I go this off of Jasper Blake's website. He was IM Canada champion in '06.
There’s no dribbling
There are no sticks
There’s no passing
I don’t get extra points for my outfit
It’s heart
It’s lungs
It’s persistence
It’s patience
I don’t get to sit on the bench and rest
I don’t get a time out to plan my next move
I don’t get orange slices at half time
It’s training smart
It’s training hard
It’s eight hour days on the bike
I don’t get bathroom breaks
I don’t get style points
I don’t get a green jacket
And I don’t walk up the fairway to the 18th green
I have to be smart
I strategize
I check… I double check
And I endure
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
This is awesome!
So I have started about three blogs that have yet to be published. Some great stories. Some ugly times. Some funny moments being attacked by 200 elementary kids in bathing suits. That being said, I get distracted and don't finish writing them. They will come out soon enough.... when I have a moment :)
But I just have to say.... THIS TRAINING IS AMAZING! Things are clicking, workouts are feeling better, I feel stronger. It is amazing.
I worked a crazy long day today, did a few "house" chores, and still even fit in two incredible workouts today in the pool and on the bike. Jenn heard some of the grunts out in the living room (I was cycling on my indoor trainer... one legged drills!) and had to come check on me. I think her line was "Sure sounds like someone is having sex in here!"
This was a great day! 179 more like it and we are in great shape!
And I am even going to bed before 10:00 tonight! It's just getting better and better!
But I just have to say.... THIS TRAINING IS AMAZING! Things are clicking, workouts are feeling better, I feel stronger. It is amazing.
I worked a crazy long day today, did a few "house" chores, and still even fit in two incredible workouts today in the pool and on the bike. Jenn heard some of the grunts out in the living room (I was cycling on my indoor trainer... one legged drills!) and had to come check on me. I think her line was "Sure sounds like someone is having sex in here!"
This was a great day! 179 more like it and we are in great shape!
And I am even going to bed before 10:00 tonight! It's just getting better and better!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Attack of the elementary school swimmers
It's Friday afternoon and it's my monthly swim test day. The pool's pretty deserted. A few retirees taking in their afternoon laps. A lifeguard or two day dreaming of something far from the pool deck. Scattered pull buoys and flippers spread around to indicate some activity had taken place... just not anytime recently. The excitement in the pool is as amped up as the cool sounds of the easy listening radio station playing faintly in the distance.
I don my swim cap, get the goggles lined up, and push off through the water. The sloshing of the water has become one of my favourite sounds as my time in the pool has become far more meditational than excruciating. It used to be painful. Three years ago I would flail around, dragging my butt through the water and praying that when the time came to actually race, I wouldn't drown. Now, I love it. I am stronger, more comfortable, and dare I say swimming has become a strength. I am not fast, I mean I still don't kick at all (that's a whole different struggle), but I am fast...er.
My test Friday was a time test to swim 1000 metres. 20 laps. The first few laps feel great. Long strokes, big pull with each arm and the rhythm starts to kick in. I see the same things each lap as I lift my head to breathe. 2 strokes...the water slide...3 strokes...a pile of kick boards...3 strokes...the 1.7 mtr depth sign...3 strokes...the bulletin board with the little kid swim lesson pictures on it...3 strokes...the bottom of the green tube slide that flings people in the deep end from 5 feet above the surface...3 strokes...end of the pool... tuck, push off, repeat. I have seen these same things for weeks and it makes me smile to see them each lap. The consistency feels great. After 20 trips back and forth, I click my watch and the 19:54 brings a bigger smile to my face. Fastest 1000m yet where I didn't feel like I was gong to die!
I hop in the sauna as a little reward. Hot air. Super humid. I love this place! The muscles start to relax and I start to relax. A little boy walks by the sauna window. Another skips along behind him, snorkle dangling off a rediculously large diving mask. Then another... and another. Kids are now pouring out passed the sauna door. I poke my head out the door and there are literally hundreds of elementary school kids streaming out of the locker rooms. Like a salmon going up stream I fight through the sea of swim trunks and pass around the googley faces of giddy 3rd graders. The showers are no better as the wall of kids only briefly pause under the shower heads, just long enough to bypass the life guards checking for "wet/clean" kids. It is truly a sight and after about 10 minutes the roar of childish excitement has moved to the pool.
I initially wrote this three weeks ago. And, even after my close call with the wall of children, I have successfully repeated this three weeks in a row. Note to self: Friday at 1:30.... they show up :)
I don my swim cap, get the goggles lined up, and push off through the water. The sloshing of the water has become one of my favourite sounds as my time in the pool has become far more meditational than excruciating. It used to be painful. Three years ago I would flail around, dragging my butt through the water and praying that when the time came to actually race, I wouldn't drown. Now, I love it. I am stronger, more comfortable, and dare I say swimming has become a strength. I am not fast, I mean I still don't kick at all (that's a whole different struggle), but I am fast...er.
My test Friday was a time test to swim 1000 metres. 20 laps. The first few laps feel great. Long strokes, big pull with each arm and the rhythm starts to kick in. I see the same things each lap as I lift my head to breathe. 2 strokes...the water slide...3 strokes...a pile of kick boards...3 strokes...the 1.7 mtr depth sign...3 strokes...the bulletin board with the little kid swim lesson pictures on it...3 strokes...the bottom of the green tube slide that flings people in the deep end from 5 feet above the surface...3 strokes...end of the pool... tuck, push off, repeat. I have seen these same things for weeks and it makes me smile to see them each lap. The consistency feels great. After 20 trips back and forth, I click my watch and the 19:54 brings a bigger smile to my face. Fastest 1000m yet where I didn't feel like I was gong to die!
I hop in the sauna as a little reward. Hot air. Super humid. I love this place! The muscles start to relax and I start to relax. A little boy walks by the sauna window. Another skips along behind him, snorkle dangling off a rediculously large diving mask. Then another... and another. Kids are now pouring out passed the sauna door. I poke my head out the door and there are literally hundreds of elementary school kids streaming out of the locker rooms. Like a salmon going up stream I fight through the sea of swim trunks and pass around the googley faces of giddy 3rd graders. The showers are no better as the wall of kids only briefly pause under the shower heads, just long enough to bypass the life guards checking for "wet/clean" kids. It is truly a sight and after about 10 minutes the roar of childish excitement has moved to the pool.
I initially wrote this three weeks ago. And, even after my close call with the wall of children, I have successfully repeated this three weeks in a row. Note to self: Friday at 1:30.... they show up :)
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