swimming

Long Time No Blog!

/ Jess / 7 Comments

Hey everyone! Sorry for the lapse in posting – I’ve been on vacation for the last week and made a point to spend a little less time “plugged in”. It was hard to break the constant habit of checking my phone, but the less I did the easier it got. I had my first open water swim (eeeek!), Hubby and I went to the movies, we went hiking in the park and we did some shopping at the fancy mall (don’t we all know one?). 

  

Wednesday night I made a dream come true and saw the Smashing Pumpkins at the PNC Arts Center. I don’t mention it very much here, but next to running, music (most notably 90’s alternative music) is my life, and the Pumpkins are everything to me. Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin were a few of my first celebrity crushes, my father took me to my first concert at MSG to see them, I used their lyrics in our wedding vows… You get the point. So I met up with a bunch of my best girls (one even came all the way down from Cape Cod!) and we had an amazing night filled with nostalgia, laughs, and fun 🙂

  

As if my week could get any better, on Friday we schlepped into NYC to celebrate my birthday with some adventures at the Museum of Natural History!

  
 
After about 7 straight hours of walking and climbing stairs, my legs were fried. So this morning’s final open water swim before tomorrow’s triathlon was just what the non-existent doctor ordered!

  
I also got to try out my new birthday gift from hubby: a GoPro! 🙂

When I first dove into the water on Monday night, I didn’t know what to expect. I joined the Jersey Girl Triathlon crew for a group swim to conquer all the unknowns I faced: what would swimming in the ocean for the first time be like? What kind of crowd would be at the race? Was I going to regret this? You know – the stress inducing questions that keep you up at night. Well it turns out the answers were: awesome, the best, and hell no!

  
I’m listening to my towel from now on.

Today’s swim was no different from my first, either. Waking up at 5:30 to drive down to the starting line, making a new friend (What’s up, Amanda of King Yogart?), swimming, getting my ass handed to me by a few waves, and sitting through a Q&A with the race coach was the best thing I could have done the morning after my birthday.

  
Amanda, Heather (my tri-pro cousin), and I were all smiles after our swim!

And now I know: if I can swim 300 meters, get knocked face-first into the sand and spun around like a plastic bag in a tornado, get sand rash all over my elbow, and still feel ready to bike & run, I can do anything!

So now that I’ve got 7 weeks of training, a handful of solid brick workouts (in pretty atrocious weather, to boot), and 2 open water swims under my Fuelbelt, I’m ready to take on the Jersey Girl Triathlon tomorrow morning! 

  

Friday Favorites

/ Jess / 10 Comments

It’s been a while since I did Friday Favorites, so let’s resurrect that, huh? Here are some of the things (both running and non-running-related) that I’m loving right now:

1. My new Brooks Transcend 2’s

IMG_7955 (2)If you’ve seen/read any of my posts in the last year and a half, you can probably tell that I love my Brooks Transcends. I was hooked early on with the 1’s when they were first released in February of 2014, and after a brief fling with Asics’ Gel Nimbus (very nice for sure, but not my fave), the love affair continued into this year with the release of the 2’s.

A month or so ago, I posted a pic of my favorite neon pink kicks on Instagram for Brooks’ #thankyourunning campaign, and they loved it so much that they used it on their own site, which then led to last week’s IG Takeover. To thank me for everything, the team at Brooks sent me some gear and a new pair of Transcend 2’s last week – so freaking awesome! While I initially thought the color scheme wasn’t very snazzy (I am more partial to loud obnoxious colors), I’ve found that the unique silver/pink/blue ombre actually matches everything in my running wardrobe. And after a handful of shorter runs and a few bike rides in them, I’m still as obsessed as ever and can’t wait to wear them across the finish of my first triathlon next weekend!

