Weekly Update (Weekly Wrap-up Edition)

It's been a long week.  Very long.

I haven't run in a few weeks as I'm rehabbing my knee.  It's been bothering me since early this year and I kept running on it due to races.  Now that I do not have any races on the calendar, I am taking this time to rest and make it fully better.  So that means I've been trying to swim and bike more.

I was up too late on Sunday night to get up successfully on Monday morning to do anything before work.  In fact I was lucky to get to work on time.  That evening I had my first photography class.  It's a two month class that will take us to the river most weeks to take pictures.  I'm very excited about it.

Tuesday I want to the gym for my class.  By lunch time I headed home to work from home and that probably was a good thing.  I opened up my garage and water was all over the ground.  My water heater decided it was done and started leaking everywhere.  I called a plumber and had it replaced.  If I had gotten home at the regular time I would have had to deal with that after hours. 

Wednesday I made it to the gym again to swim.  I've been enjoying it but not much more then half an hour at a time.  I went to sit in the hot tub after but the jets were barely working.  It was kinda like sitting in a warm bath.  Later that morning the tree guys called saying they had time to get my trees cut down.

Thursday was a gym class day and the rest of the day really wasn't that exciting.  Work kinda sucked but that's how it goes some days.

Friday I got up and almost talked myself out of going for a swim 3 times.  I'm glad I eventually got there as it does make me feel better.  The jets were fixed in the hot tub and it was so nice to relax after the workout.

Saturday I decided to take my bike out.  I haven't ridden since last fall and I didn't know how my knee would feel.  I only rode 3 miles as my knee didn't hurt but it was talking to me.  I didn't want to push it so I kept it short.  The good thing was it didn't hurt the rest of the day.  That evening a friend and I went to dinner to celebrate my birthday that was last month.  We finally had a chance to get together.

Here's to a less crazy week.

I am linking up with Holly and Wendy for their Weekly Wrap!

Swimming Tips and Tricks (Friday Five Edition)

I have been getting back to swimming recently.  It's a great way to exercise, especially if you have a nagging pain when you run.  I grew up with a pool in my backyard, so swimming is second nature to me and something I always enjoy.  That doesn't mean I have an easy time talking myself into getting into the pool, especially in the colder months (even in a heated indoor pool).  Here are some tips that I use to make it more enjoyable.


1. Since I had a pool growing up, every summer my hair would be dry and green (especially since I have blond hair).  We would use all the different shampoos that were made to combat that, but they never really worked.  Nowadays there are a lot more shampoos out there that help and the technology is a lot better today.  But what I have found that works is to prevent it by putting conditioner on your hair (not rinsing it off) and then covering it up with a swim cap.  This is a tip that came from my hairdresser.  I've been in the pool once a week for the last few weeks with no damage to my hair.

2. Swimming laps is really boring.  Really really boring.  Like serious boring.  What I have found to help pass the time is a waterproof iPod.  There are a few companies that waterproof the iPod Shuffle.  I am not a huge fan of the Shuffles, but no one waterproofs Nanos, because the touchscreen is hard to use when wet.  The waterproof earbuds with shorter cords are a must with the iPod.  It's easy to hook the iPod on your goggles and having a short cord means it won't get tangled while you swim.  The earbuds also help me stop getting water in my ears.

3. Have you ever had foggy goggles?  The best way to combat it is to spit in the lenses.  I know this sounds super gross, but I wouldn't do it if it didn't work.  I spit into each lens and use my finger to get the whole lens wet and shake it out.  Do not put it into the water to rinse off.  It works both in the pool and in open water.


4.  Don't be afraid to take a lesson or join a swim clinic.  When I was little, my parents signed me up for all the swim lessons that the rec center offered till we took them all and then they signed me up for diving lessons (which did not go well).  Even though I know how to swim, I did find the clinic very helpful.  I picked up things like I didn't kick very well while I was swimming.  I since have been working on focusing on making my kicks stronger.

5. Wash everything off.  While chlorine is good to keep a pool safe and clean, it takes it's toll on everything we put into it.  I try to make sure that I rinse everything out well after each swim.  It's easily done if you just jump into the shower with everything on and rinse it off with the water from the shower.  Every once in awhile I'll put soap on everything to clean it good, but not often.  I know you are not supposed to put your suit in the washing machine, but I will after a few swims.  I have plenty of different suits and they are all inexpensive so I'm not too worried about that.  But I will not put them in the dryer.

Bonus:  There are times that I do water jogging when I have a pain that won't go away and I don't want to lose too much endurance or I'm in the middle if a training cycle.  The best way to do this is to have a floater that goes around your waist.  I bought mine on Amazon for about $25.  My gym also has a couple for the members to use while there.  The trick to water jogging is to stay where your feet do not touch the bottom of the pool.  At the one at my gym it's hard as that's only about the middle third of the pool so I'm continuously turning around.  I did do the water jogging at an aqua center where they have a whole section that is deep enough to jog.  The other trick is to keep your body as upright as possible to mimic running.  It's amazing what type of workout you can get without straining your legs.

Do you swim as a cross-training activity?  How do you entertain yourself when lap after lap gets so boring?  Any tricks or tips that you have?

I'm linking up with Fairytales and Fitness and Running on Happy for Friday Five 2.0