A Change of Plans at the Gym

I had an experience at the gym recently that I’m trying to hold on to as a teaching experience. Basically, things weren’t gong my way, but I turned things around, and I’m proud of myself for doing so. Here’s what went down:

I got a guest pass at a new (to me) gym a few weeks ago. I’m not really in the market to switch gyms, but it’s fun to try new facilities and switch things up a bit. The first time I went to the gym, I had a good, if not standard, workout. But I noticed the gym had a pool, which was very exciting news. I like swimming, but I’ve never had a gym with a pool, so I swim in public pools in various parks. I like the outdoor public pools I’ve discovered around town (including my favorite pool EVER), but the hours are crappy (they’re only open 3 hours each day on the weekend), so having an indoor pool available on an expanded schedule was very enticing. I made plans to bring my swimsuit next time I visited that gym, three days later.

Those three days couldn’t come fast enough. I started hyping up this workout in my head: “I can’t wait to get in the water. It’s been MONTHS since I went swimming. It’s gonna feel great, and I’m gonna feel great. Maybe I’ll start swimming every week! Maybe even EVERY DAY!”

Finally, the day arrived, and I went to the gym after work, changed into my swimsuit, grabbed my goggles, and headed to the pool deck. I was ready to go. And then, I started noticing things…

Less Than Two Weeks Away…

My next fitness event has really been sneaking up on me. Yesterday, while looking at my calendar, I realized it was less than two weeks away. Gulp.

In less than two weeks, I’ll be participating in my first open water swim. It’s 1.2 miles, off the coast of Venice Beach, and, on paper, I’m prepared. I’ve stuck to my training plan of swimming laps once a week since I registered, in addition to my other workouts. I’ve bought a wetsuit, and went to the ocean to try it out. I’ve done practice swims where I’ve built up to swimming over 1.2 miles without stopping. I should feel ready. And yet I don’t.

Creating My Own Olympic Memories

Check it out, I’m in LONDON!

Okay, Okay, I’m lying. I’m nowhere near London. But I did have a fantastic afternoon on Saturday that directly connects me to the events happening over in England. Everything about this post has me nerding out, so get ready, because I learned a ton putting it together, and hopefully you’ll learn something too.

There’s Always Room For…

…JELL-O!

I can’t remember the last time I had Jell-O. It’s been years. I used to make it with some frequency growing up. One time, my friends Jonathan, Jocelyn and I used it with great success in an 11th-grade physics project that involved designing a structure that would catch an egg dropped from 10 feet. We filled a pie plate with various squishy foodstuffs, like Jell-O and marshmallows, and ta-da! Our egg landed safely, without so much as a crack in its shell.

A few weeks ago, I was at my local GNC, stocking up on protein powder, when I saw this on one of the shelves. It’s not Jell-O brand, but close enough:

Olympic-Style Training

Yesterday morning I awoke at 6:30am to hit the pool before work. I barely felt awake by the time I arrived. In fact, I made it all the way into the locker room before realizing I brought my work bag in with me, and left my gym bag in the car, instead of the other way around. So, after walking all the way back across the park to my car and swapping bags, I finally changed and arrived poolside.

And I was greeted with a very pleasant surprise.

3,200 Yards + 555 Feet

I got home from the pool a little while ago, and I’m exhausted. I reek of chlorine. I think there’s still a little water trapped somewhere in my ear.

But I had a great workout!

Pool/Haul

Two topics today. Shall I start with the pool or the haul? I say pool.

1) Pool. The training continues for my upcoming open water swim in the Pacific Ocean. I had scheduled to go to the pool for a swim on Friday morning before work, but I ended up sleeping through that alarm and didn’t make it (I exercised after work, though, so it wasn’t an unplanned rest day).

So I headed to the pool on Saturday morning, with a brand new pair of goggles that were a recent purchase at Sport Chalet. It was the first time I’ve been goggle shopping in years, and I was completely overwhelmed at the selection. I vaguely remember, as a kid, having about 8 brands/types of goggles to choose from at MC Sporting Goods in suburban Detroit, but Sport Chalet stocked probably close to a hundred options:

Pool Adventures

What’s wrong with this pool?

IT’S EMPTY!

That’s what’s I saw when I arrived at the pool yesterday, eager to begin training for my upcoming open water swim event. At first I thought no one else had the bright idea to go swimming, and I would have the entire pool to myself. That’d be pretty sweet.

