Lost and Found

Nothing is ever simple or easy!

I emailed the clinic The Boarder has visited to make an appointment, and they noted that they could accommodate us on any of the dates and times suggested, but that his v-e-t was no longer there! ACK!

Onyx has been seeing the v-e-t who cared for Miss Houdini over the many years we lived together, a v-e-t who has answered panicked emails (regarding both iguanas and stray cats) to his personal account on holiday weekends, who boarded her while I had surgery (even though the clinic didn't really board reptiles), and who provided a standard of care that would be extraordinarily difficult to match.

But by late in the day Dr. Auger had been tracked down. The good news is Daren has opened his own clinic! He pointed out to me that he thought I'd recognize someone who is "immortalized" on their home page. Scroll down to the bottom for a look see. The bad news is the clinic is farther away than the last one (which was a substantial distance from here). The incredible news is that Lise is willing to drive us all that way!

Now all I have to do is organize it ...

Update: October 15 at 2:00!

Chubby or Solid?

Yesterday it was suggested to The Boarder (not by me!) that he was chubby.

He ignored the comment completely. He thinks he's perfect. But naturally, I stuck up for him. I practically leapt to his defense. Because I don't actually leap. That's his job.

"Solid!" I said. "He has a swimmer's build!" It was pointed out to me that he doesn't swim much. "That doesn't stop one from having the classic build," I explained on his behalf.

When he finally deigned to get up, I pointed out that in standing he still has a nice tuck at his hips.

I don't know if I was being humoured, but the conversation ended in agreement. He's solid.

It will be interesting to hear what his v-e-t thinks. I emailed the clinic for an appointment for his annual and s-h-o-t-s. And unbeknownst to him I asked if they might give him a pedicure. But I can tell you when he first started coming around he was severely underweight and required three tins a day. And who knows what else he was eating outside these walls! He is now down to one tin, 6 treats, some kibbles, and if I am having something fishy or nice and meaty for supper, a little bit of that, too.

A Little Bit Catty!

On my way to see Tipper, I had a very nice visit with Horton that involved tummy rubbing and concrete rolling (also gentle head butting). I did check to make sure Tipper wasn't watching from on high, first. Then I had a lovely visit with Tipper that involved brushing, cuddling, and removing the cat treats from the glass container they are now housed in. (Yes, I put them back properly when I was done. We can't have repeat episodes of this!) When I returned home The Boarder was extraordinarily attentive, and in need of some head rubbing and combing.

Then I got out the lint remover!

Kona Coffee!

The mailbox has been bountiful this week! First a book and then coffee!! Many thanks Shirley — tomorrow morning there will be a little tropical goodness to start the day.

Speaking of starting the day, note to self: an alarm set for 5:01 p.m. may work for napping but is fairly useless for getting up in the morning. But my biological clock is good enough there was no need to fear.

After breakfast after practice I toddled out to the Transitway and made my way to the Sportsplex where the annual Gem & Mineral show is taking place this weekend. A few familiar faces and a few temporary strands of pearls, some teensy facetted labradorite rondelles and a sparkly oval Montana sapphire with a yellow core (on blue) later I made my way home. I would be all keen and start stringing immediately, but I think I might be better served by a nap. Or baking muffins. Hard to say which!

Oh, and it seems have 18 19 friends. Really I think I have more. We'll see I guess. I'm not altogether sure this Facebook thing is a brilliant plan, but time will certainly tell!

With Glowing Hearts ...

In the news yesterday was VANOC's choice of slogans for the 2010 games — and there seems to be a consensus that the choices were very well made. Taken from our national anthem, "des plus brilliants exploits" and "with glowing hearts" easily bridge from national pride to the passion and glory of athletics.

Glowing hearts are certainly not limited to athletes of Olympic calibre — to which Jenny can attest. And on Saturday Spokane asked us to consider what motivates us. If you haven't given that some thought of late, it may be a good time to revisit the question.

