I love the feeling I get from a good workout, one where I know I pushed myself further than I thought I could. This afternoon's workout falls in that category. Pay no mind to the fact that it was completely negated by the early dinner at Cheesecake Factory.
Though I've had the best of intentions, I haven't swam laps for exercise in many years. I finally picked up a cap and goggles this week though, and I am already in the pool Saturday mornings for work. Running is still on hold, and I just wasn't get the intensity of a workout that I wanted. I was out of excuses. Off to the pool I went. The hour or so in the water went something like this.
Lap 1 Breaststroke was a bad idea. My knee is not going to be happy with me if I keep this up.
Lap 2 Freestyle is easy, I'll just do like 30 laps of this and call it a day.
Lap 3 I can't breath and I just swallowed water. Is it bad to swim 5 laps and leave?
Lap 4 Ok, ok, just one more after this and I'll stop at 5; I can always do more next time.
Lap 5 Breathing during backstroke is so much easier. Maybe I'll stay.
Lap 6 I should have brought more than a PB sandwich to eat; I'm hungry
Lap 7 There's water in my ear; that's a good reason to stop now, right?
Lap 8 Is my face supposed to feel like it's on fire?
Lap 9 I could totally stop after the next one. 10 is a respectable number right?
Lap 10 If I want to blog about this, 10 laps just isn't good enough.
Lap 11 I obviously can't stop at 11; it's a prime number.
Lap 12 If I already did 12, I might as well go for 15.
Lap 13 My swim cap is squeezing my ears so hard they hurt. It's been awhile; did I put it on right?
Lap 14 The girls next to me, complaining that they're out of shape, are moving way faster than me!
Lap 15 This would be a good place to stop but the girls in the next lane are still moving, and butterflying!
Lap 16 My shoulders are going to hate me tomorrow- I'm SO done after 18!
Lap 17 Hey look at this- what if I just do the backstroke only using my legs!?
Lap 18 Look mom- no hands! My legs are strong I could go like this forever.
Lap 19 Cramp, cramp, cramp, oh and another one. My gastrocs hate me!
Lap 20 To stop or not to stop.
Lap 20.5 Guess I didn't stop. I think I hit my groove!
Lap 21 I'm totally doing pushups and tricep dips on the wall after this.
Lap 22 I lied, my arms feel like Jello. I'll be lucky if I can get out of the pool, forget pushups!
Lap 23 The other girls left- I think this constitutes a real workout now!
Lap 21 If I suddenly sink to the bottom... is that lifeguard actually paying attention?
Lap 25 Swim your butt off and you can stop at the end of this lap.
Then I drove home in a wet suit because I was too focused on food to waste time showering. On the way to my car I thought I was definitely nosediving down the stairs because my quads wouldn't stop shaking. A few hours later, the muscle soreness in my arms and shoulders is definitely settling in.
Love it- can't wait for my next pool workout!
Question of the Day: When was the last time you really pushed yourself to go further in a workout, even after you thought you couldn't go anymore?
Good job! I always have a really hard time convincing myself to get into the pool in the middle of winter... it's so cold! I don't want to get wet when i'm cold!!! In high school our team practiced in an old creepy pool that literally had icicles forming on the rafters. I'm thinking about rejoining my local gym for some swimming... it's the only workout i've ever been any good at. I learned early in life that "weight bearing exercise" is just another way of saying "torture". Running? torture. Stairmaster? Torture. Biking? Half-Torture... at least i get to sit down :)
ReplyDeleteGetting in is the hardest part! I'm already in the pool with the kids on Saturday mornings; I don't know if I could make myself do it otherwise.
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