5 Straight days!

Well again...I need my head checked!

Today I did my 5th straight day of swimming. I did mostly arms today so that means tonight at work I'm going to be walking around like a troll dragging them on the floor. I did get a chance to "coach" a little bit today as well. It's been nice to meet new people at the pool and a lot of people have been asking me for advice on stroke technique. I'm always flattered to be complimented and then for people to ask my advice on how to improve their strokes is absolutely awesome. I worked with a guy for about 30 minutes this afternoon and after we finished working on his stroke he was going head to head with one of the lifeguards which really made his day!

In other swim related news I decided to contact the swim coach of one of the local masters teams this weekend. I looked over their website and it appears to be a fairly tight knit group of people (sorta similar in age range and support level of the blends!) that are equal parts competitive swimming and equal parts having a good time. This was really important to me as I'm definitely wanting to become a better swimmer, but I'm not looking to having that be the only part of the reason I join a club. They have dinner parties, go to the state fair, go to movies and have superbowl parties. Sounds like a pretty good group of folks and the best part is that it's a fairly cheap monthly fee!

So I'll let you all know more as I hear more.

Today's total yardage: 2700 yards

Why? Because I'm apparently nuts!

Well I stopped at 3000 yards but I definitely felt like I could just swim as long as they would let me today. But the kids with their swim lessons and water aerobics folks just wouldn't take to kindly to me getting in their way. Didn't really have a planned workout today so I won't list any sets. I just got in and just decided to just swim and feel it out. Hence the unstoppable attitude lol.

I did get a timed 50 Yard Freestyle in:

32.50

I also did a time 100 Yard Freestyle in:

1:19.57

Obviously these are still considerably off from my personal best, but not too bad considering it was at the end of the workout and my trunks are so baggy it's like swimming with a pocket full of bricks. I promised myself that if I can get my 50 Free down to about 29 seconds and my 100 free down to about the 1:03 and 1:05 range that I'll consider a masters team or at least try a masters meet and see what it's like. I'm not sure I like the idea of a team yet but I'm definitely liking the idea of competing again at some point.

And Yes...I'm looking at printing companies that will put the Jolly Roger on a swim cap!

Keepin on Keepin on...

Well it's the end of the first 2 weeks and I'm 8 workouts down in my swimming!

Today I decided to be psychotic. Why? Because I can. Today I did 2500 Yard (1.42045 miles for those of you keeping score at home) and 1500 of those yards were butterfly kick with flippers. Now you might say..."Jeremy that's Cheating!!" alas you would be wrong!! The flippers allow more of the muscles in your lower body and your core to get a stronger workout and if you want a belly buster...butterfly kick knows no equal. Needless to say it was an ass kicker but I felt great. In fact folks I've felt better than I EVER did doing BFL. In fact I'll go further than that...I haven't felt this good since I was in College!! Needless today this goes beyond motivation and the need to getting into shape...these goes into the area of balancing the harmonies in one's life and doing the things that make you happy.

Today Workout

*************************************************************************************

Warm Up:

200 Freestyle

Kick Set:

5x300 Kick with Flippers. 3 minutes Rest between sets

Pull Set:

3x100 Freestyle :30 rest

Swim Set:

3x100 Freestyle (with flippers) :30 Rest

Cool Down:

8x25 Freestyle :20

Total Yardage: 2500

*************************************************************************************

The weight has been fluctuating up and down a bit so we'll have to see how it balances out over the next month or so. My metabolism has skyrocketed again so perhaps that's what it is and the engine just needs to gain a few extra pounds so it can burn them more effectively later. That's probably a load of crap...but I don't care.

Hope everyone is well.

King of the Pool...DETHRONED!

Well I finally got into the pool and someone was faster. A girl from the local high school team got in and showed me who was boss. It was nice because it reminded me of how much further I needed to go in my workouts!

I swam yesteday and today and I'm experiencing some right shoulder tightness which I'm hoping will be cured by a shoulder wrap with ice. Does anyone know of a good brand or where I might find something specific for the shoulders?