2. Chris Pratt

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I’m gonna keep it real here: this guy kind of snuck up on me. Like, I knew he existed, but he just didn’t do anything for me. I’d seen him in a few things like Parks & Rec and Guardians of the Galaxy and thought, “Meh.” But about 45 minutes into Jurassic World, it hit me like a wave: Holy crap, I really like Chris Pratt. I don’t really have much else to offer in the way of explanation, just that it was a sneak attack mini crush. Which is kind of fun!

3. Miss Coco Peru

Specifically, this video.

I discovered this little slice of fabulous last winter when I was going through a rough patch, and her humor pulled me out of a pretty dark place. Since then I’ve devoured each video she puts out, and find myself channeling her when I get distressed (“This disturbs me” is one of her go-to’s, and it just sums up everything in life sometimes). This video was my first introduction to Coco, and I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

4. Swimming

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Last night the schedule said I was supposed to swim 400m, but I went ahead and pulled out 1000m!! I had no idea I could go for that long. Yes, I stopped after every 100m or so to catch my breath, but it was a solid 35 minutes of powerful laps, and I was practically glowing by the end.

I found myself truly enjoying every lap, pushing to go faster, tweaking my form, focusing on different things with each lap to improve my stroke… it was great! I mean it can’t replace the high I get from running, but considering I detested and avoided all forms of physical activity for basically the first 20 years of my life, who knew I would really enjoy another sport in addition to running?

That’s about it for me, what are YOU loving lately? Share in the comments!

Just Keep Swimming… and Biking and Running

/ Jess / 4 Comments

It’s a good thing I’m a runner and not a mathematician. Because evidently – waaaay back when I first found my training plan – my silly ass miscalculated the number of weeks I had before my sprint triathlon, and I focused on training for 6 weeks when in reality I had 7. I never said I was good at math, guys.

tumblr_m9321xHlsO1rtwaqkAs such, I’ve been totally enjoying my “extra” week of training by building up these muscles even stronger! In the past week I completed not one but two brick workouts, and my confidence levels are nice and high.

IMG_7932Last Thursday I ran a few miles right after work in about 80 degrees and full sun – not my brightest idea, but I rationalized it by thinking if I could run in that weather, I can do anything. The brain is a funny thing, isn’t it?

My time wasn’t the best, but I wasn’t dead by the end of the run, which is important. I’m really trying to increase my endurance by pushing past the half hour/hour mark of my normal workouts, and it’s paying dividends. After the run and a short drive to the gym, I hopped right in the pool for 400m at top speed. To my surprise, the swim felt easy! Sure I was sucking wind at the end of every 100m, and guzzling Nuun like it was my job, but at the end of the workout I walked out of the pool not ready to die. Which is a huge step up from my swimming workouts a few months ago!IMG_7925

Friday I earned my rest day – but I couldn’t help it and ducked down to the office gym for 20 quick minutes of strength training.

IMG_7937Yep, in a skirt. Cause why not?

Saturday I woke to the sound of thunder, and rather than test out my lightning-dodging skills on the bike, I decided to take my next brick workout to the gym, where I [spoiler alert] totally killed my previous treadmill 2-mile PR! I think it had something to do with my new goodies courtesy of Brooks – tee, tank, hat, and new Transcend 2’s!!

IMG_7955I started off on a spin bike – yes, I know it’s nowhere near the same as a normal bike on an outdoor ride, but I just don’t work up a sweat on the regular stationary bikes like I do with the spin bikes. So I set the timer for 40 minutes and told myself to beat my previous outdoor bike 10K in 40:40 and well, as you can see I kind of crushed it. By doubling my distance in less time 🙂

IMG_7966Feeling pretty awesome, I hit the treadmill directly in front of me for 1 mile (as the schedule called for), and found myself flying.

IMG_7967Yes, that says 2 miles in 20:02. That means each mile was 10:01. And YES that annoys me to NO END. Sub-10:00 mile, you will be mine!!!

I was feeling so good, in fact, that I decided to keep going and pushed to 2 miles. After all, I told myself – I’ve got 3 to run on race day, I’d better get used to covering the distance.

