I went the to rec center pool this morning with my friend Annette. Since it is a Saturday, the pool was crowded. Babies in the shallow end and 2+ people in each lap lane. Annette was tempted to kidnap a baby. The water temperature was warm enough at 82 which was my fear, that the water would be too cold and I would hate going to practice because of it. I was able to make it 1.5 laps before I had to stop to catch my breath. I was happy I could do that much without flipping over to my back or turning into a doggy paddle. I'll have to continue my cardio training to improve my endurance in the pool. I think body pump has helped my strength so my legs and arms are capable of doing more laps. Annette and I didn't swim too long because we think we were annoying and interfering with the 'real' swimmers in our lane and who wanted in our lane. We got in the sauna then for a few minutes but I still felt tired and dizzy from swimming. I signed up for a membership to use the pool to practice on weekdays when the other people in the pool should be working. I also signed up for the stroke clinic class but saw on the bulletin board that it was full. So I was kind of upset because I didn't have a back up plan. But the front desk guy looked it up on his computer and there were only 2 other people signed up so I made 3 which was the class minimum (the max is 7). Now I must find my suit. I was the only person besides the babies wearing a 2 piece. I'm going to make a training schedule/calendar too so I can keep track of my progress and make sure I keep my days even in the type of workouts that I do.
Just found a box outside my door (under the direction of Sam). Inside the box was a little red box with chocolates in it. I always wanted a heart shaped box of chocolates from a boy I liked. Dream come true! And also in the box was a baby rose plant with a pretty pot. The first thing I pulled out of the box was a 'small pets shipping warmer' so I was worried there might be a small animal in it and was waiting for it to scare me. But nothing did. The warmer must have been to keep the rose from freezing. I consider the rose Sam and my equivalent to the love fern on How to Loose a Guy in Ten Days. Sam works tonight so we are celebrating Valentines Day tomorrow. Last year we had just started dating so I just send him an e-card and we avoided going out on Valentines Day to avoid pressure or stress. Celebrating Valentines on the day after is kind of becoming a tradition now.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
mp3, classifieds and D.C.
They are jackhammering outside again. And of course, today I go on another run. I bet they planned it so that they could be out there when I run. There's less guys though and I have about 15-30 minutes before I run so maybe they will be done by then. Yesterday I went and rode a bike at the gym and then got a new mp3 player. I needed help at Best Buy and no one asked me if I needed any even though I wandered around a lot, looked lost and stood at the end of the mp3 player isle looking for help. I finally found a group of salespeople standing together and told them I needed help in the mp3 player isle. After a lot of comparing and thinking, I ended up getting a 4GB clip. But now I'm having problems filling it up. I have yet to reach 2GB of work out songs so I am putting other whole albums onto it. I'm also having issues keeping my play lists too. That's annoying.
I looked through the Washington Post classifieds this morning thinking that they might have some kind of job related to 'landscape.' But what I found was pages and pages of estate sales and only ONE COLUMN of jobs. I'm guessing that the Washington Post is encouraging people to spend money buying crap at the estate sales instead of getting a job and making money. I did find a classified for a 6th grade algebra tutor. That is in my education experience and I tutored and elementary school girl when I was in h.s.
I had fun being a 'visiting local' (not a tourist) in D.C. on Wednesday and playing with Sam some. I didn't get lost any even though traffic was heavy for an early Wednesday afternoon. I ha vent toured D.C. since 5th grade really except for Megan and my attempts to see the cherry blossoms which most often fail. There weren't crowds so I used a map I printed out to find and tour museums which didn't have an admission cost. When spring time does come, I'm going to go back and be a real tourist with a camera and everything.
I looked through the Washington Post classifieds this morning thinking that they might have some kind of job related to 'landscape.' But what I found was pages and pages of estate sales and only ONE COLUMN of jobs. I'm guessing that the Washington Post is encouraging people to spend money buying crap at the estate sales instead of getting a job and making money. I did find a classified for a 6th grade algebra tutor. That is in my education experience and I tutored and elementary school girl when I was in h.s.
