To Swim Or To Swail???

It's that time of year again...

Yep, the glorious and wonderful, sucky time of year...it's time for me to get in the pool.

Don't get me wrong - I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the pool.

Me, a towel, a lounge chair, a new, crisp tabloid ripe for reading...

Buuuuuuuuuuuuut, it's not that kind of pool AND it's not that kind of relationship.

This one is dislike/dislike!

This kinda says it all...

Yeah, that's how I feel about my "swim".

Pretty huh?

Not.

I wish I loved my swim the way I love my run, the way I love my bike, heck, I'd even settle for a slight like at this point. But I don't.

I am not buoyant. I am not graceful, and I am by absolutely NO MEANS, fast. I am more like, well, a brick...with limbs...that flail...out of sync.

Sad.

So I decided to embrace my non-swim talent. I gave it a name: swim + flail = swail.

I will be good at swailing, I will enjoy swailing, I will embrace swailing...and maybe, just maybe, one day, I will LOVE swailing?

And then by my first race day THIS season, I might look more like this:

Please keep me and my swail in your thoughts and prayers!

-d

Okay, it's here...and it's Mighty BIG Bite!

My new training schedule/cycle for my fall marathon.
Yikes.
I decided after reading T's plan @ "racingwithbabes", that I was in...if she would be so kind to share (which she was) and so I figured I had nothing to lose.
In the past, when my coaching for MTT started in June, I was on a Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday run schedule.
Along with my weekly cross-training, I would squeeze in short runs and/or bikes along with swimming (which I hate) when I could.
So, this new plan totally changes things.
I have committed to 5 runs a weeks, a big step up BUT lower miles, shorter long runs, tempos and speed work.
Admittedly, I am somewhat nervous with change involved.
But, in all honesty, I CAN finish a marathon, I am NOT trying for a BQ and I have support, so why not?
I have cross-training Monday, Wednesday and Friday am, a standing "date" of cycle with G @ nofsahmof3 once a week, and unfortunately, I will begin SWIMMING this weekend.
You see, the other side of this is...not only will I be coaching Novice Marathoners for 95% of my training cycle BUT I also have 4 Triathlons, a half marathon and various other race commitments during this time.
I worried a bit what my husband would say when he "remembered" I had a new plan, but tonight I got the sweetest text.
I ran this morning and cycled with G at lunch and knew I had my first speed work session tonight, which would delay dinner a bit. I cringed as I texted the reminder to Bob but his reply made me feel so good...and I quote "I am proud of how well you take care of yourself baby."
This was where I let out my SIGH of relief.
Okay, so it's here. One day is done. 3 workouts complete.
I can DO THIS!
Hell or high water, I can do this.
Giddy up!
-d

Battle - Cup - Still On...

In our house there lives 2 OCD/AR adults...
Well, at times, "adults" can be questionable. Not just him, but sometimes me too.
I admit it.
Sometimes my inner 12-year old comes out...I CAN help it but at times, if I feel it is worth it to me, I let her roll.
This brings me to "Battle-CUP".
Last Sunday, May 1st, I made my husband a pot of coffee and sweetly took him a big cup upstairs to await his rising, so he could be greeted with a hot, fresh mug of Joe!
Later that day, as I went up to do some chore, I walked in the bathroom and there it was.

The CUP.
Sitting on my vanity - as if to say "please take me downstairs and put me in the dishwasher..."
(enter 12 year-old me)
I will not (stomp, stomp, pout) I thought as I moved the CUP back over to his vanity. Surely he would get the hint.
I don't even drink coffee!
Monday morning I left for my workout, returned home after and Bob was already gone - and the CUP - was on my vanity.
"Hmm, surely just an oversight, right?" I thought as I gingerly moved the CUP back to his vanity.
Tuesday morning, a new day, I head off to MY workout, secure in the knowledge the CUP would be gone upon my return.
It was gone, from his vanity...and back on mine.
"Intentional?" I thought. "Yep!" I answered as I rather firmly placed the CUP back on his vanity.
Well, it is 8 days later and the "Dance of the CUP" continues.
I will NOT bring that CUP downstairs, although it eats at my soul like termite in an old tree stump.
I have my principles and my pride - okay, not really, but I still won't bring it downstairs.
The CUP can be a permanent addition to the master bathroom decor for all I care, at least it matches my colors.
If you have a nice bouquet of flowers or a good pillar candle you wish to donate to pretty it up, I am excepting donations.
@#$&ing CUP.
Yep, that's how I roll.

I Am Making My Husband...Thin!

Yep, you read that right...
We had a "talk" on Sunday - apparently he thinks I am making him lose weight...
Yeah, poor baby! I really feel for you.
Ahem, anyway, he said my dinners are causing him to lose weight.
WTF? Really?

He is 145lbs - on a GOOD day, soaking wet, holding a wet towel.

He also has the metabolism of a hummingbird on crack...no joke, I live with this!

Yes, my dinners are high protein, medium carb and low fat.
BUT...
He eats a double portion or more at dinner, which is P-L-E-N-T-Y of nutrition.
We had a knock-down, drag-out over this - he was CONVINCED my one meal a day (dinner) is why he hasn't been putting on weight.
He spouted a bunch of garbage about how he "doesn't need to eat like me"...blah, blah, blah.
Don't get me wrong - I "listened"...but then I SPOKE!
Since we have been married (5.5 years) he no longer requires cholesterol meds, his HDL/LDL are amazing.
His blood pressure is super and he has a healthy blood sugar level.
BUT he also only eats...one...meal...a...day.
You heard me.
So, we had a talk.
YOU NEED CALORIES - 2500 of them - at least, everyday!
And he "heard" me.(angels singing, harps playing)
We agreed.
It CAN be simple.
He complains he has no time, like I do, to eat during the day.
So...Gladiator Protein Powder to the rescue.
He does a 500 calorie protein shake with whole milk when he gets up.
Workouts out at the Y and the downs another 500 shake after the gym while driving to work.
We bought lunches (pre-made packaged meals, I know but it's better than nothing) for the entire week, that he can heat up at work.
I still cook our dinners as before, AND he does another shake at 9pm.
It's been 2 days and I can already tell a difference.
He is less irritable, he has slept and he isn't snacking on CRAP!
Only time will tell...AND the scales!
-d