Saturday, October 1, 2011

Look What I Did





First I went swimming!  This must be the first time I went swimming in at least 5 years. It was a miserable day, extremely cold and rainy.  Even if I could have run I would not have wanted to. I definitely did not want to bike.  I was going to Burlington anyways where there are gyms we can use on certain days that have pools. I wasn't sure if Saturday was one of them (I actually didn't think it was) but was prepared to play the middle aged lady card and figured they would let me use the pool.  Well, they did so I swam half a mile. Not bad.  I was slow but I am always slow. I tried to speed up every other lap. When I was telling my son about it he asked:
Did you wear goggles?
No, I don't own any?
Did you put your face in the water?
Well, yeah some but not the way you mean.
What stroke did you use?  Free style?
Well, no it would be the breast stroke.

I could tell he was mightily impressed with each and every answer.  Nonetheless I did it and you can guess what I was thinking almost every lap.
Maybe I could get at least a little better at this and maybe I could do a triathlon come spring.  I wouldn't be fast at all but maybe I could do it.  
 Somehow I am going to find some way to do this more often. I had a good time even though I didn't feel very aerobic.  But this may have been the kick in the pants I needed to try swimming. I would love to find some "lessons" geared toward pathetic adult athletes who want to tri.

Second I bought an IPhone!  I have had a very modest phone that is taped together, you can't see who is calling you as that part no longer works and other wonderful things.  I took my son with me to advise me and I got the 3.  I know it has some initials but you get it. Yeah, I know they are coming out with the 5 this month so why didn't I at least get the 4? Well, the 4 does nothing I care about.  The 3 is fine and it was VERY cheap.  Believe me I do not need the most tech savvy features.  This one will be great.  So what apps can't I live without?
 What do I want for fitness?
Fun?
Any good ones for book lovers?
I really am looking for free ones but if there is one that is just unbelievable sure I'll pay!

Third I gave into many pumpkin temptations.  I bought a pumpkin latte at Starbucks. It was good but truthfully not as good as the Green Mountain Hazelnut coffee I got later. It was so cold today and I got in and out of my car so many times I needed something very hot!  Then I bought a pumpkin muffin. Yeah, I needed that.  Then after resisting them 3 times I bought those damn pumpkin Halloween candies. I can resist many candies but those call out to me. I also had a Wollavers Pumpkin Ale to relax with at home.

Fourth, I bought a new pair of cold weather biking gloves.  Now that I have done this I will find my other new ones that I have never worn.  These were on sale at EMS for Club Day.  The good part was I bought nothing else even though there were many things I liked.  I hope these help me keep the bike out for a little longer as cold fingers is what ended my season last year.  It was brutal.

It doesn't look any better for tomorrow so not sure what will happen on the exercise front!

27 comments:

Tara said...

Look at you! It took me forever and I do mean FOREVER to swim 300 yards in the pool without stopping and here you went and swam a half a mile without stopping!
I think you should definitely try a triathlon in the spring. They are work, but they are fun!

Ummm, well, not sure what apps to tell you about. I certainly like the facebook (time suck) app and the running satellite app, but other then that, I don't know.

Hope the heel is feeling better!

Tara said...

(Just replying to your comment on my blog) I don't consider "just touching the wall" as really stopping. Seriously, when I first started to swim I would have to rest a few minutes between swim sets. I am so NOT a swimmer. You should be proud of yourself! This is a new awesome way to keep your cardio in shape (and try a tri in the spring. hehe).

Looking forward to hearing more about your swimming adventures. :)

LookingUpAgain said...

Pretty sure you'll be adding tri-athlete to your fitness resume by next summer!! So proud of you for going for it today. My getting-bigger-butt needs to get back out there again. Thanks for providing some inspiration!

Kate Geisen said...

I have goggles, but on one of my three training swims I realized I was wearing them AND closing my eyes. Lol. What a bozo. :)

I love mi iPhone, but I mostly use Facebook and the weather channel apps. Oh, a cool (paid) photo app is Hipstamatic. I do love taking pictures with that.

Liz said...

I am a terrible swimmer. I keep my head out at all times, and mainly stick to Doggy Paddle. I have to stop every 50 metres and I'm really slow. To me you swim like a fish!

Ewa said...

Breast stroke for me too. I suck at freestyle.
Iphone is addictive; I got hooked within a couple of weeks of getting it.
You can get Kindle on your iphone for book reading. There are many other free book reading apps but I find I use Kindle the most.
Not free (at least I think it is not) - MapMyRun - if you are running, biking, hiking, whatever and don't have your Garmin it will record and store you stats.
BlogPress will allow you to post to your blog with photos and such.
iMuscle (not free) - a very neet strength training app that will show you exercises depending on what muscle you want worked out.
One of my favorites Star Walk - using GPS will show you the map of the sky where you are with star names and info. Love this one.
Urbanspoon - shows nearest restaurants plus reviews and how to get there directions
For facebook I would rather use their website than the app. App is scaled down way too much for my taste.
And then there are news apps BBC, NY TImes and others.

Jim ... 50after40 said...

Congrats on the swim ... if I wrote a post on swimming, it would say exactly the same thing. But it looks like maybe it will light a swimming fire under you!!! (is swimming fire an oxymoron?)

Congrats on the iPhone too. I had an old flip phone until about 3 months ago and I LOVE the iPhone! It is so cool. It takes some getting used to, but its great! You'll enjoy it!