I had fun being a 'visiting local' (not a tourist) in D.C. on Wednesday and playing with Sam some. I didn't get lost any even though traffic was heavy for an early Wednesday afternoon. I ha vent toured D.C. since 5th grade really except for Megan and my attempts to see the cherry blossoms which most often fail. There weren't crowds so I used a map I printed out to find and tour museums which didn't have an admission cost. When spring time does come, I'm going to go back and be a real tourist with a camera and everything.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Running Better
I went on my second run today. The weather is great which motivates me to go outside and enjoy it. It went much better this time. I ran the whole half mile including the uphill part to the halfway point. I walked a little to begin the second half and then ran the rest of the way down. My collapsed (not deflated as I referred to it in my previous blog) is feeling much better and I think my breathing has improved too. Maybe the cycling helped my cardio even though I only did a minimal amount of it.
While I was at the store and on my run today I had to run 2 scans on my computer because it told me I had a trojan virus. But of course it took more than a half an hour to run each scan and both came back with 'no trojan found.' But since I couldn't play online, I had no other option than to get my other errands (i.e. store, run, organize bedroom) done. Shopping wasn't to successful either. I was looking for my one piece swimsuit for my free-style swim training but R.E.I. doesn't have their swimwear out yet. What kind of sporting store is it if they don't have all their stuff out year round. They shouldn't have 'seasonal' items. Outdoor enthusiasts do this stuff all year round. I knew Target has some swimsuit options online that are somewhere between sexy and ugly sporty. But when I went there, I couldn't them either. This is making it difficult for me to practice swimming if I cant buy an appropriate swimsuit anywhere.
When I was getting ready to leave this morning, construction workers came and started to jack hammer my 'driveway.' But that didn't last long and now they are working on the road just off the driveway making it smell like tar. This deterred me from starting my run when I first left the house because I didn't want ogling from them. They had already been beeping their horns so I was hoping that any beeping when I was out there was just a continuation of that and not directed at me.
Going to visit D.C. this afternoon. Sam will be working so I can play with him a little and can also walk around and catch some rays and work on my cardio or visit museums. But driving in D.C. has always and continues to be scary and a challenge for me. I call Sam most times mumbling on the verge or crying that "I'm lost. Help!" He can tell my the mumbling what is wrong and I am usually in not so good of an area. So even though he finds humor in these calls, he just gave me turn my turn directions to get there this afternoon to prevent another call even though the trip should only take 12 minutes. I always tell people that getting anywhere in D.C. takes an hour. I'll have to be home before rush hour and the gym tonight of course.
While I was at the store and on my run today I had to run 2 scans on my computer because it told me I had a trojan virus. But of course it took more than a half an hour to run each scan and both came back with 'no trojan found.' But since I couldn't play online, I had no other option than to get my other errands (i.e. store, run, organize bedroom) done. Shopping wasn't to successful either. I was looking for my one piece swimsuit for my free-style swim training but R.E.I. doesn't have their swimwear out yet. What kind of sporting store is it if they don't have all their stuff out year round. They shouldn't have 'seasonal' items. Outdoor enthusiasts do this stuff all year round. I knew Target has some swimsuit options online that are somewhere between sexy and ugly sporty. But when I went there, I couldn't them either. This is making it difficult for me to practice swimming if I cant buy an appropriate swimsuit anywhere.
When I was getting ready to leave this morning, construction workers came and started to jack hammer my 'driveway.' But that didn't last long and now they are working on the road just off the driveway making it smell like tar. This deterred me from starting my run when I first left the house because I didn't want ogling from them. They had already been beeping their horns so I was hoping that any beeping when I was out there was just a continuation of that and not directed at me.