IMG_7971I sweat clear through my shirt – and all over the treadmill – but I blew through those 2 miles and desperately wanted to keep going. But I don’t want to push myself too hard, my knees were starting to ache a bit, and I figured I’d give myself a nice thrill next weekend when I can really go for it and enjoy the final brick workout before race day.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – all this cross and strength training must really be doing something, because I’ve never seen running times like, at least not since 2011-ish. I’m feeling like I’ve finally found my fitness balance and I’m excited to see what this will do for me when I start distance running again in about 3 weeks.

How about you: any of you tri-hards find increased stamina when you returned to running? Any tips now that my first sprint is less than two weeks away?

Fireworks, Ice Cream and Running

/ Jess / 5 Comments

I’m not going to lie – I’ve got nothing left in the tank today. It’s the first day back to the grind after a 3 day weekend filled with gardening, walking, running, biking & swimming, and I am feeling it.

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Wednesday I woke up in a terrible mood – I don’t know if it’s the super sticky weather, the summertime blues, or what. So I hit the pavement after work around my office for a 2 mile run (avg. pace 10:56!) to stick with the schedule and felt OK. The air was thick with humidity and I had to deal with the honks of my coworkers as they passed me by on their way home. Maybe my ridiculous ombre-filled outfit had something to do with that?

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That night when I got home, though, things started to look up. Because I walked in the door and found myself face to face with this big ol’ box of happiness:

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The folks at Arctic Zero sent me a delicious care package filled with 5 of their new Chunky Pints for me to try, and I am 100% hooked. I tried their regular flavors last summer and found them to be pretty good – a nice substitute for when you need that ice cream fix but don’t want to undo all of the great work you’ve done by eating healthy and working out all week. And while I’m not usually an ice cream fiend, all that changed when I tried these babies.

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Where their standard flavors are 35 calories per serving (or 150 for the whole pint), these chunky flavors have add-ins that make them a little more decadent at 75 calories per serving (or 300 per pint), which is still peanuts compared to regular ice creams. But I’ll be the first to tell you: those extra calories are SO worth it. I immediately dove into the cookie dough chip and mint flavors, while Mike tried the butter pecan and key lime pie. Soon we were spoon-fighting over who got the last scoop in our bowls, and every night since then I’ve created little masterpieces mixing flavors and adding in things like melted organic peanut butter, reduced sugar chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and sprinkles. Just typing it is making my mouth water… is it dessert time yet?

Aaaaanyway! Thursday I woke up without all the guilt of a post-ice-cream-binge (because of the whole guilt-free, good-for-you thing they’ve got going on at Arctic Zero!) and headed to work for a half day. Before leaving I managed to get my biking in (5 miles in 16 minutes) and then we walked about 3 miles to and from our town’s fireworks show that night.

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Thankfully, Friday was nice and sunny and hot, so we took on our lawn all morning. it turns out that “weeding” is really short for “a bunch of squatting and bending over at odd angles to yank out stubborn roots while sweating in full sun for 2 hours”. As a reward, my friend invited me into his pool that afternoon where I went for a dip and did a lap or two, along with a lot of water treading while we chatted for a few hours. I know it wasn’t the standard pool workout, but I counted it – my poor body was tired!

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Saturday I woke up early for a pedicure and took a 100% rest day (and loved every minute of it, naptime included)! Because Sunday I hit the grind again pretty hard: in search of a triathlon tank and shorts, my cousin and I walked about 14 miles (slight exaggeration) around 6 different stores, all with no luck. I started to get discouraged (and Wednesday’s ucky anxious feeling started to return), so I dealt with it the best way I know how: with a run.

