Oh hey

Oh hey. I guess I'm back. After a two and a half year absence, I'm going to take another stab at this blogging thing. I know it isn't ready by many (probably less than a half-dozen), but I miss writing, and I think I could benefit from a fitness "journal," if you will. So much has happened since running that half marathon in 2013, but I'd drone on all day trying to provide the details. So here's a short-ish recap of events.

Jen and I bought a new home in 2014, and we stayed in Roy. We did it because we wanted more room for a larger family, which came in the form of Russell, our second (and last) child who was born in March 2016.

Meet Russell, born March 1, 2016. Coop is pretty stoked
about being a big brother.

Our not-so-new home, now. It's been a bit of a nightmare.

I'm still working at Weber State, and I still love it. I also spent the better part of 2014 and all of 2015 earning my master's degree from Weber State. I still swim regularly, and I still compete in open water races, although I've stuck to my guns in avoiding monster fitness events that require multiple hours of training per day.

You've graduated with a master's
degree. Don't bother smiling.

Here's the log of the races I've done since my last post.

2014: Great Salt Lake Open Water Swim: 1 mile (27:30)
2014: Wounded Warrior Project Run: 5 miles (52:14)
2015: Great Salt Lake Open Water Swim: 1 mile (27:38)
2015: Bear Lake Open Water Swim: 1 mile (31:34)
2015: Deer Creek Open Water Swim: 1 mile (29:02)
2015: Xterra Off-Road Triathlon Relay: 1/2 mile swim (14:41)

In addition to these formal races, I've competed in an employee wellness competition (12 weeks long) with my colleagues at Weber State, which have become my training parters for all things fitness. We won the team muscled gained category in 2014, won the weight loss category in 2015, and are still awaiting the results for the 2016 competition, which just ended a few weeks ago.

My disappointment face after seeing my time at the finish line of the
2015 Great Salt Lake Open Water marathon. 

Last year, before the GSL race, I was in the best physical shape of my life and was hopeful to finally win that damn thing. I didn't (and probably never will), but I still put up a solid time despite the new race course being closer to 1.1 miles. I've gained a few pounds back since then, but regular swimming, water polo and the occasional racquetball with my colleagues has kept me in better condition than I was at when I last posted to this blog.

Currently, I'm finishing up training for the Ogden Marathon relay, in which I am on a 5-man team and will run a 6-mile leg. I ran six miles on the treadmill this afternoon in 1:00;14, so I'm just looking forward to getting that race out of the way before swim season really amps up.

Till next time...

Total Distance: 6 miles running

Huntsville Half Marathon Race Report

My first half marathon is officially in the books, and it went better than I hoped for.

I rode up to Huntsville with Kelly and Jessica, as Jen, Coop, her brother, Tim and his wife, Nikki, drove up later to wait for me at the finish line. It was very cold (reportedly 28 degrees) when we arrived at about 8 a.m. Fortunately, we had drop bags, so we all bundled up nicely and hung out on the bus until they kicked us off after shuttling us up to the starting point.

When the race started, Kelly hung back with Jessica and I for a few miles. Since he is a much faster runner than both of us -- much to our dismay -- he kind-of pushed us to go a little faster than we originally wanted to. Eventually, he took off and we knew he was going for his goal time of less than two hours. From that point, Jess and I had a pretty smooth run.

Seeing Coop in this goofy outfit at the finish line was a perfect way to cap the race. I ran all 13.1 miles in 2:12:16.

My knee pain arrived about six miles in, which scared the shit out me. Usually, when the pain comes, I'm forced to stop and walk and I knew I wasn't going to reach my goal time of 2:25:00 if I did that. I pushed through it for about a mile and the pain gradually wore off entirely. The course was as beautiful as everyone said it was, and having Jessica there as a running partner was such a blessing. I think we kept each other honest at a solid pace and neither of us wanted to be the one who stopped and walked. It felt like we both hit a wall around the 11-mile mark, but there was a lot of entertainment (bands, cheerleaders, and other various live music) that peppered the final few miles of the course and that kept our minds occupied for the remainder of the race.

