Wednesday: Double Swim

So today I got to swim one right on time, so that I could get in as much yardage as possible before dashing home to hand off the baby and get to my hair appointment. Nick was there today, and it made for a great swim, except that I still have a seriously epic blister on my right foot. This meant no fins for any of the kicks. Very frustrating and I will be thrilled when this blister heals up. Also, because I have a fabulous new pair of shoes as pictured above, that I will get to wear as soon as my feet are restored.

I have somehow lost the workout, but I will tell you what I remember:

• 200 swim/200 pull/ 200 pull/ 200 swim
• then some pulling I think
• 5 x 50 drill (zipper/6 kick switch/ catch-up/one arm/ fist)
• 8 x 50 kick
• 5 x 50 drill (same ones as above)

This all ended up being about 2500 meters. I jumped out of the pool and ran Ivan home and made it to my hair appointment. I came home, and put Ivan down for a nap. I was able to get in Gilad and some serious stretching. My hip is still funny. It isn't sore really, but funny and a bit sore if I stretch it too far. I made an appointment with a new Orthopedic Surgeon, and ruling out a stress fracture plan to go from there. WHAT IF IT IS A STRESS FRACTURE?

I can't worry about it now. I went into work and then ran quite late to swim number two which ran as follows:

• 3 x 100 swim @ 1:50
• 3 x 50 kick @ 1:10
• 2 x 200 pull @ 3:30
• 2 x 100 swim @ 1:45
• 2 x 50 kick @ :60
• 10 x 50 swim with stick @ 1:05 ( I only used the stick twice, it is really miserable, so we just swam free style)
• 200 cool down

This was only an 1800 meter swim. That is how late it was when I got in the pool. I missed a full mile. Swim was uncrowded tonight, so I only had one person in my lane, and none of our coaches were there, so we each had a printed out workout that we followed. It was great. Kind of laid back, no repeating of instructions. It was very quiet; relaxing workout.

Tuesday: I Really Can't Take Ivan to Lunch and My Sugar-Bust is Over

So, today I overslept and sprinted out the door to Bible study dragging the baby along. I woke up knowing that my sugar bust was over, and knowing that I had ferreted away a delicious brownie in the freezer. Does that make me crazy? - that I woke up salivating for a brownie FOR BREAKFAST. Actually, my sugar bust reward day was not a real sugar blowout. I just had a brownie with breakfast and few sips of Dr. Pepper for lunch. That was it: no Sonic Blast, no eating my weight in Godiva chocolates, no ordering out a special dessert.

My friend, Robin, and her parents came to visit with me and we then went to lunch at Jason's Deli. Have you been to Jason's Deli lately? The last time I went was bad-date circa 1999, Harlingen, Texas. I had for lunch what I would describe as a turkey sandwich of questionable freshness. The meat seemed slightly sweaty and the bread was decidedly stale.

The Jason's Deli of today is a very different place. I ordered a "nutty salad", which involved walnuts, pumpkin seeds, fresh greens, feta cheese and roast turkey. It was so good I didn't even use the dressing, and that is saying something. I also plowed through the organic hot dog I ordered for Ivan. It was a delicious lunch AND they have a salad bar. Oh friends, there is nothing that I enjoy more than a salad bar. I can pile my plate crazy high and have complete control over the portions of all the pieces of the salad puzzle. I love it!!!! Also, their sandwiches looked so amazing. I found it to be reasonably priced as well.

A downside is that their high chairs are on wheels and they have no belt to lock Ivan into the high chair. He was out of the high chair every few seconds. I counted that he did 6 laps around the restaurant while we were eating and 10 mini laps around the divider between the entry doors and the first row of booths. He dumped both a salt and a pepper shaker upside down and mysteriously stuck a lollipop to my shoulder. How did he do it? Where did he get it?

It was alike having lunch with a cross between a Tasmanian devil and a tsunami. What do you do? I popped his leg once and he looked at me unblinkingly as if to say, "Really, weak one, that's all you've got? I have only begun to empty my arsenal of degradation and violence". He is at the age when you have to address the issue immediately; taking him to the bathroom and waling on him is not in his developmental scheme. We are past the days where it is appropriate to wale on anyone in public, so I really just had to suffer, apologize to other diners, peel the lollipop off my shoulder, and look haggard. Ivan looked cute, acted horribly, and just to ice the cake, he pooped his pants with something that smelled strongly like a combination of rotten fish, sulphur, garbage and port-a-john. It was hard times.

