Today I set an end-time limit, and thought I’d get in as many laps as possible before that time, as opposed to setting a lap goal, and swimming that no matter how long it takes.

The problem is, I’m not sure of the exact time I started!  I think it was around 6:15 AM, and my end time was 7. It’s been three weeks (?) since my last swim workout, and I could feel it.  I wanted to quit the whole time, whereas usually when I swim I’m so excited to actually be in the water that that is what usually propels me through the workout.  The warmup was hard, as usual.  I swam 50 free, 50 back, and repeated that set.  I always want to do 100 free, but I am wiped out by the end of 50.  After the first set, I swam 100 breast.  That’s the warmup.

Now I was tired, so I swam 50 elementary back for a cool down, but I kept moving.  Then I set my watch to time my IM.  I swam the 100 IM in 2.50.12, which is just shy of a second slower than my last swim.  I didn’t know this at the time, but I knew it was slower.  I was relieved to see how close the time was; that made me feel more consistent.

After this IM, I swam another 50 elementary, followed by another 100 IM.  I did this two more times, bringing my butterfly total to 100 yards.

I was brushing up againat my time limit by this point.  I had 5 minutes until 7 AM, and I wanted to swim 100 more yards.  I wanted to swim faster without killing myself, so I didn’t rush.  My watch beeped 7 AM somewhere around my 950th yard.  I swam 50 more to reach 1000, my goal for the day.  I jumped out of the pool at 7:03.

I plan to get to the pool earlier next time and swim 1500.  And I plan to do that next week!  Wish me luck.

my hair before getting it done

So I started taking my daughter to see Ellison.  Wonder of wonders, the girl started growing hair!  After years of arrested development, dry hair, swimming hair tangles, not to mention a bunch of extensions, etc., that I’d done, now she was wearing her natural hair flat-ironed, and it was shiny, flowy, thick, and healthy.

I swam throughout my pregnancy, and did twists and knots, etc. when I wasn’t in the pool.  I also eyed my daughter and all that pretty hair jealously.

After the baby was born, there were two things I couldn’t wait to do:  get back to the pool, and get my hair done.  I knew it would be a while before I would feel up to swimming again, so I made an appointment to get my hair done.

Ellison was a genius!  She colored my hair (dark for the first time!), and she flat-ironed and curled it to silky perfection!  She even complimented me on my hair texture.  She hadn’t expected it to be so soft after months of swimming. 

I had read an article on the internet a while back that said to put cholesterol in your hair before and after swimming to protect it from the harsh chemicals.  I had thought that was a bit much when I read it, but after running into trouble with my hair, I thought it was worth a shot.  Lo and behold, it made a big difference in my hair’s texture.

I had always thought I had coarse hair; it was certainly much coarser than my mother’s hair, which was much coarser than her mother’s.  It looks like I must have gotten something from my grandmother, because now Ellison is saying things like I don’t ever need a perm.  She’s got me wondering whether it is age, genes, or care that has me in this position.  I don’t really care that much; It’s just such a relief to have nice hair!

Which is why I haven’t gotten back to the swim schedule I’d originally had.  Call me vain, but hair can be expensive.  I go to Ellison every other week to the tune of $40 a pop.  Maybe I should have gone into hair care. . .

Well, for vanity reasons, I missed swimming two weeks ago.  It was Thanksgiving week, so I had to move my hair appointment up a few days, and I’m not trying to swim after getting my hair done.  ahem.

Given that I’d missed a week–and it killed me to miss that week, trust me–I was apprehensive about actually adding 100 yards this week.

As usual, I just took it as it came, and was able to swim 1400 total.  I also accomplished my goal of swimming more laps of ‘legitimate’ strokes, decreasing my laps of elementary back stroke.  So, even though it was exhausting, I was able to swim 375 yards of both freestyle and back, and only 250 of elementary back!  I also swam 325 breast, and the usual 75 fly.  Next time, I think I’ll push myself to swim 4 100 IMs, or a combination of IMs, and what I call IM split, which is an IM that I interrupt with a cool down lap of elementary back.

I was also able to shave more than 5 seconds off my IM time, by finishing it at 2.49.17, down from 2.54.24.  I pressed my watch to start timing me, then I kind of zoned out and didn’t push off the wall until 4 seconds had passed!  I reset the timer and started over again.  I wonder if my time last time was the result of something like that?

I felt good enough to swim a second 100 IM, but not for time.  I would have to have something to record two separate times in order to do that.  I think my watch has the capability, but I don’t know how to do it.  Must ask my son.  He would know, somehow.

Next time, 1500.  I’m closing in on the 1 mile mark.