This past week has been pretty awesome, I must say! My new flatmate moved in on Saturday and we're settling in nicely. Especially as she keeps doing my dishes for me!! I feel very spoilt. :) Sunday was all about sun, suprises, and pirates in the park. Monday I ran a new personal best, then went to uni and got a ton of work done. Tuesday I submitted my first completed draft of my first data chapter, or, the first one that I think won't need to be entirely scrapped and rewritten. It felt SOOOOO good to send that off. Better than finishing my theory chapter even, which was surprising.
Wednesday was an impromptu lunch with one of my friends from uni to discuss the very secretive business of this year's Christmas party. I'm very excited for the upcoming shenanigans! Thursday, due to insomnia, I was up really early and managed to get to the pool an hour earlier than normal. I had a really great swim, and since I'd gotten there so early, when I finished my regular 70 laps I decided to take my time and do an extra 10. Yup, that's 80 laps, or 2.4km. Goal achieved!!
And then there's today! I actually managed to sleep last night, so I didn't wake up until after 7am (which is quite the sleep-in for me these days). I decided to risk the path in the park being washed out and went for a run in the park...and again ran a new personal best!! What up! Then my new flatie and I went for breakfast at my favourite Brunswick cafe and I showed her my favourite book store. AND THEN we took Greta out for a spin!!
My third time out on Greta, and I am getting very close to being able to ride a bike! My balance and steering are improving, as is my ability to get my feet on the pedals and start going. And I'm learning how to use my breaks, and am getting the hang of slowing down and stopping. I'm still not quite ready to go on my own, but that's not far off. We even found THE perfect spot to practice: a very flat, paved footpath surrounding a footy field. It won't be long before Greta and I are cruising the streets of Melbourne (or at least of Brunswick)!
I haven't talked about it much on here, but in a mere 10 days I'll be running the 10k leg of the Melbourne Marathon!!! I still haven't actually ran 10km yet... but that's OK. I'd love to be able to run it in under 60 minutes, but I'll be quite happy to finish in under 75. I wouldn't say that I'm ready for the race, but I am willing and able. This week I'll be carbing up and gearing up. I want to get at least a couple more runs in before the big day, along with a swim and a session at the gym (tomorrow, not next weekend! No way I'm running 10km after all those squats!!) Physically, I'm feeling great these days! And super energetic. I work out in the morning, then by the afternoon I feel like going again. So even though I haven't ran 10km yet, I think I'm gonna be just fine on the day! Guess I'll find out soon enough!!
Showing posts with label swimming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label swimming. Show all posts
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Move Bitch, Get Out The Way
If you're a regular at the pool (any pool) you're probably familiar with lane rage. If not, it's road rage without the cars. The rules of the lanes are really no different from the rules of the road, and lifeguards play the same role as cops. I guess the nice thing about being at the pool though is that if someone is being a douche, there actually is a lifeguard on hand that you can tell. Though, let's face it, it's so much more fun to deal with the conflict yourself.
Maybe it's not so much fun if you're one of those people who don't like confrontations... Personally, I'm quite happy to tell people to get fucked, even if I know I'm clearly in the wrong. So, this morning, after being kicked in the head by some idiot who either has no idea how to merge or no concept of how one particular skill set can apply to different situations, I decided to develop an easy to follow flow chart to help people determine if my lane is the correct one for them to be in.
Maybe it's not so much fun if you're one of those people who don't like confrontations... Personally, I'm quite happy to tell people to get fucked, even if I know I'm clearly in the wrong. So, this morning, after being kicked in the head by some idiot who either has no idea how to merge or no concept of how one particular skill set can apply to different situations, I decided to develop an easy to follow flow chart to help people determine if my lane is the correct one for them to be in.
Get The Fuck Outta My Lane: A Helpful Guide
Can you swim?
NO → GTFOML, you belong in the Aqua Play lane
YES
↓
Do you understand about lane ettiquette?
NO → GTFOML, go be an asshole elsewhere
YES
↓
YES
↓
Do I think you're a hottie?
YES → Welcome to my lane!
NO
↓
Are you only in the pool because you're dating someone who's actually fit?
YES → Welcome to my lane!
NO
↓
Are you only in the pool because you're dating someone who's actually fit?
YES → GTFOML!
NO
↓
Are you only swimming breast stroke?
NO → Go to next question
YES → Are you putting your head under the water?
↓
NO → That's glorified dog paddling, GTFOML!
YES
↓
Are you swimming butterfly?
YES → GTFOML and anyone else's! Leave that for when you've got the lane to yourself!
NO
↓
Are you swimming at a significantly different speed than me?
NO → Go to next question
YES → Is the appropriate slow/fast lane really busy?
↓
NO → Then GTFOML!!!
YES → You can stay provided you're not being a jerk about the speed difference
↓
Does your entering my lane bring the total of people swimming in it to 3 or more?
NO → You can stay, stagger yourself appropriately
YES
↓
Are you wearing part or all of a snorkelling mask?
YES → GTFO the pool, creep!
NO
↓
Does your swim wear involve ruffles?