I sprinted the final 250 yards or so, even though I told Jess I wasn't going to. ;) Sorry, Jess. My competitive side kicked in a bit at the end. I couldn't find Jen, Coop, Tim and Nikki when I finished, but I located them just after I received my medal and cut the timing chip off my shoe. Kelly was there waiting, too, and he said he finished in 2:01:00, which was just over his goal time. I'm sure he would've gone under it if he didn't hang back with Jess and I for the first two or three miles.

All smiles after the race. Kudos to Jessica, who has always been my favorite running partner.

We snapped a few photos, got our stuff, said goodbye to Kelly and Jess and ate some lunch at the Huntsville Barbecue Company. When I got home, I looked up my finish time online and I clocked 2:12:16, which was almost 13 minutes faster than my goal. That time isn't going to turn any heads in the running community, but I am proud of myself for doing it. Despite fears about cardio and knee pain, I performed much better than expected. I truly don't enjoy running, but now I can say I've completed a half marathon and ran the whole way. And no, I don't have plans to do a full.

Three days later, I still feel like I was hit by a truck. My calves have never been so sore in my life...

Total distance: 13.1 miles running

Re-examining my priorities

I'm alive and well. I promise.

Due to an incredibly busy schedule, I haven't been able to update my fitness blog for about a month. I'm back though, and here's an update. The half marathon is tomorrow and I'm incredibly nervous about it. I haven't been this anxious about an event since my Bear Lake Crossing more than a year ago. Training was going very well until a little over three weeks ago, when my knee started hurting again after a long run with Jessica. Her and Kelly will be running the race, too.

Time for a run? No thanks. I'll watch Star Trek with my son instead. Maybe, if I'm lucky, he'll fall asleep.

I backed off my running a bit and amped up my workouts during swim class. Although I didn't stop exercising entirely, my dryland training came to a screeching halt, and I'm not entirely sure I'm ready for tomorrow morning's race. I never ran more than nine miles at once during my training, and somehow, I'm going to have to muscle through 13. Knowing that I never quite reached my training goal for Bear Lake, and still somehow managed to pull off that event does give me some hope that tomorrow will be OK, though. Even if it's just false confidence.

Work has been incredibly busy and my free time isn't really "free" as I am trying my best to spend that time with my family. Every new father thinks they know what is coming, and no matter how much you read in advance, you are never fully prepared. Despite all the diaper changing, play time, crying and simply trying to give Jen a bit of a break from the duties of motherhood whenever possible, it really has been an enjoyable experience thus far. But it has forced me to re-examine my priorities.

Fitness is very important, and I need to make sure I don't stray from it. However, I don't think intense training -- often sucking up multiple hours per day -- is a great thing for me or for my family right now. Now that Cooper is here, I find it very selfish to spend too much of my free time training for monster fitness events. He and Jen need me far more than I need these selfish "accomplishments." There is always more to every story, and every person has different circumstances in their lives, but I just don't see how people with multiple children can train for and participate in all of these marathon events (for any sport) and still give their families the attention they need and deserve. Somehow, I need to find a balance between staying fit and healthy, but not getting caught up in too many races, which are more of a hobby. Needs vs. wants, if you will.

Anyway, enough of my personal anecdotes. In a perfect world, I will finish tomorrow's half marathon in under 2 hours and 25 minutes with little or no knee pain. That probably won't happen, but who knows. ... maybe I'll get lucky.

Half way to the Half

I'm officially half way through my half marathon training. I pulled off an 8-mile run on Saturday, which is tied for the longest I've ever done on foot. Jessica met me at the Weber River Parkway in Riverdale and we went for it.

The sweet bottle-opener medals
for the half. I'm excited to earn one.

The last time I ran eight miles was more than two years ago -- the first time I attempted to train for a half marathon -- and it ended badly. That day was when my knee pain first arrived, so naturally, I was nervous about Saturday's run. However, I managed the whole thing without too much discomfort. Some pain arrived in the final half-mile or so, but I'm feeling good in the immediate days after, which is a good sign. Running with Jessica was also nice, as we are very closely matched as far as pace and distance goes.

