just got home from being out, can't sleep, this is why god made the internet. what did people do before? watch infomercials? work the butter churn? hang out in stonehenge?
so but i'm pretty tired as it is. i'll just say, i've started a new sport. as i start new sports, always -- badly and without guidance; totally flying by the seat of my pants; and looking ridiculous. but doggedly so.
i am swimming.
yes, at the local high school pool; yes, in a lane, like a lap swimmer; yes, with other people and their sweaty, hairy bodies contained within the same expanse of water; yes, rather ridiculously, but doggedly so.
the hours are quite limited.
it started at the shore a couple of weeks ago as these things do (you'll remember the bike began this way in '05.) p wanted to swim in the hotel pool and as it was raining a good part of the time but the pool was heated, i said why not and found i really liked sort of propelling myself across it in a forward fashion while she gadded about in the shallow end. it kept me busy and was a workout for my arms.
now my legs are strong from biking but my arms are pretty weak but i'm not very coordinated so i'm kind of kicking my way across but using my arms for a lot of it. also i can't put my head in the pool because i get water in my ears really easily and then they crackle and get sore. so but i did like 50 laps that day but the pool was not huge.
then i got home and sought out the high school pool.
i've only gone twice. and both times i ended up in lanes between mr and mrs michael phelps practically, but i did manage to stop mrs michael phelps and tell her she was a sight to see, what with the flipping underwater and butterflying across the pool again and again without stopping.
she smiled. i told her i was a biker, really. she said she was a triathlete and biking was her weakest aspect. she asked if i were training for a triathlon.
i said no, i was trying to find alternate cardio options that weren't hopping in front of the tv to the damn Wii.
she said swimming was all about technique and i said i wasn't so much "swimming" as "treading water in a forward trajectory" and she advised me to keep it up and wished me good luck.
so i'll keep going. and we'll see.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
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3 comments:
Darling Rose I've never beed a swimmer, Jews don't do water and aside from that I've passed the age where it's no longer acceptable to appear in public in a bathing costume, I think the age is 40 but when your upper arms start to resemble the mud flaps on an 18 wheeler that's also a good sign. In years past when I would find myself at a beach or the seaside with friends I would wade in up to my ankles, bend and splash some water on my knees and if I had just eaten I'd wait an hour before I allowed myself to do even that.
You, in a public swimming pool? Does this mean you've finally conquered your germ phobia? Well done!
You and I must have the same swimming technique! LOL
I much prefer it to landlocked exercise, though. It is much easier on the joints.
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