7 mile run first 6 miles was OK, finished in 46:30, could have gone way faster, but the only thing I seem likely to achieve is death.  I used the 7′th mile to slow down and bring down my HR.

3 sets of planks each set for 75 secs.

Did a very short swim, cramping and heart hurting so I called it a day.

Went all right.

I feel pretty good now.

Think outside the box for exercise opportunities—soup can weights, for instance, or...

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! If you stayed within your calorie range for the day, stand up and take a bow. (Is anybody standing??) If, like me, you went into the day knowing you’d exceed your goal, that’s ok. Just start from here and resume your plan. (It’s kind of like the miracle of repentance: you can be forgiven at any point, put the “sin” behind you, and start fresh from where you are!)

So today, if you’re ready to exercise some of those calories away but the weather’s just not conducive, here are some ideas that will allow you to rev up indoors:

1. You don’t have to go out and buy weights to help you build muscle. Instead, use whatever you have around the house: soup, vegetable or fruit cans (yes, FULL!), water bottles—whatever’s a comfortable weight for your strength level. Use progressively heavier ones as your capacity expands.

2. Pop a DVD or video into the player and exercise along to an established routine. (Note: The public library loans video recordings for FREE!)

3. You might want to think about a gym membership for the winter months. Money a problem? Check unlikely facilities. Here in my home town, a nursing home opens its fitness center to the public for a pittance (about $15 a month). Contact me if you’re local and need more details.

4. Hit the mall. Many open at 6 am for folks who need a warm, dry place to walk.

5. If you have an indoor pool in your area, swim.

So there are five tips to keep you going. If you’d like to share your ideas, please feel free to comment. ’Til tomorrow, stay strong and resolute! I’m proud of your progress!

AM. Swim 3200 steady.

PM. Cycle 29km/1:00:47 (Turbo) Brisk, 28.6km/h, HR 141(154)

My heel was felling better from the few stretches I’ve been going with it. Steady swim and a nice brisk hour’s turbo on the menu, a solid day’s training.

The cat’s been feeling a bit under the weather lately, we reckon. She’s slept for almost 24 hours solid and I know cats can sleep a lot, but that’s unusual for her. Last night she had her dinner and then took herself off to bed (she sleeps on a cushion in the conservatory) at 7pm. Maybe she had a bad night’s sleep when it was windy the night before and needed to catch up a bit.

73.1kg

A couple of days ago we were in the middle of a heat wave. 43 degrees. So we went snorkelling. I thought this would make great CBT. I had calmed my nerves from the ride down and was ready to visit my sea buddies.

As we got out of the car a plane was flying over the water  then a huge siren. I approached the jetty which I was walking down to get to the reef.  I noticed everyone had left the water and as I was walking down the jetty snorkelers were walking past me saying “at your own risk mate” I got the Idea. as I was getting in the water people were saying there’s a shark around. I never saw it but about 5 minutes of swimming and a cop walked up to the end of the jetty and asked us very politely to leave the water. He could tell we were not going to and left it to us.

I noticed a mass of neverending fish swimming all in the same direction towards the few swimmer. Some people got a bit scared and assumed the mass of fish was because of something larger chasing them. Like I said I never saw the shark and because of my weak circulation I was only able to swim for a short time. When I got out of the water I couldnt feel my hands it lasted till I got home and had a warm shower.

We walked along the beach after wards just enjoying the shallows and making a copy of the 4 metre white pointer out of sand.

My sand shark

I will try and go to the beach again soon.

Peace,

NW

Black Lagoon Products is announcing a new latex webbed glove. I have had the opportunity to work with Roy, owner and inventor of DarkFin Gloves. He is great to work with and incredibly enthusiastic about his product. He developed the idea of these gloves over ten years ago and is thrilled to have finally perfected them! He found that there were several products out in the market that were designed to help you swim faster and train harder in the water, but the neoprene material made the wearer lose dexterity. Roy’s unique material allows for durability, comfort, and full movement for the user. By cross-marketing the product for not only tri-athletes and swimmers in training, but also for divers, skydivers, and as a hydro-therapy tool, Roy has been able to maximize the use of his product on many levels.

