Monday Miscellany!

Well, here we are in February! Must. Do. More. Cross-training.

Just to put January in perspective, my 50 fly at Nationals last year was :37.19 (my GUBT was :36.56 at Provincials) so :37.3 Saturday is really not that far off the mark. I just would have liked to have been faster! My monthly total was 37,450 metres, which is not bad considering a couple of spotty weeks of training. And better than last year's 28,200, so I've got that going for me!

The elusive perfect turquoise or cobalt bag is still, well, elusive. Although the Tod's bag may be perfect, it is well out of my budget! But the Gap 1969 Always Skinny jeans seem to be a workable replacement for my recently deceased Paige jeans. Naturally I prefer the feel of my Paige pants, so I'll stay on the lookout for another pair. But in the meantime I may get another pair of Gap pants in black. And, on another happy note, Neiman's is putting flats on its sandal Lust Haves List!

Meet Report

You may recall that at our last club meet I began the day in lacklustre fashion and finished up significantly better. This time around however I did the reverse!

Truly I was quite nervous about the 200 I.M. This was my first attempt at the distance as a grown-up. I was pleasantly surprised to find I had swum a 3:14.0! That would have been a top 5 in Canada last year, and although five faster gals age up now that we're in 2010, I think it augurs quite well for I.M. this season. Incidentally, it was also a club record.

The 50 fly was a full second better than last time out at :37.3, although not quite where I want to be, I was pleased enough with it. I just have to start swimming faster in practice.

The 100 free, however, was just plain slow. I just did not go quickly. At 1:20.? it was definitely uninspiring! Then I swam it again in the 4 x 100 relay, and swam virtually the same time. At least I was consistent, I guess!

Y'all ready for This?

Coach Duane brought something to practice for me last night. He'd been going through his archives. I showed it to some teammates, who said things like, "Hey, no goggles!!!" And the guy holding the gun? That's Dad! A click should get you close enough to see some of the names on the club record board!



Duane and I also had a chat about Nationals events, and have reached some tentative conclusions.* In the meantime, Nepean's long course meet is a go at the end of February, so I'm planning to swim the 100 fly, 50 breast, 50 fly and 800 free then.

*When we have an actual conclusion, you'll be among the first to know!

Rebel, Rebel ...

I confess I have a real hankering. The thing is, I read an image consultant's blog post yesterday. It suggested dark handbags were appropriate for the winter months (but not really for summer). My underlying desire for a cobalt or bright turquoise bag ramped up exponentially so I could carry it immediately (if not sooner). Such rules are made to be broken, right?

I did not get my downtown errands done yesterday as I ended up swimming then standing on the deck for practice. So I'll scoot out shortly and see what I can accomplish! Dare I also look for replacement dark wash jeans? We'll see once I'm out ...

Miscellaneous Bits!

Well, yesterday we had a record rainfall, today the Snow Gods are trying to appease the ski set! It'll be at least a few days before the canal reopens for skating, though.

Today it's off to see Dr. Susan so I'll do some errands on Bank Street then do some Rideau Centre errands on the way to practice. It's probably a good thing I had a quiet day yesterday!

The heart health of younger Canadians was in the news yesterday — and the picture isn't pretty!

And now for something completely different — Kona Shelley tagged me. The idea is to list 10 things that make you happy. So here are some things I enjoy:

♦ time spent with friends & family
♦ swimming!
♦ coaching
♦ the relationship The Boarder and I have developed
♦ the garden and other people's gardens
♦ calligraphy, particularly teaching the seniors at Good Companions
♦ shiny things (and making shiny things)
♦ taking photographs
♦ dark chocolate
♦ my neighbours and neighbourhood

Monday Miscellany ...

♦ 95K to go before achieving the 750,000 metre mark (since September first 2008) in the Masters Swimming Canada Million Metre Challenge
♦ it is bucketing rain this morning — not really the way we want to flood the canal
♦ here's a very cool sea slug!
♦ I guess this shouldn't surprise me as much as it does
♦ I'll leave you with a bag to brighten spirits (although I'd be reluctant to carry it in the rain!)