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I went out SUPER hard in the first half mile to burn off the restlessness and kind of set myself back for another 2.5 miles of pain in doing so, but it was OK. I lapped around the park and along the water for the full 3.1, eating bugs (ew) and dodging bats (double ew), but I finished sweaty and exhausted and feeling more like me. My pace was still pretty good considering how much I wanted to die after that first half mile, and given the fact that it was 88 degrees and 80% humidity at 8:30PM!

And that was my 4th of July weekend in a nutshell – how was yours? How are you handling this Monday?

Disclosure: Arctic Zero provided me free samples in exchange for my honest review. Receiving product did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

Triathlon Training Week 2

/ Jess / 2 Comments

When we last left off I was feeling pretty confident about this whole triathlon training thing – and I still am! So I dove headfirst (literally) into week 2 of training with a nice quiet swim last Monday night.

IMG_6690Nothing like having the whole pool to yourself!

I’m so happy: I finally figured out how to avoid the witching hour when swim lessons end at the pool! In the past, I would arrive at gym just as the locker room filled with kids screaming at top volume, playing hide and seek in lockers, splashing each other with water from the showers, and generally causing unsupervised chaos in the locker room. So now I stay at work a little while longer, change into my suit at the office, and arrive to an empty parking lot and silent pool. Bliss!

So I did the 6×50’s on my schedule and rocked them hardcore. Seriously: the breaks I need to take between 50’s are a lot shorter, I don’t start spluttering at the end of the lap like I used to, and I’m generally feeling stronger with each stroke. This plan is really working!

Tuesday was 20 minutes of biking, so I hit the DeskCycle throughout the day and pushed to 30 minutes and 6 miles. It just felt right, even in skinny jeans.

10986564_841050789320941_8441742770079039186_nWednesday was a run day, and I surprised myself with that unbelievably fast 2.5KM I talked about in my last post. I’m not going to lie – I also downed a quick cup of coffee moments before the run while I watched the hotties on the NHL Awards, so my performance was somewhat enhanced by all that extra adrenaline. But what the hell, I’ll take a 9:38 first mile and 10:17 avg. page for 1.6 miles!

IMG_6675Thursday was another swim day, with a full 300M on the schedule. While I still had to hold onto the side of the pool after every 100M to avoid drowning, I tested myself by not pushing off the side (simulating that dreaded open-water swim I’ll face in 4 weeks) and still managed to complete 400M relatively quickly! Yes, I still need to take breaks every 50-100M, but with 4 more weeks of training I’m pretty sure that even if I have to float for those recovery periods on race day, I’m not going to die nearly as quickly as I initially thought! That is, unless a shark happens to catch me straggling at the back of the pack.

Friday was supposed to be a rest day, but a friend and I schlepped into Peddler’s Village and New Hope, PA and managed to clock almost 6 miles of walking! Not exactly restful, but oh so pretty!

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The rest of the week’s schedule was kind of thrown off: I drove up to Connecticut and met my best friend of 25+ years for our annual girls’ weekend, and blissfully forgot all about training for 36 hours. We watched Chris Pratt’s thighs (err, I mean Jurassic World), hung out in the hotel hot tub, laughed until our stomachs hurt, talked about life, and drank wine until we passed out giggling in the same bed. She’s good for my soul, this chick.

IMG_6772Did I mention Chris Pratt’s thighs?

As a result, Saturday and Sunday were both rest days – but I hit it hard again on Monday by taking my bike ride to the DeskCycle. And yeah, about that “15 minutes easy” it said on the schedule…

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Sorry – I accidentally biked a half marathon in 48 minutes.

To my credit, I felt like I had a little bit of a price to pay by skipping the whole weekend, but it was totally worth it!

Last night’s swim was a little tougher than I’d hoped it be though – I had 3x100M on the calendar but for some reason I couldn’t hold it together past the first 100M. I started spluttering after 150 and had to stop entirely at 200 for a full minute or two. I was super glad to have the pool to myself, because that last 100 was ugly. But it was done!