This week's "long" run is only five miles, so that will give me a nice recovery before jumping up to nine miles next week. Also, this semester's swim class begins tomorrow, so I'll be more vigilant about doing my cross training like I'm supposed to.

Anyway, there's not a ton of new stuff to report other than that. I did hit the 500-mile mark last week, which certainly is an accomplishment when stacked on top of the swimming and cycling mileage I've covered since starting this blog.

Weekly total distance: 13 miles running

Half Marathon Training: Week 2 Report

Last night, Jen gave me the biggest confidence boost I've heard in many years. I was changing after getting out of the shower, and while feeding Cooper on the other side of the room, she said, "Matt, I can see your abs right now." Although I certainly don't have defined abs or a six pack, her unsolicited compliment really lifted my spirits. I guess over time, you may eventually see a small measure of results if you stick to your training and diet.

Jen stroked my ego, complimenting my abs. This is probably what they really look like.

Anyway, I'm more than two weeks into my half marathon training plan, and all is going according to schedule, so far. I haven't missed a single workout and my times continue to improve. For example, in Week 1, I ran a 2-mile speed interval in 18:45. Today (Week 3), I ran it in 17:33. I pulled off my first 5-mile run in 53:54, and on Saturday, I clocked my second one in 50:30.

Swim class ended last week, so for the next two weeks -- until the next swim class begins -- I'm going to have to find an alternate cross training method. It shouldn't be an issue, as there are all sorts of things I can do.

I officially registered for the Huntsville Half Marathon today, so there is no backing out at this point. Even if the knee pain re-emerges, I'll have no choice but to at least walk the entire race. But so far, my knee his holding up OK, although I haven't logged any serious (6-to-11-mile) runs yet. Saturday will be the next test at six miles.

Weekly total distance: 10 miles running, 1,500 yards swimming

New kicks and new training plan

Last week, I officially started my half marathon training. Jen bought me a new pair of running shoes for my birthday, which I badly needed. We went to Striders in Layton and got my feet, positioning and running style checked out, as they fitted me with a pair of shoes that fit me best. Hopefully, that will limit the knee pain I've been plagued with during long runs this past year.

My new kicks. Probably the most money I've spent on a pair of shoes since I was in high school.

I mapped out a nine-week training plan, that involves five workouts per week leading up to race day. I will do two shorter runs (3-5 miler, 2-3 mile speed run) and a long run (starting at 5 miles, working up to 11) on Saturdays. Two days a week will be devoted to swimming and two days are for rest. I think stretching and using my foam roller regularly will be key to not injuring myself in training. That's what I did last time I attempted to train for a half, as I was running too much, too fast. This will be a gradual increase and not actually reaching the full 13-mile run until race day itself.

Anyway, I started training while on a work trip in Boston and tested out the new shoes on the treadmill in the hotel gym. I wanted to go out and about and run around the city, but I was instructed not to run outside in the shoes until I tested them out, or else I wouldn't be able to return/swap them out for different ones. Everywhere I went, people were constantly running up and down the sidewalk streets and through the parks. Running seems to be a big "thing" in Boston, which I suppose makes sense, considering the most popular marathon in the world is held there every year.

I knocked out the first "long" run on Saturday with five miles at Planet Fitness, and the shoes passed with flying colors. My knee was a little bit uncomfortable toward the end, but not painful.

Total distance (for the week): 10 miles running, 1,100 yards swimming

200th Blog Post!

Although I've been backing off with daily updates of mundane workouts, today marks my 200th blog post since starting "Swimming Upstream" in October 2011. It really has been a fun way to keep track of my progress (and regression) throughout the years, even if it comes at the cost of annoying my friends and family on Facebook every time I share a link to a post. To that end, I'm sure I have been "unfollowed" on many people's social media feeds. Oh well ... I use it as an accountability tool. I don't really expect people to read through my musings about my personal health. It's incredibly narcissistic and kind of weird, I know.

A fist pump for 200 blog posts!