We took a walk at home and then I did a Gilad workout, some yoga and climbed on the trainer for a 35 minute ride with my heart rate in zone two and three. Watching Rachel Zoe in Paris. Oh Please, watch the Chanel show.

Monday: Just a Swim

So, today, I only got in a swim. This is sort of my day off. I got to the pool late, but still got in 3200 meters. The workout went as follows:

• 200 swim/200 pull/200 pull/ 200 swim
• 6 x 200 swim @ 4:00
• 500 pull
• 7 x 100 swim @ 2:00

Now, the first 200 pull was actually supposed to be a 200 kick, and oh-how-I-love to get in the lane by myself in the morning with a kick board and fins and kick a couple of hundred while I think my thoughts. Today, however, I was rocking some epic blisters on either side of my big toes, so there was no way to put on fins, and I am a big wuss about kicking without fins. So, I did some extra pulling. I could have done the 7 x 100 swims on 1:50, but it is so much easier to calculate your time on a multiple of 60 leave time, so that is what I did.

Next, I would like to take this opportunity to complain a bit more about the trainer. Another difficulty with the trainer is choosing my times. Ideally, I would get up in the morning before everyone else is awake and ride, but the trainer is quite loud and the the television has to be turned up even louder to hear it over the spinning wheels and trainer friction. This means that I can't do it while my husband is sleeping, because the proximity of the only room for the trainer to our bedroom means that my husband would be woken up an hour before the desired time. I cannot ride when the baby is awake, because he sits beside the trainer and tries to stick his fingers in the spokes or tries to grab my foot as it makes the round on the pedal meaning that someone could lose a finger.

So, my trainer time is typically at 8:00 PM, after we get the baby to bed and I am changed and set up. This means that tomorrow night, I will hop on and catch up on my Rachel Zoe and finish watching Saturday Night Live, which is in such great form these days, by the way.

My hip is feeling better and my sugar bust is officially over tomorrow. My friend Robin is coming to spend the day with me and I have Bible study tomorrow!!!! What will my sugar bust treat be??? I am really considering the Sonic Blast with extra Butterfinger!!!!! Also, our windows came in today, and are going to be finished tomorrow.

Sunday: My Workout is on Target

So, one day I will post a picture of myself on the trainer. Today is not that day, because my vanity cannot handle it. Being on the trainer is rather depressing for more reasons than the vileness of being trapped on your road bike in a locked-down stationary position.

Another reason the trainer is depressing is that I wear my oldest paint-the-house, lock-the-doors-so-no-one-sees-me, I-wouldn't-be-caught-dead-in-that clothing. You get revoltingly sweaty on the trainer, so it is necessary to pull your hair back and wear a sweatband `a la 1973. Then I wear the oldest t-shirt and sports bra I can find. Today, for instance found me wearing the last of my bright yellow Wave Country staff t-shirts (complete with bleach spots and a suspicious stain that could be blood or something worse) and a pair of bike shorts so old that the back was completely transparent and the elastic cracked as I pulled them on.

If you ride on the road, you wear your nice stuff: your cute riding tank, the good shorts, the helmet with your hair in pigtails, and the socks that match your helmet. I climb on the trainer looking so heinous that What Not To Wear would not have me. Tim Gunn would cry himself to sleep for three weeks. I caught a glimpse of myself as I walked past my mirror today in full slack biker regalia and shuddered. Yellow is not my color.

Anyway, I rode the trainer for 45 minutes. I stayed in zone 2 on my heart rate monitor during the scheduled television programming then rode in zone 3 during commercials. I watched the exciting finale of Jockeys. It was the Derby episode and I watched the actual Derby race twice, because it was so exciting. It was a great episode with lots of unexpected twists. As usual, Mike Smith had a lot of wisdom to offer and there was some great music. Joshua Radin, always amazing, had the finale closing song called No Envy, No Fear. It was completely inspirational.

After biking, I did a Gilad workout. It was a good set of lunges and a weak set for ab work, I thought. Most of the ab work today was plank position, and it was challenging, but did not leave my abs screaming as it typically does.

I made myself a late lunch and headed out to our first Sunday pool swim for fall. Workout as follows:

• 300 warm-up
• 6 x 200 (swim, back stoke, six-kick-switch, fist drill, and some others I can't remember)
• 3 x 200 (25 fast/25 easy/25 easy/ 25 fast/ 50 fast/ 50 easy)
• Then we did several relays with our feet tied together, where we left from the middle of the pool-EXHAUSTING

Headed home, and had healthy enchiladas for dinner. Only two more days of sugar bust. Worked on my Bible Study, which is just great. Studied Romans 2:17-3:8.

