OBX- Forming Day 3

Forming Day 3...... The week has been good so far with gearing my body up for when the Training Days will begin. I did accomplish my goal of 2.25 miles Monday on the treadmill, yea! I used an incline of 1.0 and an average speed of 5.9 for the entire run. If there is a way of figuring out what my HMP (Half Marathon Pace, that's a runners term. I'm so happy to use a runners term!) is in terms of treadmill speed that would be an excellent tool for training. Do you know of one? If so, please pass it along!

Yesterday I did laps with my husband at the outdoor pool at our gym, Lifetime Fitness. (www.lifetimefitness.com) It felt amazing to be in the water again, but I'll be honest it's never flattering to put on a Speedo. Whoever makes those cannot be a swimmer or they would invent a magical material that wouldn't make you feel like you were trying to squeeze yourself into a sausage roll. But then again I suppose that new magical material would not be beneficial to my times now would it? I just want something that doesn't take a jumping act to get into. Anyway, so I donned my Speedo and swimming cap and off I went. Man I love swimming, every time I swim I ask myself why I don't do this more often? For me there is such freedom in swimming, maybe more so than running because when you're in the water it's JUST you. No partner, no music, no traffic honking at you to get off the road. :) I love it. I went out for my high school swim team as a freshman mostly because I wanted an activity for the winter because funny enough, basketball was too much running for me! haha I really ended up loving it and swam events that I didn't think I would, namely the 500 Freestyle. It came about as a fluke of sorts.... our team was losing and the 500 Free event was coming up. Our coach Mr. Larick, asked if anyone wanted to swim it just to give us as many points as possible. I told him that if he bought my dinner at Frisch's after the meet that I would swim it. He said 'sure' and so I did. Now as I'm getting in the water he says, 'you know it's 20 laps down and back right?' Oh Jesus, what did I volunteer for??!?! It wasn't as bad as I thought and in fact it became a regular event for me from then on. Even now when I'm swimming I can hear in my mind not only Mr. Larick but my teammate cheering for me as I swim, "pull! pull! kick! kick!" Memories!

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I lapped my husband more than 6 times.... I actually stopped keeping track after 6 because he put flippers on. Cheater!!!! After 45 minutes of laps I timed myself for the last one and eh..... not terrible but not amazing either. 55 seconds. I'll time myself when I first go out next time to see what I've got. :)

Something I would like to touch on for a moment, appreciating someone else's athletic style. While in the pool yesterday I noticed that every time I took a break at the end of the lane, a woman sitting nearby was looking at me. I started to wonder 1) did I owe her money, or 2) did she think I was cute? hahaha! It was only after she put on a swim cap and started her own laps did I realize she was watching my form. That is the point I want to make; as an athlete there is great satisfaction in watching another athlete perform. Whether you're looking for a few tips on how you can be better or just have an admiration for the sport, watching someone else perform can be fascinating. Maybe in a way we are watching ourselves perform by admiring another person. So instead of getting testy that she was watching me, I was flattered. She after all had beautiful style in the water. :)

Today on Forming Day 3 I believe I will take the day off. Lots to do with the kids but tomorrow will be a real 'hit it' kind of day at the gym. I have some new music on my IPod I want to workout to, that surely will inspire me to push it 5 more reps, .25 more miles, etc. Love those kinds of days!

BTW, I've already backed down my coffee intake from 6 to 4 cups a day. :) Have a great one and feel free to comment or ask a question!!