Saturday Swim and Stateside Shopping

Paul, Sydney, and I headed to the pool for an early morning lap swim yesterday.  I had a 1000m workout printed from swimplan.com but mostly Sydney and I wanted to video ourselves swimming to send to our coach.  That video of me reinforces just how much work I need to do.  My body wiggles all over the place and I can just see all the energy I'm wasting!  Watching Sydney she's so smooth and rolls side to side with no effort. 

The 1000m workout consisted of a 1x100m warmup, 1x25m one arm (6 left, 6 right) then 1x25m catch ups - done 4 times, 12x25m freestyle (kick every 4th 25), 6x50m pull, and ending with 1x100m cool down.  1000m swim is not a huge workout by any means but I'm just getting back into it and with the drills thrown in I felt like it was a decent workout.

Dave and Nicole, two of our friends doing Ironman Cozumel were there as well.  After our workouts we had some fun reinacting the swim start and the crowded conditions that they're going to face on the 28th.  The pool we were at doesn't put up lane markers so we were able to pile into the deep end and simulate an inwater start.  Sydney, Paul and I started in front of them to help them with getting past people in front and as they went by pulling on them and bumping into them.  We also did a couple of lengths of swimming side by side up against them.  Paul really got into his role and knocked Nic's goggles off of her at one point.  They appreciated the practice and it was fun too!

After getting cleaned up Sydney and I went Stateside for a little shopping.  I found an awesome pair of tall black leather boots at DSW, we had a delicious lunch at Panera, and we hit REI to stock up on Honey Stinger Organic Energy Chews.  If you haven't tried these you need to go out and get some.  Of all the energy chews, bars, gels, etc. that we've tried Paul and I definately love these best.  The consistency is really good so you're not prying them out of your teeth or choking them down.  The flavours are delicious - cherry blossom is my favorite but you can't go wrong with any of them.  They're dairy free, gluten free, and certified organic.  No weird ingredients that you can't pronounce.  I've turned a couple of friends on to them and I ended up buying out what REI had on the shelf.  I picked up a couple of the bars to try and would like to try the gels eventually. 

When I got home I helped Paul with some outside work.  He had put the Christmas lights up, taking advantage of the nice weather, and we bagged some leaves and branches.  We still have lawn furniture put away and some more work to do but we got a nice start.  In the end, it was a perfect day for me.  A nice workout with friends, fun shopping, and some work around the house.  Monday morning I'm joining Nicole at a new yoga studio for some pilates.  It's my first time doing it and I'm worried but looking forward to getting my butt kicked!