Went to Church this morning where the minister preached on Matthew 5, a killer passage and it deals with divorce and also Job, another killer passage as it deals with the persecution of one of the Lord's faithful. Ivan came back into the sanctuary with me for communion, and was reasonably well behaved.

Today was a lovely day!!!

Picture is from Thee Blind Wines, a fundraiser for Franklin's Heritage Foundations

Saturday: Confession

OK, so I should confess that last night, while we were waiting for our food at Swanky's, I had a very delicious frozen margarita. That really does count as a sweet, so I have had a sugar bust melt-down, as it was quite sugary and delicious.

Anyway, I climbed back on the wagon, or off the wagon (which is it?) this morning. I think the margarita was not worth it, as it was good at the time, but kind of gross later.

Today, I got up late and had a cup of coffee and breakfast before putting Ivan down for a nap. I climbed dutifully onto my trainer and rode for 45 minutes, which is my max. It is all I have in me, and I did stay in zone two and moved into zone three during commercials. This was great.

After Ivan woke up, I piled him into the car for a perfume research trip to Dillard's. Then we met up with my sister and her husband at the Plaid Rabbit in Green Hills. We picked out some great things for my soon to be introduced nephew. We then rushed home and had a delicious dinner. Put Ivan down to sleep and then watched Sunshine Cleaning. Sunday swims are back at the pool tomorrow!!!!

Friday Workout: A Lovely Swim

Again, I am so training without a race. I am just training at random with a vague idea about keeping fit. It is never wise, as I constantly feel I am slacking, yet I work out a lot. So anyway, Ivan stayed with my parents last night, which was great. I slept late and made a smoothie and headed out the door in the rain to swim. Workout as follows:

• 500 swim/ 300 pull/ 200 drill
• 8 x 25 @ 0:30
• 4 x 50 free drills @ 1:05
• 8 x 75 swim @ 1:30
• 8 x 25 @ @ :30
• 4 x 50 free drills @ 1:05
• 4 x 100 free @ 1:50
• 2 x 300 pull @ 6:00

I finished the whole workout and then took the longest shower ever, because Ivan was at my parents' house, and I did not have to hurry to the nursery to pick up Ivan before my two hour allotment ran out.

I then went out to my parents house to pick up the baby. He took a long nap and I had a copious amount of trail mix, before I caved and had a piece of dark chocolate. I brought Ivan home, and he took a really long walk, before Elliott got home and we went for dinner at Swanky's . Watching Adventurland!!

Thursday: One Hour on the Trainer

So, today I took Ivan to practice his swimming at the MTSS indoor pool. He did a great job of floating on his back, and I am just pleased that he has retained the information because it was expensive and redoing it would surely mean that I would not get to have a new pair of jeans or maybe a beaded Feed Bag. So we are keeping up our practice on a weekly basis.

Workout wise, today was less than great. I was able to get in some Gilad and some work with my foam roller. My goal was to be on the trainer for 1 and 1/2 hours. This seemed like an insufferable amount of time and honestly, I spent all day dreading it. There are people in my swim class who I have heard talk about staying on the trainer for hours at a time. More than two hours is something I can't imagine. Anyway, Missy told me that she DVRs an hour and half of television and then rides in zone two while the show is on and the rides in zone three during commercials. I made it through Saturday Night Weekend Update Thursday edition and Parks and Recreation. Only one hour. My husband helpfully told me that he doesn't think that there is any point in staying on a trainer for longer than 45 minutes. I almost wish he hadn't told me this opinion, as I will now probably never be able to stay on for longer than 45 minutes ever. EVER. Also, tonight, for a different vibe, I put a phonebook under the wheel since the back wheel is elevated by the trainer and without front elevation it simulates a downhill ride. However, the phonebook scooted around, and from time to time I would have to step out of the pedals and kick the phonebook into place. Also, disappointing, I think that I mostly stayed in zone one. I was just a wuss on the trainer.

Anyway, I was actually supposed to host book club tonight, but no one finished the book and most people couldn't come, so we postponed the event in favor of getting coffee sometime next week.

Anyway, swim tomorrow!!!! So much more fun than the trainer!!!! Sugar bust going well, only four more days left.