Anyway, today was another day of swim class and another day of me sucking wind. Since Cooper was born about six weeks ago, my diet has completely fallen apart and my exercise has mostly been limited to my twice-weekly swim classes. That has resulted in me gaining back 7 of the 12 pounds I lost during my 12-week diet and decreased stamina in the pool. I need to get back on the wagon soon, as the Huntsville Half Marathon is sneaking up on me and I have to take training seriously. At the same time, I need to continue working with the Weber State Masters team to prepare for the SDRC Meet in November.

Jen will get the OK for exercise from the doctor any day now, so we are excited to start setting new goals together and help each other out with our eating habits. It's so much easier when you and your spouse are on the same (or similar) page.

Total distance: 700 yards swimming (butterfly day)

New swim bag

On Sunday I got an unexpected treat. Jen's parents bought me a new swim bag for my birthday and I got to use it for the first time, today. It came just in time as my old one was falling apart at the seams, the zippers were broken, and it was an all-around piece of crap. This new one is actually geared for swimmers, rather than a cheap generic gym bag.

It's the AquaSphere Wet/Dry Swimming Duffel and it has two sides. One is for dry clothes and the other is for wet items. Having that waterproof barrier is fantastic and the "wet" side (wet and dry are labeled on each side) even has a small vent in the bottom of the bag, so the items won't necessarily stay wet and get all stinky inside of the pocket. Within the wet side is a smaller pouch for goggles and other small swim items. The bag is super roomy and I don't even have enough stuff to fill it out, so as I accumulate more swim gear, I will still have extra room.

It opens up much larger than this image show, but you can see the smaller pocket for goggles and what-not within.

Nifty little vent in the bottom corners of the "wet" side.

I took it with me to class today, and could barely fit it in the locker as it was so big. I guess that's a good problem to have. As far as my swim goes, we worked on unconventional strokes, which I'm not a big fan of. Combining dolphin kick with breaststroke pull and whip kick with backstroke pull isn't my idea of a good workout. I can see the merit in mixing it up in order to work on my timing and coordination between my kicks and pulls, but in the end, I just wasn't feeling it. Hopefully, Thursday's class will be better.

Total distance: 500 yards swimming

Weber State Masters

Today I did my first swim with the Weber State Masters team. I plan on joining their team in the fall, but for the remainder of the summer, I'm going to stick with my swim class workouts.

I let my U.S. Masters Swimming membership expire this year and I was previously registered as "unattached," being that I wasn't affiliated with any particular team. Josh, Chad, Gords and Goody have since started the Salt Lake Open Water team (ironically dubbed SLOW), and in years past I would have definitely been a member with that squad. However, since I now work for Weber State, I swim there regularly and I'm not doing much open water training in the near future, I figured the most appropriate option would be to join the new masters club at my alma mater. I'm excited to train with them regularly and compete in the South Davis Recreation Center meet in November, which I missed out on last year.

Anyway, here is the swim I logged with them this morning.

Warm up
3 x 100 freestyle
2 x 100 your choice (breast)

Main set
6 x 100 freestyle (50 drill, 50 sprint)
1 x 400 IM kick (w/fins)
5 x 100 choice sprint (rest :30)

Cooldown
2 x 200 your choice (free then breast)

Total distance: 2,400 yards swimming

Jen's ultimate endurance feat

Sorry it's been a while since my last post. A couple of weeks ago (June 8 to be exact), Jen and I finally welcomed our first child. Poor Jen labored for over 17 hours before our son -- who we named Cooper -- arrived during a beautiful Saturday afternoon. I'll tell you what, the endurance Jen exhibited during the labor process trumps any marathon swim I've ever seen, and I know some hardcore open water swimmers. My apologies to Gords, Josh and Goody.

Jen's 17-hour labor process made my Bear Lake crossing look like a stroll in the park.

We had a bit of a scare when Cooper was delivered, as the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck and he came out of the womb completely lifeless. Jen and I watched helplessly as the emergency unit at McKay Dee Hospital revived him on the table a few feet away. They were true pros and had him up and running withing a minute, but it felt like a lifetime. It was probably the most traumatic thing I've ever experienced. Although I briefly considered trying to talk Jen into doing an at-home birth (my hippie granola side), I'm so glad we didn't. After Cooper's birth, I can't imagine not delivering in a hospital as he wouldn't have made it if we weren't in such close proximity of doctors. Despite my massive distrust of doctors and the healthcare system as a whole, when it comes to my child's life, it truly isn't worth the risk, regardless of the benefits of being in your own home.

