Not Quite 100 100's

Olympus Masters and Salt Lake Triathlon Club held an event this morning of 100 100's.  It was crowded and full!  I loved it!  I wish we had more swimmers on a regular basis.  Maybe some of them will join us.

I had to leave at 7am because Matt was going skiing today (wonderful powder!).  So I only got in 3 sets of 10 (30 100's or 3,000 yards).  I think I should have stayed for one more round because Matt wasn't quite ready to go when I got home.  But that is just fine, I am slowly building up my yardage anyway.

I swam in the 1:30 lane and led the entire time.  That is unusual for me, but I am glad I did it.  I should set the pace more often.  I was running into the last person, so my pace was not quite what I wanted.  I was able to hold around 1:12 to 1:14.  I think I could have been a couple seconds faster if I didn't have to slow down for the last person.

I have mixed feelings about the pace I was going.  On the one hand, I was happy that I was able to go so fast.  On the other, I am concerned by how hard I had to work for it.  But I keep reminding myself that I have not been swimming or working out consistently.  I am still in the beginning of getting my fitness back.  I am aiming for being able to hold a 1:10 pace for my Bear Lake swim this summer.  I thin I am at a good place for my season so far.

10,000 yards sounded so long.  Then I remembered that in a few month, I will be doing a practice race about that long.  I guess I will have to get my head into the game a bit.  I have to think beyond the usual short 2-3,000 yard workouts. 












End procrastination, get things done.

New swimming ideas

I just found a great idea to try for kicking.  I know that I don't really enjoy kicking much.  Probably because I am so slow at it.  I always end up kicking on my back in streamline position because I am so slow with a kick board.  I know that kick boards pull you out of the correct body position for swimming, but it sure is nice to have a chance to swim with your goggles off for a short time.  Well, I found a couple new ways to try kicking with and without a kick board.  Here is the link that I have (I hope it works):  www.usms.org/articles/articledisplay.php?aid=2792  On Friday, I think that we are going to try the first one.  You could come to my practice and try it too!  If I am really good, I will post the workout afterwards. 

By the way, the kitchen is done, and it is fabulous!  I will try to put pictures up soon.

Back in the Pool

It has taken me some time, but I finally got back into swimming.  This morning was my second day.  I have been away for about 3 months, I stopped swimming when I was about 37 weeks pregnant.  The little one is now 11 weeks old.  I am definitely slower, but that is okay because I need to take it easy for awhile. 

I have started swimming with Olympus Masters.  There are several reasons for this.  They are decently priced, close to home (right now at Granite High and in February into Olympus's new pool), and the coaching is nice to have.  I like that they will be creating their own Utah Masters team this year.  It will be nice to be on a team again (semi-competitive). 

I really jumped into it because they have awesome, amazing deals right now.  I love a good deal!  They are letting you swim for free for the month of September.  And they are giving different discounts depending on how many times you swim in September.  The biggest deal is if you swim 15 time--you get half price for the next year and $15 off your USMS fee!!!!  I have swam two times already.  Hopefully I can commit enough to get this, wish me luck.  Wow, it sounds like I work sales for them.  But I am really just excited to swim again and have extra motivation.

About the only other thing right now is the kitchen cabinets.  The garage is crammed so full of cabinets and cabinet making materials that I don't know how Matt can still have space to work.  Thankfully he only has two more to build.  We still have two coats of paint and the hardware to install on about five cabinets right now.  Then we are going to rent a bin and tear down the nasty old kitchen!  That should be the end of this month or the beginning of October.  I cannot wait for my fancy new kitchen.  Aw, cabinets that close and aren't rusting.  Beautiful tile instead of the third layer of old cracking linoleum.  No more rolly counter that is coming apart (did I ever mention that it has upside down cabinets on it?).  The kitchen will finally match the rest of the house.  I can hardly wait!

Cloth Diaper Tryouts

Cloth diapers have been my goal since I first learned I was pregnant.  I know that we live in a desert; therefore, disposable diapers are supposed to have less of an environmental impact.  However, I do not believe it.  How can something that goes to a gigantic landfill and "never" decomposes be better for the environment than something that you can was and reuse?  Even in a desert where water is at a premium.  Besides, the water used to wash the cloth diapers can be cleaned, recycled, and reused.

All that being said, I didn't actually start using cloth diapers until about 3 weeks ago.  It was really a vanity issue.  Jane looked so funny with these humongous cloth diapers on her bum!  Now that she is bigger, the giant bum didn't bother me as much. However, I decided to try the gDiapers because they looked trimmer.  The inserts are super expensive, and I have tons of cloth prefolds.  So I decided to look for patterns to make the inserts out of the prefolds I have already purchased.


I found a pattern for the inserts on Pinterest.  The website is:  http://seekatesew.com/handmade-gdiaper-cloth-insert-tutorial/

The tutorial is nice and easy.  But I just used the pattern and my prefold cloth diapers.  The ones I have are the unbleached OsoCozy prefolds size 1.  I was able to get three from each one.  After I tested them out, I found that one layer was okay, but it got totally soaked.  So I sewed two together.  That gave me two layers of protection.  That is one layer less bulk than if I folded them and stuck them in the covers I have (I also have a bunch of the Thirsties with snaps). 

So far they have worked great for me.  They work really well in the Thirsties too.  They look a little small for them but I have not had any problems yet.  I do have a hard time getting the gDiapers to seal correctly around the legs.  But I still like using them.

I decided that, since babies are more likely to get diaper rash in cloth diapers when they sit in them wet for extended periods, I would use disposable during the night to save my baby's bum.  Hopefully that will keep the diaper rash away. 

We have been doing this for about 3 weeks now and all is looking good.  Maybe if I get a chance I will post a picture of the inserts I made.

Swimming day

So all I have today is the workout I did this morning.  My friend Becky coached us.

400  warm up
8x100's IM order by 100 (50 drill/50 swim)

main set:
4x75 swim easy
1x50 fast (kick down/swim back)
3x75 swim a little faster
2x50 less fast (kick down/swim back)2x75 swim medium fast
3x50 medium  (kick down/swim back)1x75 swim fast
4x50 easy (kick down/swim back)

150 cool down

Total of 2,600 yards

I really need a new swim suit.  I bought one for my growing belly, but it was way too huge on me.  The top pulls down.  It causes so much drag!  

Two Projects Finished

I finally finished the child's quilt!  Someone will be getting a package in the mail in a week or two and hopefully they like it!  I think I might do the binding differently next time.  I like it but I went a little wider on the stripes. 

I am not sure I like it.  Also, for a bed quilt, I might try having the folded edge on the back.  The problem is that I have a hard time matching threads!

The other project is for the couch.  I've actually had these done for a few months.  I didn't realized that I hadn't taken any pictures of them. 

I sewed two new couch pillows.  I think that I made the pillow forms somewhere around 14-16 inches.  They are much more comfortable. 

I had major zipper drama!  I went with a nine inch zipper and there was not way I was getting the pillow forms inside!  I had to undo and go buy two new zippers.  I found that sewing them the entire length of one side was perfect.  I used invisible zippers, but I don't think I would next time.  I prefer the fabric flap that I usually make to cover up the zippers.

I have been pretty good about swimming at least 2-3 times a week.  I notice that it is getting harder for me.  I tried to do a harder 100 free on 1:20 and I just cannot go fast anymore.  It was not very good for me.  I can still make that time, I just cannot try to race anyone for a while!