Exercise is good for you

[msss]

I'm convinced that exercise is good for you. Everyone tells me this.

Anyway, I had ballet on Tuesday night and managed to injure myself a great deal less during the centre work. I didn't stub my toe during jumps, for example, or crash into more than one person at a time while changing direction. (Changing direction is the nasty new thing that our teacher has introduced this term. It's all very well to say that it's an important dance skill, but when you're already dizzy from the turns, working out which corner of the room you're meant to be going towards can be challenging. Multiply this by the twenty people in the room.)

I also dragged Eric out of bed yesterday morning to go swimming. It is noticeably darker at 6 a.m. from a month ago - although daylight savings will switch off next month, which will make it better. I think the chill is only going to get worse though.

We're sticking to the 20 laps for a couple of reasons - firstly, we can't actually swim 20 laps continuously yet, and second, we don't have time to keep going for more than 20 minutes or so before work. (Yes, I'm slow. Your point is?) So we're shortening rest breaks and increasing the proportion of backstroke/freestyle. This time I started off with a higher cardio load by alternating breaststroke and backstroke for the first 16 laps. Yes, that's right. 8 laps of backstroke and 12 of breaststroke. Plus only two major rests. My heart was definitely pumping. I was tired last night.

But we went out for dinner at Yuu, which is a fantastic Japanese restaurant hidden away in Flinders Lane. I always forget how good the food is. Kingfish, salmon, melting scallops, sushi, wagyu beef, green tea ice cream. Heaven.

Comments

[17catherines.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a sensible reason to stick to 20 laps - if that's the amount you can get time in the time available, and it's tiring you out, you're clearly getting the exercise benefit, and one must be practical (one of the reasons I never try to go beyond 40 laps is that I need to get to work).

[davefreer.livejournal.com]

I have to ask what a melting scallop is? (I do love seafood, and scallops are something we can only buy frozen. I have had them fresh, and they are nicer).
I swam with the boy December-January. (in a weedy dam -200 metres across, doing 8 reps or so) but I don't like swiming alone, and he's back at school now, so Barbs and I have been trying to push the walking a bit. I always feel better when I'm fit, but laziness is a killer, init ;-)

[msss.livejournal.com]

LOL. I don't think they were a special kind of scallop. They were just amazingly good, melting in our mouths. Very, very fresh scallops, sauteed lightly in butter with mushrooms. Almost not-cooked in the middle, actually, but creamy and delicious.

Come to Melbourne and I'll take you to the restaurant so you can try them for yourself. :-)

200 metres! In a dam! You're braver than I am. It's pudding-hearted of me, I know, but I much prefer swimming no more than a metre or so from a nice solid pool edge. Unless, of course, I have a life jacket on. In that case, I'm more than happy to venture out on open water and even learn to capsize repeatedly (on purpose, for the purpose of learning how to get back in the kayak). But yes, it definitely helps to have company for motivation.

[davefreer.livejournal.com]

:-) Yeah that's supposed to be the perfect way to do scallops. The dam wall is probably never more than about 5 metres off (we swim along the wall, it is deepeest and least weedy there. I did a 70 metre swim across a deep, strong running estuary, carrying 3 fishing rods and a couple of tackle boxes mind, and a few other bits of kit, in December and I thought I was going to run out of steam before the water ended. My boy swam a seven year old across - and he also thought he might not make it. He had swum it twice already. There to check it was OK for the oldies, back to fetch the kid and back again... Water is dangerous. Wetsuits give you that extra bit of boyancy as well as warmth - so we use them to swim in.

If (and there are so many ifs it is just scary) things work out we'll be relatively close - target daydream at the moment is Flinders island :-) We can afford property there, and afford to live there seeing as I can work anywhere. You and your swimming partner can come and eat scallops and crays with Barbs and I instead. (smile) I've lived in back of beyond for a lot of years and the one you never see enough of is visitors. It's fun sea kayaking there I gather.