Yesterdays Workout

*************************************************************************************

Warm Up:

300 Swim

Kick/Pull:

6x50 Kick
4x75 Pull

Main Set:

2x100 Swim
4x50 Swim

Cool Down:

8x25

Total Yardage: 1400 Yards

************************************************************************************

Today's workout focused on distance and upping the amount of distance per set. I was happy that I was able to swim 500 yards without stopping and without compromising my stroke. I didn't time it but I definitely got it under lifeguard training standard woo hoo!!


Today's Workout:

*************************************************************************************

Warm Up:

500 Yards No Stopping and Keep Stroke Smooth

Kick Set:

5x100 on :30 rest

Pull Set:

5x100 on : 30 (I was averaging about 1:40 seconds per 100 just pulling so I was happy for the improvement!!)

Warm Down:

8x25 : 20

Total Yardage: 1700 Yards

*************************************************************************************

Great workout tonight but definitely need to work on the shoulders!

What's the cure for soreness and exhaustion after a swim?

SWIM AGAIN!!

Yup I decided to have another swim today to stretch everything out and I feel much better. Also made considerable use of the whirlpool after I was done!! I'm really starting to believe this time in the pool is becoming my new moment of Zen. Then again all my favorite shows are in reruns so lets see how this goes through the summer and into the fall! My history shows I'm not good at sticking with working out by myself on weights, running and general cardio fitness. However, I swim for over 12 years so I'm hoping that as my feel for my strokes and movement through the water have never left me that there is a part of me that will keep this going so we'll see.

Todays workout focused on doing longer distances while maintaining the smoothness of my stroke:

***************************************************************************************

Warm Up:

4x100 Freestyle Focusing on Stroke

Kick/Pull Set:

4x100 Kick

4x25 Free Pull :20
4x50 Free Pull :20
4x75 Free Pull :20
4x100 Free Pull :20

Rest 2 minutes

4x100 Free Pull :20
4x75 Free Pull :20
4x50 Free Pull :20
4x25 Free Pull :20

Main Set:

100 Freestyle at 60% Effort without reducing stroke efficiency

Cool Down:

8x25 Free on :20 Easy Strokes

Total Yardage: 1600 Yards

*************************************************************************************

And yes I just realized that I was 50 yards away from completing a mile (1650 yards) of swimming.

The Whirlpool has been a nice change. The pools at my high school and college never had one so I've never really used one for after workout relaxation. I'm hooked now!!

What the hell?

I completed my 4th swimming workout today and I'm definitely feeling it today. My body is completely and totally devoid of any energy. I slept my usual 8 hours and am STILL tired upon waking up. I'm not sure what the problem is but I suspect it was do to my opening up the speed considerably in my workouts this morning.

***************************************************************************************
Workout

Warm Up:

4x75 Free :20

Kick/Pull:

4x50 Kick :20
4x50 Pull :20

Main Set:

1x50 Free (70% Effort) :20
1x50 Free (40% Effort) :60
1x50 Free (30% Effort) :60

Rest 2 Minutes and repeat Set

1x50 Free (30% Effort)

Rest 2 Minutes

1x50 Free (110%) Timed

Cool Down:

8x25 Free on :20

Total Yardage = 1300 Yards

************************************************************************************

I really spend a lot of time today working on keep the stroke smooth and my body moving without slapping the water a lot when I was getting tired during the harder sets. It's an important part of building your skills back up and it's as much mental as it is physical. Either way...I'm just damn tired!! Not sure if I'll swim again tomorrow but I may just do a nice 5-600 yards to stretch everything out and prepare for Saturday's workout in which I hope to hit 1500 yards. Once I hit 1500 yards I'm hoping to begin to maintain that distance for a bit while working on increasing speed while maintaining my form and stroke, then moving onto longer distance workouts.

Two days off now...what am I going to do with myself? :)

Well I've throttled the swim workouts up nicely and guess what? The weight is really started to come off and the stamina is returning nicely. I added about 300 yards to my work out today for a total of 1000 yards. Also increased the yardage of the main sets and kick/pull sets. Not sure my body is ready to take it much further this next week but it's nice to know that I hit a "10" so to speak with my workout!