YES → Clearly you're not serious about swimming, GTFOML
NO
↓
Are you being an asshole in some other way?
YES → GTFOML!
NO
↓
Congratulations, and welcome to my lane!
I'm sure we'll have a pleasant swim together and nobody will get punched, kicked, or gratuitiously splashed in the face.
NO
↓
Are you only swimming breast stroke?
NO → Go to next question
YES → Are you putting your head under the water?
↓
NO → That's glorified dog paddling, GTFOML!
YES
↓
Are you swimming butterfly?
YES → GTFOML and anyone else's! Leave that for when you've got the lane to yourself!
NO
↓
Are you swimming at a significantly different speed than me?
NO → Go to next question
YES → Is the appropriate slow/fast lane really busy?
↓
NO → Then GTFOML!!!
YES → You can stay provided you're not being a jerk about the speed difference
↓
Does your entering my lane bring the total of people swimming in it to 3 or more?
NO → You can stay, stagger yourself appropriately
YES
↓
Are you wearing part or all of a snorkelling mask?
YES → GTFO the pool, creep!
NO
↓
Does your swim wear involve ruffles?
YES → Clearly you're not serious about swimming, GTFOML
NO
↓
Are you being an asshole in some other way?
YES → GTFOML!
NO
↓
Congratulations, and welcome to my lane!
I'm sure we'll have a pleasant swim together and nobody will get punched, kicked, or gratuitiously splashed in the face.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Street Fighter
Perhaps you are not aware of this, but I kinda love action movies. Not all action movies, and not indiscriminately, but I definitely enjoy a good fight scene. Whether it's a beautifully shot kung-fu movie or a gratuitously violent plotless Hollywood blockbuster, if the fighting's good I am probably a fan. I blame my step-dad. We used to bond with him over video games and action movies, and we all always made sure we were home in time for the X-Men cartoon. My love of X-Men, and particularly Wolverine, runs very, very deep.
I wasn't super into video games as a kid, but there were certainly ones I enjoyed. I hated car racing ones (because they are boring and I suck at them, though MarioCart has many redeeming factors...even though I suck at it), and quest games like Mario, Donkey Kong, or Sonic the Hedgehog only held a limited appeal for me. Fighting games though, I could spend hours playing or watching other people play those!
The game that got me completely hooked was actually a quest-fighting game, that I can't remember the name of. All I know is that it wasn't on Nintendo as we'd have to rent the gaming console whenever we wanted to play it. It seemed to be based around a drug deal gone bad, and the players had to fight off all these gangster goons and eventually confront the big boss. So you'd basically go around knifing people, and the reason I loved playing this game so much was that there was a female character, and I could actually, with a great deal of effort, beat the big boss. I knew that I shouldn't enjoy the game as much as I did, but secretly, I was always itching to play it. But that was one of those video games that, as the consoles improved, never quite made it out of obscurity. Eventually, we moved on.
My brother and his friends seemed to especially enjoy playing Mortal Kombat. And sure, you could kill people in strange and gruesome ways, but for some reason Mortal Kombat was always a bit meh for me. I'm not sure exactly why, but if I was to take a guess, I'd say it's because the female characters never really did it for me. In fact, the only female character that sticks out in my mind is Sheeva, and no, that's not attractive!
Now Street Fighter was a game I could get behind! I loved the characters, I loved the story line, I loved the different settings, I loved the secret moves, I loved everything about it. So yes, when at the Secret Wars finale Scale chose to depict Ken Taylor getting his ass handed to him by Ryu, he won my vote, and the crowd's vote, and the judges votes, and therefore, the 2011 title. Much to Lady Cop's (and many others) outrage.
I stand by my vote. Sure, Ken Taylor is an amazing artist, but he's an illustrator, not a street artist. And Secret Wars is about street art, so it's rather fitting that it was won through a street art depiction of a classic Street Fighter battle. Of course, I was already partial to Scale due to his use of Hello Kitty in the semi-finals, and I already had something against Ken Taylor as I lost a bet over what he was drawing in the semi-finals...
The characters in Street Fighter, and I'm thinking Street Fighter II specifically (does that show my age?), were all really interesting and gave you different tactile advantages (and disadvantages) which made it fun to play around with being each one. It should come as no surprise though that my favourite character was, and will always be, Chun-Li. With her long, brown hair, short, blue tunic, and legs of lightening, I was hooked. She'd kick your ass 9 ways to Sunday, then giggle and prance around as the medics carted your broken body out of the ring. This was a woman you did not want to fuck with. And I wanted to be her!
Chun-Li's legs were always a source of fascination for me. They were so... massive and red. Ah, the crappy graphics of old school video games. <3 The point was, she was a total powerhouse, and if you had any doubt, all you had to do was look at her legs. I was always slightly horrified when I'd see her lose a fight. How could those taught, raw, red legs be lying limp on the ground? Defeat is not a word that exists in those thighs!