Now I’m looking forward to getting a run in sometime today, even though it only says I need to walk/run 2.5KM. I have a feeling I’ll end up doing more but can’t wait to run by feel and just fall into the groove again. I missed my long run this weekend and need that runner’s high again!

How’s it going by you? Any of you folks in the US looking forward to a long weekend? And Happy Canada Day to my friends in the Great White North!

Triathlon Training Week 1 (and Hello, Negative Splits!)

/ Jess / 12 Comments

Even though I officially registered for and started training for the Jersey Girl Triathlon last week, I’ve been unofficially “training” for it for a few weeks. In the last month or so, I focused a little harder on biking in addition to running to see a) if I could keep up with two sports and b) if I noticed any improvements in my fitness. And after checking off both boxes with a big fat YES, I went for it feet (fins?) first and am thrilled with how things have gone in this first official week of training.

Since I started in the middle of the week, I had to modify my schedule a bit and kicked off Week 1 with a swim last Wednesday – where I pleasantly surprised myself!

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The schedule called for 4x50m in the pool, but I mistakenly thought that the “25” in the distance of our local YMCA pool was meters when it’s really yards. Not a huge difference, but this is just one of a dozen other misadventures I’ve had while swimming that illustrate just how painfully cluelss I am when it comes to this sport.

The last time I swam, I needed to stop after each length to catch my breath and bring my heart rate down to safely make it to the other side of the pool. This time I promised to push as hard as needed for the full 50 each time, and I did! Sure, I needed a few moments in each turnaround to regulate my breathing, and by the 3rd lap I was hanging off the side of the pool gasping for air, but dammit I did those 50’s. And instead of the prescribed 4, I did 6 because I had to know that I could do the 300M distance I’ll have to cover on race day! And I didn’t have to be bottle-fed a Gatorade to get moving again after I finished, so yeah. #WINNING!

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The next day I took to the DeskCycle for the prescribed “15 minutes easy” ride the schedule called for, and found myself wanting to push a little harder. I can’t help it when the schedule I’m following recommends that I “try to run” the whole 2.5K recommended for the run workouts. I know what I need to do to maintain my fitness levels, and it sure as hell isn’t walking a mile and a half twice a week. So I did about 20 minutes and covered a little more than 5 miles Thursday, then took the recommended rest day Friday.

Saturday was rainy and cool and breezy (and I had a little too much wine at Happy Hour on Friday), but I still got out there for the 5K bike ride the schedule called for.

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I like to think the wind and the mist added to my training – it sure as hell made me work harder fighting through the wind gusts – but really all it did was make me wish I hadn’t ordered that second bottle of wine the night before.

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Either way, I got it done (while Mike walked/jogged a few laps around the park) and called it a day! And on a semi-related topic, Friday was officially the last time I’m going to really indulge in the vino until after this race, thankyouverymuch.

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It sure was nice having him around in case I toppled off my bike to nap in a roadside bush though.

After a LOT of water and sleep on Saturday, I was ready to run on Sunday. But then Mother Nature laughed in my face and spewed fire and 90% humidity at me. So I fueled up, double-fisted my coffee and water, and headed to the Y for my first treadmill run in months.

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multi-tasking at its finest

I’ve talked a bit in the past about how I don’t hate treadmill running as much as some of my running colleagues do. I actually kind of dig the mill. It’s temperature controlled, there’s a bathroom a few feet away whenever I need it, and I can push my pace in a safe, controlled way (and hide the speed decrease button to challenge myself even more) – what’s not to love?

As such, I’m pretty sure my positive attitude – coupled with the bottle of Nuun that I sipped on every 10 mins or so – turned this into one of my most successful treadmill runs ever!

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I rocked out to T-Swift and ran negative splits for the first time in my life, and the 10:xx pace was surprisingly easy to maintain, even for the final mile. Time was the only reason I had to cut my run short, and I felt like I could have gone much further. The treadmill and I were both drenched in sweat when I was done, too, which is remarkably satisfying!

