Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming…

When I started the Whole30 on August 1st, my Young Diabetic Friend, TC, joined me.  Aware that strenuous physical activity ranks about 472 on my list of Favorite Things To Do (right below “Brushing my teeth with battery acid” and right above “An intimate encounter with my ex-husband”), he challenged me to exercise every day of the Whole30.  In exchange, he promised to do a burpee for every day I exercise, and if I do so all 30 days, he’d add another 15 for a total of 45.

And allow me to take a video of it.

At any rate, much to my surprise – and I’m sure everyone else’s – I have, indeed, exercised every day, even if it’s just walking around the block (about 1/3 of a mile) a couple of times in the evening.  On days I walk, I’m averaging a mile or so – I’ve even been down to the basement and worked out on the Bowflex.  My favorite form of exercise, however, has been swimming laps in the local community pool.

I’ve always loved to swim; I learned at such a young age I don’t even remember it.  I was a pretty active kid and swam pretty much constantly throughout our hot Texas summers, and was thrilled when Beloved and I bought a house in Texas with a pool in the back yard – we were in it as much as the kids.  So when Beloved suggested a couple of weeks ago that we swim instead of taking a walk for my daily exercise commitment, I was quite willing.

We went after work, once we’d dropped The Young One off for his Driver’s Ed class (everyone who says stress management is just as important as diet and exercise obviously has had to teach a teenage boy how to drive, that’s for sure).  While you have to elbow parents, toddlers and tweens out of the way just to get into the pool between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., by 6 o’clock there are very few people swimming; so few that they do away with “adult swim,” the 20 minutes every hour where only adults are allowed in the pool (not a problem; they have an awesome “splash park” for the kids during this time).

The first time we went, I made it about 3/4 of a lap in this Olympic-size pool before pooping out and needing to rest.  After that, I began doing laps on the “short” end of the pool” – marked lanes in the shallow end, that are a less than half the length of the Olympic lanes.  It just was better for my morale to be able to say “I swam 8 laps!” than “I pooped out before I could finish 2.”

The pool’s season ends this week, since the kids are going back to school next Wednesday.  It’ll be open one more weekend and then close until next June, so we decided to swim yesterday; it was reasonably warm and the pool was almost deserted.  Instead of my usual short laps, I decided to see how many regular laps I could do, so I got in and started to swim.

SEVEN laps, from end to Olympic end, without stopping.

SEVEN.

Without stopping.

Yay, me.

For more watery Spins, go visit Gretchen at Second Blooming.