Waterblogged

I can finally say I'm glad the 50 x 100's are over. After doing it three times this week I am being saved from a fourth run by the fact that there are no more opportunities to do it. Thank goodness. Because I would. And my neck would hurt...more. I figure I turned my head to the left about 3,000 times over 600 laps within 3 hours and 45 minutes this week. That is a lot of left-breathing, even if it was spaced over three separate days. MASSAGE PLEASE! I'll tell you what kept me going through all the 50x swims. It was the knowledge that this was the "short one" and the 75 and 100 x 100's are coming.

Really, enough said. This is November, people. The weather is just insanely great. But of course, my reluctance to leaving this area isn't just because of the weather. It is because this is my home - where my family and best friends are - and also where my pool is. Kathleen and I were recently in Tahoe doing a step aerobics class circa 1989 (don't ask) on a 68 degree day of perfection, and talking about how tempting it is to think about picking up and moving to Pittsburgh or Savannah or anywhere really where we could afford to slow down and own an acre of land. Then we got into talking about simply moving to the East Bay, where I grew up, and where a house just like mine here in Menlo Park sells for way under a million bucks and is considered "expensive". "I mean," I said, "we don't need to leave the state, just the Peninsula." "Hell," Kathleen said, "we just need to move a few towns over, really." Then we looked at ea...

It's a record for me: three swims this week at noon. Jana told me yesterday that I was going to start actually liking swimming in the middle of the day, what with the sunshine and warm weather coming. Ha! How can that possibly compare to swimming in the cold dark rain? Okay so it's growing on me. Still I feel almost disloyal, even though I have no choice unless I want to leave my seven year old home alone in the dark, for swimming with a different gang. And then there is the waiting. As soon as the kids are at school I'm asking myself: What time is it? Is it almost time to get my suit? How much can I do before 11:30? What will I eat right before I swim that isn't lunch but gets me through the workout? I'm hungry at noon, dammit. The noon swim is this big old commitment in the middle of the day that must be prepared for. And my coffee from Borrone does not taste the same at 1:30PM as it does at 7AM. Actually nothing tastes right after I swim at noon. I think this is ...

People keep asking me about leaving Juice. "You can't leave," they say, "it's YOUR company!" I calmly tell them that because of the way these investment things go, it hadn't really been mine for a long time, if ever, and that yes, I can and did leave. Then the conversation quickly moves to how exhausted I have been for years and how it's a good thing that I'm home now. "Yes, you've been sucked dry for a long time," are words I often hear. It surprises me every time even though it's just people affirming what I've just told them. I kind of thought I was hiding the fatigue and frustration pretty well, under that veil of very real excitement and adrenaline that comes from constant hard work and creation. I loved what I did at Juice. I also hated it at times; whenever the actions people I depended on turned my trust into disillusionment. I know that from the outside, folks saw the way I thrived on the work. Apparently they saw c...

This morning I decided to take my kids and my camera to practice. The kids happily woke up at 5:15 and dressed warmly, ready to see some power swimming (and play on my iPad). Everyone in my lane said "Sarah, how could you do that to them? Aren't they freezing? What a mean mom!" Ha! Kids today are too soft. We spend all weekend and most of our evenings watching their games and practices. They should watch one of ours once in a while, don't you think? (Okay or at least use the iPad while sitting next to our practice at 5:45 am - after all, it's what I do at theirs.) And truly, my kids begged to come. The other week when Noah was out of town they asked to go each morning. Each morning I got up and half heartedly poked them. No response. So I left them alone, thinking it was a bit early to rouse them on a school day. And each morning when they woke up and saw the sun they were furious. "We want to watch you swim!" they said, "you have to try harder to g...

I heard about The Secret Life of Swimmers in our locker room the other day and immediately had one of those annoying "damn, why didn't I think of that?" moments. But I didn't think of it, and we're all lucky a woman named Judy Starkman did think of it because it's genius. She's taken photos of swimmers from her pool both at the pool, as she knows them, and in their "real life". I've included one of my favorites above but you have to take a look at her work. We all experience this kind of "Whoa, I think that's the guy from Lane 3" when we see fellow Masters swimmers out at Target or our kid's baseball game, or, as has happened to me and I suspect many of us here in the Valley, in a pitch to a local VC. At first glance, I am always shocked by the almost-indecency of seeing someone I may not know well but usually see naked or clad only in a swim suit, fully clothed and doing something other than gliding through the water horiz...