************************************************************************************

Warm Up:

6x25 Free :20 seconds rest

Kick/Pull Set:

2x75 Pull :20 seconds rest
2x75 Kick :20 seconds rest

Main Set:

4x50 IM order (Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Freestyle) :20 Rest
2x100 Freestyle all effort on a 4 minutes base.

Cool Down:

6x25 Free: 20 seconds rest

***********************************************************************************

Right now I'm purposely not timing myself in most of the swims. The reason is that I know how slow I am and I don't want that bit of discouragement lol. I swam one of the 100 freestyles in my main set and realized that my 200 yard freestyle was actually faster at one time in my life!! So to say the least I still have a long way to go for my own personal satisfaction!

Well I'm glad to see that everyone participated in the Trivia this time around. No one scored perfectly but I do have points to award.

Persephone recevied 4 of a possible 6 points.
Tom received 1 point
Carol received 1 point

The answers are as follows:

1. This Academy Award Winning Actor is the father to Angelina Jolie and grandfather to Maddox and Zahara.

Answer: John Voight

2. This Father-Son tandem hit back-to-back home runs on September 14, 1990.

Answer: Ken Griffey Senior and Junior

3. This 1993 film starred Daniel Day Lewis and Pete Postlewhite as a father and son wrongly accused and and imprisoned together for their roles in the IRA bombing of the 1970s. What is the name of the movie?

Answer: In the Name of the Father

4. Okay this one is an easy one for Lori :) Liv Tyler is the daugher of Bebe Buell and what famous American Rock n Roll star?

Steve Tyler of Aerosmith

5. What is the name of Superman's Father?

Answer: Jor-El


And the Bonus Question:

This famous actor who once played Superman's Father is in fact the father or Singer/Model/Media Bozo...Courtney Love.

Answer: Marlon Brando

Congrats to the winners. I'll try to have some new trivia up real soon!!

Happy Fathers Day!!

Just wanted to say Happy Fathers Day to all the dads and congratulations for being there for your kids. we've always appreciated it even if we were brats or still are!

So I've been really thinking about things in my life and came across an article my manager had me read a few months ago. It was an article about great leaders and what makes them great. Apparently there has been very little empirical research done on this subject, only stuff you see in the book stores or on TV. The article was written by a group that has recently finished a study over the last 15 years of managerial traits and what makes people great managers, leaders, mothers, fathers and humans. They found that people that focus on the things that they are really good at turn out to the be the people that are the most successful and happy. The people that try to be good at everything or really bang their heads against the wall tend to be the folks with the least growth.

What struck me about this article is that it spoke very logically about succeeding on your strengths and not your weaknesses. It also shined a light on some things I've been doing in my life. I've been avoiding a lot of my strengths and focusing on a lot of my weaknesses. Interesting thought right? I've been trying BFL, Couch to 5k and other fitness related challeges with marked success at the time but I was never able to sustain my workouts and fitness over a long period of time. What does it mean? Why can't I do these things? Am I an idiot or am I lazy? Maybe I'm hard headed?

I don't think it was any of those things. I think it was just not listening to my intuition about a great many things in my life. I used to write all the time and I loved it. Yes I don't anymore...yet I have the yearning to. So I've been doing that a little bit at a time and I've found that I really enjoy it now as much as I used to. I'm also realizing that I'm probably not a great technical support engineer but I'm a damn good people person that has a broad technical background. Why have I been spending all my time trying to be more technical instead of going into product marketing or product management instead? Then the other day after lazing around trying to figure out the newest fitness fad it hit me...why the HELL did I ever stop swimming? Seriously? I was a great swimmer, it left me with great stamina, great muscle tone and a flat stomach!! Again...why was I always running in a different direction than where my strengths were leading me? Who knows. But I'm starting to realize that I'm needing to stop running and jump right back into what I'm good at.