An Afternoon With Emma ...

Emma and I had an adventure yesterday! We hung out for a while and then took the number three bus to and from the National Arts Centre for the Family Adventure Sports Fever!

Once our tickets were taken, behind the ropes:

♦ the smiling and congenial Sheridon Baptiste let us touch the sharp spiky bottoms of shoes used in bobsleigh and his signed helmet
♦ the engaging Mariann Domonkos showed us the construction of table tennis paddles
♦ 1976 hero Greg Joy let us touch his Olympic silver medal, and test the weight of an earlier Olympic torch
♦ Rob Marland had his 1992 rowing gold medal on hand, and graciously let us feel its weight
♦ Angus Mortimer kindly started the autograph ball rolling for Emma by signing her program
♦ CTV analyst (and luge Olympian) Chris Wightman had his suit out on a table for people to feel
♦ Linda Thom had her 1984 gold medal on hand and was probably the highlight for us — she took time with each person in line and reminisced with me about how teammate Alex carried the flag in the opening ceremonies, and she at the closing of the games — we went back after the concert for Emma to get her autograph
♦ there were two 2010 torches on hand for photos and close-up examination

Then, on stage:

♦ Global National anchor Kevin Newman did a fine job as MC*, and was joined on stage by Canadian icon Senator Nancy Greene Raine who, among other things, led us through some warm-up exercises
♦ the orchestra under the guidance of Boris Brott, delivered a delightful program linking music and sport, composer Maxime Goulet was on hand for a performance of Citius, Altius, Fortius
♦ the Ottawa Rhythmic Gymnastics Club were, as Emma said, spectacular in three numbers including the Olympic Fanfares from 1984 and 1988
♦ we were treated to fourteen year old phenom Jan Lisiecki — both on piano, and in his role as a National Unicef Representative

*Paul Rainville helped Mr. Newman do a play-by-play of Beethoven's Fifth that really tickled funny bones!

Swim Bit!

Practice this morning kicked my derriere! Now, it hasn't been my best week ever, so I really wasn't surprised, but yikes — there's some serious long course training to be done over the next four months!

We have a little meet next Saturday morning, so I entered 3 events. First up the 200 free (I'll swim as IM) — that ought to be interesting! There's a whole 50 back involved you know! It'll be my first kick at a 200 IM as an adult, so we'll see how that goes. Then I'll swim the 50 free as fly, and the 100 free for fun. There is only one event between the 200 free and the 100 fly, so I'll skip the 100 fly this time out!

There may be no swim in the cards for me tomorrow — we'll just have to see how the day plays out. It'll be another early morning, as the folks are headed back to Florida (hoping to be at the airport at 08:00).

PSA and Other Bits ...

I did get for a little swim yesterday, although it was definitely a slog. I also got my mammogram and breast exam done. For gals 50 or over, the Ontario Breast Screening Program wants to remind you that no doctor's referral is required to get your screening done. If you live in Ontario all you have to do is phone for an appointment. I then scooted downtown to pick up a pair of jeans. They're not beautiful dark wash skinnies like the ones that malfunctioned this week, so there will be shopping in my future, but they are at least whole. As opposed to holey.

Speaking of fashion, Meg asked where I go online fantasy shopping. Neiman's is one answer. Right now there's a Nanette Lepore trunk show online. While some of us might look at the young models in short skirts and think this line may not be age appropriate for many of us, do at least take a look at the Capture Me dress, and the jackets in the collection.

Finaly, for those using earbuds at the gym, I bring you this.

Squirrel!!

The Boarder would like All and Sundry to be aware that National Squirrel Appreciation Day or not (and apparently today is!), his expertise following suggestion number two is Unparalleled. In fact, he is squirrel watching right now!