Most of us, I think, whether it be in our personal lives, professional or recreational pursuits are striving for improvement — seeking to be the very best we can in the circumstances we find ourselves in. In the pool right now, many of us are focussing on the little details that will make us more efficient swimmers. Turns are not just an essential part of pool swimming, they set us up for effective movement through the water.

Here's a drill progression that can be used to improve freestyle push-offs whether or not you are able (yet) to do a reliable flip turn. Most beginners push off at the surface of the water, but to be truly effective you want to be underwater. Practicing each drill is worthwhile. So begin by:

♦ facing the other end of the pool, sinking down and pushing off with bent knees, feet approximately shoulder width apart for a strong push, arms in front of you and just float to the surface, making sure to do a long, slow, relaxed exhale out your nose (this helps with flipping later)
♦ this accomplished, now do the same but after your feet leave the wall hit your streamline position with arms stretched out directly in front of you, ideally hand over hand, ears squeezed between biceps, and bring your feet together with pointed toes — note that your head position affects depth: chin up and you go up, neutral and you go straight, chin tucked and you go down
♦ once you're feeling that you've got this mastered, shortly after hitting your streamline position you can start flutter kicking — note that the kick should be underwater!
♦ by now you should be getting significantly farther off the wall, and if you can do the dolphin kick, you can switch from flutter kicking to deep dolphin kicking and see how far you can get
♦ a good way to now incorporate swimming is to do 25's with deep dolphin kick followed by relaxed freestyle, hoping to get at least halfway down the pool underwater, and then make it 50's, 75's or 100's

Hopefully this will help get you started on your way to more efficient turns! The first part of the progression can be done even in smallish hotel pools when you're on the road.

Wonderful!

That is what I find so wonderful ... an evening spent at the theatre! Beckett's Happy Days was the superbly acted offering at the NAC last night. It runs until October 4th, so there's still time to catch the first play of the English Theatre series. Next up: A Midsummer Night's Dream!

Also in the category of wonderful, Egg & Nest, a surprise delivery from Amazon.com yesterday! And The Boarder was a shining example of a housecat as I had a conversation with the post person. Told to stay, he did indeed — to her admiration (and mine).

Wednesday Miscellany ...

It is another glorious fall day in the Nation's capital, and it will provide an opportunity to wear a silk floral print to the NAC this evening. Tipper and his people have an equal hand in it though, as it was their request that I purchase something nice and useful with their generous gift card for sitting services this summer. With that and a bit of my own money, one black ¾ sleeve cashmere cardie (since I can't really have an invisibility cloak) was scooped up at Holts yesterday on my way to practice. Special mention to Samia for bringing it in from another store in my size in a timely manner! It will be well used and well loved, and is also a very good way to dress down the dress. And as a card carrying member of the black cat club, it is a very good colour choice!

Speaking of practice, the focus right now is still skills and drills, but the distance is there as well. One of Duane's objectives is for us to develop outstanding turns. I don't know that mine will ever be outstanding, but I'll keep trying to improve them. My back won't allow me to do the long, strong underwater dolphin that most of us are shooting for, but I can work on hitting better streamline position, getting farther off the wall, and for freestyle turns beginning to swim on my side not on my belly!

Finding the Hogwarts Express ...

Apparently metamaterials can make Platform 9¾ possible! Although I must say, I'm actually not bored of stories featuring physicists making invisibility cloaks. I rather want one. So it seems to me like a really good use of physicists' time! But in the foreseeable future I'll probably just settle for games involving light sabres. And in the immediate future, maybe just a black ¾ sleeve cashmere sweater ...

The Boarder Report

If the Rule (obviously made up by someone else) is that you don't leave the house, it is especially nice if people come to you. The Boarder reports he had a very busy day yesterday — audiences were given to Norris, Joanie, Emma, Roy, Kathy and Elizabeth.