Cooper has long limbs, and gigantic hands and feat. Already a swimmer in the making. I'm so excited to get him into the water with me.

We spent the weekend in the hospital and I lived off a diet of greasy cafe food. It was tasty, but it took a toll on my body. I literally felt sluggish and gross after eating cheese fries and bacon burgers. Our families brought us dinner every night for a week and I didn't exercise once. It was incredibly generous of them and we are so lucky to have such a wonderful support system, but this week, I'm glad to be back into a routine of preparing my own meals (for the most part).

Anyway, swim class was good this week. I worked on my breaststroke a lot, which is by-far my worst of the four strokes. Already, I feel like I've taken massive strides and I'm moving through the water much faster. I'm still not piling up a ton of yards, but paying special attention to my technique is paying dividends.

Backstroke day

Let me start off by stating that I love backstroke. I was never allowed to swim it as much as I wanted while on the team in high school, so I relish any opportunity to swim a few 100 yards with it. But, I'm not terribly good at it, and it was obvious with today's swim class.

Pepper gave me some good pointers on my head placement and how to improve my shoulder rotation, but I still struggled a lot. You'd think that because with backstroke being the only stroke with your face out of the water, you'd be able to breathe easier. Wrong! You kick so hard and so furiously, that it wears you out. I practically crawled out of the pool today as we logged a bunch of sets with and without fins, working on our technique. Still not a ton of distance, but more than the past few classes.

Total distance: 1,100 yards swimming

Week 12 (Final) Report

Well, the 12 weeks are finally over. After nearly three months of calorie counting and increased exercise, my final results are in.

I made my way to the Human Performance Lab on campus and had my weight and body fat measured in the Bod Pod. The results were very encouraging, but there's still room to improve.

Weight: 167.6 pounds (Down from 179.2 for a loss of 11.6 pounds)
Body Fat %: 20.9 percent (Down from 26.8 for a loss of 5.9 percent)

Overall, I'm on the right track. I didn't quite reach my goal of 165 pounds and under 20 percent, but I came dangerously close on both counts. I certainly can make it within a few more weeks. The folks at the lab were impressed, saying the body fat I dropped in 12 weeks is more than most people in the Wellness Program do in a full year. Or perhaps they were just being nice. Either way, I left their office with a grin on my face.

So, what have I learned from my first-ever diet? Well, the first thing I can say for sure is that I definitely don't plan on counting calories for the rest of my life. While it kept me honest with the types of food I ate, being ultra conscious about everything I put in my mouth is incredibly stressful, not to mention exhausting. That being said, it has taught me a lot about portion control and keeping an eye on food labels. Some "regular" items I eat contained way more fat and calories than I ever imagined, but some others were actually much lower. I can still watch my calories without counting them religiously.

I'm not sure what I'm doing here, but Jen captured the moment anyway.

I haven't had any major revelations regarding exercise. I was fairly educated about it before, although I knew I wasn't doing enough of it. I did my best to maintain a full 2.5 hours of cardio per week throughout my diet. I only wavered in one week and in several others, I did way more than that, sometimes as much as 4.5 per week. However, I did learn that using exercise as a fail safe to "earn" extra calories is a dangerous game, one that I played way too much. I should be exercising regularly and maintaining a balanced diet anyway, not doing one or the other in extremes to balance out the other. I learned that the hard way during a few weeks, with disappointing results on the scale.

Jen and I are still expecting the baby any day now, so I finished this experiment up just in time. She's been incredibly patient with me during all this and my "restrictions," but I think even she learned a thing or two for her own weight-loss goals after the baby is born. I still plan on using MyFitnessPal daily, even though I'm not following a strict diet anymore. It should help me make healthy choices, so I don't completely fall off the wagon and gain everything back.

