxious...

But not as obnoxious as all these moronic kids with their digital cameras. Um... yeah, most of them spent the entier show watching through a tiny LCD screen. Don't kids enjoy the moment any more?

Also, let's be honest here... Death Cab is like, a step above dinner music. They are mellow, kids... relax. Still, some of them were pumping their fists like they were watching some hard core metal band.

Jason, concerned this generation "doesn't know how to rock," commented: "If I took these kids to a Dillinger Escape Plan Show they would blow up."

And honestly, this is a concern of mine.

How can I, as a one-day parent, make sure my kids is less of this:


and more like this:



I have some theories on how to prevent the prevailing wimpy aspects of emo from coming into my household, but I will save that for another time ... stay tuned.

Oh, one more thing... I am still on my quest for a non-mom hair do is still on... trying to cure my momish hair today ;)

Things are going swimmingly... slow

So after a week of run/walking, or wogging as some woulld call it, I am up to running 35 minutes non stop. Today, my heart rate was at a place I quite liked, and I got my first pre-dawn run of the season.

So, running 35 minutes non stop after not running at all for 3 weeks is a pretty big deal to me.

Okay, I should clarify that these days, 5 am isn't technically pre-dawn, as the sun was breaking through the horizon, but it was cool nonetheless.

Since I don't have any great running related photos to post, I'll post this one of Freddie. He is doing a plant imitation.