A Prelude To... said...

I just have the 3, too. It works fine for me. My favorite app is Talking Tomcat 2. It always makes me giggle when I sing into it. My daughter has been getting lots of free puzzle and quick thinking games. They are ADDICTIVE!...and good for their little brains.

Anne said...

Now that you've got that first swim done, I have a feeling we'll be reading a tri recap some time next summer. You are so cool! :)

I agree, we should definitely plan to do a race together!! That would be so great.

No iphone yet, I still have my old taped up phone, although I can see who calls on it :) Soon, I'll have to change.

A Prelude To... said...

Ok, I looked at my phone. The two games we've been playing are Crossfingers and Are You Quick Enough.

Unknown said...

yay for swimming!

yay for cold weather biking gloves!

yay for a new phone (i've got my eyes on the new htc rhyme)!

christa said...

I too want an iphone. Travis got one for work and I'm jealous. Maybe for Christmas. That's awesome you went swimming. I've been doing...well nothing. This week, running is on. THe 5 mile walk we're doing is the Making Strides for Breast Cancer one on 10/16 at Dorset Park in SBurlington. THe 10k, is Team in Training in Shelburne on 10/22, my friend Jaime found it.
I love all things pumpkin. Enjoying a pumpkin spice coffee right now. Happy Sunday!

Darlene said...

I'm impressed...swimming a HALF MILE!! I don't think I've swam in a pool in over 40 years!! And I don't like to get my hair wet... I see a TRI in your future! I love all things pumpkin too but wasn't impressed with the Starbuck pumpkin latte last year. Hmmm maybe someday I'll get an iphone! GL with it.

Suzy said...

Enjoy your iPhone! I love mine. I don't have any great apps for book lovers, but some of the exercise apps are great. The pool looks a little intimidating to me. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

justme said...

i see a tri in your future for sure

Christina said...

I cannot swim well. In fact, once I know I am in the deeper end of the pool, I clam up and forgot how to swim. Invest in a pair of goggles though. I find that very helpful.

I think u will enjoy your iPhone. I have a 4 and am pleased with it.
Try iBooks (they have some free books you may like). Look for a flashlight app - cos' it is handy when it gets dark.

Ana-Maria RunTriLive said...

You will find that swimming is such a good recovery tool for running. Keep it up, you might even start liking it. ANd yes, do get some goggles.

I got an iPhone about a year ago, and can't imagine not having one. So useful!

yay for giving into the pumpkin temptation. Why not?

Have a great week.

Oh, and my marathon is Baystate in Lowell.

Lindsay said...

Getting the 3 was a smart buy - better than $200+ for a 4 (or more for the 5 later this week). If you get "words with friends" (scrabble) look me up :)

Laughing at your Tri thoughts :) just how you were already thinking them on the first swim workout! You could definitely do them though. I'm glad they let you swim with or without your middle aged lady card :)

Tricia said...

I'm impressed with the swimming -- it is on my some day list.

I use the kindle app on my iphone and while I don't read on it all the time, it is wonderful to read on it in bed. You can be laying all the way down, under the covers and just read until you drift off to sleep. Wonderful.

Jill said...

Nice job, swimmer girl - that is awesome you got to the pool and cranked out a good half mile! I swam in college but it's not my favorite of spots, but I do like it for recovery. I obviously don't upt any speed into it. Haha. Tara (obove) and I go to the pool a lot, it helps keep me going when I can go swim with her. Of course, we laugh more than swim, but sometimes we get some laps in :). Nice job...and I think that's great you are thinking triathlon!! :) Just gotta get some goggles before you fry your eyeballs!!

Molly said...

ugh, sorry your heel is bugging you again!

I knew you were going to think about doing a triathlon!!! Keep at the swimming, it's so good for you cross training wise, before you know it, you'll love it : )

Char said...

You'll have to attempt freestyle if a tri is in your future. You'd be an eternal embarrassment to your super-triathlete daughter if you did the swimming leg breaststroke.

As for iPhone apps - my absolute favourite is Words with Friends. You can play endless games of scrabble with friends. I also like the dictionary app and I've been using My Diet Diary to keep a track of my eating.

Char said...

re the cupcake question - I just make them for my family and friends and for my own entertainment. My son has told me I should make them for sale but if I was to make money out of them I think a cookbook would be more fun and less pressure on daily basis.

Fran said...

Great you went swimming Andrea. I read another blog of someone who was forced to stop running due to an injury (it's almost a year now she can't run) and she started swimming too, she does it 5 times a week now and really improved.

I am one of the few persons who doesn't care about an iphone. I don't want one. I have a blackberry and am very happy with that. I don't like touch screen phones. So no help here with apps because Iphone has much more choices in apps than BB.

Marlene said...

Good for you getting in the pool!!! I'm sure Em was thrilled. :)

Katie said...

cold weather biking gloves make a huge difference!

Kandi said...

Sounds like you had a nice swim. I'm amused at your conversation with your son. I try to do freestyle in the pool but I don't get the breathing quite right. I wish I had a convenient pool to do some training. I think you'd be fine at a sprint tri if you continued to swim.
I don' thave an iphone but I just finally upgraded my flip phone to a Droid. I've heard that a good photo app for iphone is Instagram. I have Words With Friends (scrabble) and Hanging With Friends (Hangman). Look me up if you get either (atomickandi#)