Relay day

This morning's class wasn't particularly grueling, but it was a lot of fun. We divided up into teams for relays. Pepper did our best to separate us into evenly-matched squads and for the most part, it kept things interesting.

We mixed it up with all sorts of different relays, doing various strokes. In the end, we ended up squeezing in about 10 races, so, including my warm up, I didn't rack up much yardage.

Total distance: 500 yards swimming

Competitive streak

Today's swim class was fun. I mean, they are always fun, but this one was particularly enjoyable. The first few weeks of class have definitely been challenging, but most of the swimmers are new, so I'm almost always way out ahead of everyone else during the sets. It can get mundane. However, Patrick, the guy I usually share a lane with, is vastly improving. Today, we had a bunch of sprint sets with fins. Patrick is a cyclist, so whenever we do kick drills, he's a beast. Since we had a bunch of them this morning, him and I were going at it throughout our sets, and it was a blast. It's kind of nice to have a solid athlete in the lane with me as he keeps me motivated to really push myself and not slack off. I think we both were feeding off eachother's competitive streak.

That being said, he didn't quite beat me during any of our drills. ;) Maybe next time, son...

Total distance, 1,300 yards swimming

Week 11 report

Only one more week to go!

After a shameful Week 10, I made up some ground this week, but it wasn't quite enough to overcome the nearly two-pound weight gain from that dismal seven days. I weighed in at 168.5 , a loss of 1.4 pounds from last Wednesday, but it's still not my best (167.8), which came in Week 9.

Hey look, another narcissistic "selfie" of me on the bike last week.

Now, it's time to really pour it on. I was reading an interesting article in Time magazine while sitting in the doctor's office with Jen yesterday. It was about UFC fighters, who undergo insane transformations in the 36 hours before they weigh in for fights. They call the process "molting," which involves eating nothing but raw vegetables, little-to-no fluid intake and living in a sweatsuit. They will run on treadmills all day long and then spend the evening hours in the sauna. Doing so, they drop 10-15 pounds in almost no time, and then, after they weigh in, they pack it all back on before their fight, gorging themselves on pasta and steak. To me, this is incredible, although insane and probably very dangerous.

Although I plan to really hit the gym hard and try my best to make Week 12 my "healthiest" one yet, expecting to drop tons of weight in a short period of time simply isn't good for you. If I can drop 1.6 pounds and fall below 167 by next week, I'll be stoked. It will be the ultimate test of will, too. Jen is due ANY day now, and if the baby arrives, it will certainly throw off any workout plans I had. That being said, our doctor is going to be out of town until next Friday, so we are hoping Jen can hold out until then before having her labor induced that weekend. Fingers are crossed.

I need to schedule an appointment with the Wellness Pays staff for next Wednesday, too. I want to find out what progress I've made. Even if I don't do the full battery of tests again, I at least want to sit down in the BodPod and find out if I've made significant progress with my body fat percentage.

Week 10 report

Last week sucked. Plain and simple. I completely fell apart on several days, went way over on my calories, and I really have no excuse. I ate out too much, only worked out three times and I paid dearly for it, gaining a pound. I was so pissed off at myself that I didn't even want to blog about it yesterday.

My swollen wrist after this morning's swim session.

It's a new week, though, and I have some serious work to do in order to make up for it. I'm back up to 169.9 pounds with only two weeks left. I probably won't reach my goal of 165 by then, but I'll do my best to put together a big finish. After that, all bets are off. The baby is due any day now and Jen is my No. 1 priority right now. If she needs me to come straight home and help her with anything, forcing me to skip the gym, I'll do it. That being said, these last two weeks may be the toughest yet.

Once the baby is here, a new and greater test will begin. Will I be able to maintain this healthier lifestyle with much less time on my hands? The biggest reason most people have crummy diets is because they are often on the run and "don't have time" to cook and eat right. It's a lame excuse, but I think we've all been there.

