Working and Working Out

I really admire women who work and work out. It is not easy to try and fit it all in. Now that I am down to three kids at home and only working a few hours a day, I still have trouble budgeting my time! How did I ever train for triathlons when I had six kids at home, homeschooling and working part-time? Not too sure, except to say I truly worked out to relax!

I have been working out in the mornings, but am now teaching in the mornings. I refuse to wake up before six and really don't want to work out in the dark anyway. So I end up running on Mon. Wed. and Fri. after I drop baby off at work. In Costa Rica they go three mornings and on the other two days they go in the afternoon. So on those days I drop her off and swim.

The biggest problem I have is not getting diverted into other things on my swim days. In the old days I swam at five thirty in the morning, so it was over and forgotten before we even had breakfast. I also had to take naps on swim days. Now I am trying to figure out where I am going to fit the bike time. How am I getting less time as my kids grow up and leave rather than more time? That is something to puzzle over for sure.

New Friends

I love it when I meet someone new who speaks English, especially at the pool where I am always alone in my mind at least. Today there a was a tall blond in a lane by herself, about my speed, so I jumped in the lane with her. Toward the end of my workout I asked her if I could borrow her kick board, as I have not been able to speak with anyone about using the locked up ones. I have a feeling they are not free to use, just a guess. After we were both done we got to talking and the best news in the world, he and her hubby just opened a multi-sport store! I told her the drawback to meeting her is that I am going to be broke now! They even have bikes, I am getting closer to my bike I can feel it!

First Swim Jitters

Part of the reason I have not been swimming is because the downtown pool is freakin freezing. I mean to tell you it is freezing. So I have been fretting and worrying about getting my butt into that freezing pool.

Then I got to thinking about my years of swimming with the masters in Flagstaff. Getting up at five a.m. every morning, scraping the ice off the car windows, in my pj's no less, and dragging to the pool 15 miles away. I pretty much slept through the workout, which was a good thing, but man was I tired all day.

Now I will head down around eightish, on the bus, swim my own workout, and be home in time to home school the girlies. Not sure what I will do once massage classes start, but maybe do the afternoons. The only hard part once again, is the unheated pool.

The good news is that by Friday the pool will be warming up. Yup they fill it on Sunday and by the end of the week it starts warming up, but it is dirty also. I think I prefer dirty and a little warmer. As you can see by the picture though it is beautiful and I am sure thankful to be so close to it.

You know the saddest part is that I will probably be the exact same speed I was eight years ago. When I swam everyday I was the same speed as when I only swam once a week. In other words after six weeks of swimming with the masters I was no faster. It was easier, but no faster. Of course unfortunately the same can be said about running club. I went for about four years and never got any faster. My only goal at running club was to keep up with my friend, the one that was 62 years old!

LIFE IS GOOD

O.K. I think this shirt is about on it's last thread. But the problem is that I love this shirt. I have had it obviously a very long time and it works great for running. The biggest problem is the funny tan lines I get when I run in it. But it is very well air conditioned and keeps my shoulders covered.

I guess since I have reached my goal I could reward myself with some new running clothes. The only problem with this is the fact that when you wear fancy, smancy running clothes people actually expect you to run like, fast.

It was like when I did triathlons. I had a really nice bike that I had traded for with massages. Well when I would show up for a race people would take a look at my bike and think I was actually going to be the "competition". Ha, ha, ha, they quickly discovered differently once the swim began.

Anyway I am already self-conscious about running in my "runner watch". I read once that the only difference between a runner and a jogger is the watch. But I really am more of a jogger, and believe me it takes a really long time to jog a marathon! I would say I have it on the really fast, and kind of fast people when it comes to endurance. I can run all day. I have to to finish the race because I am so freakin slow. But I am doing it and having fun, most of the way, and staying healthy.