He came to the studio first for basic product shots on a white background for the website, however he needed to have the gloves photographed in action! Last Friday, we went down to Ft. Sanders Health and Fitness Center and jumped right in. My son-in-law, Matthew, and assistant, Danielle, helped out by modeling for me. We had such a good time seeing these unique gloves cut through the water. They truly do propel you forward rapidly and the unique webbed design trains the swimmer to hold their fingers closed against the resistance of the water. Roy even put together a short video from the day, a parody of the gloves against the ‘evil cankerpotomus.‘ You can find many instructional and informational videos about the gloves on DarkFin’s website or on youtube. Keep an eye out for all the exciting things that are to come with this new product!

Here is the video with the ‘Evil Cankerpotomus’

Photography By Sabrina

Two items have struck me particularly hard in the past 12 hours.

First, I’m reading an amazing book titled, “Undress me in the Temple of Heaven” by Susan Jane Gilman. It’s captivating. In it, she describes visiting Communist China fresh out of college back in 1986 when, as she describes it, “China had been open to independent travelers for roughly 10 minutes.” She was an admittedly inexperienced world trekker, so the whole experience of arriving in Hong Kong after dark, staying in Third World quality hostels, and navigating transportation (an eerie nearly empty cruise ship, save the hundreds of Chinese packed below in steerage) was overwhelming and scary.

Once in Shanghai, things began improving. She and her travel partner made friends, found a decent hotel, were adequately fed and figured out how to find toilets in the city. Then at twilight, in a crowd of people, under a sky rocked with fireworks, Susie experienced the glorious moment that all world travelers live for: she suddenly recognized with utter clarity that life can be a “torrent of wonder”. She woke up to the magnificence of existence, to the jewel-like quality of a perfect moment in time that can never be replicated.

I have these moments in my life travels and they are worth all the effort, money, and stress of the process. When I lived in Oregon, I remember fleeting moments in the dead of a rainy winter when the clouds would part for a moment and off in the distance I would see Sisters, three glacier-capped peaks of the Cascade Mountain range. And I would think, “Holy shit, I live in Oregon.” This is a miracle for a girl who never imagined herself living off the East Coast, so far from where she began.

During my semester in Paris, it became remarkably ordinary to walk past the Eiffel Tour or the Arc de Triomphe. But one spring evening I was walking home from the Metro station. It was finally warm enough to shed my winter coat so I tied it around my waist. It was twilight, that magical time just before dark when families haven’t yet pulled their curtains closed against the dark, so passers-by are invited into their intimate dinner rituals like honored guests. Everyone had their lovely tall windows open to the warm night, and the smell of dinner reached me, laughter, conversations in French. And I had that moment – the expansiveness of life laid out before me, a torrent of wonder.

So I mentioned two things striking me these past 12 hours. The second was a performance by the band Jack’s Mannequin on the Daily Show last night. The lead singer recently survived Leukemia, an experience any cancer survivor will tell you is absolutely life changing. One line of the song Swim struck me most: “The currents will pull you away from your love.” For me, this is the experience we all have of seeing our daily lives take us imperceptably away from that which brings us great joy, from the experiences that bring us life.

I suffer in winter from what I call the “Minnesota Coma”. It’s so dark, and so cold, it’s easy to inhabit sweats day in and out, watch way too much TV, and simply give up on the idea of a passionate life. Then I hear a lyric like this one, or read a book like Susie Gilman’s and I remember. It’s like waking up from a long and nonsensical dream. I feel this quickening in my life force, some place deep in my belly and it compels me to buy a ticket to Paris, or to sign up for a class, or to dance maniacally around my living room. Suddenly life comes back and I remember what it is that I love here on earth.

I’m at a time in life when many people give up. Waistlines spread, knees start to give out, travels are truncated to weekend visits with the in-laws, addiction sets in, houses and TV’s get bigger and more expensive.

Is this life?

I think not. Remember being 22 when the whole of adulthood was still a fantasy and life, though dramatic and a bit edgy, was raw with possibility? Why were we so friggin’ eager to leave that behind?

So remember it. This is your command for today. Remember yourself when you were raw, and real, and a bit afraid but truly hopeful. Remember it. It’s still alive in you. What’s left undone? How has the current taken you away from your love? And how can you better make your life a torrent of wonder?

