In the Swim

I did go to the gym yesterday and worked out in the pool. My ear was popping like somebody was hitting my tympanic membrane, in fact, it's still doing it. So I didn't actually swim for fear I would do damage.

Instead I - ran, did upper body weights, squats, crunches, lunges, step-ups, leg lifts and jumping jacks. I did all of that in the water in 35 minutes.

It's not quite the cardio of swimming, but it was a workout. And it was fun, which was good.

No workout today, I have a lot of work to get done and two fun interviews to go do. I am talking to Olympian and World Champion hurdler Lolo Jones about childhood obesity. Then it's up to Ames to interview one of my favorite guys - Ron Livingston.

He's VERY handsome and it will be good to see him again. The last time we met up in person was 2004, I was a big woman then and I am not now. He won't know that, but I will. :)

Anyway, I better get my butt in gear if I am going to get anything done before the Power Climb meeting - yep, it's coming up. I can't believe it, but February 22nd is just around the corner. Early registration is beginning soon - I'll have a full post on this tomorrow.

Yours in fitness, Kate

And now for your gratuitous picture the chocolate brown-eyed Iowa native Ron Livingston.

Quick Post

I have been dancing around whether to go to the gym or not. This could be nap time instead, since I have an interview to do at 5:45, followed by volunteering until 8:15. But alas, I think I have too much energy to just roll over. I better make the most of it. So, I am posting quickly and headed to swim, since that's all I am allowed to do anyway.

Yours in fitness, Kate

The new look

I got my hair chopped off last night - more than a bit shorter than I expected, but it will be o.k. I kind of let Sarah, the owner of Salon de Vallon do what she would. I have low lights of dark blonde/brown and reddish/burgundy. I will not get the full effect of what it will look like every day until tomorrow after I shower.

Today it looks a bit like hell because I let her straighten it yesterday which looked fa-boo. But when I woke up this morning it had morphed into all kinks and waves. I had time to shake it out, smooth it a bit and throw on a head band. Tomorrow, after I swim, I will show and see what the cut and color look like with my full curly glory.

BTW - that's right, I am headed back to the gym. Swimming, seated weights and hard-core core await me. I'm looking forward to it.

Yours in health, Kate

It's a Blur

Last Wednesday I had a swimming lesson with coach Kelli. I finished up my lessons on Monday. I am now substantially more proficient at being in a pool. It is simply a matter of practice, practice to work my way toward a mini-triathlon next year. In the meantime, this winter, I will try my gym's indoor tri.

But again, to last Wednesday - I forgot my goggles. Not the world's biggest deal, I had forgotten them before. We were working on turns and I was trying to figure out where the wall was when I went under water, so I had my eyes open often. I've done this before again, no big deal. I did note to Kelli that my eyes were stinging more than usual and that the water tasted worse than ever (still working on that breathing thing), but I didn't think anything of it.

When I got out of the pool and headed toward the showers, I noticed that things were foggy. It was humid, I thought maybe the pool and shower area had steamed up. But when I went to get out of the shower, I realized it was more than steam. The chemicals had burned my eyes.

Things were so blurry and foggy it was making me dizzy. If I could read anything it was double. I had a little panic attack, something that hasn't happened since I lost all of the weight. There are two things I need for my job - my eyes to read and my voice to speak.

I mentioned the problem when I got upstairs, turns out they were treating the pool with some especially harsh chemicals. I told the trainer in charge that it was bad and he said sorry, but the pool had to be treated. (He wasn't really any more apologetic on Monday when I told him I had to go to the eye doctor, that was a little frustrating.)

That afternoon, I got eye drops, they didn't really help. I had Lori get me eye wash, that's when things began to clear up a little. By the next day things were better, but not perfect. I went to the eye doctor. She said I had gotten lucky and things were going to be o.k., but not to forget my goggles. She also said they need to put up a sign when they are going to 'shock' the pool, so they don't get sued. (That suggestion at the gym got me a blank stare.)

So, what have I learned? You buy equipment for a reason - remember it and use it.

