So it was lesson time! I have been trying to schedule this family since the beginning of the summer but between vacations and this stupid rain this was the first time they were able to get in. I love ALL of the families that I work with over the summer but this family is just SPECTACULAR. They are one of the nicest families I have ever met and I could not wait to see them! I hadn't seen them since last summer so naturally they were beside themselves when they walked on to the pool deck. After raining me over with wonderful compliments I got in the pool with the kids. We had a great lesson and I couldn't believe how far their daughter has come since last summer. Her parents also told me that they were getting into some small 5K races this summer and it just so happens we are doing the same color run! I think it is so cool that they can do stuff like that together! I want a workout partner like that!!
After the lesson I jumped in the car and headed out to the gym while slugging my second cup of coffee. Good and bad idea all at the same time. When I finished that second cup as I was pulling into the gym, the intensity level of speed training shot through the roof. I was so ready to go. As I was doing my 800's I glanced up and noticed that I CRUSHED my 5K PR at 24:20 and decided I wanted more. I ended up finishing 4 miles in 30 minutes and some change. I felt absolutely incredible. It is amazing the endorphin rush you get from working out. I then went and blasted abs since I had to skip them in my lift this week. Weighted situps and then a tabata with Russian twist, planks, flutter kicks, and ab roller. I did two rounds of each and I was DEAD! I headed straight for the smoothie bar to get my favorite recover shake and then it was off home for the party!
About the same distance as Saturday's run but look at that time difference!
Saturday when I got home my next door neighbor was outside. We have had a few confrontations with this family and when I arrived I saw him and thought oh god, here we go....I got out of my car and I could just feel him starring me down. I sitting here thinking, what could his problem possibly be. I purposely turned my music down and rolled down the street at a crawl of 5 mph. He looks over again and says, "Holy crap man, how much weight have you lost?" It took me a minute to process...but I decided ok, just go with it. So I started talking to him about my race and riding etc. He opened his garage and showed me his bike and I ended up talking to him for about 20 minutes. The entire time I was standing there thinking to myself, is this real? Is this seriously happening right now?! Do you remember saying you were going to kill our dogs like two weeks ago you wacko?! Either way I entertained him and then went on my way.
Saturday evening I had some people from work here. A girl who I work with came up with a challenge to Swim Across America. Every lap that we swim converts to distance on the map and we have certain check points. We hit our check point for New Orleans and so I offered to host the party at my house. I was bumming a little bit because all of my friends happened to be heading to the beach for running of the bulls in Dewey. I was a little low on cash though so it was no biggy. Once everyone got here we fired up the grill and everyone had a really great time! It was nice to have some people here and enjoy time away from being at work, that's for sure. When we were sitting around the table someone looked over at me, and right in front of everyone said "Ian!! Holy cow, look at your arms!" Now if you have learned anything about me from these posts, I HATE being the center of attention! So of course someone else joined in and complimented me and I was just beside myself. She followed it up with "Every time I look at you I am just amazed!" So even though I was the center of attention for a minute I didn't mind it because that was one of the greatest compliments I have received yet.
As for the rest of last week, nothing too big happened. I workout, I eat and I teach swimming. That's about my life right now. I did take my friend on a ride last Thursday. It was her first ride on her bike so we took it slow and I just gave her a chance to crunch through some gears and get used to the roads around here. After circling back to where we started, I hadn't had enough yet and wasn't ready to go back home. So naturally I went back out. I ended up killing my ride and really enjoyed it. I know I said it before but there is just something about clipping into your bike and forgetting about everything else that is going on.
Even after a slow start I still managed 20 miles in an hour and a half. Can't complain!
Tomorrow it is right back to work. I am excited to start the "power phase" of my lifting and I really hope it carries over into my riding and swimming. Everyone keeps telling me that if I just learn how to flip turn that my times will get faster but I won't have to flip turn in my race so why waste pool time so close to my race on learning it and perfecting it. Definitely something to consider for the "off season" though.
Last thing I want to share is a picture of the family in front of the camper(that gave us a hell of a ride down) at the beach. When I saw this picture I must say that I didn't even recognize myself. Still there are some days where I will walk passed a mirror or something and see my reflection and catch myself stopping for a second look. It's a great feeling and I wouldn't trade it for the world!
Thank you to our awesome photographer Susan for this shot of the whole family!
Here we are in front of our camper for the first time!
I think I covered most of the stuff I wanted to cover, naturally I am sure there are things I have left out. I am going to make it a conscious effort to post more often on here even though it is hard with so much going on! Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. Try to stay cool and HYDRATED with this heat wave coming across the east coast here!!
All for now
Keep FSU and Do It For Yourself.