On the prizefighting front, my eyelid is looking much more normal, and while I'm not ready to try regular goggles, I will likely don my seal mask in a couple of hours and have a little swim. Later in the day I have the Squash Test*, and all things being equal I'll be on deck tonight at Ottawa U. But I won't be wearing my favourite jeans -- yesterday I found I had worn a hole in them! I feel an urgent shopping trip in my future ...

* aka mammogram

Shiner!

Well, Dr. Susan and I are currently operating under the premise that the swollen upper right eyelid I woke up with yesterday morning is viral in nature — and so we are pumping me full of anti-virals. In the meantime, I am rehearsing this line: But you should SEE the Other Guy! With luck I'll be evened out in no time, but it leaves me with little to report for the time being.

Sunday Snippets!

So for those who haven't been following this story avidly at home, the FINA committee ruled that masters swimming will follow the same swimsuit rulings as age group swimming. This is no surprise, Masters Swimming Canada had already ruled the same way. In open water, however, suits may extend to the ankle, so some of our older suits will still pass muster!

The noon swim at Plant was not overly busy yesterday, and it was lovely to see some teammates there! Our usual Saturday morning practice was cancelled due to an age group swim meet. I got a quick swim in, then rushed home to watch the National Figure Skating Championships on TV. It has been a beautiful and exciting event thus far! And the men's long today holds just as much promise.

It's the noon swim again for me today, as the folks are landing back here this evening for a week. So we'll hope that it is not too busy again today!

Oh, and The Boarder reports that Increased Vigilance is Still Required. Interlopers have been Spotted on His Territory! The small stuffed feline is Allowed To Stay, though.



Click for a bigger Boarder!

No Pix ...

Here at OTDE we're going to pretend Yesterday Never Happened. Well except for the nice lunch with Lise. And the fact that somehow I convinced myself to do pulleys. And the pizza I made last night, which was delicious.

The Boarder points out that his day yesterday was Imperfect too! First of all in the afternoon That Darned Wilson was Just Sitting There (!) on His front step for the longest time — staring up at him. There were a lot of vocalizations about his unhappiness with that situation. Then, under cover of darkness Some Other Cat came up on his back deck and stared in at him. Not knowing why he was uncharacteristically pawing at the sliding door, I went to look and instantaneously found a frantic cat hanging onto my calf with all available limbs. Note to self, apparently some claws require a trim!

Today I will scoot back to the Superstore, as it turns out The Boarder will eat the plain yellow tins labelled chicken. I only bought two tins yesterday, as I no longer trust he will eat what's put in front of him! He has decided that the Iams food he was eating is, for the time being at least, no longer a valid menu choice. Life with cats. Rarely dull.

I will also try to brave the noon swim at Plant for no longer than 45 minutes, as I want to watch the skating of figures, which was outstanding yesterday. Even The Boarder found some of the live streaming kind of spellbinding.

Onward!

Go Nose!

Okay, I'm sitting here waiting for my nose to unstuff. This is so not the time for me to get sick! Go nose! All I've really done thus far today is empty the dishwasher and put a small pork roast in the crock pot for dinner. The Boarder has retired upstairs, so I should vacuum, though.

Aside: I note that for a relatively small animal, he is uncannily able to pin me down when we both happen to be using the bed at the same time.

While I go run The Evil Vacuum Cleaner, I will leave you with a look at the handbag I fell in love with today. No need to guess which colour!

Wednesday Miscellany ...

So plump derrieres and thighs may not be all bad! Nice to know. But it doesn't make this any less disturbing.

Some nice light cross-training fell from the sky today — if I were a skier I'd have been screaming "powder"! But it's supposed to sleet too. Not such a good thing.

And tooday for eye candy I bring you a substantially marked down needlefish necklace.

Did I Mention ...

I turned 50?

Oh, there have been subtle signs. I realized I can't cut The Boarder's claws without putting on reading glasses first. I certainly have more gray in my hair when it's not camoflauged. But seeing Dr. Susan last week brought it home. I am now finished the colon cancer screening fun, and next week I will get my boobs squashed between metal plates! Woo hoo!

