Waterblogged

If you stay in the pool all day every day, I'll bet the swine flu can't get you. That's one method they didn't cover in the newsletter sent home to all parents at my kid's school: stay in the pool. We got a memo one day saying the memo on the flu would be coming out the next day, and with so much buildup I was expecting more advice than simply: wash your hands, and stay home if you're sick! Speaking of the swine flu, it's a shame that everyone is so scared (though I'm impressed with the reaction of all of our government organizations, I feel for the people this mobilization freaks out). Seems like a needless worry to me (amid so many). Of course, it's always good to wash your hands 8x a day for 20 seconds at a time, as the school recommends. More water activities = good. *warmup: 400 free with every 4th length breast; 4 x 100's descending free *6 x 200's free: moderate, last 50 hard, second 100 hard, 4 x 50's, easy, sprint *6 x 100's ...

I've had a mildly rough week. NO one is dying, or very ill, or anything at all like that, but it's just been a slog to get through. And I consistently turn to the pool to get in and beat all of my frustration and tiredness out. I just don't know how normal folk do it without swimming :) *warmup: 400 free, 300 back to breast by 25 add pull gear for: *200 free, 2 x 150's *300 free, 3 x 100's *400 free, 4 x 100's remove gear for: *200, 4 x 50's fast *100, 4 x 25's fast *50, 4 x 25's fast

More parenting videos on JuiceBoxJungle ...you do what we all do nearly every morning: swim in an outdoor pool in whatever weather, before dawn. You also might be a really fit and somewhat ready-to-take-on-the-day mom, which is what I am after I swim, and NOT what I am after a non-swim morning. Obviously, the swim is critical to my well-being and yes, it's like a mommy-drug. Luckily, though addictive, it's something that helps my kids instead of hurts them. So here, folks, is the episode we've all been waiting for (I know you have...) because we're IN it! Check it out. On another note, here's a funny list I found on Facebook called "You might be a swimmer if..." ...whenever you hear an electronic beep, you instinctively jump. ...you have rings around your eyes unrelated to the amount of sleep you got. ...waking up before dawn to exercise seems normal. ...jamming a piece of Styrofoam between your legs is not a kinky sexual activity. ...bugs die of chlorine...

Gary let me in on the fact that he went to this kick ass Goldman Prize event last night, where Al Gore and Robert Redford presented and Tracy Chapman sang. Fellow MM John Goldman does some serious good. If you're interested in some of the history of the 20 year old foundation, check out these impressive deets: The first Goldman Environmental Prize ceremony, timed to coincide with Earth Day, took place on April 16, 1990. Coincidentally, it was also Richard’s 70th birthday. The Goldmans had sent out over 3,000 invitations, expecting only a small fraction to attend. Instead, 1,600 sent RSVPs. On the day of the event, a lively and supportive audience cheered the first six Goldman Environmental Prize winners, each of whom received a $60,000 cash award with no strings attached (the award has since grown to $150,000). Of that first ceremony, one attendee wrote to the Goldmans, “We came without too much advance thought, mostly out of curiosity, and left an hour and a half later in awe.” T...

Enjoying this brief summer interlude immensely! Here's my gorgeous niece enjoying the water, much like I will do later today (although not in as cute a bathing suit). I'm going to make it a double day at Burgess and go back with the kids when school lets out. Whoohoo! *warmup: 400 free, 50 breast kick; 200 free, 100 breastroke *3 x 100's free descending *3 x 100's free steady *3 x 50's breast descending *3 x 50's breast steady *3 x 100's breast to free (by 50) descending *3 x 100's breast to free steady *3 x 50's breast pulldown, 2 count, fast *3 x 50's free drill, 2 count, fast *3 x 50's breast pulldown, 2 count, fast *3 x 50's free drill, 2 count, fast

Get ready to swim even after practice, people. It is supposed to be 85 degrees here on Sunday, and 84 on Monday. There may be no more exciting time a year for a swimmer than that first morning when we actually jump into the pool and the water temperature is lower than the air temperature. Bliss! *warmup: 200 free, 100 IM, 50 kick; 200 free, 100 stroke, 50 kick; 200 free, 100 IM, 50 kick *25, 50, 75, 75, 50, 25 repeat 4x; 1 and 3 with free, 2 and 4 with IM *100 sprint free, 50 easy repeat 2x *100 sprint IM, 50 easy repeat 2x

Relax, no breastfeeding advice here (though here's a great article about the debate if you're interested). I'm just talking about the STROKE. And I don't like it. Non-swimmers think breaststroke is some sort of lazy thing we do when we feel like resting actively. In reality, it's HARD. And again, I don't like it. *warmup: 200 free, 100 breast, 50 kick repeat 3x *8 x 50's free fairly strong *8 x 50's breast fairly strong *3 x 100's fast free easy 50 *3 x 100's faster free 10 minutes of fin kick!

Last week I had the kids home from school and we took off to LEGOland , which was fun, except I couldn't swim and I had a sore throat. I'm thrilled to be back. *warmup: 300 free, 200 stroke, 100 kick, 4 x 50's free *6 x 100's strong *easy 100 repeat 2 x *4 x 50's flutter kick *fast 100 with active recovery *fast 50 with active recovery

More parenting videos on JuiceBoxJungle I've been doing a little experiment for, oh, seven years now. The results of my experiment can be defined by the following equations: Me + Morning Swim = 75% chance of not losing temper with children during rest of day Me - Morning Swim = 25% chance of not losing temper with children during rest of day Other factors play in, like coffee and time of year (Winter is not my favorite), but the biggest determining factor of my mood and level of patience with small whiny people during the day is by far my early submersion in chlorine. I guess I flush out all the wound-tightness by freezing in the dark in nothing but a swimsuit while waiting for Tim to arrive, then thrashing my arms through moonlit water before dawn. I like to top that off with a searing hot shower and rich coffee from Borrone, and by 7 AM my day is pretty much off to a gorgeous start. It's up to the kids to bring me down throughout the day, but I'm usually able to stay afl...

Just had to use that title so I could show off this picture. That's all. *warmup: 350, 250, 150 free with last 50 breast *400 of kicking, I can't keep track of what exactly the order was (and it was KICKING, which is really all you need to know) *50 fast free, 50 easy breast *2x50 fast free, 50 easy breast *3x50 fast free, 50 easy breast *50 fast breast, 50 easy free *2x50 fast breast, 50 easy free *3x50 fast breast, 50 easy free easy 50 SPRINT 200 free for time

It would be nice if, like during my informal soccer practices with the local boys, we could have cookie breaks during swim workouts. Anyone? *today's warmup: 250, 200, 150, 100, 50 free with last 50 of each stroke *6 x 50's fast kick down, easy free back *200 moderate, 2 x 100's fast, 4 x 50's very fast free *200 moderate, 2 x 100's fast, 4 x 50's very fast IM/stroke *8 x 25's with half length sprint relays (i.e. I'm outa there!)

Little hint: If you join JuiceBoxJungle by midnight on Thursday you are entered to win $200. Okay, now the swim. *warmup: 400 free, 4 x 75's IM without the fly *4 x 25's fly, 4 x 25's IM order, 4 x 25's kick, 100 easy IM, 100 hard free *4 x 25's back, 4 x 25's IM order, 4 x 25's kick, 100 easy free, 100 hard IM *4 x 25's breast, 4 x 25's IM order, 4 x 25's kick, 100 easy IM, 100 hard free *2 x 25's free with five strokes sprint, 50 slow motion, 100 fast free *2 x 25's IM with five strokes sprint, 50 slow motion, 100 fast IM