I have played this game since Friday – i had played the first assassins creed and i thought that it was a very original game. This 2nd game is very similar and just improves on the original game.

The missions are more varied and the gameplay is faster- especially the climbing. The graphics are good and the animation scenes really absorb you into the story.

Another good thing about this game is the way that you can gather more weapons such as swords, daggers, axes etc. Also there are some interesting new items such as smoke grenades which are good for evading enemies.You can assassinate guards in all sorts of ways which means you can be playing this for hours practising the perfect kill.

The game gets a real good balance of being a lone assassin but you can still fight with others and hire people to help you throughout the game. Another new feature is that you can swim.

Overall i think that this is a very good game- its better than the first. Well worth a try if you like games such as prince of Persia, tomb raider or the first assassins creed

Film Rating: 7.5/10

Didn’t run 10k with work running buddy Tues night as unfortunately she was ill. By the time I was back from work it was too late, so managed 3m. Aimed for 5k (just the extra .1 of 3.1m), but I got lost :S

Went out with plan of 1.55m out, and back (being negative split and faster to get home). Firstly, nice lady at the bus stop grumbled ‘wish I could run’, to which I replied ‘I wish I could run faster’. Although it raised a laugh, correct answer is actually… ‘anyone can run’. At least I looked like I was running anyway

So.. out 1.45 needed a bit more, round the block, round the block again, and again yaaaay 1.55, now back. Erm… can’t rememer the blocks I went round.. up, down, round, back.. found my way home but not the same way. 3m. Knees cranky. Ice.

Yesterday swam for an hour/2000m in an almost empty pool. Admit to a wee midway (not in the pool!) due to full sugar Red Bull – woke me up and gave me wings.  Ending gym next week and need to sort public pool

Today Pilates, strengthen, strengthen, strengthen, and just ten mins on noisy stepper.

Still keeping food diary to work out carbs/protein/fats.

Got free tickets to the Running Show at Olympia this weekend. Looking forward to seeing erm…. running stuff

Come one, come all, to our final workout before the Thanksgiving break. Coach Jamie promises a fun (yet challenging) workout, so come check it out and get in that one last workout for the week!

The product that i would like to share are on swimming activities.   Swimming is a MUST KNOW skill to everyone in this  world.

Take a look at what my husband and I woke up to last Saturday morning.

Manatees!  We have a beautiful canal at the end of our backyard, and as Ron looked out our backdoor he saw this massive lump of something in the water.  Ron, dog, and I ran out the door, and we couldn’t have been more excited to realize that we had manatees.

You can't see the manatees, but this is the canal.

We (minus dog) jumped in the canoe and went to make friends!  It was a momma with her baby, just hanging out.  At first the momma drifted away from us, but as we sat in the canoe in the middle of the canal, the baby came to investigate.

Baby manatee!

Just imagine how big the momma was!

She swam right up to the canoe, stuck her nose out of the water, and let me pet her!  It was fantastic.  She then swam under the boat.  We were lucky she didn’t tip us over.  Momma drifted over shortly after.  She wasn’t much into us, but she swam under the canoe a few times.  One flick of her fin would have sent us flying!

Don't tip us!

Such a wonderful morning.  Sometimes I remember just how lucky I am to live where I live.

Pool on Saturday

First I checked the whole filtration system.  Yep, the Klever Kleena hadn’t been doing its job.  It seems that it was stuck on the incline down to the bottom of the pool.  I cleaned out the filter baskets and did a backwash.  Checked the timer settings on the automatic filter and seems that it was set to run for only 4 hours a day – my winter setting.  I bumped it up to 7 hours a day.   OK – that bit done.    Unfortunately I didn’t take a “before” photo, but just picture the pool above BEFORE the cleaner went through it – gross!

My home water test kit seemed to think the levels were all fine, but I took a sample to my pool shop just in case and the guy said the same thing.  I bought a container of Chlorine to shock the pool anyway.  So in theory, any algae that’s floating around should be killed and then sink to the bottom of the pool, and then the Klever Kleena should suck it up.

So, back home, poured in the Chlorine, then turned on the filter to run for the rest of the day.

