a new type of brick

this week is "let's find out what works" week, meaning that i'll figure out what type of exercise i can do that doesn't hurt and that still keeps me at a decent level of fitness. monday i did the regular stairmaster/elliptical/"pretend workout" thing and then tried 10 minutes on the stationery bike standing and then 10 minutes on the recumbent bike-- the one that i had always made fun of people in my mind for riding b/c it's not "real exercise." so far, so good, although my hip muscles in the front are surprisingly tired. later on this week i'll try rollerblading. it will be a great excuse to rollerblade since i've had a pair in my closet forever and have only used them once.

today i did strength training + pushups the "girly" way, then went to the chelsea pool for 45 mins aqua jogging and 15 mins swim. the swim was to work in the flip turns that aaron had taught me friday night. so i hopped into the slow lane w/ all the grandpas and grandmas and tried to do an interval workout, e.g., 5 mins faster and 2 mins slower. in the middle of my faster interval, the lifeguard asked me a question which i thought was, "running hard?" so i said yes. then he went into his office and brought out a black brick. he said, "try this." i thought, "i hope it's styrofoam." no such luck.. who makes 10 pound black bricks?!

so the rest of the workout was ridiculous.. i did 1 length w/ the brick, "running" furiously as i sank lower and lower, then 2 lengths w/o to recover. every time i finish one length, i grimaced and grunted as i hoisted the brick out of the pool.. i bet you it looked like, "wow, she is literally pooping bricks!"

compared to such awkward running, i felt like my 15 mins swim was super fast and smooth. i'm working on flip turning, kicking off on the side and then 2 strokes before breathing. by my first stroke i'm out of breath, but hey, who needs oxygen?