As Easter and Passover approach, my kids want to both dress up hunt for eggs and eat cinnamon buns, and also eschew all bread products for eight days and perform a Seder. We're on track with one "pre-Easter" due to a grandparent's upcoming trip and absence during actual Easter, another egg hunt at another grandparent's house on real Easter, and a few ideas for Passover. My main problem is thinking about whether I can really give up cereal for an entire week. Carbs are good friends to me, and if I do ignore them for even a day this will be a real sacrifice indeed. Any Passover recipe ideas welcome. *warmup: 400 free, 100 kick, 300 free to stroke *4 x 25's, 100 IM, 100 free, 50 kick, 50 scull/eggbeater with hands in air repeat 4x, for 25's do in IM order (4 fly, 4 back, etc.) *6 x 75's: 3 free, 3 IM descending

Saw this ecard and had to post it. Of course it does not apply to us; Speedos are only bad on the beach in Greece. They are just fine surrounding me at the pool in the early morning. *warmup: 6 x 125's free with last lap breast *2 x 25's kick free then breast 2 x 50's sprint free then breast 75 breast with max underwater pulldowns 125 free Repeat 4x *100 free with 4/3/2/1 breast pulldowns at each wall 75 breast with flutter kick 50 max streamline 3 x 25's sprint Repeat 2x

I've been done with work for about three days and I've already heard this at least thirty times. I get it: people think I'll be bored because I've been running so fast for so long with work. But it tickles me every time I hear it anyway. Bored? I've got a schedule, people. I'm leaping over new hurdles, like getting through the hundreds of books on my reading list, and trying to write more myself. I'm trying out new things. I haven't cleaned or organized my house since having children ten years ago. I have no idea what it's like to meet a friend for coffee in the middle of the morning. I could, if I wanted to, actually think about buying my first piece of furniture or learning to cook something more exciting than spaghetti and meatballs. I don't want to, but still, I could and probably will (I did buy some new sheets yesterday and tonight I'm going to whip up chicken chow mein for my first time). And there is never enough time for all the work...

So I'm dog sitting Nancy's dog Mugsy and he is ADORABLE! Even, as I learned when I woke up for swimming this morning at 5AM, when he has vomited in multiple places around the house (on the carpet). Seriously, if you still want to keep the dog after cleaning that up, you know you need to get a dog of your own. So I think we will. *warmup: 400 free, 4 x 75's stroke, 4 x 50's kick, 4 x 100's free descending *3 x 50's strong on the 3 minute interval (so this was really 3 x 200's) *4 x 25's strong with 3 minutes rest between them (so 4 x 25's then a 200) repeat 3x *8 x 25's strong on the 45 second interval

Nothing inspires me more than seeing swimmers older than I am kicking butt. All you twenty-somethings can do this uber workout thing, of course. You're young. But as we get older, it gets harder, and we all worry about how long we'll be going strong. 58 is nothing of course - Leslie has some serious gaming left to do - and given this article I expect to see her in the pool for 30 more years at least. Way to go Leslie and all you Menlo Mavens! Speaking of going strong, or maybe of slowing down in my own case, today's workout was ROUGH, especially following Lanshin. I never ever ever break the set and rest, but today I did. You got me Lanshin. *warmup: 9 x 100's most free with every 3rd one IM add fins for: *700, 600, 500 first, middle and last lap done as underwater or fly *150, 200, 250, 300 first and last 50 kick, rest hard remove fins for: *fast 100 IM *easy 100 free collapse in shower.

Well, it's my first day as a SAHM and I got to spend it on a board call. Hm. It can only go up from here. The day did start out great though, with a good hard work out led by Jana! Jana, I THINK I'm spelling your name right, and I'm psyched we will get to see you every Tuesday morning from here on out! warmup: 400 free, 200 kick to free, 200 IM main set: 4 x 50's free descending 200 free strong 200 IM recovery (*note: if you ask me, a 200 IM inherently cannot be termed as "recovery") *Repeat 3x last set: 200 IM, 150 IM minus fly, 100 IM minus fly and back, 50 IM free part only

I'm going to have more swim time. Sure, lots of it will be at noon, but there are worse things than a tan back as we head into Summer. (I have secured, however, a promise of four early morning swims a week even though I will no longer be going into an office right after. Phew.) Today is my last day at Juice in the City, and it is bittersweet. I think I'll have plenty to say about that as time goes on and the lengths let my thoughts process more completely, but today was a short breast stroke day and anyone who knows me knows that none of the below were my ideal "processing sets". So, on to a long free day for more thoughts. *warmup: 400 free, 300 free to breast, 200 free, 100 breast *6 x 25's half length fist sprint, free to breast *4 x 25's full length sprint, free to breast *2 x 50's free and breast sprints *300 easy Repeat 3x

I've been waiting my whole life for a nail polish that does not come off in the water, and have been long perplexed over the fact that my toenail polish stays on for months while a single swim demolishes a professionally or personally applied manicure equally abruptly. I don't get it. (And yes I've heard of Gel or Shellac polish, but that still requires a massive spa commitment. I need quick polish I can do myself!). I've found the solution and it...is...funky. As you can see. These babies are called "nail dress" and they are STICKERS. That's right - they cost about $6 for 18 of them (you get the toes too) and supposedly they stay on for 10 days. When you're done, you just peel 'em off. I don't know about 10 days yet, but I did test them this morning in the pool and they survived! You can get them at any CVS or drug store. This brand is called Kiss but Sally Hansen makes them too. What the nails survived this morning: *400, 300, 200, 100 *Four...