So this week I got back in the pool. Guess what? I'm sucking wind!! But my stroke and conditioning as far as the overall swimming goes are nearly intact from the last few times I swam and certainly not far off my competition form. In fact I was in the pool not just keeping up, but to be honest, SMOKING the other swimmers that probably do lap swimming every week!! It was definitely a great motivator and most importantly it felt natural and like something I had been missing. Almost like an emabrace, a loving hug from a friend I hadn't seen in a while. Plus I miss the smell of Chlorine strangely enough! Am I still needing to get back into swimming shape? YOU BETCHA!! But I'm not hurting in my back and knees like I do when I run, I'm not feeling my tendons swell like I do on the weights and I'm actually enjoying the workout for the way I feel during the workout instead of seeing the workout as a means to an end. It's relaxing and invigorating and I hope that I keep it up.

So my workouts so far have been:

************************************************************************************

Friday:

Warm up:

6x25 Yard Freestyle (10-20% Effort) :20 rest between each 25

Drill/Kick/Pull Set:

2x50 Kick (20-30% Effort) :20 Rest between each 50
2x25 Pull (20-30% Effort) :20 Rest between each 25

Main Set:

1x25 (40% Effort) :20 rest
1x75 (70% Effort) :20 rest
1x25 (40% Effort) :20 rest
1x50 (70% Effort) :20 rest
1x25 (40% Effort) :20 rest
1x25 (70% Effort) :20 rest

Cool Down:

3x25 (10% Effort) :20 Rest between each 25

Total Yardage: 600 Yards

Sunday:

Warm Up:

2x50 (10-20% Effort) :20 Sec rest between 50

Drill set:

2x75 Stroke Drills with Pull Buoys (20-30% Effort) :20 Rest between 75
(1x25 Right arm drills, 1x25 Left Arm Drills, 1x25 Both arms and focus on technique)

2x50 Kick (20-30% Effort) :20 rest between 50

Main Set:

1x25 Butterfly (60-70% Effort) :20 rest
1x50 Backstroke (60-70% Effort) :20 rest
1x75 Breaststroke (60-70% Effort) :20 rest
1x100 Freestyle (60-70% Effort) :20 rest

Cool Down:

4x25 Free (10% Effort) :20 Rest Between 25

************************************************************************************

So I'm happy with my workouts so far. They take me about 20-30 minutes to complete and I don't even think about the time. I'm not clock watching or worrying about when I'm going to be done. I just do it. I bought a great book that was authored by Janet Evans, the gold medalist from the 88,92 and 96 Olympic Teams and she provides some excellent workouts for people just getting back into the people all the way up to swimmers looking to compete at the international level. It's not a great book for technique but it's a fantastic book to design your workouts and build a swimming base from.

And no I didn't forget...today we have a little Father's Day Trivia!!

1. This Academy Award Winning Actor is the father to Angelina Jolie and grandfather to Maddox and Zahara.

2. This Father-Son tandem hit back-to-back home runs on September 14, 1990.

3. This 1993 film starred Daniel Day Lewis and Pete Postlewhite as a father and son wrongly accused and and imprisoned together for their roles in the IRA bombing of the 1970s. What is the name of the movie?

4. Okay this one is an easy one for Lori :) Liv Tyler is the daugher of Bebe Buell and what famous American Rock n Roll star?

5. What is the name of Superman's Father?


And the Bonus Question:

This famous actor who once played Superman's Father is in fact the father or Singer/Model/Media Bozo...Courtney Love.

Have a great Fathers Day!

Trivia Answers

Well everyone did horribly bad on the trivia but here are the answers

1. This Boston born bass guitarist for King Crimson and Peter Gabriel is also renown for is work using the Chapman Stick and creating the use of the Funk Fingers to simulate a percussive sound on the bass strings.

*I will accept his real name or his nickname*



The answer: Tony Levin



2. Michael Peter Balzary is known for his funk bass lines and pants made of stuffed animal dolls. What is his stage name?



The Answer: Flea

3. This bass virtuoso formerly of Weather Report was declared brain dead in 1987 after an altercation with a bouncer at a nightclub.



