Wearing Swim Goggles is an Eye-Opening Experience

Literally!

Rocking the goofy fish face

OK - so here's the story - I've been swimming ever since I can remember. I've lived near a lake or a pool just about my entire life and love, love, love to get wet.

But I've never had goggles, and so I've always swam with my eyes shut. Or with my head above water and eyes open.

Clearly this is a large contributor to my poor swimming form.

And I probably never would have bothered to do anything about it, except that I'm aiming for those try-a-tris next summer. Time to get this sorted out.

Picked up a pair of goggles, got to a pool with the kids and WOW! So exciting - I felt like I was 5 years old! Spent the first 20 minutes trying to get the kids to play underwater games with me. LOOK AT ME, DUNK UNDER WATER AND WAVE TO ME, COME ON LET'S PLAY!!!

"Um, Mom? You're being a little embarrassing."

Maybe - but after 39 years of swimming with my eyes shut? WOW!

Swam off to do a few laps, and discovered a lot more to WOW about. Amazing how much difference this made to my speed, my breathing - everything.

Reminds me of my first workout in tech wear last year after finally ditching cotton. Having the right equipment really makes a difference.

Best $19.99 I ever spent!

Here's this week's recap -

Saturday - Great day: went to the gym, took the kids to the pool (see above), took the dog to the dog park (just checked - it's a 2K round trip), then an 8K round trip on my bike to run errands. Oh man, I'm going to sleep well tonight!

Just before this, they were playing Splashpad Warrior Dash - crawling under 'barbed wire' and jumping over 'fire'. Fabulous!

Sunday - Road trip! We drove out of town to visit my family. Got some sprints in playing fetch with Stella while she was onleash - very fun. Took the kids and Stella to the beach for a couple of hours. All were very happy to get wet!



It's a fact: if you roll around in compost in the trees behind Grandma's house and then roll around in dead frog, you will definitely get to go swimming.

Monday - Labour Day! 1.7K dog walk, 2.6K family bike ride after dinner. General nuttiness getting kids ready for school.

Tuesday - First day of school. Two kids now at two different schools = this is going to take some getting used to. Not a bad start though. 2K round trip to the dog park after school.

Wednesday - 2K dog park walk, Curves.

Thursday - 2K dog park walk, Curves  + 20 minute mini boot camp, 1.5K dog walk.

GPOYD: "Waiting for the boy to spray the hose" Edition

Friday - Too hot for the dog park right after work, so goofed around in the backyard with her instead. This is a dog who likes to get wet - which means she fits in well with this family! Took her to the park at the end of the day.

March Already? Better Get Training!!!!!

All of a sudden, it's March and the moving kicks into high gear! I'm signed up for an event every few weeks between now and mid-July, after being on a weather-imposed break since the Jan 1 Resolution Run.

Next event is the St. Pat's 5K on March 13 - that's SOON! For the past 2 months, Lynda and I let our lunchtime walks deteriorate into strolls to run errands. This week? We took things up a notch and turned them back into full-on power walks. Woohoo! We are having fun mapping out a variety of different routes to keep things interesting.



I love snow-covered pine trees. So beautiful.
On a walk with my kids through our neighbourhood - late February 2011

Here's this week's recap:

Saturday - Curves in AM, then hosted a birthday party for my daughter with 6 of her friends. Caaaaaake.

Sunday - Took my daughter swimming for about 90 minutes. Meanwhile, my son came home from a winter camping trip. Tent camping! Weather was perfect for them - snowy and not too cold. They went snowshoing and sledding, played a ton of games out in the snow and did some stargazing away from the city's light-pollution - fabulous!

Monday - Easy 2.1K lunchtime walk with Lynda; ran the kids to the park and back after school (1.5K round trip); Curves after dinner, 36 pushups.

Tuesday - Stairs to 7 in AM, fast 2.5K lunchtime walk past the AGO, 37 pushups.

Trying a few routes outside of the financial district - March 2011

Wednesday - 2.6K powerwalk at lunch past St. James Cathedral; Curves after dinner, 38 pushups.



Thursday - 1.3K walk at lunch around City Hall (time was tight), 40 minutes of straight Zumba and a quick Curves circuit + 39 pushups after dinner.

Friday - 1.5K walk at lunch, 40 pushups in the evening. Trip to the Running Room in between. Bought my very first wicking shirt, wicking capris, and a snazzy red Running Room jacket. So looking forward to doing the St. Pat's 5K in NON-COTTON clothes! OH - NEWSFLASH! The shirt and capris are ladies' size XL, and the jacket is a unisex size L - which makes these the first clothes I've bought in smaller-than-plus sizes in, oh - 13 years? WOOHOO!!!!

What I'm reading this week - Adultery by Richard B. Wright. Now I'm paranoid about what my husband may be up to when I'm not around, thanks for that (eye roll).

Lunchtime walks are much more fun with a change of scenery - March 2011

In Which I Find Myself Wanting Winter Gear

The Santa Shuffle 5K power walk is coming up fast and I find myself dreaming of winter gear to  keep  me warm for it and the Resolution Run 5K in January. This is Canada, folks. OK - it's not like I'm in Whitehorse or Churchill or somewhere with similarly desperate weather, but still. 



Suddenly I find myself wanting traction aids for my sneakers.
Another "sometimes I don't recognize myself" moment - Nov 2010

Hang on here - I need equipment? I didn't need seasonal gear in my old life on the couch. All I needed was an afghan to throw over myself on chilly nights in front of the TV.

Flash forward to last week, when I hit Sportchek to pick up a pair of sneakers to keep at work, because owning one pair of sneakers is no longer enough for me. Then over to this week, where I found myself hitting the Running Room to 'visit' the ponytail toque that I'm coveting and to get a sneak peek of the Resolution Run jacket that I'll be earning in January. I'm coveting a toque? I'm earning a jacket? WHO AM I?

Here's a recap of this week:

Saturday - First snow of the season! Just a dusting but so exciting. Drove to Curves, worked out, then sped home and jogged my daughter to her gymnastics class and back. Jumped in the car and headed out of town to a birthday lunch for my mother in law. Back in the car to the grocery store, then home to host a sleepover party for my son and four of his buddies. Crazy busy.

Oooh - I want The Running Room's
Reflective Jacket - it's perfect for
spring & fall hiking & biking!

Sunday - Today was a writeoff. Too many treats in the house because of party (chips and dip and soda, oh my), and my son and his friends were up until 5am this morning. Enough said.

Monday - Stairs to 7 in AM, 2.5K powerwalk at lunch, Curves after dinner.

Tuesday - Stairs to 7 at lunch.

Wednesday - 2K power walk at lunch. Rainy today. Definintely need those traction aids - the pavement was slippery!

Thursday - Curves after dinner. No stairs or power walk. Some days are just like this.

Friday - 2K power walk at lunch. Met my husband at the Running Room and showed him my wish list. The Santa Shuffle is tomorrow!!!

What I'm reading: Teacher Man by Frank McCourt.