Chun-Li was more than a secret object of lust for my young, clueless, closeted lesbian self: she was an idol. She was the first female fighter, and she was taking on the big boys! And while she was sexualized and infantilized, she was still a fighter to be taken seriously. Maybe because her legs were so red, it seemed like she could be wearing tights. I understood that she wasn't, but I felt like I had the option of envisioning her as having clothes on. Of course, as the newer versions came out, Chun-Li has became reduced to one of the now ridiculously sexualized 'girl fighters'. I mean, come on! Cammy? What military regiment issues a g-string body suit as it's combat gear? And yes, Elena with her long legs, brown skin, blonde hair (as all African warrior princesses have, of course) and white bikini was super hot, but none of the other female characters ever inspired me the way Chun-Li did.
So why is Chun-Li suddenly on my mind? Because of my own fitness quest. Over the past 18 months I've gone from being sedentary to becoming an athlete. The transformation has been incredible. I'm shocked at the body I see in the mirror at the gym now, at how much it has changed in just the past 6 months. I am amazed by how trim I have become. I've still got a ways to go, but it's clear that if I stick to it, eventually people will stop being so fucking surprised when I tell them exactly how hard I train.
There's lots of different body types that I could work towards. I could just focus on losing the fat and doing a general tone-up, but no, that's not what I want. This journey was never about getting thin; it was about getting fit. Well, appearances may deceive, but there's no doubting my fitness when I get in the pool. I love the sheer physicality of my life now. I love that I can just do things now.
Of course, there's still a long way to go. While I can certainly give the average person a run for their money, I want more than that. I want to give fit people a run for their money. I want people to be able to take one look at me and know that I'm hard core. I want Chun-Li's thighs!!! And you know what? I'm gonna get them!
I wasn't super into video games as a kid, but there were certainly ones I enjoyed. I hated car racing ones (because they are boring and I suck at them, though MarioCart has many redeeming factors...even though I suck at it), and quest games like Mario, Donkey Kong, or Sonic the Hedgehog only held a limited appeal for me. Fighting games though, I could spend hours playing or watching other people play those!
The game that got me completely hooked was actually a quest-fighting game, that I can't remember the name of. All I know is that it wasn't on Nintendo as we'd have to rent the gaming console whenever we wanted to play it. It seemed to be based around a drug deal gone bad, and the players had to fight off all these gangster goons and eventually confront the big boss. So you'd basically go around knifing people, and the reason I loved playing this game so much was that there was a female character, and I could actually, with a great deal of effort, beat the big boss. I knew that I shouldn't enjoy the game as much as I did, but secretly, I was always itching to play it. But that was one of those video games that, as the consoles improved, never quite made it out of obscurity. Eventually, we moved on.
My brother and his friends seemed to especially enjoy playing Mortal Kombat. And sure, you could kill people in strange and gruesome ways, but for some reason Mortal Kombat was always a bit meh for me. I'm not sure exactly why, but if I was to take a guess, I'd say it's because the female characters never really did it for me. In fact, the only female character that sticks out in my mind is Sheeva, and no, that's not attractive!Now Street Fighter was a game I could get behind! I loved the characters, I loved the story line, I loved the different settings, I loved the secret moves, I loved everything about it. So yes, when at the Secret Wars finale Scale chose to depict Ken Taylor getting his ass handed to him by Ryu, he won my vote, and the crowd's vote, and the judges votes, and therefore, the 2011 title. Much to Lady Cop's (and many others) outrage.
I stand by my vote. Sure, Ken Taylor is an amazing artist, but he's an illustrator, not a street artist. And Secret Wars is about street art, so it's rather fitting that it was won through a street art depiction of a classic Street Fighter battle. Of course, I was already partial to Scale due to his use of Hello Kitty in the semi-finals, and I already had something against Ken Taylor as I lost a bet over what he was drawing in the semi-finals...
The characters in Street Fighter, and I'm thinking Street Fighter II specifically (does that show my age?), were all really interesting and gave you different tactile advantages (and disadvantages) which made it fun to play around with being each one. It should come as no surprise though that my favourite character was, and will always be, Chun-Li. With her long, brown hair, short, blue tunic, and legs of lightening, I was hooked. She'd kick your ass 9 ways to Sunday, then giggle and prance around as the medics carted your broken body out of the ring. This was a woman you did not want to fuck with. And I wanted to be her!
Chun-Li's legs were always a source of fascination for me. They were so... massive and red. Ah, the crappy graphics of old school video games. <3 The point was, she was a total powerhouse, and if you had any doubt, all you had to do was look at her legs. I was always slightly horrified when I'd see her lose a fight. How could those taught, raw, red legs be lying limp on the ground? Defeat is not a word that exists in those thighs!
Chun-Li was more than a secret object of lust for my young, clueless, closeted lesbian self: she was an idol. She was the first female fighter, and she was taking on the big boys! And while she was sexualized and infantilized, she was still a fighter to be taken seriously. Maybe because her legs were so red, it seemed like she could be wearing tights. I understood that she wasn't, but I felt like I had the option of envisioning her as having clothes on. Of course, as the newer versions came out, Chun-Li has became reduced to one of the now ridiculously sexualized 'girl fighters'. I mean, come on! Cammy? What military regiment issues a g-string body suit as it's combat gear? And yes, Elena with her long legs, brown skin, blonde hair (as all African warrior princesses have, of course) and white bikini was super hot, but none of the other female characters ever inspired me the way Chun-Li did.