The Answer: Jaco Pastorius

4. This eccentric bassist whose work with George Clinton, Funkadelic and Parliament also collaborated with Deee-Lite on their massive hit "Groove Is In The Heart" in 1990.



The Answer: Bootsy Collins

5. To encourage The Who to write their own songs, their record company offered them a £500 advance if each member wrote a song on the album. What was the song that bassist John Entwistle wrote?





The Answer: Boris the Spider...And since I didn't want to make John feel bad I included his picture as well.



And the Bonus Movie Quote..name the movie!!

"Isn't this George Clinton? No. Couldn't be. It's gotta be a cover band. He'd never play the Pit"



The Answer: P.C.U....In the movie George Clinton's Tour bus breaks down and he agrees to play a party on campus.

A few updates...

No more word from the girl so I think I'm safe. I've been spending a lot of time doing bar trivia with friends on Tuesday and Thursday night. Pretty interesting topics and we have even won a few gift certificates. In the spirit of Trivia I've decided to start adding Trivia Questions for each posting as well as fun movie quotes for the bonus. Why? I dont know why mostly because it will keep all of you coming to my blog and also it's more fun than most of the stories I post.

So without any further Interuptions...the game:

Today's category is FAMOUS BASS GUITARISTS:

1. This Boston born bass guitarist for King Crimson and Peter Gabriel is also renown for is work using the Chapman Stick and creating the use of the Funk Fingers to simulate a percussive sound on the bass strings.

*I will accept his real name or his nickname*

2. Michael Peter Balzary is known for his funk bass lines and pants made of stuffed animal dolls. What is his stage name?

3. This bass virtuoso formerly of Weather Report was declared brain dead in 1987 after an altercation with a bouncer at a nightclub.

4. This eccentric bassist whose work with George Clinton, Funkadelic and Parliament also collaborated with Deee-Lite on their massive hit "Groove Is In The Heart" in 1990.

5. To encourage The Who to write their own songs, their record company offered them a £500 advance if each member wrote a song on the album. What was the song that bassist John Entwistle wrote?

And the Bonus Movie Quote..name the movie!!

"Isn't this George Clinton? No. Couldn't be. It's gotta be a cover band. He'd never play the Pit"

Good Luck!!

7 Facts about me

1. When I grew up I always had the suspicion that I would one day become famous. I still do.

2. I did childrens theater when I was younger. I've played Abraham Lincoln, Paul Bunyan and and Evil Jackrabbit that was the Bane of the Cabbage Patch kids. I blame my agent.

3. I often find websites of celebrities to see if they will respond to my email. So far I've only been able to exchange emails with the Pace Picante guy.

4. Three age group swimmers that I helped coach before they were teens are now state record holders in Arkansas.

5. I can rock 6 degrees of seperation with Kevin Bacon using my little known Dan Hedaya move.

6. I've written movie screenplay but will probably never submit it.

7. I once had a surreal conversation in my gym locker room while talking to a world famous comedian while we were both naked and getting dressed.

Jeremy...Department of Irony is on Line 2

So apparently the news media has caught wind of my dilemma from the last post...

The title of the article?


"Google privacy 'worst on the Web'"


http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/06/11/google.privacy.ap/index.html

Jeremy...Psycho Girl on line 1 for you

Okay for those of you who care...I dabble in the online dating world. Most of the time it's been disappointing and dreary in regards to the folks I meet offline but rarely traumatic and scary. Some people don't look like their pictures, some people just don't ignite a spark on me and some people I just don't really care to see again. But tonight took the cake.

I had met a girl that we'll just call Alice to spare the name. We've been chatting since we met online about 3 weeks ago. Overall good chemistry, lots in common, she's a writer and seems genuninely normal. The only real drawback is that she is living in Charlotte. Well I figure why not take a chance and meet up with her? What's the harm right? So we decided to tentatively meet in Greensboro on Friday night.