In other news, yesterday I picked up a blazer that had been in for alterations (it will come as no surprise to you that the sleeves needed shortening), took some jeans in (and my newly lifted runner) to be shortened for casual wear, and happened upon a short-sleeved dark brown crew neck cashmere sweater marked down from $189 to $69. Needless to say that did not stay on the rack!

On the weekend KD and I had a great visit, Works Burgers (well, I had chicken), began another shoe relay, and Carter the Wonderdog pulled me across the hardwood floor in a round of tug o' war! The Boarder is not bothered by my visiting canines. He is not fussy on sharing me with Other Felines, though!

And now ... More Caffeine!!!

Hmmm ...

On the walk home from the pool last night I found myself desperately wishing that my lane swim buddy Chris weren't busy Avoiding Winter! I missed him during the swim, but that wasn't the reason. Standing at the number three bus stop was one of the young lifeguards — who had once chastised me after another patron complained to him about me. Chris had been there for my discussion with the guard. And about a week or so ago, Chris commented that he thought this young fellow was "Coming Over to Our Side".

Flashback: After repeatedly not letting me pass, this other patron took a break hanging around for some time in the middle of the wall at the deep end, and was still hanging on as I approached. At this pool the posted rules clearly state "parking" should occur at the side of the lane, turning in the middle. I modified my approach to accommodate her, flipped, and of course she pushed off at almost exactly the same moment. My hands in streamline ran into her derriere. I was so not amused. At the shallow end she told me I had to stop and touch the wall with my hand. When chastised by the guard later, I explained the situation and he said something like, "Well, if that's what happened ..."

Last night he stopped me while I was toddling home to ask, very bashfully, if I had any suggestions to help him train to be in shape for beach lifeguarding try-outs this spring! Of course I said I would be happy to help.

Swim Bit!

Pat N brought these to yesterday morning's practice for me. 114K to go for the 750,000 metre mark. And she also brought the news that my 100 IM last month was a club record. It squeaked into the Canadian top 20 for the year too, giving me a ranking in 9 events. So thanks very much Pat!

Also, the time has come to get a titch sprintier. Really, I should have enough base to do that. To say I was sluggish at December's meet is being kind. So go me! The plan is to start with sets of 50's with lots of rest and go really hard the first 10 metres then back off a bit for the duration. We have a little meet on the 30th, so we'll see if that gets me off the blocks with a little more zing!

This will also be the self-declared week of sleep! I'm pleased to report that going to bed at 5:30 p.m. and getting up at 7:30 a.m. resulted in my feeling much better. I confess, I did watch some dvds, but Stayed In Bed. So the sleep when tired, eat when hungry philosophy will continue this week.

Saturday Snippets ...

So, basically, practice kicked my derriere this morning! So much so that I went back to bed. Yeah, that's a sign I'm not feeling 100%. The Boarder did not join me as it was the first day in 15 for Sun Spots. He stayed in the window, and I certainly understand his choice! (I also note that at some point in the not so distant past I may have scoffed at these. I may rethink my opinion!)

For eye candy today, I bring you this hummingbird offering from Luxist. I prefer the one on the left, myself.

Off Day!

So what am I doing? Laundry! And in fact, I may not leave the house at all today. I'm also not feeling 100%, so an indoor day won't hurt. And The Boarder concurs!

Thursday Tidbits ...

♦ Apparently bad gym teachers turn kids off sport. Who knew??
♦ That Eddie the Eagle carried the torch brought a smile to my face! Not to mention grinning widely when our teammate Alex lit up Sudbury.
♦ Here's a link to an article about an Aussie "running like crazy"!
♦ Finally, if you're looking for shiny things, Birks Winter Sale is now on!

Tuesday Tidbits ...

ECT in the morning does not inspire me to swim in the evening. Really, if my lane swim buddy hadn't been going to the pool last night, I don't know that I would have made it. Clearly everyone else felt the same way, because most of the time we were by ourselves in the fast lane!