His favorite visit of the day was definitely Emma's. She came at just the right time, playing into his crepuscular nature, and she brought Something Special Just For Him. While at Pet Value on Saturday, she found a Very Good Ball For Chasing, so she very kindly bought it for him. During her visit he was more interested in demonstrating a different skill set (killing his toy mouse) but he found it Well Worth Chasing before bed and again this morning.

He notes that we should all bear in mind that after Strenuous Activity it is good to Relax For A Bit.

Bits & Bobs ...

If you happen to be in the market for a couple of hours of entertainment, I'd like to recommend Ghost Town. It is a charming, lighthearted film that has some downright hilarious moments. Most enjoyable!

On the other side of the spectrum I quite literally dragged my sorry butt out of bed and to practice this morning. Every year I conveniently forget how much my back dislikes the change of seasons and how it refuses to tolerate drills that involve rotation and kicking. I do, however, really enjoy long course practices, especially if there's no fly involved. So I swam freestyle. Slowly. But swimming slowly the first week of practices is not a problem for Duane.

Particularly as we age, it takes longer to condition our bodies after a layoff — and many masters swimmers take a break in the summer months. It is partly for this reason many programs begin with an emphasis on drills and relaxed swimming or lots of rest between repeats.

Aside: Make no mistake, drills don't necessarily make for easy swimming! Done correctly, though, they will improve your technique.

Duane tries to explain (and reiterate) that warmup should be swum easily, with an emphasis on feeling the water — although often people overestimate their conditioning and find themselves exhausted at the end of a session. At this juncture of the season, that's not the objective. A few months from now we will be expected to work extraordinarily hard and do lots of fast swimming.

Sometimes, someone finds themselves the shining example of what to do or are called upon to do a demo; sometimes someone's experience is used as a cautionary tale. So this morning, there was a lot of chatter when Duane mentioned that someone who made an error in judgement yesterday has a wealth of success in the highest echelons of this sport. He swam too fast in warm-up, and was done in by the end of the practice. Of course, his done in is still faster than the majority of us at our top speeds! But you can bet your bottom that won't happen to him again!

Signs, Signs ...

Everywhere there have been seasonal signs. I wore a cashmere sweater this week.* And a long sleeved dress with tights. And my stomping boots. I have been seen about the house in yoga pants rather than skirts and dresses. Then last night — a frost warning! It seems fall has arrived.

The other sure sign of fall? A return to regular practice schedule and very drilly workouts! But for today at least I continue the look back to the summery weather of August, and give you another glimpse of Team WAM! Here's Meg on the bike, and Walla finishing the run for us. It seems I was the only scary looking one!





* At least it was short sleeved!

Scary!

Short of taking Joel's suggestion, I was thinking maybe I could just look imposing and scare people out of the lane.



Alright, I confess: it is very hard to be scary and imposing when you are under five feet tall. But I look pretty tough in this picture, no?

Minor Complications ...

Well, I must say lane swims are certainly popular these days. Sunday: 9 people in the fast lane. Last night: 8 people. Both evenings there was one truly fast person, and then some strong swimmers, then some stragglers. It was silly. Okay, it was very, very silly. I am hoping that the traffic will decrease as the fall progresses. Tonight was going to be my first practice of the new season, but it looks like I'll be helping steer the campers through their first team practice, which is good, but I'll have to squeeze in another swim this week.

Also on the up side, when I got back from seeing Dr. Susan today, there was another cardboard box for The Boarder. He does like the good folks at Amazon! Oh, and some DVD's he doesn't care about at all were inside it. Some are gifts, some are not. They had to be removed before the box met quality standards.

Fuzzy & Flexible!

Yesterday over at Light Reading, Jenny linked to an article that highlighted a feisty koala's online search for just the right fellow. So today for your viewing pleasure I bring you a look at a young captive bred koala with an itch.









Click for a closer look!

Three Hour Tours!

The Minnow wasn't lost!

Really, today I just can't top that.

Onward!