By Monday morning, the pool was starting to look better.

Pool on Monday morning

And this morning, it was looking much better.  Visibility was great, but there’s stil a bit of sediment at the bottom of the pool in sections – might need to do a manual vac.   Chemical levels still seem OK with chlorine on the high side.  

Now the challenge is for me to keep it this way so the kids can swim through summer!

Pool on Tuesday morning (today)

Today I had the opportunity to take my friend up on her generous offer to help me polish up my horrid swim techniques.  To wit: I am almost completely unable to breathe into the water and inhale at the surface, requiring me to stick my head above water and both inhale and exhale out of the pool while the rest of me flails about until I become exhausted.  I’m not sure how it happened where that became my swim technique.  I learned to swim as a child and I’m quite sure they were not teaching my particular style at the YMCA, and yet it just so happens that I am fairly attached to this completely inefficient means of getting about in the water. 

I started the lesson by enthusiastically demonstrating my poor form to Anne, who quickly diagnosed the problem as “snowplowing through the water.”  Yes, I have to admit, that’s exactly what it feels like too.  Snowplowing. 

We tried a few drills close to the wall to practice breathing into the water, and then turning the head slightly when it was time to inhale again.  The movement is much more slight than I had imagined; almost stealth-like, as opposed to crashing to the surface and gasping for one desperate breath like I had been doing all these years.  I might never have known there was a problem if I didn’t happen to pay attention to the swimming portion of the most recent summer olympics.  Imagine the breakthrough moment when I saw all the air being thrust into the water instead of out of it!  “Oh!”  I remember thinking, “Wow.  They’re breathing INTO the water!  I never would have thought of that!” 

Doing a drill near the wall, and then performing the exact same drill while moving through water is a completely opposite experience.  Anne asked me to slow down so that I could concentrate on better form, but I have to admit that I had no idea HOW to slow down.  It’s almost like I was panic-swimming.  I saw the end of the pool and I HAD to get there.  Even worse was when I would get tired and stop swimming, and then had no wall to push off of to start to swim again.  It was like a red light going off in my head “DANGER! DANGER!”  What on Earth did I think was going to happen to me?  Would my friend really have let me drown right there in front of her?  Not a chance; but where was all this fear-talk coming from?   It’s hard teaching an adult to swim, especially one who has been invested in her unique style for so long. 

Certainly there are issues to be worked on between now and my next lesson, so I asked Anne for homework.  I just needed one or two basic skills that I could work on between now and the end of November so that when I saw her again she would notice an improvement.  She did not disappoint:  my job, should I choose to accept it, is to work on exhaling into the water through my nose, and then when I need to inhale again I should concentrate on turning my head smoothly on the same side each time for now.  Later we can work on inhaling on opposite sides with each stroke, but even an expert swimmer had to start with the basics.  I decided that I can definitely work on that.   I need to work on that.  I will work on that.  As of today’s date I have not worked on that, but with vacation starting in 2 short days I will have a lot of opportunity.

Wish me luck!

Give up smoking

Quite obvious really but if you want to dramatically improve your health then you need to quit smoking. You will lower the chances of developing cancer, heart disease, lung disease and death and if that’s not good enough…food will taste better, you’ll smell fresh and you won’t harm others around you with your second-hand smoke! So what’s stopping you? Visit your GP for help – they can talk you through the process of quitting and can prescribe you nicotine replacement therapy if required.

Alternatively visit the following NHS website for more advice:

http://smokefree.nhs.uk/

Cut down your alcohol intake

Occasional drinking is fine, so long as you stay within your limits. Ideally men should drink no more than 3 – 4 units (on a regular basis) a day whereas women should drink no more than 2 – 3 units per day. A glass of wine is typically 1.5 – 3 units, depending on the size of the glass and strength of the wine. A pint of beer is around 2.8 – 3 units. Men should try and stick to 21 units per week, whereas women should stick to 14 units. Cutting down your alcohol intake will lower your chances of liver disease and may make you sleep better. Your skin and eyes will become brighter and you’re likely to lose weight. Alcohol affects your body’s absorption of vitamins and also reduces cardio-vascular fitness and muscle growth. So if you want to improve your general health – drink less.

