Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Another day in the pool and on the treadmill

So, the treadmill. I have to say that while my legs do not hurt as badly while using the treadmill, it is boring. I miss the scenery and the outdoors while running... which is somewhat odd because I never thought that I noticed the scenery and the outdoors while running because running is very difficult for me. I think my ancestors must have been more of the aquatic kind than the land kind way back when because put me in the water and I'm great, but land based sports are more difficult for me (although I like them just the same - even running has grown on me). Or maybe it is just because the first sport that I did as a child was swimming and I did it for a few years (from 3rd through 7th/8th grade) that were physically formative. Thoughts to ponder. But the treadmill was boring... I did 20 minutes- 5 minute walk to warm up, a 3 minute run alternated with a 2 minute walk for 10 minutes, and then a 5 minute walk to cool down. The other people in the gym probably thought I was nuts because as I was walking down the stairs from the cardio section to the locker room (you have to go through the locker room to get to the pool), I was putting on my swim cap. I got a few strange looks, but hey - it saved me some time!

Then I got down to my bathing suit (I'm not brave enough to run in my bathingsuit or my triathlon clothes at the gym just yet) and jumped in the pool. The pool was crowded today (compared to some of the other days)... with me at the pool every lane had a swimmer and when I left the pool someone came to replace me. I was glad I was leaving when I did because I don't really like having to share a lane, but I do it if I have to (of course). One of the regular swimmers was booking it today too. I didn't lap him once and he looked like he was giving himself a hard swim - he was drinking water on his breaks! Perhaps that's a good idea, I don't know, but I don't think I could ever drink water while pausing between laps. Of course, I'm the person that prefers to swim with nothing in her stomach and then eat afterwards. The interesting habits of fellow swimmers and gym members. The other interesting thing I saw today was a woman on a treadmill with the incline really high to the point that she was holding on to the front of the machine in order to walk. Maybe it's just me, but it seemed a little silly because she's getting help to do something that she obviously couldn't do on her own. Maybe she should build up to it?

Anyway, it was a good workout and I felt nice and refreshed afterwards (especially once I realized that I had put my locker key in the OTHER shoe not the one I was looking for it in.... the workout must have made me a little forgetful. AHH. Another topic to research - does cardio activity make you forgetful for a short period of time after stopping? I know that long term memory is supposedly increased by cardio activity, but what about that 5 -7 minutes just after stopping???)

Tomorrow is another run day with some weights afterwards (if I have time for them). Then there will be a small hiatus (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) for the blog because I leave tomorrow in the late afternoon to go visit my friend who is dying of sarcoma for the weekend. It's funny writing that because I don't think of her that way, but I don't want to use her name for her privacy and it's the only way I know how to describe her for my blog readers. To me she's really this awesome woman that I've been friends with since I was 12 who I can say anything to and who can say anything to me. We've had squabbles but always made up... if I was ever to have a sister, I can imagine based on my other friends with siblings, that she would have been mine (without the jealousy of wanting affection from Mom and Dad though). I have a ton of great memories with her and am annoyed that she is dying. I'm not angry with anyone, just at the fact of it. I know it is somehow part of the big plan that is life/God/etc., but it just really annoys me that someone so wonderful is going through so much and despite her positive attitude can't defeat the cancer hanging out in her lung and on the connective tissue that surrounds her heart putting her in a lot of pain, making her short of breath, depressing her heart rate (although at the moment it is in the lowest range of what is considered ok) and increasing her pulse rate. GRR. But the thing that makes me happy is the fact that I will get to go and spend some time with her and perhaps that is all I can ask for right now.

Until tomorrow...

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