Yours in fitness, Kate

Going Swimmingly

Sorry no post yesterday (and after I made such a big deal the day before) my friend Darryl called and I got swept away to lunch. He's in town from Portland for a wedding, so when he put aside a couple of hours for me at the last minute, I had to jump. We had a nice time, I love talking to him because I don't have to hide the fact that I am smart.

He's one of those men that actually finds intellect attractive. In fact I have been looking around at the men in my life and, for the most part, the ones I have chosen to spend the most time with in the six months or so are all that way. Apparently I finally started heeding my own advice about being respected and appreciated for something beyond my breast size. Huh.

Anyway, the real post today is not men but fish. Or at least my attempt to become more fish-like. I had my sixth swim lesson yesterday and coach Kelli was proud of me. I have progressed well and have learned the basics of six strokes. I can also actually swim with my head in the water. She is happy enough that my last two lessons (before she goes off to pharmacist school in Colorado) will be about diving and perfecting my strokes.

Yesterday I swam laps before she came in, practicing and practicing. I especially struggle with the breast stroke - I always want to move my arms and legs at the same time. But I will keep working away at it. My goal is still to get good enough to do a mini-triathlon next summer.

The plan is, over the fall/winter, I will practice my swimming, biking, running combo in the gym. Then they have an 'in gym' triathlon in March, I will give that a try to test my readiness. Because frankly, if I can't swim by myself in a pool for time, there's no way I will survive real wake and other flailing arms. After that indoor undertaking I will seek out another swim coach to shore up my strokes and help me with speed ideas.

Hopefully all of this will culminate in my surviving or, err, rather finishing a triathlon. At that point I will know whether this is something I want to pursue or if it was just another fitness challenge that needed to be met along my journey to health.

Yours in fitness, Kate

In the Swim

I had my first swim lesson last night. It was my second workout for the day, I will give you the CRAZY workout trainer Traci put me through tomorrow. Today, let's chat about coach Kelli, that's the name I have given her - she is my swim instructor.

Not at all shockingly, Kelli is a friend of Traci's from back east. (eastern Iowa) Kelli was a high school and college swimmer. She has great technique and a body any woman would kill for because she uses her skills almost daily.

"Why do you need swim lessons?" That's the first thing people ask. Then they say, "Can't you swim?" First, I want them and I need them. Second, yes, well enough not to drown, but that's about it. Okay, yes, I can get from one end of the pool to the other, but with no style and an inability to breathe properly. I expend WAY more energy than is necessary to get the job done.

Humiliating admission - I used to dive in the water with one hand squeezing my nose shut. Plus, I swam with my head uncomfortably above the water, like a cow just trying to get to the other side. Four times they tried to put me through swimming in high school. Four times I was having my period for the six weeks of the class, thereby failing. In my defense, I did generally have two+ week periods at the time. However, the brutal truth is, I was fat to obese and me and a swimsuit during those formative high school years was not going to happen.

I have thought about swim lessons for years, but the swimsuit thing was an issue. As was the real possibility of keeling over in the water from over exerting my larger than it should have been form. The idea has been poking at me harder over the past several months as I have gotten health. Recently my friend Colleen sent me a notice about a 'mini' triathlon and that was it. The tri is coming up soon, so I won't be doing it this year, but I am readying my game for next year.

I am always looking for that next fitness challenge and swimming is it. And it will get me in shape for another one, that triathlon.

Last night we covered the basics. She was excited that I was immediately willing to try the breathing and the strokes. I'll be honest, I have only three fears - burning/being buried alive, losing a family member to senseless violence and losing my mind and drowning. Early on last night as I sucked water and panicked a bit I realized what had really kept me from this, fear.

Not any more. Kelli is patient and kind. She was willing to go over things again and again. She didn't make fun of my fears real or imagined. Instead she did what all good teachers do when they see a block - she changed the way she was teaching the topic. She plans to be a pharmacist and is leaving for Colorado to pursue that in August. But I hope for little girls in Colorado she keeps giving lessons to pay for school, she has a natural talent.

That talent has me excited to practice on my own over the next week and already looking forward to my next lesson. This is another thing I never saw coming, it hit me like a splash of water in the face and I actually like it this time.

Yours in fitness, Kate