I Go Swimming - Summing up 2010

2010 has been a great year for me from a fitness viewpoint. During the course of the year, I managed to get in 193 swim workouts (including competitive events) for a total of 250 miles. This means I spent more than half of the year in the water at some point!

The high points of my year in swimming were:

• Competing in an indoor Triathlon at Life Time Fitness (and not coming in last)
• Swimming 3 of the 5 DCB Adventures Arizona Swim Series (and not coming in last)
• Attending the USMS SwimFest '10 event
• Swimming La Jolla Cove for the first time in my life!
• Competing in the Catfish Crawl 2-mile swim in Morgan Hill (I lived there for 8 years, and yes, I was not last)
• Making swim friends in the pool and on the USMS forum
• Joining Sun Devil Masters

Peter Gabriel's song, I Go Swimming, kind of sums up the joy I get from being in the water, and how much I need it in my life. Here's a video I found on YouTube.

My Wednesday Evening Swim Workout

The turnout at my Masters swim club was very low Wednesday evening, most likely due to the pending holiday and the fact that it was cold and raining. But, for those of us who chose to brave the holiday shopping traffic and the elements, we were treated to a really fun workout alternative.

Our coach decided we would do the "Tour de Mona", so named for the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center where we swim. The "tour" involved swimming up and down the width of the 50 meter pool (17 or 18 25-yard lanes), followed by swimming up and down each 25-yard length of the warm-up pool, and finally, moving over to the diving well and diving or jumping off of each diving board, including the 5, 7.5, and 10 meter platforms! Yikes!

I finished the swim "tour" and dove off of one of the diving boards, but could only muster the nerve to jump from the 5 meter platform. I forgot just how high 16.404 feet can be. The last time I jumped or dove from a 5 meter platform was in high school, 1972 to be exact. But, I did it, and it felt good. Here's a photo showing the view from a 5 meter diving platform. It doesn't appear to be this high when looking up from deck level, but once you're up there, you realize just how high it is. Very intimidating to say the least.

Our coach did the tour with us and was the first person to jump from the 10 meter platform. I have a newfound respect for him after witnessing his jump. :)

After everyone had an opportunity to jump from one of the three platforms, we concluded our workout by playing 4 rounds of "Sharks & Minnows", with our coach being the lead Shark. What fun!! I felt like a kid again.

Here's a link to a photo of our "tour" course.

The Desert Botanical Garden's "E-rat-i-ca-tor"

I made a friend when I visited the Botanical Garden yesterday. She followed me all around the main entrance area, and when I came back from a 30-minute hike, she was waiting and followed me to the Garden Store. What a cutie. Your typical aloof female cat. >^..^<

Desert Botanical Garden

Today, I visited the Botanical Garden for the first time with some friends. It was all decorated for Christmas with hundreds of poinsettias and a huge number of luminarias. I would love to see it at night. And, how I wish I had brought my good camera. There were so many great things to see. Here are a few of the highlights.

 It always amazes me how there is always something blooming in the desert during the Winter. I managed to get my camera strap in the picture (LOL).

 The chartruese colored Yucca are actually glass scluptures that the garden is hoping to purchase. They need to raise $1 million dollars and are 80% there. I couldn't help wondering what would happen to these pieces of art should a bad hail storm occur.

 This is one of 10 masks that an artist created using natural materials. I believe this one was named "Terragon" and reminded me of a horned lizard. Most of the piece consists of beads and braided fibers, but it also contains snakeskin, bone, claws, stone, and fossils.

 I was struck by the spiral growth patten of this particular cactus.

 I wonder who lives here?

We came across this huge Mesquite tree that was like an umbrella. The branches reached all the way to the ground around the entire perimeter of the tree. I loved climbing trees when I was a kid. :)

Stars & Stripes Forever!!

I can still remember the 1972 Olympics, with Mark Spitz kicking @$$ in the pool, winning 7 gold medals. The other thing I remember is the Stars & Stripes swimsuits that were selected that year. I was perusing the Internet looking for something and came across a "never worn", vintage 1972 Stars & Stripes female racing suit made by White Stag-Speedo. I couldn't believe it! I also can't believe that I bought the darn thing. I got it in the mail today, and they weren't kidding. The suit is as new as the day it was hanging on the rack in the store that originally sold it. I also have the original box it came in and the product tag. What a cool piece of memorabilia! Here are the pictures that were posted at Lulu's Vintage where I purchased it, followed by a picture of Mark Spitz wearing his Stars & Stripes suit. :-)

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