So why is Chun-Li suddenly on my mind? Because of my own fitness quest. Over the past 18 months I've gone from being sedentary to becoming an athlete. The transformation has been incredible. I'm shocked at the body I see in the mirror at the gym now, at how much it has changed in just the past 6 months. I am amazed by how trim I have become. I've still got a ways to go, but it's clear that if I stick to it, eventually people will stop being so fucking surprised when I tell them exactly how hard I train.
There's lots of different body types that I could work towards. I could just focus on losing the fat and doing a general tone-up, but no, that's not what I want. This journey was never about getting thin; it was about getting fit. Well, appearances may deceive, but there's no doubting my fitness when I get in the pool. I love the sheer physicality of my life now. I love that I can just do things now.
Of course, there's still a long way to go. While I can certainly give the average person a run for their money, I want more than that. I want to give fit people a run for their money. I want people to be able to take one look at me and know that I'm hard core. I want Chun-Li's thighs!!! And you know what? I'm gonna get them!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Little Fishies
It's been awhile since I updated my blog, which isn't intentional. I've just been busy and my internet at home is slow and painful to use. I'm not sure if the problem is my internet connection, my apartment building, or my computer. I'm hoping it's my computer because a shiny new one is on it's way into my life. I'm so excited about being able to see my computer screen again! I've completely forgotten what that's like.
The past few weeks have been muffin, cake, chips and ice cream heavy, and I have felt the effects of this. My slow but steady weight loss did a 180 and the numbers on the scale went up instead of down. While I would like to live a life where going up 1kg is not a big deal, I am still a long ways from my goal weight and going up 1kg is a sign that I've gone off track.
So it's been out with the junk food and into the pool for me. No more of this "oh, it's raining, I don't wanna go to yoga" business either! Discipline is an admirable thing to have in ones life and I must return to my idol, Lady Gaga, for inspiration in getting back on track. (Also, Janelle Monae, why on earth has my brother not told me about her?!) Lady Cop and I have entered into a gentle woman's accord to achieve our various fitness goals, and I have every intention of schooling her ass.
My aim is to lose 18kg in 7 months. This year I have lost at least 10kg, and that was only by moderately increasing my exercise. I have been making subtle changes to my diet more recently, and now I will need to be much more disciplined about what I eat. Also, I need to up my time at the pool from 3-4 times a week to 4-5 times a week. And I need to push myself harder at the pool.
At the moment, I swim 50 laps or 1.5km and I can do this in 42-43 minutes. Currently, I am trying to get my time down to 40 minutes. This is proving to be more challenging than I initially anticipated. It is requiring me to really build up my muscles. Which brings me to my diet...
After 6.5 years of dedicated vegetarianism, I have decided to start eating fish. I know, I know! It is shocking. I've only told a couple people at my office about this, as vegetarianism is pretty much the norm here. Today at lunch when I 'came out', one colleague said "...are you still queer?" (Yes, obviously! I haven't gone completely mad!)
I didn't eat fish before becoming a vegetarian, so this is no small decision. I was not getting enough protein to build up and maintain my muscles so a change of diet was required. Ultimately, my decision to turn to vegetarianism was for health reasons, and taking stock of my current situation, eating fish was the healithiest option to increasing my protein and maintaining a balanced diet. I felt sad and kinda sick the first time I ate it, but, then I had to admit to myself that it was really quite tasty.
Actually, if I can be really naughty, I'm even more excited about Christmas in Hawaii now. All those trips to the Indian Ocean when I said no the what looked like the most amazingly delicious fish dishes... Like hell I'm gonna sit on an island in the middle of the Pacific and turn down some Humuhumunukunukuapuaa now!
The past few weeks have been muffin, cake, chips and ice cream heavy, and I have felt the effects of this. My slow but steady weight loss did a 180 and the numbers on the scale went up instead of down. While I would like to live a life where going up 1kg is not a big deal, I am still a long ways from my goal weight and going up 1kg is a sign that I've gone off track.
So it's been out with the junk food and into the pool for me. No more of this "oh, it's raining, I don't wanna go to yoga" business either! Discipline is an admirable thing to have in ones life and I must return to my idol, Lady Gaga, for inspiration in getting back on track. (Also, Janelle Monae, why on earth has my brother not told me about her?!) Lady Cop and I have entered into a gentle woman's accord to achieve our various fitness goals, and I have every intention of schooling her ass.
My aim is to lose 18kg in 7 months. This year I have lost at least 10kg, and that was only by moderately increasing my exercise. I have been making subtle changes to my diet more recently, and now I will need to be much more disciplined about what I eat. Also, I need to up my time at the pool from 3-4 times a week to 4-5 times a week. And I need to push myself harder at the pool.
At the moment, I swim 50 laps or 1.5km and I can do this in 42-43 minutes. Currently, I am trying to get my time down to 40 minutes. This is proving to be more challenging than I initially anticipated. It is requiring me to really build up my muscles. Which brings me to my diet...
