Waterblogged

Some people think this is over-scheduling, but I beg to differ. We've got two games today, one of which I need to coach. Tomorrow there are three games, one of which I need to play in. In addition we'll be watching the Stanford football game tonight, and attending a dear friend's birthday party tomorrow. Somehow I've got to find time in there to work. BUT I LOVE MY BUSY WEEKENDS, and there is only one way to start them off...with a great swim. warmup: 300 free, 3x100's kick, back, breast, 6x50's paced at same interval at threshold pace: *200, 2x100's, 4x50's at recovery pace: *3x50's kick, back, breast Repeat 2x at threshold pace: *100, 3x50's at recovery pace: *150 easy Repeat 2x

My first favorite past time is, of course, swimming. Coming in at a close second is readingandeating. No, I can't separate the two. I'm sorry. They are a direct tie. That's why kepler'sandcafeborrone, sitting right next to each other in the heart of Menlo Park, make me so happy. I read while I eat, browse books after I eat, and just generally could spend pretty much all of my days right there in Menlo Center. If you're anything like me, or you just know how to read and like a good meal once in a while, I really don't understand why you wouldn't buy today's JITC deal. I mean, there, I said it. It's right there to the right on my sidebar. As for this morning's workout, I've now got some help from a friend who is dabbling in physical training, and so I've been doing some leg and ab work before swimming in the morning. Today I did some mixture of lunges, calf raises, crazy ab twist thingies and squats called "Derek Jeters". Fun. THE...

Really, do we need all the snacks during and after every sports event and mid-day during school on every birthday? I'm just plain sick of it. Today's locker room discussion after the swim was centered around the fact that one parent's school had decided that all birthdays during September should be celebrated on a single day. Therefore, all the moms of September birthday kids had to organize which day to bring all the junk to school, and who would make it. Of course, scheduling issues and food-related bickering ensued. I don't understand the teacher-directed "parents, you organize and bring treats for your child's birthday" behavior. Do we really need to have ANYTHING brought to school for a kid's birthday? No. I never did it growing up, and I have never done it for my child at their school. It's ridiculous. And I applaud my kids' school for banning all birthday food as of last year. Hurrah! And don't even get me started on the sports snack...

Today's workout was just the kind of thing I needed to justify eating a ton of Italian food at half price (check out the deal to the right there - this place is really good and is downtown PA). So here goes: warmup: 300 free, 200 back to breast, 100 IM, 50 stroke add pulling gear for following descending set (all 100's strong): 200, 175, 150, 125, 100 175, 150, 125, 100 150, 125, 100 125, 100 100 remove pulling gear for following descending set (all 25's sprint free or fly): 125, 100, 75, 50, 25 100, 75, 50, 25 75, 50, 25 50, 25 25 total: 3,425 yards

Just found this list of 50 great open water swims (one in each state) and had to share. Oh, to have the time. Alabama – That Dam Swim in Muscle Shoals Alaska – Pennock Island Challenge in Ketchikan Arizona – Arizona Open Water Series in Pleasant Harbor Marina Arkansas - DeGray Lake Open Water Swim in Bismarck California – Trans Tahoe Relay in Lake Tahoe Colorado– Horsetooth Long Distance Swim in Fort Collins Connecticut – St. Vincent's Swim Across The Sound in Bridgeport Delaware– Lums Pond State Park in Bear Florida – Swim Around Key West in Key West Georgia – SwimForYourLife in Lake Lanier in Atlanta Hawaii – North Shore Swim Series in Honolulu on Oahu Idaho – Lake Coeur d'Alene in Coeur d'Alene Illinois – Big Shoulders in Lake Michigan Indiana – Masters Championships in Morse Reservoir in Noble Iowa – Lake Okoboji in the Iowa Great Lakes Region Kansas – Shawnee Mission Park in Shawnee Kentucky – Cave Run Lake south of Morehead Louisiana– Aqualung Open Water Swim in Bush...