Weekly Training Update: 12/16-12/22

I discovered a few things this week.

Swimming is hard. Like, really, really, really hard.

I will definitely need lessons before tackling any triathlon in 2014, and the YMCA indoor event on Jan. 4 is no longer being entertained.

Running with others is always preferable to running alone. I joined a friend for part of her long run on Sunday as she trains for the Dopey Challenge, and I was shocked to see that time was up. It helped, I'm sure, that it was too dark to see the Garmin and I was running someone new but it was fun.

I am seriously in love with riding on the trainer ... while watching "Sister Wives" on Netflix. Cycling, the way I do it, is relaxing and the trainer is so quiet. I can ride and ride while Miles sleeps without waking him, unlike the treadmill.

There is running shape and burpee shape. And I am not in burpee shape. I downloaded the Nike Training Club app for some fun workouts, and the two I did this week kicked my rear. I like having a plan made by someone else to keep me accountable but not the price of some other programs, such as P90X3 and T25 that are so tempting to buy.

The week, in training:

Monday: Nike Training Club workout, 30 minutes
Tuesday: 900 yards swimming + 3.18-mile run
Wednesday: 43 minutes on trainer + Bodypump
Thursday: 4-mile run + Nike Training Club workout, 20 minutes
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Bodypump + 2.1-mile run
Sunday: 10.5-mile run

A splishin' and a splashin

Today was going to be a rest day but somehow I ended up at the pool.
 

Wearing a swimsuit.

If any of you are from readers from my early blog days, you might remember some feeble, ill-fated attempts at swimming laps. I didn't know proper swim technique and lacked the motivation to put in the effort required to better myself. The cross-training activity was quickly replaced with strength training DVDs and yoga, and I haven't been back since.

Until today.

Before you get excited about the prospect of a triathlon and all the training updates that would go with it, I am no way ready for a three-event race. I am barely getting through each week of marathon training without adding the stress of a new sport. Today's visit to the pool and my lovely outfit came by request of someone very special.

Miles!

For the past six weeks, Mark and Miles have been attending "Mommy & Me" swim sessions at the nearby high school natatorium. I have been anxious to go, and I was able to go into work early today so that I could join them for the 11 a.m. class.

It was my intention to sit on the bench and take pictures but Mark encouraged me to be the Mommy and hop in the water. At first, I thought he was being nice but by the end of the 45 minutes, I had different feelings on the subject.

The instructor prepped me for the class I entered the water, warning me that the class was more of a workout for the "Mommy" than it was the baby.

Yeah. She was right.

We started by jogging circles in the shallow end, all the while holding our children or kids we picked up off the street. We alternated which shoulder/hip that we had the baby on as we turned corners and were encouraged to bring up our knees as high as possible.

"Break the water, ladies," the instructor encouraged.

Mmm, hmm. Easy for you to say, lady, when you are holding a dummy baby that weighs a couple pounds on the edge of the pool. You are asking me to lift my 22-pound 1-year-old over my head as I do jumping jacks, skiers and lunges. To give me a break, I am supposed to push him and his soaking wet diaper in and out. The paddling with a baby, one who can't control legs on command, is a cinch, too.

I can't fault the instructor, though. She warned me: This was a workout for the parent. I'm just not sure how many parents did BODYPUMP last night.

Thankfully, the class went by relatively quickly and Miles seems to be amused, albeit mildly, by his time in the water. I think he enjoyed seeing what other people were doing and holding a rubber turtle while I worked. It's important for him to have fun with the water and have a positive association with swimming, in my opinion, so no matter how much I struggle taping tomorrow, it will be worth it.