Going to visit D.C. this afternoon. Sam will be working so I can play with him a little and can also walk around and catch some rays and work on my cardio or visit museums. But driving in D.C. has always and continues to be scary and a challenge for me. I call Sam most times mumbling on the verge or crying that "I'm lost. Help!" He can tell my the mumbling what is wrong and I am usually in not so good of an area. So even though he finds humor in these calls, he just gave me turn my turn directions to get there this afternoon to prevent another call even though the trip should only take 12 minutes. I always tell people that getting anywhere in D.C. takes an hour. I'll have to be home before rush hour and the gym tonight of course.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Deflated lung
Oh, and I have a pain in my back under my right shoulder blade. The pain started this morning and I figured it is from sitting crooked or running. But after getting back from the gym and taking a few deep breaths. I realized that it is my lung. I probably deflated it cycling last Thursday or during my run yesterday. This triathlon might be the death of me. But I can complain all I want because I'm registered and can't back out.
Cycling sucks
I just got back from the gym about a half an hour ago. I went to an hour of pilates which helped to stretch out my shins and hip flexors which were sore from yesterday's run. And then I went directly to a cycling class. It is an hour long and I thought it would be better than last week's class because the teacher was different. But I couldn't make it a half an hour. Luckily I had a bike close to the door so I could easily dismount between songs, wipe down my bike and sneak out the door without disturbing anyone else. I think I'll just stick with bikes down at the treadmills so I can go at my own pace. Its not like I'm trying to be Lance Armstrong or anything. Tomorrow is supposed to be 68 so I'll take my run again after the a.m. showers and maybe continue with some power walking to keep my heart rate up while also enjoying more of the weather. I'll still go to Body Pump tomorrow night at the gym to keep building and toning my muscles because I don't want all this running to widdle me down to nothing.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Made it!
Just returned from my first run. What I didn't notice while measuring the length of my route in my car is that it is uphill to the halfway/turn around point. I think I made it about a quarter mile then walked the remainder of the half mile uphill. Coming back the next half mile was good and I ran the whole way and probably could have went longer. But I didn't want to over do it on my first try. Too bad the weather today isn't going to last or I wouldn't mind taking just 15 minutes out of my afternoon to take a scenic run. Going to the gym to run on the treadmill will take about 45 minutes with travel included. Seems like a waste. One other note that I made while running is that i need more than an hour to digest my food. My side started to hurt but I tried to keep breathing properly so luckily the side pain never became too much for me to handle. Like the cycling class last week, when my body warms up, my nose starts running. That's annoying and distracting but gave me a few breaks in the cycling class to wipe it. Must keep the motivation to continue my training. Need to do 2.5 miles easily before the triathlon.
Triathalon
It's official. Sam and I have registered for a 'super sprint (mini) triathlon' for Autism in Bethesda on April 19. http://events.autismspeaks.org/faf/r.asp?t=3&i=301241 I haven't done much cardio since a conditioning class in college and don't like running but figured I'd have enough time to train since I don't have a job and have a lot of free time on my hands. I've been attending Pilates, abs and body pump (weight) classes at the gym and decided to try a cycling class last week to test myself. My body was fine but my lungs and heart couldn't do much more than the 45 minutes that it was. Today I'm going to go for a run since the weather is nicer out. I have new, real Adidas running sneakers that I picked up with Amber at Costco last week. She said I couldn't wear my sneakers that I got at Walmart a few months ago. So I'm kind of excited to wear them on my run. I'm tyring to chug water for the next half hour before I venture out. I drove my route on the way to the grocery store this morning so I know how far I need to go. I think I'll be able to train and be confident in the biking and running portions of the triathlon, but there's also a swimming portion. When i go swimming i might take two strokes on my stomach and then roll over to my back and paddle around the pool. So after some research and hesitation, I'm going to sign up for a stroke class at the local rec center. Apparently I have to get goggles and a one piece too because bikinis aren't very good for competitive swimming. Another problem I might have is that I hold my breath when I go under water so I'm gonna go to the rec center to 'get my feet wet' before the real class starts in March. So here starts my triathlon training. I'm scared but cant back out now because I'm registered.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