Camp's not quite done yet, but almost. Next week we go back to regular practice schedule! The campers will join us at a couple of practices next week.

My plan for the fall session is this:

♦ Monday night swim at Plant
♦ Tuesday evening practice at Ottawa U
♦ Thursday evening practice at Ottawa U
♦ Friday swim at Plant
♦ Saturday morning (long course) practice at Ottawa U when possible
♦ Sunday evening swim at Plant

There is some flexibility within the plan, as 6 days in the water won't always be workable! Also I am a little sad, as Saturday morning practice this year is at 06:30, and that makes for some very early bus riding! Oddly enough, not among my favourite things!

Why Don't We Stretch?

The imbalances we identified in our everyday lives may be something we cannot change, like Joe's driving foot or my cane hand. But we may be able to mitigate the issues we create just being us.

We don't immediately need to commit to an hour of stretching once or twice a week. In fact, almost any stretching we do will help. Before or after a workout? Yes! For swimmers in the shower can be great, and light stretching after practice can help to move the lactic acid out of your muscles. But not deep stretching before or after a workout.* Light stretching. Before or after the activity that is creating an imbalance? Yes! With special attention to the opposite stretch. It's very much like advocating backstroke for triathletes. You want those antagonist muscles to freestyle engaged to help prevent imbalances.

Oh, and that no pain no gain thing? It doesn't apply to stretching! If it hurts, back off!!!

So why don't we stretch? Time commitment? Yet another thing to do? Not seeing or feeling immediate progress? Laziness?

Well, for my part this season, I am going to make a concerted effort to improve my shoulder flexibility. I already do some stretches regularly. A few minutes, a couple of times a day could just work wonders! Maybe during a few television commercials? Surely I can manage that.

* Gerry advocates at least 6 hours between deep stretching sessions and a workout.

Camp Bit!

Technosport is rather blessed with a great group of swimmer/triathlete-coaches, and a head coach who draws on their skills. As the masters aquatics season gets underway, our Fall Swim Camp has its focus on body awareness. Initially you might think that this is not a series of sessions for those who are chomping at the bit to jump into the pool and get that hard workout in. But really, more often than not those are the folks who need it most.

You'll often hear it said that swimming is a game of technique — and the best are constantly refining their technique. In order to maintain and improve technique, there is a great deal to think about! Just hitting streamline pushing off the wall has an awful lot to it. When someone tells me that swimming is boring, it often occurs to me that they may not be swimming mindfully.

Last night after an hour of body awareness drills (this is our second session, and we're not swimming freestyle yet!) Gerry, one of our swimmer-coaches, talked to us about stretching. And mindfulness came up again. Something he asked us to consider was how we create imbalances in our day to day lives. These are sometimes simple little things that we do on an ongoing basis that once identified allow us to stretch and correct. Gentlemen carrying their wallet always in one back pocket (regardless of how heavy it is) set up a pelvic imbalance. Ladies carrying purses always on one shoulder do the same to a different set of muscles, ligaments and tendons. Among other things, Gerry challenged us to consider what habitually do that sets up a need for stretching.

So, athlete or no, what do you do that creates an imbalance?

The Old Switcheroo ...

I had thought I might get over to Plant for a swim during the day today — but somehow I can't jam everything into the day I want (or need) to and be on the deck at Lowertown this evening! So now I'm planning to make a point of getting over there tomorrow (Wednesday is my scheduled off day). And I'll have a nice clean towel to dry off with! Yes, the laundry situation got that out of control. I weatherproofed the stomping boots, too. A particularly good thing as it is heading to a low of 5°C tonight!

On the up side, during the busy 7:30 to 8:30 swim last night I ran a little recovery practice for Colin and I. Colin did the iron distance on the 30th. I helped my parents with that moving thing. Recovery is definitely in order! One of the other lane swimmers came along for part of the ride, so that made it even more fun.

Retail Therapy!