Anyway, this morning's swim class wasn't as grueling as Tuesday's, but it was solid and a good way to start the day. I plan on a good session on the stationary bike later, as well. We did a lot of butterfly sets, which I'm not very practiced in. Just like I used to do in high school, I repeatedly smacked my hands and wrists on the lane line, trying not to whack anyone in the head on the other side of our lane. That's the biggest reason it's difficult to circle swim with fly. I saved their heads, but my hand took a beating. I'm gonna have a few bruises tomorrow.

Total distance: 1,650 yards

Jello arms

When I walked onto the pool deck for class this morning, Pepper had a big grin on her face. I'm always the first one out there and with nobody else around, she just grinned wider, and in true Ivan Drago fashion said, "I'm gonna break you today."

Indeed she did. Right off the bat, she had me doing full kick sets and butterfly. She followed that up with sprint sets, broken up by push-ups after every 25-yard sprint. I wasn't even 500 yards into the morning workout and my arms felt like total mush. In the end, though I ran out of time before I could finish the full set on the board. I went hard the entire time, so I don't feel too bad. With no working arms to speak of, it forced me to focus on a powerful kick. That was difficult, too, as I ran for an hour last night, so my legs were a bit sore.

Yikes!

Total distance: 1,450 yards

Not so fast, Cowboy!

I was looking forward to swim class all morning and it was totally justified. When I showed up, there were workouts waiting for us on the board, broken down into high, medium and low. I chose "high" and this is what it was.

The first part of today's workout.

It wasn't easy, but as I was plugging through it, Pepper, my instructor, stopped me and asked how far I was. I told her I was just about to start my IM set and she replied with, "Dang! OK, I'm going to add more for you." While it was a confidence boost, she certainly added enough that it completely wiped me out once I finished. Here's what she added for me and a couple of others.

The revised version. AKA the tougher version.

In the end, I was pretty tired. It was by far, the most vigorous workout we've done since the class started. It even included a two-minute treading water drill with no hands and that was brutal. Now, I won't feel too guilty about taking it easy on the stationary bike later today.

Total distance: 1,700 yards

Week 9 report

I know these weekly updates must be getting mundane, but I feel obligated to report my progress regularly. Just like the entire purpose of this blog, it helps keep me in check, guilt-tripping me into staying focused throughout the week. But once again, I had a good week. Well, kind of.

Jen took a photo of me Hulking out after a run and a haircut yesterday.

As far as calories are concerned, I completely fell off the wagon. I did great most of the week, but completely binged twice, which resulted in an average daily intake of over 1,800 calories. I'm supposed to be averaging 1,520 per day. That being said, I really stepped up my exercise, finally adding swimming into the mix (two classes so far). That must have been the difference-maker, as I still dropped a full pound, just like the last two weeks. I weighed in at 167.8 and was so excited, I almost Hulked out.

There are only three more weeks left in this little "experiment" and I'm starting to think more about what I'm going to do once it's over. I really like where I'm at physically and mentally, but I certainly don't want to count calories for the rest of my life. However, I think this will go a long way, as I am starting to make better food decisions without even really thinking about it. I never blacklisted any types of foods, but when you are monitoring your caloric intake, you kind of eliminate the junk by default, forcing you to make healthier choices. I hope that carries over and helps me be more aware of what I am putting in my mouth every day.

I've been saying it for a few weeks, but starting this week, it's definitely time to add more weight training. When I get my body fat checked again at the end of Week 12, I want to make sure I've done everything I can to help lower that God-awful 27 percent of body fat I had before starting my diet.

Kick drills still kicking ... my ass that is

Today was the second day of swim class. My shoulder has been bothering me a little more than the usual ever since last Thursday, but fortunately, today's class was focused around technique and kicking. We did some work with kick boards and fins before incorporating some easy pull with fins, which was perfect. I didn't log a ton of yards, but that's just fine with me. I pushed myself hard during our drills, so I'm glad I got a metabolism boost for the remainder of the day. The class was small today, too, so it was nice to have entire half-lane to myself with no circle swim. However, my legs are still hurting. That was more kicking than I'm used to.

Warm up
150 kick
Core
150 kick drills (sprints of 25)
200 pull drills
Cool down
200 breast

Total distance: 750 yards swimming