While I haven’t been running as long as I was while training for the half, the consistently faster miles I AM running are proof positive that all this cross and strength training really is paying off, finally! After running 12:30-13:00 miles pretty solidly no matter the distance for the past year or so, I’m so relieved and energized to see some results, no matter how small!

So that was week 1 in a nutshell – how has your week gone?

What Have I Done?!

/ Jess / 11 Comments

Ohhh boy… what did I just do? After all the thinking and hemming and hawing, and “maybe I shouldn’t”, “maybe I should” flip flopping, I’ve finally gone and done it: I registered for my first sprint triathlon!

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That’s right, just 2 days after my birthday this summer (in about 6 weeks!), I’m swimming 300 yards, biking 11 miles, and running 3 miles to officially earn the title of “triathlete” in the Jersey Girl Triathlon!

They say you should do one thing every day that scares you, and this is like, a year’s worth of scary for me. I mean, I know I’m capable of doing this – even if I have to crawl across that finish line I’m still going to finish – but it’s still completely and entirely new to me. But if I never try, I’ll never know exactly what I’m capable of, right?

So now it’s your turn – have any of you ever done this event before? Or a sprint tri of your own? I’m looking for all the advice I can get here, share the love!

Time to Rebuild

/ Jess / 17 Comments

So I finished my last half marathon of the spring racing season! Hooray!

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Now that the celebratory peanut butter pie has been eaten, the Tiger Balm has soaked in, and the muscles have recovered, the inevitable question that follows the end of every race is now on my mind: What’s Next?

Well, if I’m being honest with myself – and honest with you, dear reader – I don’t know! I mean sure, I know I’m going to race again eventually, but right now I have zero races lined up in the calendar. Even for next fall.

I briefly considered the Jersey Girl Triathlon this August, but I haven’t pulled the trigger on that yet. I’ve only incorporated swimming into my cross-training plan about a half dozen times so far, and after 25 minutes and about 200 yards I’m physically unable to walk myself from the locker room to the car without my legs shaking and giving out on me. Just the thought of having to add biking and running after a workout like that makes me weak in the knees. I’d have to do some serious training to prepare for an event like that. And I just Googled “beginner triathlon training plan” and the first result that came up is a 93-page PDF. NINETY-THREE PAGES, YOU GUYS. Can anyone point me in the direction of a training plan that isn’t like a book of stereo instructions?

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OK so maybe I need to set my sights a little lower. I’m sure I’ll do some local 5K’s that I’ve always done, and I’m searching the local running club calendars for 10K’s as well. I certainly don’t want to lose the running endurance that I’ve built up these past few months, and having some slightly shorter than half distance races on the horizon could keep me moving. Do any of my local Jersey peeps have recommendations on 10K’s in the next month or two?

Lastly, I’m searching for a new fall Half Marathon to call my own. I could easily sign up once again for the Atlantic City Half Marathon and see if the third time is the charm – after all, it’s where I set my current half PR! But the fall race season is so rich and exciting, that I wonder if I’m limiting myself by just setting my sights on that one bigger race when there are so many other great events going on in September and October. Does anyone in my area have any local half plans or dream races you’d like to do in the fall?

One thing I AM sure of, however, is that I’m going to be focusing very heavily on rebuilding my strength up with weights and cross training. After the little spurts I could fit in while training for my races these past few months, I felt an immense improvement in the running workouts that followed. But just like everything else, life gets in the way and excuses get made and the time I could spend working out was spent on getting mileage in, not strengthening everything else. As a result, I notice the weakness creeping in, even with little tasks like carrying the grocery bags into the house.

funny-gif-weight-liftingNo more!

Today I kicked off this new rebuilding phase by doing something called “3 Times 3 At 3”. It’s entirely made up and in no way scientific, but it’s random and fun and sounds just easy enough to stick with for a while. Here’s how it works: at 3PM every day, I go down to my office gym and do three sets of three exercises for :45 each, with :15 of rest between them. Sounds easy, right? Well. 10 minutes of push-ups, side crunches, and squats later, I’m kind of dying.

