Picture of the Day - The Winter Sprinter

 (DISCLAIMER - I normally make the picture of the day one I took with my own ultra high quality phone camera, but since I didn't get any good shots of the meet with it today, I'm borrowing one from a friend. :) ).

Today was the day I competed in Longmont's Winter Sprinter swim meet.  I missed it last year but swam the previous two years and had a lot of fun, so I wasn't going to miss out this year.  I swam the 50 free, fly, back and breast, and 100 IM.  Two 2nds, a 3rd, and two 4ths.  Not bad for 40 and probably two total miles in the pool in the last two years.  The 50s felt good, even though my times were a little off from two years ago, and the 100 IM completely destroyed me (or maybe it was the 100 IM followed by a 50 back 3 heats later).  Endurance has never been my strong suit, and continues to not be lol.

But still, I competed, and it felt good to be back in my element.  I swam competitively for about 11 years, through high school and college, and it opened a lot of doors for me.  I wish I had kept track of the number of laps I have swum since my first day on the team...it would easily be a quarter million I bet, and honestly I'm not even exaggerating.  I was lucky to have parents who endured frequent weekend trips to Atlanta, 2 1/2 hours away, so I (and my brother) could bounce back and forth between two walls 25 or 50 meters apart a few times.  But in the end, swimming helped me meet some lifelong friends, helped get me through college, and helped get me my first job.  I really don't miss the training (I'm far to social an exerciser to really be able to enjoy keeping my head and mouth underwater while I work out), but I'll still do the Winter Sprinter every year just to remind me of the good ol' days.

At the meet today I had an AWESOME cheering section that consisted of Kathy and the kids, plus a crew from my kickboxing class.  There are really some truly amazing people in my life, and it is so cliche, but I really am lucky to have crossed paths with so many great souls.  Thank you to all who came, and thank you to everyone else who wished me luck and was there in spirit.

Now, the speedo is going back into hibernation for probably about a year...or maybe until triathlon season. ;)

Picture of the Day - The Speedo

Knocked the cobwebs off this thing today, so I can race in it tomorrow.  Not quite the same as the roller derby skates, or running shoes, or bikes, or guns, or anything else some of my friends post pictures of.  It's a speedo.  I practically lived in one of these from the age of 9-21 (and I even swam competitively too), only it was MUCH smaller back then.  Nowadays they just look like biker shorts.  I can even fit in it without using a shoehorn for my love handles.  Just so happens I do have one of my old time racing suits as well...still fits, just don't ask me to breathe in it.  I will be wearing the larger one when I race, luckily for all of us.

Picture of the Day - The Dog Ate My....

....bed.

There used to be a big purple beanbag on this spot pictured above that Bella loved to lay down on and take a nap.  Today while I was folding clothes upstairs and suddenly realizing "hmmm Bella is being awfully quiet", I looked downstairs to realize Bella had eaten a hole in the beanbag, and the stuffing was all over her face and on the floor.  Needless to say, Bella no longer has a beanbag bed.

Picture of the Day - Scrabble

My mom visited us from Georgia a couple weekends ago, and while she was here she introduced me to Words With Friends on Facebook (which is essentially scrabble).  It has a lot of potential to be a major time suck, but so far I haven't given up the rest of my life completely so I can play it.

I really didn't have much else to say about this other than...this was my 110 point word I played in a game today (sorry mom).  Anyone else want to play???

Help with Homework

While Aaron was doing his homework this afternoon, he had a little feline help.  Of course, Ninja's answer to every math question was "meow", but at least he tried to be helpful.

Oh, and we just found out today that Aaron made the honor roll at his school.  Apparently he got some of his mamma's brain genes.  We're proud of you, Aaron!

Picture of the Day - Girl Scout Cookies

It is girl scout cookie season again.  I suppose as a fitness instructor, this is good news for me, because I'd imagine the calorie intake of the cookie eating public increases substantially during this time, which means many people will feel guilty about consuming these extra calories, which means some people will decide they need to start working out (maybe working out again), which means a couple people will actually go through the trouble of trying to find somewhere to workout, which means a new person may come walking into my class, throw her hands up in the air and say "I can't stop eating these cookies!!!  Please...PLEASE help me atone for my sweet toothed sins by making me sweat for an hour until I can't feel my arms anymore!!"

I will, of course, be happy to help.  You see the picture above?  Both of those containers are empty.  I opened one of them about 10 minutes before I took this picture.  My blood alcohol level is 0.00.  To say I can sympathize with the person who wants to sweat away her tag-a-long flavored gluttony is like saying water is wet, as I myself cannot stop eating those things.  Combine that with my desire to support a good cause, and it means there is going to be a lot more working out in my immediate future.

By the way, did anyone notice that those heavy bags we use look just like sleeves of thin mints?  Ummm, me either..... 

Oh, Nicole.

This is Nicole.  By day, she owns and works at a local salon, but by night (and many mornings), she is in the studio making punching bags regret the day they were assembled.  Nicole has been kickboxing with me for a couple of years now, and today she passed her test for her high brown kickboxing belt (which is one step below the "black belt" for our program).  To see how far Nicole has come since she started is truly amazing.  She is doing things now that amaze everyone who knows her, including running races and climbing mountains.  And her dedication to kickboxing has been more than any of her instructors could ask for, and that dedication has been contagious.  Many students who don't usually come to evening class came tonight just because they knew Nicole was testing, and they wanted to see that and support her in that challenge.  Nicole didn't disappoint.

Congratulations to you, Nicole.  You are a big reason for the success this program has had, and we can't thank you enough for your help publicizing our business and getting the word out.  Proud isn't a strong enough word to describe how we feel about you.  Can't wait to see your black belt test. :)