I’m baaaaaaaaaaaack.
My fingers had such a nice break yesterday! :) I hadn’t done a Wordless Wednesday since last September.
I think it is a nice change every once and a while. I also loved seeing how your comments changed when I just posted pictures as opposed to pictures and words. Many of you commented how you enjoyed putting together a story in your mind…I thought that was kind of fun!
I am playing around with the idea of doing a daily wordless afternoon post. Right now I generally post in the morning and then again at night, but it would be fun to have a wordless lunch post just to break up the day.
By the way, inside my wrap yesterday was my Golden Sweet Potato Soup from the other night! I really do love that soup! So simple and comforting.
Swim #3 last night!
Apparently, I was so excited my left cheek started to glow uncontrollably…? ;)
Swim #3:
- 15 minute warm-up (freestyle, breaststroke, flutter board)
- 30 minute medium pace (freestyle, breaststroke)
- 10 minute fast pace (freestyle, no stopping after each length)
- 5 minute treading water to finish (I found treading water really easy! Wonder why?)
I didn’t keep track of laps because I was focusing more on technique rather than speed, but I would guess that I swam about 25 laps/1250 metres in about 55 minutes.
My goal was to start doing bilateral breathing which is when you breathe on both the left and right side, as opposed to just one side. I had only been breathing on my strong side (the right side) the last two sessions. It was tricky at first as my left side is not as strong, but after a few laps I picked it up and I am happy to say that I can now confidently breathe on both sides while doing freestyle. Eric is doing great with it too!
What I learned Day 3:
- Good swimmers are efficient and effortless swimmers (I learned this while watching swimmers in the fast lane.) They are smooth and graceful like swans.
- Seeing myself improve and Eric improve is so exciting. We were so pumped on the drive home because we were feeling proud of ourselves. It feels awesome to learn a new skill again!
- Don’t panic when the pool fills up with people and the waves start getting choppy. This is good practice for the tri! It was REALLY busy last night.
- When you go to the late night swim, kiss the sauna goodbye because the entire place shuts down and you get kicked out. Can I hear an Awwww hellll nooo?
I checked our pool for adult lessons and there is currently one going on but it is full and we can’t get in. The next one isn’t until July. The wait list for private lessons is also 17 people long. So, my next step is looking for an instructor who is not affiliated with the pool and just teaches on the side. I find I am really craving some lessons because I really want my form to be the best it can be. At first, my thoughts were along the lines of just swimming so I can finish the race, but now Eric and I are starting to enjoy it so we want to improve!
We didn’t get home from the pool until about 10:45pm. Party animals, eh?
I woke up ravenous this morning. I wanted carbs…and fast.
I made this for Eric yesterday and it was so amazingly good I decided to make it for breakfast.
Grilled Cashew Butter and Blueberry Sandwich:
Ingredients:
- 3 pieces whole wheat bread
- 2 tbsp Organic Blueberry Jam
- 1 tbsp cashew butter
- 2 tsp Earth Balance Margarine
Directions: Take 1st piece of bread and spread a layer of blueberry jam on top. Take 2nd piece of bread and place on top. Spread piece #2 with cashew butter and then add another layer of jam. Add third piece of bread and spread lightly with margarine. Place sandwich onto pre-heated frying pan (on medium heat), margarine side down. Now spread the top side of the bread with margarine. Grill on each side until golden brown and serve immediately.
This was inspired by Caitlin’s Grilled Banana Sandwich.
Blueberry jam is fun!
Intense, isn’t it? You could also use any kind of nut butter or jam too.
Onto the pan it goes…
The smell was quite amazing while cooking. Mmm.
Oh my gooooosh this was so good.
Sometimes a gal just needs bread, no?
The saltiness from the margarine played off the sweetness of the cashew butter and jam so well.
Magnifique!
Today’s question- What forms of exercise challenge you like no other, no matter how good of shape you are in?
I said to Eric last night, ‘No matter how many miles I run or how many intense cardio workouts I do, swimming is one heck of a challenging workout!’ I thought my lungs were in great shape until I started swimming. I am anxious to see if swimming improves my running endurance. Any runner/swimmers out there want to comment on this?
For me:
- Stair walking/running (I used to do 28 floors of stairs in my condo everyday)
- Swimming
- Yoga
- Running, esp. hill or trail running
See you later alligator!
thats awesome. I wouldn’t mind being able to do stairs. I’m not THAT out of shape, but when it comes to stairs they always kill me. I would like to improve on that.
I can’t really see myself swimming, i’m too scared of water. I panic when my head is under water.
Now THAT’S a sandwich!! It’s nice to know that even grown-ups can enjoy a PB+J.. or CB+B ;) Yum, yum!!
Angela-
As a long time reader, I know you’ve done this before, but could you please break down your calorie distribution for the day? Like on average (and I know you don’t count) how much do you estimate for bfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks to reach your total? I’m toying with the idea of raising my bfast from 300 to 500 as I reach maintnince(sp)..
Hi there,
Angela has a couple of posts on how she stopped counting calories, so doing an average would be difficult. BUT, if you poke through the about/FAQ tabs, you’ll find a GREAT post/page on what she eats most days. You can probably do your own ballpark estimate from there.
As a suggestions, when I moved into a simple maintenance state with weight, I simultaneously moved into simply eating when I was hungry. Like this:
(1) Plan 5-6 meals/day taking calories into account –> (2) Plan 5-6 meals/day w/out worrying about calories –> (3) Plan a little, but generally go with what my stomach tells me, and the habits I’ve acquired. After awhile, I found a good balance. Perhaps you could try that, as well?