After 6.5 years of dedicated vegetarianism, I have decided to start eating fish. I know, I know! It is shocking. I've only told a couple people at my office about this, as vegetarianism is pretty much the norm here. Today at lunch when I 'came out', one colleague said "...are you still queer?" (Yes, obviously! I haven't gone completely mad!)
I didn't eat fish before becoming a vegetarian, so this is no small decision. I was not getting enough protein to build up and maintain my muscles so a change of diet was required. Ultimately, my decision to turn to vegetarianism was for health reasons, and taking stock of my current situation, eating fish was the healithiest option to increasing my protein and maintaining a balanced diet. I felt sad and kinda sick the first time I ate it, but, then I had to admit to myself that it was really quite tasty.
Actually, if I can be really naughty, I'm even more excited about Christmas in Hawaii now. All those trips to the Indian Ocean when I said no the what looked like the most amazingly delicious fish dishes... Like hell I'm gonna sit on an island in the middle of the Pacific and turn down some Humuhumunukunukuapuaa now!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Conquistador
Yesterday Melbourne experienced one of those warm, sunny days that make you think "gee, spring is a pretty nice season." After a long, cold, wet winter we are finally starting to enjoy some consistently nice spring weather and I for one am making the most of it! Come summer, it's too hot to be outside for more than 30 seconds at a time so in spring it's all about being outdoors right now. The change in the weather has made me decide it's time for a little less conversation, and a little more action. It is time to swim at the Brunswick Baths.
As you know, I have been itching to give the Brunswick Baths pool a go; it's got like twice the lanes of the MCB, is 50m instead of 30m, and is outdoors instead of indoors.
Well ladies and gentlemen, today I conqured the Brunswick Baths!
It was daunting at first, swimming in a new pool that is nearly twice the length of my regular pool. Being a newbie, I decided to stick to the slow lane, though I know from my Sunday morning yoga pool perving that I'm plenty fast enough for the medium lane. But the slow lane was along the outside edge of the pool and was empty, so I was quite happy to get the lay of the land from there.
The first thing I noticed was that the chlorine was not nearly as harsh as I thought it would be. Actually, the first thing I noticed was that the shallow end was really shallow. The water was lovely; nice and warm but still refreshingly cool in the sun. I pushed off and away I went! MCB is a mixture of salt and chlorine, so the water is just a bit cloudy. This is not the case at Brunswick Baths. The water is incredibly clear! Which was a bit disconcerting when I first got to the deep end, which has a big WARNING sign written on the bottom of the pool, then drops to a depth of 5m.
My first few laps left me gasping for air. I really only stop for a couple of seconds between laps at MCB, but 1 lap at Brunswick Baths is nearly 2 laps at MCB and it took awhile for my body to adjust to the longer laps. It was great though, having longer lanes. Sometimes in the 30m pool I feel like I'm just getting into the groove when I get to the other side.
When I swim I alternate between freestyle and backstroke. The nice thing about doing backstroke at the MCB is because it's an indoor pool, I can align myself with the ceiling and swim in a straight line. Looking up from the outdoor pool, it was all sky. And sun. I'll need to get tinted goggles so I'm not swimming with my eyes closed. I think by the end of my swim I'd gotten myself swimming in a reasonably straight line, but I sure was glad to have the lane to myself at the start!
Around my 20th lap someone decided to join me in the slow lane, which annoyed me and prompted me to move over into the double medium lane. There was only one other person in the double medium lane, so I figured we'd have plenty of room to navigate around one another if the need arose, which it didn't.
I did a total of 30 laps, or 1.5km (which is what I swim at MCB, in 50 laps). I couldn't really see the clock, so I don't know what my time actually was, but it was slower than usual, which I expected it to be this first time around. I'll have to get one of those waterproof stop watches so I can properly time myself. Stretching out at the end of my laps, looking out across the pool, I was tempted to keep going. But I reminded myself that I still had a kilometer walk home and may be more tired than I realized. This was a good call. I'm sure I would have survived another 2 laps, but I was certainly feeling the burn on my way home.
I try to get to the pool 3-4 times a week. It's pretty easy to do when I'm at uni; I just go down the road to MCB for a swim on my way home. But on the weekends this means making a special trip into the city, which I don't always feel like doing (though I have discovered the perfect time to swim on a Saturday). And, going into the city just for a swim seems like a silly thing to do on the days when I work from home, which I am doing more frequently. But now that the weather is warming up, popping down to the Brunswick Baths seems like quite an easy option. In fact, I think I will make it a regular part of my Tuesday routine!
As you know, I have been itching to give the Brunswick Baths pool a go; it's got like twice the lanes of the MCB, is 50m instead of 30m, and is outdoors instead of indoors.
Well ladies and gentlemen, today I conqured the Brunswick Baths!
It was daunting at first, swimming in a new pool that is nearly twice the length of my regular pool. Being a newbie, I decided to stick to the slow lane, though I know from my Sunday morning yoga pool perving that I'm plenty fast enough for the medium lane. But the slow lane was along the outside edge of the pool and was empty, so I was quite happy to get the lay of the land from there.