Learn the benefits of healthy food

Many of us eat when we’re hungry and don’t really think about what we’re putting into our mouths, but the purpose of food isn’t to just fill our bellies. Food provides us with vital vitamins and energy and helps us to grow and stay healthy. One of the best ways to become healthy is to educate and familiarise ourselves with food: the body is like a machine which requires healthy fuel to make it run efficiently. Try and eat your five portions of fruit and veg a day, don’t load your body with fatty foods, but above all have fun with your diet – a healthy balance equals a healthy mind.

Take up regular exercise

If you want to immediately feel good about yourself then get out there and release those endorphins! Try going for a brisk walk for a minimum of 20 mins x 3 times per week, then when you get used to this swap walking for a light jog, swim or a bike ride. Not only will this make you look better but you’ll also be brimming with confidence and have a healthy mind.

Take time out to meditate

Long term stress can suppress our immune system, which can then potentially lead to mental and physical illness. Take time to wind-down at the end of the day and relax. Try yoga or meditation – just a few minutes of deep breathing exercises a day can greatly reduce stress levels.

Visit here to try meditation for yourself:

www.learningmeditation.com

If you missed the show yesterday morning, Michelle and I told you how you can get a great workout while having a lot o fun at the same time. We discussed the overall benefits…as well as some of the minor drawbacks that accompany you in the pool when exercising while swimming.  We also interviewed Olympic Trainer and author of “Swimming Anatomy”, Ian McLeod on just what it takes to become a competitive swimmer!

Everybody loves to swim.  But now, just for fun doesn’t have to be the only reason why.   Swimming is not only a great cardiovascular exercise, but an awesome low-impact exercise as well which is why it’s perfect for the elderly, pregnant or anyone recovering from an injury.  When you swim, you exercise all of the muscles in your body making it a great form of exercise for anyone.  But swimming isn’t the only way to get healthy and fit in the water… aqua fitness and aquaerobics are both excellent ways to get aerobic workouts without the high-impact of traditional aerobic exercise. These water exercise classes use many of the movements you see on land but with specialized equipment for the water, making it perfect for those at who may be at risk doing aerobics on land.   But…there are drawbacks! Swimming is extremely limited when it comes to building your leg muscles.  And because swimming is low-impact, it’s doesn’t help maintain bone density either.  Therefore you need to incorporate other exercises outside the water, such as lunges, running, walking, or cycling, to help ensure Total Fitness.  Oh, by the way, swimming is also limited when it comes to weight loss for various theories:

•   Water cools the body forcing it to maintain a layer of fat under the skin for insulation.

•   Long periods of time in cold water may increase your appetite.

•   Swimmers may be genetically disposed to having a higher body fat content.

•   Swimming requires a high output of energy, which burns glycogen instead of fat.

•   The body is cooled while swimming reducing you metabolism.

Regardless, swimming is a great form of exercise and should be included in your workout program…especially… if you are looking for TOTAL HEALTH & FITNESS!

Swimming, Olympic, Water exercises, Training

For help with sports training, to podcast the show or simply for more fitness and health information, visit Totallyfitradio.com.

That’s right folks, my hiatus is ending.  I’m going to resume posting sometime this week.  I’ll start by posting at least once a week for now, though hopefully more, provided I can draw enough material to keep posting stuff.  Anyway, if anybody’s reading this, feel free to make requests for drawings you’d like to see.  To contact me just leave a comment, send an e-mail, contact me through myspace or seatails or deviantart, or use AIM, or send a telegraph, or smoke signals, or my youtube account.  But DO NOT use semiphore.  I will not reply to messages I receive with semiphore.

Roland Schoeman and Darian Townsend kept the gold medals coming the way of the SA team as they each made two trips to the podium on the opening day of the FINA/Arena Swimming World Cup in Singapore today.

Schoeman repeated the surprise that he caused in the opening leg of the short course series in Durban last month, by beating world record-holder and national team-mate Cameron van der Burgh for the main honours in the 50 metres breaststroke. Schoeman finished in 25.58, with Van der Burgh placing second in 25.76.

