Category: Exercise
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Schedule questions.
The more you encourage me to write about The Last Three Pounds (note: new category), the easier it will be for me. No kidding. Those of you who are sick of reading about my diet, think of this as the pledge drive. Keep me obsessed just a little longer, and then we'll go back to…
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The old me would have sat in the car with the kids, the heat running, and waited for rescue.
Garlic-lemon egg salad was chilling quietly in the fridge, sliced red cabbage rested under plastic wrap on my counter ready to steam in the microwave, washed mixed greens breathed quietly in my salad spinner, and the bread machine was set to produce a loaf of "French" in ninety minutes. I was driving to the Y…
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“No. I hate it. I get shin splints and my knees hurt.”
Part 1: "Come on, hon. When was the last time you tried running on the treadmill?" "Uh, I guess it was that time last year when we went to the gym but the pool was closed." "And how much did you weigh that time last year?" "Let's see, it was end of August or beginning…
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Paradigm shift.
"So how was your swim?" Mark asked me as we escorted the kids through the darkening parking lot at the Y. "Excellent. I felt really fast and powerful today. Just cruising through the water. Then at the end one of my legs started to hurt, in the back, so I cut it a little short.…
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Serendipity.
Melissa's family just joined the local YMCA with a family membership. They've been taking swimming lessons for some time, and Melissa is hoping to get more active herself. Meanwhile, Mark's been pushing me to think about broadening my exercise regimen so it's not all swimming all the time. I need to be more flexible,…
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Dumb headline of the week.
Or perhaps "of the weak." From the WaPo: "New Guidelines Make It Easy To Get Fit" Because you know, what's been holding us all back all this time has been those outdated old guidelines.
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Monday I did something I’ve never done before in my whole life.
I tried to get faster. Since winter I've been swimming "endurance" workouts, which are supposed to strengthen me and steady my pace, and "form" workouts, which are supposed to improve my strokes. I have also had a "speed" workout ready to go, written in my little waterproof notebook, but up till now I've been kind…
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Easing into the water.
Back when I struggled with finding the time to exercise, I would never have thought that someday I'd be swimming laps twice a week. Point one: I wasn't a very good swimmer. (Lessons took care of that problem.) The bigger point, the one I thought was a major obstacle: Swimming isn't exactly a simple operation.…
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Metric.
I didn’t have much time for my swim workout last night — I didn’t get to the gym till quite late — so instead of a workout I swam a time trial instead — fifteen minutes, as fast as I can. The last time I timed myself was in April, and I swam 375 yards…
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Minor milestone; and the hidden advantage of being a dumpy, sedentary high school kid.
Mary Jane is 22 months old. This morning I stepped on the scale and saw the same number I saw the day that I learned I was pregnant with her. It's about time, hm. About eight of the 21 extra pounds I still had after I gave birth to MJ (counting from eight weeks postpartum,…
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Swimming with structure.
After I started swimming twice a week, I quickly got bored with just going back and forth for 30-40 minutes and went looking for some pre-planned workouts in the hope that it would make the swimming more interesting. It did! It helps a lot to have several different parts, each with their own discrete goals.…
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My swim bag.
After I finished taking a year of swimming lessons a few years ago, and started trying to swim for fitness, I only managed to do it a couple of times a month. Part of doing it more frequently has been developing a well-stocked, ready-to-go swim bag. I started with the bare bones. My bag had…
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