These boots are made for walking ... or out and out stomping! The Boarder was a little surprised by the stomping. He's never heard me stomp before! And through Marcin's magic with the stretching machine, they fit my calves, too! With room to spare! I'll continue breaking them in the house for a bit, although it might even be cool enough to wear them this morning!



Fe-Lady commented that the climate where she lives is boot unfriendly (and of course she is right on the money there!) — the Ottawa area climate actually demands several boot variants in one's wardrobe. These are spring/fall boots. The very in vogue peep toe boots are just not a useful trend here!

On the horizon for this week is Technosport's Fall Skills and Drills Camp. Our home pool is not yet open, so we'll be at a couple of different city pools for camp. I'll be standing on the deck Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings so will have to get my own swims in at Plant during the day. I'm really looking forward to getting back to a regular practice schedule! Ottawa U's pool has undergone some renovations this summer, and will open up again next week. Of course the down side is I won't be available for a movie again this week!!

I Have A Sudden Urge ...

To throw out everything in this house I am not immediately using. It will probably fade somewhat over the next while, but the garbage men may be very busy Monday!

But also to relax completely. Something like this:



The last two days of nearly octogenarian parents moving into a condo from a house they've lived in 38 years is definitely not for sissies! Especially if it is during the only real hot spell of the past two months!

An Outing ...

If you're in Ottawa this weekend and need a thought provoking way to spend a few hours, may I recommend the last two days of The 1930's: The Making of "The New Man" at the National Gallery of Canada? The subject matter is not always easy, but it does afford you a chance among other things to see a sketch for "Guernica". Lise and I saw the exhibition yesterday morning and left the gallery impressed.

Bits & Bobs ...

Comments made to me on Saturday by volunteers:

♦ "There's nothing as encouraging as the sound of a cowbell!"
♦ "Last year [in the iron distance race] someone actually fell asleep on the course. One of the volunteers had to shake him to wake him up!! But he finished before the cutoff!"

Swim bit:

When I arrived at the pool yesterday there were three police cars in front of the building. A patron was asking the gal at the front desk why they were there. She was a bit flummoxed, as they are not allowed to discuss that kind of thing. I piped up cheerily, "They're here for a visit!!" It was much appreciated by the staffer, who agreed immediately. However, in the pool I told a guard and lane swimmer that what I wanted to say was, "They're here to move people swimming in the wrong lane OVER!" And that was received with gales of laughter.

Fashion bits:

♦ A blingy book on the horizon. Oooh. Ahhh.
♦ The shoemaker to the world passed away on the weekend. For those of you who enjoy footwear, when in Toronto, be sure to stop in at the Bata Shoe Museum.
♦ Private Shopping Night at Holts is tomorrow evening — hopefully my man Marcin's work stretching this calf high Frye boot (but in a dark colour) will get it to accommodate my right calf! I consider this boot to be an "American classic", and one that if it fits will serve for many, many years. Photo from Frye.

It's Labour Day!

So The Boarder is napping, but facing out the window just in case his attention is required!

My ole pal Tipper's people will be home this afternoon. And won't they be surprised when they can't find the cat treats??

Regular readers know Tipper sometimes acts out the first night his people go away. Tipper is usually a pretty chatty cat. But when I went in that first morning, he had nothing to say. Nothing at all. And he wasn't very perky either. In fact, he was moving awfully slowly. I wondered at first if he might be ill and in need of veterinary attention. But in remarkably short order I pieced together the events that led to his uncharacteristic behaviour ...



Click to see the number of puncture marks required to adquately break into the bag. He's now back to his old self, and for what it's worth we have discussed his binge eating and embarking on proper indoor exercise program for those days when he can't get out.

Speaking of exercise programs, here's a bit on injury prevention in masters athletics courtesy of the World Masters Games upcoming in October of 2009.

Finally, a big shout out to newly minted Ironman Krissy, and to Kona Shelley for gettin' it done in Louisville yesterday!