Thoroughly kicked my own ass last night. I was so damned tired. And with the time change, girly issues, swimming on monday (not one of my usual days), and getting there late, I felt "Off" at the pool. So, what do I do when I am tired, lethargic, and mildly anemic? I push myself, as hard as I am able. I opted to focus strictly on swimming, no Aqua-Jogger this time around, and fell into my normal lap routine in sets of 5 laps, with 20 pull-ups on the dive platform halfway through the 5th lap. Yes, this is kind of repetitive, and maybe not the absolute optimal, but I work diligently on form, breathing, stamina and consistency. I am really focusing on my stroke form, striving to make every stroke long, smooth, steady. So, as tired as I was I managed to crank out 50 laps, going past the time limit for lap swims, but I decided to swim until they kicked me out. Let me say here, the Molalla Aquatic Center has the nicest bunch of kids on their staff, and despite the fact that they all make me feel kinda old (how can fresh-faced athletes in swim gear NOT make me feel a tad old?) they would never be so impolite as to "kick me out." That being said, my final 10 laps, I kept my head down and did not pause at either end of the pool, hoping like hell to get to 50 before anyone said anything. At the deep-end turnaround of my very last lap, I feel a gentle tap on my head, "Ma'am, we're pulling up the lane dividers." That is all, no "Time to get out of the pool, lady," or, "Get outta here!' Just a kind, "Ma'am..." (told you, they make me feel kinda old). I apologized, told him it was my last lap, swam to the shallow end, managed to pull myself out of the water and staggered shakily to the shower and my post-swim banana.
Since I was so tired, and I am insane, when I got home I decided to do an upper body strength workout with resistance bands, barbell, medicine ball, and Slosh Tubes. I admit, it was not the fastest that I have blown through a workout, and the last round was more than a little slow and ponderous. Three sets each, 10 to 20 reps, last set to failure. Resistance bands: single arm boxer's press with twist, French curl, fly, singled-arm row with twist, press, upright row. Upright hand to hand toss/core rotation with medicine ball. Barbell: upright row and bent-over reverse row. Slosh Tubes: upright windmill and side bends with 5', double axe swing with two 24". Yeah, the last set was to failure on nearly everything, because I was totally kicking my own ass with all this.
One of the best things about swimming, besides the fact that it makes me feel long and lean, is that it makes me ravenously hungry. Ravenously and justifiably hungry. I feel damned near hollow, but know I can have a well-deserved hearty meal. I have been fighting carb/sugar cravings the last few weeks, with the approach of winter hibernation mode, so I am forcing myself to be cognizant of what I put in my face. Yes, I am allowing myself more sweet carbs, but am focusing on fruits, yams and granola-ish foods to keep the Sugar Beast at bay. Last night's dinner was a spinach, black cherry juice, berry, pineapple, whey smoothie and a bowl of granola. Sweet, satisfying, and still healthy. Yeah, I wanted chocolate, but I purged the house of chocolate chips (okay, I ate the last of them and am resisting buying more). With the holidays and winter on the horizon I need to keep on track and focused, more so than I have had to for the last 8 months or so. It isn't easy some days, but then I flex my glutes and hear that cheerful voice in my head, "you have a cute ass," and manage to keep moving forward.
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