I'm swimming in the rain, Just swimming in the rain...

...What a glorious feelin', I'm happy again. I'm laughing at clouds, so dark up above. The sun's in my heart, and I'm ready for love.

I enjoyed a really nice swim this afternoon, complete with dark storm clouds and a nice rain shower. No ducks this time, but I was joined by a family of humans for about 5 minutes; otherwise, I had the pool all to myself. What a great way to wind down the weekend.

Not the greatest picture, but it shows the nice outdoor pool LTF provides to its member.

Bluebirds and Brewskis

Ah, Spring! Well, it's not officially Spring, but it's close enough for me. I am in the midst of full-blown Spring Fever, and find it hard to be inside. So, to make sure I got some "outside time" today, I had lunch with a friend and my daughter at SanTan Brewery in Chandler and enjoyed their brew sampler along with an awesome sandwich. As I finished each brew sample, I stacked them into a little leaning tower.

Cheryl and the brew sample glass tower

Unfortunately, I bumped the table at one point and they all went crashing down. My daughter and I both let out a rather loud, shrill, scream, which of course, got everyone's attention. Needless to say, our server put me at ease by saying "Well, at least you had finished them before they fell", as he gave me a big smile.

After lunch we took a stroll through downtown Chandler and did a little window shopping. There are a lot of great restaurants that I don't remember seeing that I really need to check out during my work lunch hour. 

Just as we arrived at the brewery, a "Pre-Ostrich Festival Parade" was just winding down. For those of you who aren't familiar with Chandler, AZ, the Ostrich Festival is a pretty big deal, and to commerate it a blue painted ostrich statue was perched in the center of town.

Cheryl and "Bluebird"

Cancer Research Swim Challenge

Aqua Sphere is partnering a swim challenge (pitting men against women -- sounds fun already) for cancer research. It's similar to the USMS "Go The Distance" program, but you log your total time spent in the pool, not your distance. $35,000 will be split between the Breast Cancer Foundation and Prostate Cancer Foundation based on the total time logged by men vs. women.
Here's the link to their news article: http://www.aquasphereswim.com/us/media/100303_SwimChallenge_PR.html
I'm already doing the 2010 GTD, so making my workouts count towards cancer research seems like a "win-win" to me. I especially love their poster. Here's a scaled-down version. Note the banana peel under the guy's foot.

"Tri" It Inside

I participated in my first triathlon today at Life Time Fitness. A couple of times each year, they host a 1-hour Indoor Triathlon, where you swim for 10 minutes, bike for 30, and run for 20 (with transition times between each stage).
It's been just about 4 months since I joined the gym and decided to give it a "tri". I swam 500 yards, biked 13 miles, and ran (mostly walked) 1.41 miles, which put me in 20th place out of 25 (technically, 16th if you consider the tied scores). Not bad considering where I was a few months ago.
The Tempe facility is having another one next month and my Masters swim buddy and I are looking to enter that one as well. We met a gal from the Tempe LTF who suggested we try the SheROX sprint triathlon that's coming up in May. I'm seriously considering it. I started a 5K run training program last week, so by May I should be more than ready.
Here's the cap and shirt I got along with my race number. The cap was provided by TYR and will work well for me when I swim OW practice at Canyon Lake. I noticed that they used last year's race numbers (they show 2009), but I would rather they use them up than throw them away.

 My first Triathlon arm number.

2010 CAT-O-LYMPICS

Here is Bones' entry in the napping category. Exceptional form if I must say so myself. Also, this feat of athletic prowess was performed during a horrendous monsoon thunderstorm. He didn't let the ruckas get him down, but snoozed on, going for the Gold!

Our Universe - What a wonder it is

I'm speechless. There are simply no words to describe the feeling that came over me when I first watched this video. When I could see where Earth is in relation to our Milky Way, a feeling of complete and utter awe came over me. Life is an incredible and enigmatic thing to behold.

2010 New Year's Resolution

I have only one resolution for the coming year -- to keep on swimming! This one resolution provides many benefits, such as:

• Weight control
• Fitness maintenance
• Social activity
• Enjoying life

So, instead of making a bunch of resolutions that I'll either forget about, or fail to complete, continuing to swim is one I know I'll keep, 'cause it is so fun to do!!

Happy New Year, everyone!! Here's to a fabulous 2010!!