I'm still confused about what I did in today's workout. I have never seen half the lanes do the entire set wrong before, but there is always a first. All I know is that we did a ton of kicking, and I'm not a fan of kicking. Still a great workout, as always Tim! But seriously, I can't write it down even though I did it. There are just some sets that I can't wrap my brain around, and this is one of them. So if you're following these workouts and using them for your own swims, just go out there and KICK today. Enjoy!

Today I was particularly reminded of one of my...issues. I don't trust anyone with a personalized license plate. Okay, I do: my dad has one and he's the most trustworthy guy I know. But I definitely question forging a new friendship with someone that has one. I can't avoid it; those plates give me pause. They scream at me on the road - I am forced to drive behind them, brake around them, figure out their codes or feel cheated. Each day, whenever I see one, I feel wondrous. I wonder what I could possibly want to broadcast to everyone badly enough to take the time to order something that says "I*heart*MYKDS" or "FNWAGON", or, as my dad's vanity plate sports, his ham radio handle. I know you probably have one, and I'm offending you, and I'm sorry (you too Dad). But if we can't air our pet peeves then the real troubles come out. And that's a bad thing sometimes. *warmup: 250 free, 2 x 75s IM repeat 2x add fins for: *3 x 50's kick, 200...

Spent the weekend in San Jose watching lots of soccer then racing to my own first soccer game of the season. Yes, I am sore. And no, today's workout didn't help! *warmup: 225 free, 25 fly repeat 3x *main set: 100 kick/scull, 1 x 50 fast free, 8 x 25s fly 100 kick/scull, 2 x 50 fast free, 6 x 25s fly 100 kick/scull, 3 x 50 fast free, 4 x 25s fly 100 kick/scull, 4 x 50 fast free, 2 x 25s fly *end set: 4 x 25's free, 1 x 25 fly 3 x 25's free, 2 x 25 fly 2 x 25's free, 3 x 25 fly 1 x 25's free, 4 x 25 fly

Notice joy is singular. Here it is: when you break a bra strap after swim practice and have to go straight to work, you can simply go braless. I'm feeling quite free today, thankyouverymuch. And also wearing a thick coat. *warmup: 500, 200, 100 *400 free, 4 x 25's stroke 300 free, 4 x 50's one lap stroke 200 free, 4 x 75's one lap stroke 100 free, 4 x 100's one lap stroke *3 x 50's free descending, 2 x 25's stroke repeat 4x

The other day in the locker room, Rebecca said something I am stealing right here and now. She mentioned that while she's been faithful to her husband for decades and doesn't have much to say about sleeping around...she certainly swims around. This was in reference to her lane swapping. Rebecca is known for mixing it up and throwing routine to the wind - hopping over to lane 5 or 2 or even 1 once in a while to experience different paces and people. I am not known for that. Not at all. In fact, I prefer to never move even one lane left or right to lanes 1B or 2B, even when 2A is overcrowded. I like my lane and I'm sticking to it. Sorry Tim. I do however, love the term "swim around" for a different reason. I, too, have been monogamous with a husband for decades. It's the best - he's the best. I wouldn't change it for the world (really). But that doesn't mean it's not fun to exercise with a warm pool full of attractive others. What? Don't tell...

The CaringBridge update for Saturday, February 25 - the day Heidi died - is titled "Heidi is free". I cannot imagine a more appropriate title. As I wrote after visiting her a few weeks ago, it was clear to all of us who saw her since her November stroke that Heidi was quite literally trapped inside her body. She knew who was visiting her, cried tears of joy and sorrow upon seeing and hearing and touching things she loved, and simply could no longer survive without 24/7 care and feeding from others. Knowing there was never any hope for change, she chose to go. I can't predict what I would actually do in her situation, but I'd like to think I'd be brave enough to make the same exact choice. This morning Janet was at the pool, getting in a swim, as Heidi would have encouraged her to do. I did not know yet that Heidi was gone when I saw Janet in the locker room before practice and gave her a big hug. She said they were "hanging in there" and I assumed she me...