Well about 2 days ago I started getting a bad feeling in my stomach. You know those gut feelings that tell you that something isn't right? well that also coincided with an allergy problem as well as some sleep deprivation issues from my night shift. Overall I'm feeling under the weather, I'm nauseous because of the allergies and now the red flags about meeting her. So I call her and tell her that I want to postpone because I'm feeling under the weather. Simple.

Not really.

I finally fell asleep and since I keep my cell phone in my other room when I'm sleeping during the day I didn't hear the umpteen phone calls and subsequent voice mail messages....

Message 1 - "hi I'm in Greensboro on my way to take care of you. Give me a call so I can more easily find you"

Message 2 - "hi still waiting for you to call me back. I'm in carrboro now. Where are you? I guess you'll just have to be surprised"

Message 3 - "Well I think I just freaked out somebody. You don't live at the address that i thought you did. Man that lady was scared. Please call me...I'm in town and don't know where you are"

Needless to say for the next 3 hours I didn't leave my apt, turned off all of the lights in fear that she was either outside my door or in the parking lot. I then notified all the friends I could find that there was a psycho on the loose. Well needless to say I'm alive. I've blocked her from my yahoo account but than I got an email from here pointing me to her block entry which I have written below:

***********************************************************************

"I'm going to make a lot of mistakes. We all do, right? However, as I embark on this journey called "single," I know I'm going to make a lot of dumb, idiotic, irrational mistakes. This is the first one.

I met a guy named J.R. online. We hit off. I didn't know if I really wanted to become attached with someone who lived 100 miles away, but I did. He was addictive. He was funny, he was intelligent, we had a lot in common. I don't know why I'm talking in the past tense when describing him because, at least to my knowledge, he's not deceased and I think I will speak to him again, er, right?

Anyway, we were supposed to meet tonight at a halfway point but yesterday he came down with a bug. He said he was extremely sick and couldn't make it. I asked him if he'd like me to come over to help him out. There's nothing worse than being sick and by yourself; it's nice to know you have someone to get stuff for you or just be there. To be honest, I love taking care of people when they are sick -- as long as the vomit doesn't fly in my face. I get a satisfaction like none other when I help someone out, and I felt close enough to help J.R. out. Waiting for him to come back online or give me a call, on a whim, I got into my car and drove approximately 111 miles northeast of Concord. I googled his name and found his address. So, for two hours, every 40 miles or so, I called him to let him know I was on my way. No response. Mmmm, he must be sleeping. Now, I hit 10 miles from his place, call again. No answer. Leave message. No worries, I have his address and thanks to Mapquest I have directions to his apartment.

Now, for some reason, I can't find the street. The last direction dear old Mapquest gave me ended. No street. No street signs! Just a main street with dozens apartment complexes. The sun is down and it's hard to see what to expect around every turn because it's unchartered territory. Again, I call J.R. No answer, leave message. Finally, after a half-hour of searching, I think I found the road and I ask a couple walking if this is the street. "Yes," they reply. I find the building number. Wonderful. I find the apartment door. Excellent! I knock. A small framed woman with a page boy haircut answers the door. Uh oh. No, J.R. Again, I call. No answer, leave message. So, here I am, drove 111 miles, spent about $25 in gasoline and now I have to turn around? Yep. That's what I did. I drove back to Concord.

Was I pissed? Hell, yeah. Am I over it? Hell, yeah. I've learned a few things in the last six hours. Never travel to a place you THINK is there. Don't invite yourself over to anyone's house if they do not live within a five-mile radius of your place. And NEVER drink a 48 oz. cup of Diet Coke when you're driving on a two-lane highway in rural North Carolina. These are troves of knowledge I am passing down to you, and a few things I will never forget as I venture into the wilderness known as dating."

******************************************************************

That's it...no more dating for me. I'm apparently TOO addictive and can't be trusted!! Sheesh!! I'm hoping that's the last I'll hear from her. I'm going to try the "ignore" tactic and hope that works. If not I'll move to nasty leave me alone emails and if that doesn't work I'm changing my name, moving to another country and becoming a brick mason!