YMCA and Swimming - Sport #1

Here is my home away from home these days. On February 26 (A Tuesday), I start my official training. It is called, "Just Tri It", a triathlon training club. The coach is a woman who has raced in the Ironman in Hawaii several times as well as other races. I'm not sure how this training is going to work. It's an hour and a half on Tuesdays from 5-6:30 PM. I'll clue you in later as to how they do this!
Here is our pool at the Y:

I really need to spend more time here than my current once a week. I need to do a half mile swim in a reasonable time. Not so good at this one....
Here is where the swim portion of the race will take place (at Centennial Beach, downtown Naperville, IL): This is looking from the deep end down to the shallow end. Ahhh....there really is a summer in these parts!

The above photo is an aerial picture. Boy...it looks pretty long from this view! Like I say...I've got my work cut out for me. What's funny is....this is only a Sprint Tri! Hats off to folks who do Half Ironmans, olympic or full fledged Ironman tris!
Above is what the beach/pool looks like without water. For my non-Napervillian friends, this water hole is a former stone quarry turned pool/beach. Pretty clever use of a huge hole don't you think? One last photo of my beautiful town...on the River Walk... Next Week: Biking!

Must be a "Godincidence". I decided to begin the muscleflex and powerball classes at our YMCA last September. Both are weighlifting classes (the latter is the same as the former only on a stability ball) 55 min. long and we work our legs, arms, chest and abs to music with an instructor who motivates and checks our form. I've enjoyed doing this and have really noticed the benefits. Being that I'm still not good discipling myself with diet, I haven't noticed as much "sculpting" of body parts (biceps are looking stronger...maybe that's it), but I have definitley noticed I'm stronger. For the first time in I don't know how long, I can actually do a push up! I can also hold a plank for a minute and counting! Running up the stairs is a breeze! Best of all, my joints are staying relatively healthy. That is a weakness of mine. Approaching and then turning 50 came with many aches and pains as I tried to stay active. Tennis is my sport, and I've dealt with tennis elbow in the past, but now it never seems to really go away. After weight training, it has subsided substantially. Doing squats has greatly improved knee strength. Squats have become one of my favorite exercises because they have been SO effective! Never thought that would be!!!!

So what's the Godincidence of all of this? After deciding to try the Tri, I've been reading articles that promote weigtlifting BEFORE and during your training. This prevents or softens the blow of injuries. Who would have thunk. No problem there! I've been weightlifting now for five months. I'm quite certain that I would be suffering from shoulder pain from doing the front crawl in swimming by now. But my shoulders are strong. I'm in the walking/jog stage and would probably be suffering with knee pain, but those lovely squats intervened! Same with the spinning class. Bet those knees and quads would be barking at this "new to me" routine. But outside of hair drenching sweat, I came out feeling GREAT! So, thankfully, I was led to do the right thing first and not do the foolish thing and plunge in unprepared only to end up at M & M Orthopaedic yet again (they have gotten way too much money from me!)!

I encourage everyone to find a weight lifting routine that works for them and challenge yourself. I feel GREAT because of it! And it's been months since I've been to M & M! Looking to celebrate my one year anniversary NOT going there (I think that'll be next late summer/early fall). Not to mention...especially for women my age...it's GREAT for bone health as well! Pump on!

Powerball Example (I love this class)

Next up... The YMCA! One of my favorite places to be!