The first thing I noticed was that the chlorine was not nearly as harsh as I thought it would be. Actually, the first thing I noticed was that the shallow end was really shallow. The water was lovely; nice and warm but still refreshingly cool in the sun. I pushed off and away I went! MCB is a mixture of salt and chlorine, so the water is just a bit cloudy. This is not the case at Brunswick Baths. The water is incredibly clear! Which was a bit disconcerting when I first got to the deep end, which has a big WARNING sign written on the bottom of the pool, then drops to a depth of 5m.
My first few laps left me gasping for air. I really only stop for a couple of seconds between laps at MCB, but 1 lap at Brunswick Baths is nearly 2 laps at MCB and it took awhile for my body to adjust to the longer laps. It was great though, having longer lanes. Sometimes in the 30m pool I feel like I'm just getting into the groove when I get to the other side.
When I swim I alternate between freestyle and backstroke. The nice thing about doing backstroke at the MCB is because it's an indoor pool, I can align myself with the ceiling and swim in a straight line. Looking up from the outdoor pool, it was all sky. And sun. I'll need to get tinted goggles so I'm not swimming with my eyes closed. I think by the end of my swim I'd gotten myself swimming in a reasonably straight line, but I sure was glad to have the lane to myself at the start!
Around my 20th lap someone decided to join me in the slow lane, which annoyed me and prompted me to move over into the double medium lane. There was only one other person in the double medium lane, so I figured we'd have plenty of room to navigate around one another if the need arose, which it didn't.
I did a total of 30 laps, or 1.5km (which is what I swim at MCB, in 50 laps). I couldn't really see the clock, so I don't know what my time actually was, but it was slower than usual, which I expected it to be this first time around. I'll have to get one of those waterproof stop watches so I can properly time myself. Stretching out at the end of my laps, looking out across the pool, I was tempted to keep going. But I reminded myself that I still had a kilometer walk home and may be more tired than I realized. This was a good call. I'm sure I would have survived another 2 laps, but I was certainly feeling the burn on my way home.
I try to get to the pool 3-4 times a week. It's pretty easy to do when I'm at uni; I just go down the road to MCB for a swim on my way home. But on the weekends this means making a special trip into the city, which I don't always feel like doing (though I have discovered the perfect time to swim on a Saturday). And, going into the city just for a swim seems like a silly thing to do on the days when I work from home, which I am doing more frequently. But now that the weather is warming up, popping down to the Brunswick Baths seems like quite an easy option. In fact, I think I will make it a regular part of my Tuesday routine!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
The Start of a Love Affair
Is there any other feeling better than that of the start of a new love affair? All the excitement and raptour! All the potential for things to come! None of the disillusionment of reality! sigh...
Another one of our "lose the cake weight" office ventures involved an "all levels" lunch hour yoga class. I had never done yoga before and really had no idea what I was getting myself into. Ah, like so many things in my life. I'm a jumper.
I jump into something and just hope I come alright on the other end. Mostly, I find this a rewarding way to go about living life. But every now and then I am forced to admit some forethought would have served me well. But that's a tangent for another day.
This lunch time yoga class we went to I intially found quite enjoyable, though incredibly difficult. I was happy to struggle along, and the instructor was pretty good about giving me alternate poses to do when the rest of the class did more advanced things. But then he went on holidays and a new instructor appeared. Her take on "all levels" did not seem to include the "super basic beginners" level and she did not seem to have much interest in giving me the guidance I needed to still be able to get some value for the $14 I had just shelled out. One class in particular I did my best to keep up, massively over did it, and was pretty much unable to use my abdominal muscles for a week. After that, I decided that this "all levels" business was a bad idea and decided to just stick to swimming until I could find a beginners yoga class that was covenient for me.
Well my friends, that time has come! My new apartment is quite near a pilates studio and the Brunswick Baths and this week I started looking into what these places had on offer for a gal with a limited income and at the "super basic beginners" level for pretty much everything. The Brunswick Baths supplied the answer: beginners yoga late Sunday mornings, with student rates. Perfect! So this morning, for the first time in close to a year, off I went to a yoga class.
While I had heard lots about the Brunswick Baths and walked past it many times, I'd never actually gone in before. I got there early and purchased my pass for yoga class. The guy at the front desk advised me to hang out for a bit so I had a wander and looked at the facilities. I'd been considering coming to Brunswick Baths for the odd swim since it's so much closer to home, but I've had some reservations. I'm quite fond of the Melbourne City Baths pool, and I've already got a membership to use there. But, yesterday's swim left me longing for more lanes. I often find the people who use the slow lane at MCB are lacking in lane etiquitte. I'm not quite fast enough for the medium lane, which means I'm either the slow one in the medium lane or the fast one in the slow lane. If I swim in the medium lane I make sure to space myself out so that those who swim faster than me aren't constantly being held up by me. When I swim in the slow lane, I rarely get the same courtesy. Yesterday in particular I felt the pool could have done with an additional slow or medium lane.