You could do your own quick estimate from 3 days of the series “a week of blogging what I eat”. . .
http://ohsheglows.com/categories/a-week-of-blogging-what-i-eat
great! thankyou!!
Hi Kayla,
It is really hard for me to estimate how many calories I eat in a day because I really try not to focus on it anymore…but I would guess between 1700-2200 depending on the day’s activity level. I have a very physical job so I do eat more now than I used to at a desk job.
As for how I spread out my calories, each of my three meals tends to be about the same size approx, perhaps with my dinner being the smallest out of all 3. It varies I guess!
Goodluck with your goals!
wow, that sandwich reminds me of when I used to make grilled almond butter and banana/honey sandwiches. So warm and gooey inside. Perfect for after a hard swim!
OMG! That sandwich sounds DELIIIIIICIOUS! :D:D I’ve always loved grilled sandwiches… This looks delightful! :D (I love PB&J by itself, grilled is even better! :D)
I’ve always found any type of running really hard on me. I’ve never been a runner my whole life, and I would much rather prefer swimming, walking, or dance. I simply cannot run :( I’m slow and it hurts like hell and all I can ever think about while running any distance is how far I have to go!
I’ve never really properly done yoga before… I’ve heard many great things about it from many different sources, but I guess that classes are just a little out of the question right now? There’s no time… and they tend to be expensive here in China :(
Have a great day ahead! :D
Wei-Wei
For me – definitely swimming, stair climbing, and now yoga! Swimming has always been hard for me.
That sandwich…holy yum!
Swimming gets me everytime because I haven’t learned to swim with my head in the water yet. I have to work harder to make up for that lack of technique.
If I had the back, knees and ankles for running I’d say that, but since I don’t run it goes a little something like this…
1) stepmill of death faster than level 12 for any longer than a min or two
2)swimming with bilateral breathing!
3) cycling in the wind
4) cycling on a hilly course
I am a swimmer at heart…my dad was a swimmer, too, and I love that connection with him (he is actually ranked top 5 in the world in his age group for a few swimming events this year!)
You will definitely have benefits from swimming and running. I started doing triathlons about 5 years ago, and love, love LOVE them! Having three disciplines to train for is a lot of fun, and some days I say to myself – do I feel like cycling, swimming or running today…it is nice to not have to be just running or just swimming all the time…
One thing that I noticed for me with the transition from swimming to running is that my ankles would be more sore – as a swimmer, and a breaststroker, ankle flexibility was really key in my events, and then when I would start running for track season, it would take a bit for my body to get used to the different motion and muscle use…
A great thing about triathlons, though? By the time you get to the run during the race – your body is so warmed up that I find that I sometimes have my best paced runs after the swimming and cycling! Good luck with your training! If I lived in Canada I would definitely love to help coach your swimming!!
I too am really enjoying the mix of activities!
I’m a runner and every time I try to swim, I feel like I’m going to have a heart attack!
My sister’s a swimmer and every time she tries to run, she swears she is going to die.
We’re both in great shape, but no matter how good of shape we are in, our bodies are in shape for what they do most: running for me, and swimming for her. It’s different muscles, different breathing. Whew! I’m out of breath just thinking about it!
I started doing triathlons about a year and a half ago and swimming was always my worst of the three sports. This year I stumbled upon the Total Immersion Swimming books and DVDs and they totally changed my swim workouts from an hour of struggling to an hour of swimming. Definitely a plus! :) I recommend the Easy Freestyle DVD and the Total Immersion book – so helpful! Congrats to you and your husband on this big undertaking – triathlon is so much fun, you’ll love it!
thanks for your suggestions!
That looks delicious!! Is your pool a 50 meter long pool? If it’s only 25 meters long, one lap is from wall to wall, so I’m pretty sure you actually swam 50 laps!! :-) Spinning. That’s hard! No wait – pilates/yoga. I just don’t have the patience and flexibility and I get so bored! I need to work on that though.
Yup its 25 m long…I was told that one lap is there and back (2 lengths)…now im confused?
:) it’s because you breathe for different muscles when you swim than you do for running. I am a runner, and swimming is always hard for me because I don’t know how to breathe for those muscles!
Hey Ang!
did you know that there was a swimming school in Milton? They might be able to help you! It’s called Carol Murry I believe..let me know if you want some more info, as it’s right at the end of my street.
Yes I actually just found it today! Thank you :)
What an awesome looking breakfast sandwich! I am so NOT creative like you are with breakfast. I can come up with interesting stuff for dinner, even lunch… but breakfast? Not so much. Thanks for the inspiration! :)
28 floors??!! That’s impresive!
heyo! like i’ve said before, i’ve swam competitively all my life but i just started running in the past couple of years. when i first started running i was shocked about how little i could do before feeling totally exhausted but i could swim for hours without getting tired.
This “recipe” was also on GOOP today – Are you feeling your inner Gwynneth? Hee…
Looks delish!
Really? Do you have a link?
http://goop.com/newsletter/81/en/
It’s amongst Gwynneth’s offerings to pop in your kidlette’s lunchbox…
Of course it’s not exact – Much simpler – But I thought it was interesting that the universe seems to be directing us towards almond butter and jelly sandwiches today… Wonder what that means???
haha I love that she used sprouted bread! yum. :) Yes I do think it is a sign to harness your inner child and eat one! ;)
i’m so glad to see you’re enjoying swimming! my mom actually teaches so it’s a shame you don’t live in michigan. keep going strong, my dear :)!
have a lovely day!
xox
Hey Angela — I’ve been swimming over 20 years and never have been able to translate swimming endurance with running. I wish I could! Swimming 1 mile (approx. 72 laps) is the equivalent to running 4 miles in the amount of energy your body expends… so that’s why it is such a great workout! Keep up the good work!