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Alright, I’m not dying – I’m fine, I just have a fun case of jelly arms from the absolute and complete lack of work I’ve done on my upper body in the last month or so. My abs and legs feel great and strong and ready for more, which is great.

But the whole thing was just what I needed to jump back into a post-race fitness routine and beat the “What do I do now Blues”! Now I’m nice and warmed up for the cardio I’ve still got planned after I get done with work, and I’m excited to build it up into 4 Times 4 or more. Cheers to rebuilding and growing stronger with each passing day!

It’s Photo Contest Time!

/ Jess / Leave a comment

Some of you may or may not know, but I’m involved with an awesome group of inspirational folks called The Mermaid Club, and a part of my role in the organization deals with spreading the word about the club and helping to inspire others to Live Life and Make Waves in whatever fitness-related adventures they go on. And today I got to start a new project that I’m so excited about: the Mermaid Spotlight 2015 Photo Contest!

The Mermaid Club is all about living life and making waves, and 2015 is going to be a pretty epic year if we do say so ourselves. To get everyone excited about what’s in store, we’re opening up this contest and we hope you’ll join in. It’s simple: Send us your best inspirational, motivational, funny, or otherwise awesome photo of you living life and making waves: pounding the pavement, in the water, on a bike, or wherever! – for a chance to be featured in our new Mermaid Spotlight series and to win some fun gear, too! Here’s the fine print:

  • Pictures must include your badass self and The Mermaid Club logo or slogan (Live Life, Make Waves) in some way. Be creative! Collages, quotes, drawings, typography, we want to see it all!
  • Each photo will count as one entry, but we encourage you to submit as many different photos as you want.
  • You can post your photos to our Facebook page, Twitter, and/or Instagram – just be sure to use the hashtag #MermaidSpotlight2015 to ensure your pic is seen by our judges.
  • All entries may be used in future posts on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds, with full credit to the original poster. If you’re so inclined, feel free to include a watermark or your name (or Twitter or IG handle) in the photo somewhere too!
  • At the contest’s end, the top 5 winning photos will be posted on our Facebook Page, along with instructions for winners on how to claim their awesome gear – and I’ll be following up with you for your Mermaid Spotlight “interview” via email, too!

We’ll be sharing our favorite entries as we find them throughout the month, so what are you waiting for? Get snapping, and submit your picture by February 28th for your chance to win!

Swim Away

/ Jess / 2 Comments

After Sunday’s disheartening run, I needed a little low-impact redemption, so I hit the pool for a swim.

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My new happy place.

During my first clueless swimming experience, I wondered why I was getting motion sickness as I swam. It turned out that I was doing things entirely wrong (big surprise there) and it wasn’t necessary to turn my head from side to side with every stroke.

CaptureI never claimed to know what the hell I was doing, guys.

 So when I slipped into the water Monday night, I stretched out and took off, swimming with my head down and coming up for air every 3-4 strokes. And it worked beautifully! Before I knew it, I was up to 5 laps back and forth, and I felt great. I paused between each lap to catch my breath and see how I felt, but kept at it for a total of about 25 minutes.

After it was all said and done, I had managed about 12 laps. Some quick Googling (remember, I have no idea what I’m doing) confirmed that I had done about 600 meters, and while I have no idea what that even means, it felt fantastic. I even figured out how to get my ear plug/swim cap/goggle combo all working properly too!

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That’s some serious swimmer posing right there.

All in all, it was a huge confidence-boosting workout. And I’m excited to have a benchmark now for my future swimming workouts – maybe next week I’ll aim for 800 or even 1000 meters!

Does anyone have some swimming tips or tricks to share? Maybe you know of a website or other resource where I can learn a bit more about the basics in distance and time? I’m excited to soak up everything I can!