As I waited for my yoga class to begin, I sat and watched the swimmers. The pool at Brunswick Baths is a 50m heated outdoor pool... with 2 slow lanes, 2 fast lanes, 3 medium lanes, and an aqua play lane! That's a lot of lanes! Instantly I could feel my heart fluttering and my vision becoming rose-tinted. None of the swimmers seemed too concerned about swimming outside in the middle of winter, and my reservation about that suddenly seemed ridiculous. And so what if it's all chlorinated, as opposed to the MCB which is a mixture of salt water and chlorine? I have goggles! And yeah I normally swim in a 30m pool, but what a great new challenge 50m would be! *Cue cheesy love song*
Eventually, I tore myself away and joined the queue for yoga class. I really enjoyed the yoga class. The instructor was helpful and kind, the poses were all things I could do, and the atmosphere was friendly and welcoming. And best of all? The room it's in looks out over the pool.
Another one of our "lose the cake weight" office ventures involved an "all levels" lunch hour yoga class. I had never done yoga before and really had no idea what I was getting myself into. Ah, like so many things in my life. I'm a jumper.
I jump into something and just hope I come alright on the other end. Mostly, I find this a rewarding way to go about living life. But every now and then I am forced to admit some forethought would have served me well. But that's a tangent for another day.
This lunch time yoga class we went to I intially found quite enjoyable, though incredibly difficult. I was happy to struggle along, and the instructor was pretty good about giving me alternate poses to do when the rest of the class did more advanced things. But then he went on holidays and a new instructor appeared. Her take on "all levels" did not seem to include the "super basic beginners" level and she did not seem to have much interest in giving me the guidance I needed to still be able to get some value for the $14 I had just shelled out. One class in particular I did my best to keep up, massively over did it, and was pretty much unable to use my abdominal muscles for a week. After that, I decided that this "all levels" business was a bad idea and decided to just stick to swimming until I could find a beginners yoga class that was covenient for me.
Well my friends, that time has come! My new apartment is quite near a pilates studio and the Brunswick Baths and this week I started looking into what these places had on offer for a gal with a limited income and at the "super basic beginners" level for pretty much everything. The Brunswick Baths supplied the answer: beginners yoga late Sunday mornings, with student rates. Perfect! So this morning, for the first time in close to a year, off I went to a yoga class.
While I had heard lots about the Brunswick Baths and walked past it many times, I'd never actually gone in before. I got there early and purchased my pass for yoga class. The guy at the front desk advised me to hang out for a bit so I had a wander and looked at the facilities. I'd been considering coming to Brunswick Baths for the odd swim since it's so much closer to home, but I've had some reservations. I'm quite fond of the Melbourne City Baths pool, and I've already got a membership to use there. But, yesterday's swim left me longing for more lanes. I often find the people who use the slow lane at MCB are lacking in lane etiquitte. I'm not quite fast enough for the medium lane, which means I'm either the slow one in the medium lane or the fast one in the slow lane. If I swim in the medium lane I make sure to space myself out so that those who swim faster than me aren't constantly being held up by me. When I swim in the slow lane, I rarely get the same courtesy. Yesterday in particular I felt the pool could have done with an additional slow or medium lane.
As I waited for my yoga class to begin, I sat and watched the swimmers. The pool at Brunswick Baths is a 50m heated outdoor pool... with 2 slow lanes, 2 fast lanes, 3 medium lanes, and an aqua play lane! That's a lot of lanes! Instantly I could feel my heart fluttering and my vision becoming rose-tinted. None of the swimmers seemed too concerned about swimming outside in the middle of winter, and my reservation about that suddenly seemed ridiculous. And so what if it's all chlorinated, as opposed to the MCB which is a mixture of salt water and chlorine? I have goggles! And yeah I normally swim in a 30m pool, but what a great new challenge 50m would be! *Cue cheesy love song*
Eventually, I tore myself away and joined the queue for yoga class. I really enjoyed the yoga class. The instructor was helpful and kind, the poses were all things I could do, and the atmosphere was friendly and welcoming. And best of all? The room it's in looks out over the pool.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Did you know that public pools were started to encourage public hygiene?
Before I moved to Melbourne I really wasn't a fan of swimming because it involved the use of public pools - you know, where the public go. And the public is fucking gross! I should know; I'm a member! But, about a year ago some of my office mates and I decided that since we'd put on the cake weight together, we could take it off together. Swimming, we decided, would be the way to do this. Thus began our weekly (occassionally bi-weekly) trips to the city baths.
I was weary of this swimming business at first. All those wet toilet seats and hair covered floors of my youth were cackling their germy laugh in my head: "Step into the change room Joni, let us stick to your skin!" But I decided to give it a go before dismissing it as just too nasty to deal with. Besides, I'd already been to the Harold Holt pool and that hadn't been horribly gross.
My first visit to the city baths was a pleasant surprise; the change room practically sparkled with cleanliness. The day shift cleaner, I must say, is a saint! I could kiss her she keeps things so clean! I have been going back to the city baths regularly ever since, and have long gotten over my disgust at pool change rooms (even when they don't sparkle with cleanliness).