But then I saw the sign:

“Before” and “Current” Photo OVERLAY!

I met my friend Steve in 6th grade at West Maple Middle School, and now here in California, not that far from me. I’ve always known Steve to be smart and talented, but last week, after I shared my glowing-yellow-wall “Before” and “Current” pictures and the cool silhouette photo, Steve shot me the following email:

“Your new photos inspired me to Photoshop your new silhouette onto your ‘before’ picture. I tried to line up your ears and elbows to keep the two pictures proportional, and I think it turned out pretty well!”

And this was attached:

I absolutely LOVE it – it’s so unbelievably cool! No need for “Before” AND “Current” pictures… Steve combined them into one! This is going immediately into the Photo Gallery. Thanks, Steve!

Movin’ on…

Did you have a good weekend? Mine was quite nice, except for the jarring realization on Saturday that my 163-story stair climb fundraiser challenge is only one week away. If you’re struck with a sense of deja vu, it’s because I already wrote a post about the stair climb being one week away, but that was before I injured my foot and postponed the climb for two weeks.

Now my foot feels a whole lot better – I’ve been gradually putting more pressure and weight on it during my workouts over the past few days, and there’s been no flare-ups or pain whatsoever. On Saturday, when the one-week-away realization hit me like a truck, I decided to ramp my StairMaster training back into high gear. After all, thanks to the injury, I’ve only been on the StairMaster once in the past two weeks.

I ended up spending 21 minutes on the StairMaster, and climbed 84 stories, burning 318 calories. Not bad at all. It’s only half of the 163 stories I’ll be climbing this Saturday, but I hope to get one or two more training sessions in before the big day. I’ll be ready.

And I get to add a new tower to my Skyscraper Collection!  I plan on taking a little (or big) break from the StairMaster after my challenge, so I thought I’d add another landmark to my collection while I still could.

You know it, you love it… the latest addition to my collection is…

…THE CHRYSLER BUILDING!

It’s 77 stories tall, and I’ve wanted to add this guy to my collection for a while now.

My favorite thing about the Chrysler Building was how Walter Chrysler and architect Willam Van Alen, during the building’s construction in 1929, kept the now-famous 7-story, 185-foot spire a complete secret. No one in the press knew it existed, and it was constructed within the lower part of the building, so no one could see it taking shape. Then one day, to everyone’s surprise, it was hoisted and bolted into place in just 90 minutes. Just like that, the Chrysler Building became the tallest building in the world, edging out 40 Wall Street, another building under construction at the same time. The Chrysler Building only had the world-tallest-building title for 11 short months, though… then the Empire State Building came along.

And here’s something I just learned while researching this post: The Chrysler Building has never been owned by the Chrysler Corporation, nor did the Chrysler Corporation pay for its construction, even though their headquarters were there from 1930 through the ’50s. Walter Chrysler paid for it himself, so that it could be passed down to his children.

FUNDRAISING UPDATE: I’m almost there! I’ve raised $1,555 dollars, which means I’m 95% of the way towards my $1,630 goal. Only $75 short! Can you help me with those final few bucks? Click here to read about the stair climb, and CLICK HERE TO MAKE A DONATION. Thanks!

Finally… I went to the pool yesterday for my second swim in a week (read about the other swim here). My friend Emily came along, and the pool was very crowded and it was hot. I got in 2,100 yards before calling it a day, and then Emily and I walked across the park to a… carnival!

I love a good rickety carny-operated ride, but unfortunately, I didn’t have any cash money on me, and the ticket booth didn’t accept credit cards. I did take this picture with the Ferris Wheel:

I took the exact same picture at Disney California Adventure with Mickey’s Fun Wheel (see it here). I guess it’s my thing with Ferris Wheels. Yep, me and Ferris Wheels have a thing. Jealous?

Even though Emily and I didn’t ride any rides, we did buy a snack (er… Emily bought us a snack, to be specific). There were a lot of options: Funnel Cakes. Cotton Candy. Nachos. Corn Dogs. So what did we decide on?

Roasted Corn on a Stick!

There was a row of Food Trucks, and this came from the Corn Heaven truck.

I got mine with lemon juice, and added some Cajun seasoning. Might have been the best corn I’ve ever had! I definitely wanted to go back and buy 4 more ears, although that’s where the lack of funds became an issue.

Eating veggies at a carnival?