In the afternoon Lise aided and abetted in The Mission to replace The Boarder's scratching post. Like this one, in fact. And while we were there we found Some Possibly Tin Alternatives (so far he likes one), a new brush (still highly suspicious!), and new claw clippers (he hasn't seen those yet, but I have complete faith I can predict his reaction to them!). I can report he has used it for scratching, although the sudden transformation of his post while he was sleeping was Definitely Somewhat Unusual!

Another book arts bit for your viewing pleasure ... I don't think we'll be lucky enough to see a copy from this limited edition in person!

It's Monday!

I only did a short swim last night, but found once I got to the pool it was very pleasant. The weather obviously discouraged many Resolutionists, as we were three in the fast lane all swimming the same sets. With time to go ten seconds apart!

For your viewing pleasure, today I bring you a link to something special that captivated me. Instead of complaining about how I just dropped a battery pack on my toe and am really not happy about it!

The More it Goes ...

The ECT continues apace! I pushed out the front door this morning to find white stuff had drifted to a depth of 8" on the steps, walk, and driveway entrance. The sidewalk plow had been by — the stuff just drifted right back over its droppings! And no, I really didn't think that was fair.

The snowbanks are now as tall or taller than I am, so I'm wondering what kind of swim it will be this evening. I may find I have no arms! The street now accomodates one car at a time due to a combination of snowbanks and parked cars. In fact, we gave up waiting to get back into the street after grocery shopping and went to Starbucks for a bit. A truck was in the middle of the street with its fourways on, so it was clear there would be no immediate getting past it! And it's still carrying on out there! The more it goes (Tiddly pom) On snowing!*

However inside The Boarder is all curled up in a ball on the chaise lounge, spaghetti sauce is simmering, there is browned ground beef in the frige ready for shepherd's pie later in the week, there's some pork tenderloin there too (and some in the freezer) so we've plenty to eat in the event the snow just keeps on keepin' on! It's not supposed to. Environment Canada says just a 60% chance of flurries tomorrow and Tuesday ...

I'm somehow not convinced I'm going to want to bundle up and head over to the pool in a couple of hours, though!

* A.A. Milne

By the Numbers ...

December is historically not a particularly good training month for me primarily due to the EPC*, and that was borne out once again in 2009. I put in just under 24,000 metres, along with some ECT**, and at the end of the month I actually dusted off the pulleys. From January 1 to December 31, though, I swam 502,506 metres compared to 334,622 in 2008. And on the up side, I started the year off right with a good 2,600 metre swim and an equivalent amount of time spent doing ECT!

Where I improved most last year was in swimming 100 flys (I *finished* my first as a grown-up in January, and the finishing got better over the course of a year but was still pretty iffy in May). Other than the 50 fly I did not have a GUBT in a 50. I did not train enough breaststroke to improve those times, but I did make gains in distance freestyle events and the hundred free.

I will continue to concentrate on fly this year — although nationals is long course so that will add a whole new wrinkle to the equation! 100 fly long course is a lot harder than 100 fly short course! I may see if I can add a little IM into the mix. At Nationals our club will have gals in my age group that are quicker freestylers, but not flyers. The freestylers will likely swim all freestyle and breaststroke events — so I am considering two flys, two IMs and probably distance freestyles (400, 800 & 1500). The freestylers will still be faster than me, but the longer the distance the fewer overall entries, so the better to score points for the team. To put it into context I squeaked into the Canadian top 20 for my age group this year in the 50, 100, 400 (split), but was 9th in the 800. Nationally I was 11th in the 50 breast, but 8th in the 100 — similarly I was 10th in the 50 fly, but 5th in the 100. And, in breaking news, my 100 IM (1:29.30) at our last little meet has somehow managed to land me 18th!


* Evil Pool Closure
* Evil Cross-Training (Shovelling)

Happy New Year!

May 2010 be a banner year all round! Of course as you usual, if it strikes your fancy you can click for a bigger Boarder.