Hmph. You wouldn't think this germ business would be such a big deal for someone who once willingly drank directly from the Nile...
For the past, oh, month I've had just about every cold that's gone around. And as you can imagine, this has left me a tad phlegmy (see? Public = gross). And yes, when I swim sometimes I contribute a trail of snot to the water. But today I was put in a phlegm confronting situation!
As I was stretching after finishing my 50 laps, I noticed that someone had hacked up a rather hearty amount of phlegm onto the side of the pool. My initial reaction was to be incredibly grossed out, but a little voice inside of me said: "Hang on there Ms. Omigod That's So Gross! Would you rather they have hacked that up and spat it into the water in which you are swimming? And for that matter, what, exactly, do you think YOU would have done in that situation?" Admittedly, if I'd hacked up that much phlegm there's no way I would be putting it back in my body, and I would have been really cranky if I'd swam into that mess.
So yes, public pools are kinda disgusting places, but hey, where better for all our germs to mingle? *cough* *cough* *public transit* *cough* *cough* At least the pool is full of germ killing chemicals.
Having just made my peace with the phlegm, I made my way into the spa, where I was in for another special public pool treat! Ooooh the spa! Never a dull moment to be had! No matter how hard you try...
Today's special spa treat was a man. A man who would have been completely inconspicuous if it wasn't for that cheeky smile. I got in and hoped for the best. After a couple of minutes he stood up, only to reveal that his board shorts were hanging dangerously low. I averted my eyes. He turned around. Not only were the shorts half way down his ass, but, there was a giant rip in the back so his entire right butt cheek was on display. This is when I started to pray: "dear god I really do not want to see this man's testicles."
I reminded myself that this is a public pool and he is just as much a member of the public as I am, and got back to ignoring him. But the entire time I'm in the spa he seemed to be trying to catch my eye, and then when he thought he'd got it, he'd stand up and get out of the spa for a minute, then come back in. This was additionally annoying because he was sitting on the best jet and I really wasn't interested in finding out how he'd react if I grabbed it on one of his short ventures out.
I don't know what it is about the spa that inspires weird behaviour in people. From flashing too much of your junk, to pashing your bf/gf, to blatently wearing your underwear... People are just strange!
I was weary of this swimming business at first. All those wet toilet seats and hair covered floors of my youth were cackling their germy laugh in my head: "Step into the change room Joni, let us stick to your skin!" But I decided to give it a go before dismissing it as just too nasty to deal with. Besides, I'd already been to the Harold Holt pool and that hadn't been horribly gross.
My first visit to the city baths was a pleasant surprise; the change room practically sparkled with cleanliness. The day shift cleaner, I must say, is a saint! I could kiss her she keeps things so clean! I have been going back to the city baths regularly ever since, and have long gotten over my disgust at pool change rooms (even when they don't sparkle with cleanliness).
Hmph. You wouldn't think this germ business would be such a big deal for someone who once willingly drank directly from the Nile...
For the past, oh, month I've had just about every cold that's gone around. And as you can imagine, this has left me a tad phlegmy (see? Public = gross). And yes, when I swim sometimes I contribute a trail of snot to the water. But today I was put in a phlegm confronting situation!
As I was stretching after finishing my 50 laps, I noticed that someone had hacked up a rather hearty amount of phlegm onto the side of the pool. My initial reaction was to be incredibly grossed out, but a little voice inside of me said: "Hang on there Ms. Omigod That's So Gross! Would you rather they have hacked that up and spat it into the water in which you are swimming? And for that matter, what, exactly, do you think YOU would have done in that situation?" Admittedly, if I'd hacked up that much phlegm there's no way I would be putting it back in my body, and I would have been really cranky if I'd swam into that mess.
So yes, public pools are kinda disgusting places, but hey, where better for all our germs to mingle? *cough* *cough* *public transit* *cough* *cough* At least the pool is full of germ killing chemicals.
Having just made my peace with the phlegm, I made my way into the spa, where I was in for another special public pool treat! Ooooh the spa! Never a dull moment to be had! No matter how hard you try...
Today's special spa treat was a man. A man who would have been completely inconspicuous if it wasn't for that cheeky smile. I got in and hoped for the best. After a couple of minutes he stood up, only to reveal that his board shorts were hanging dangerously low. I averted my eyes. He turned around. Not only were the shorts half way down his ass, but, there was a giant rip in the back so his entire right butt cheek was on display. This is when I started to pray: "dear god I really do not want to see this man's testicles."
I reminded myself that this is a public pool and he is just as much a member of the public as I am, and got back to ignoring him. But the entire time I'm in the spa he seemed to be trying to catch my eye, and then when he thought he'd got it, he'd stand up and get out of the spa for a minute, then come back in. This was additionally annoying because he was sitting on the best jet and I really wasn't interested in finding out how he'd react if I grabbed it on one of his short ventures out.
I don't know what it is about the spa that inspires weird behaviour in people. From flashing too much of your junk, to pashing your bf/gf, to blatently wearing your underwear... People are just strange!
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