In the 50 metres freestyle, Schoeman took silver in 22.27, while Townsend claimed gold in the 100 metres individual medley (52.11) and silver in the 100 metres freestyle (46.63).

Neil Versfeld, who finished fifth in the 50 metres breaststroke, collected the silver medal in the 200 metres breaststroke in 2:02.68 just outside his meet record mark of 2:02.56, while Terence Parkin finished sixth with 2:10.76.

Kathryn Meaklim was in record-breaking form, in taking silver in the 800 metres freestyle in 8:25.47 inside her previous African mark of 8:25.53, before ending second in the 200 metres individual medley.

Mandy Loots set a national record time of 2:05.01 and claimed the silver medal in the 200 metres backstroke, while Jessica Ashley-Cooper finished forth in 2:07.23. Durbanite Jay Cee Thomson – who joined the SA team for the final stopover of the five-leg FINA/Arena Swimming World Cup – went on to win bronze in the 400 metres individual medley (4:06.97) and 400 metres freestyle (3:41.09) respectively.

Day 7:  It was a scorcher today in Sydney and I wouldn’t have made it through the day without one of our most important resources, W-A-T-E-R.  For the water we swim in, for the water we drink and the water we bath in, I am grateful.  It can be the simplest things we take for granted and as I told my kids, that some people need to walk for miles with a jug on their heads, to bring water back to their village and families, we should appreciate what comes out of our tap!

Day 7: Water

No matter your fitness level, you can make this plan work for you.

Week 1*:
Intermediate/Advanced: Perform three circuit sets, four times this week to build calorie-burning muscle. Add four moderate cardio sessions during the week, like a 30-minute jog, an hour-long walk or a 30-minute swim.

Beginners: Perform 2 circuit sets 4 days this week and add two or three moderate cardio sessions.

Week 2*:
Intermediate/Advanced: Cut your strength training to two circuit sets, three times a week; and add an extra fat-burning cardio session (making it 5 days total). Make at least one of your cardio sessions an interval workout, such as sprints, to enhance intensity.

Beginners: Perform two circuit sets, three times this week and increase to four cardio sessions.

Week 3*:
Intermediate/Advanced: Two circuit sets, twice this week and max out on cardio—going for at least an hour per session. Raise your heart rate daily, if possible, and push for extra mileage and intensity.

Beginners: perform two circuit sets, two days a week and do five sessions of cardio during the week.

*Rosenbaum, L. (2006). The No-Wait Workout. Johnson, K., Spiker, T. (Eds.) Women’s Health Summer Shape-Up Guide (p. 54). U.S: Rodale Inc.

After waking at the crack of down, I drowsily climbed into the pre-loaded car with pre-race breakfast in hand: 2 whole grain waffles slathered with PB, bananas, and walnuts (and coffee to wash it down of course). The husband was such a sport- getting up early to take me to the race (he really had no idea what he was getting into, or why I considered this “fun”).  We had no problem finding the race site, and had plenty of time to check out what was going on.  I picked up my timing chip and got a quick lesson on how to strap in on my ankle, and then to body marking I went.  This is when I realized I was really about to do this.  My mom and I have volunteered in the past passing out water and gatorade at a triathlon that goes through her neighborhood, and she’s always said she would love to have the job of body-marking .

The swim was 300m up and back in a pool. (Figured a  pool was a good place to try this for the 1st time- one less thing to worry about!).  The start was staggered, with a person starting every 10 seconds.  Apparently this is quite different from regular start formats, but I have no idea how they normally do it. This seemed to work pretty well as far as I was concerned.  First went all the elite swimmers and club members, then the slowest seeded swimmers, then everyone in the middle.  I guess I was in the middle because I started near the end of the pack.

I felt pretty good about the swim.  I probably wasn’t going as fast as I could have, but since I didn’t really know how I’d handle it, I didn’t want to end up drowning.  It was pretty similar to practicing in the pool, but with so many people swimming at the same time towards the same side of the pool, there was quite a current created.  I was working hard just to stay in the lane I was supposed to be in.  I keep misjudging how far I was from the wall when it came time to duck under the lane lines, but that was ok.  I think my goggles were messing with my depth perception a little bit.

Overall I was quite pleased with my swim performance; I even passed one or two people.

Then came the bike…