Keep it up, David!

Back in the Pool

Quick reminder: You have until 11:59pm PST tonight to enter to win my awesome Edible Arrangements giveaway! ENTER HERE!

If I owned a Magic 8 Ball, and had I asked yesterday if I should go swim laps, and then shook it shook it shook it, the answer that would have appeared would’ve been “All signs point to yes.”

Here were the signs:

• When I turned on my TV yesterday morning, my TiVo was recording the episode of Will & Grace where Jack taught Will how to swim. (Jack: “They’re opening a new pool at the gym, Will. C’mon, you should come with! It’s full of cuties – it’s like hot guy soup! Well, except between 12 and 1, when Paul Sorvino does laps.”)
• While going through the mail, I saw this postcard, for an open water charity endurance swim event:

More on that postcard later.

My point is that the postcard and the Will & Grace episode got me thinking, and I couldn’t remember the last time I swam laps. I like to think that swimming is a regular activity in my workout arsenal, but it’s been over three months since I’ve been in a pool (I had to look that up – so thankful I make note of every workout!).

So yesterday afternoon I got in my car and drove to the pool. It felt good to do some hardcore cardio – my first solely cardio workout since my foot injury – and over the course of the next hour, I swam:

• 5 x 200 yards warm-up (200 free, 200 IM, 200 kick, 200 pull, 200 IM) = 1,000 yds total
• 500 yards free (focus on consistent pace, 70% exertion)
• 6 x 100 free + 50 free (the 100s were at 80% exertion, the 50s were all-out sprints) = 900 yds total
• 2 x 200 yards cool down (200 IM, 200 free) = 400 yds total
• Grand Total: 2,800 yards.

A wonderfully tiring workout. The smell of chlorine on my skin as I write this brings me back to my competitive swimming days growing up. And I felt more aerodynamic (or hydrodynamic, I suppose?) in the pool than every before, thanks to my spiffy, pool-friendly haircut!

For a lot of the workout, I was thinking about that postcard. It’s promoting the American Lung Association’s Distance Swim Challenge in August – an open water swimming event in the Pacific Ocean. I’ve never swum for exercise in the ocean (I’ve only frolicked and gallivanted) and the idea is very intriguing. The ALA sponsored the skyscraper stair climb I completed a few weeks ago, and their events are well-organized and well-run, so that part doesn’t concern me. It’s the actual swimming.

Open water swimming is quite different than pool swimming, and by ‘quite different’ I mean ‘much harder.’ Pools don’t have waves to contend with (sure, there are little ones made by other swimmers, but the lane lines break them up). Pools also have walls, so every 25 yards you can push off and gain momentum for the next length. Oceans lack both walls and lane lines, but they do have currents and waves, so addition to moving your arms and legs, you gotta pay attention, so you’re moving in the right direction (or risk swimming way off course or in giant circles). Plus, the lack of walls and the presence of currents (which may be working with or against you, depending on where you want to go) means it’s quite difficult to gauge how far you’ve swum (and how much remains), and that can really challenge your endurance, pacing, and stamina.

Oh, and have I mentioned that oceans are salt water, whereas most pools aren’t?

There’s also sharks. I’m not afraid of sharks, but the list of differences between pools and oceans would be incomplete without them.

Yep. Open water swimming is a whole different beast than pool swimming. And I’m considering registering myself for this event. Right now I’m just considering it – I don’t think I’ll make a decision for another month or so. Right now I have my upcoming stair climb challenge to focus on (have you donated yet? It’s goes to a great cause!), and then, after that, I have another fitness challenge already lined up at the end of May that I have yet to mention on this blog (one challenge at a time, folks!). So if I make a decision in early June, I’ll still have over two months to train and prepare.

I’d also have to pick the distance. The event offers 1.2 mile, 2.4 mile, 4.8 mile, and 12 mile swims. My gut says go with the 1.2 mile, since it’s my first open water event. 1.2 miles is very doable for me in a pool. It’s 2,112 yards – that’s almost 700 yards less than I swam yesterday. But I have a feeling 1.2 miles in open water would feel a helluva lot different.

So, I’m thinking about it. Have any of you done any ocean swimming, either as a stand-alone event or as part of a triathlon? How did it go?

Meanwhile, I just calculated that yesterday’s swim was 112 lengths of the pool, which is a hair under 1.6 miles.

Keep it up, David!