Total Weight Loss = 3.5 lbs
Oompa Loompa Rating = bulges can be hidden ok under clothes (excluding meals)
Week 2 training stats:
Bike = 57.4 miles
Run = 12.7 miles
Swim = 3700 meters
Walking the Dog = 10 miles
Apparently I have to start tracking my height. In my annual screening through my employer I seem to have lost an inch. You could imaging my surprise at this news. "Are you SURE?" I asked the screener. "Yes," she replied. "I think there is something wrong... Can you measure it again?" I asked and then added, "Maybe I should turn around and face the other way." She let me go through the motions and she peered over the bar. "Yup, it's the same," she concluded. I hope I don't lose any more real estate in the vertical space throughout this process. My only hypothesis is that I was wearing a pair of Doc Marten's the last time my height was checked, like in the 90's.
This last week was a real struggle in the swim department. I am getting some personal instruction on the side in the "Total Immersion" method. It's essentially learning swimming for the first time. I make small improvements in my swim lesson only to be swallowed up in my group swim training on Wednesday nights. From my humble position in lane 1, I get caught up in the competitive group sentiment and revert back to some flailing arms + kick combo as I try to keep up with the drills. I have finished the last two group swims utterly exhausted and slightly dejected.
But not to fear, I haven't given up hope. During my most recent swim at the gym, I pushed through our weekly homework of drills at my own pace. Lap after lap, some better than others, I tried to focus on just one thing in my technique. Shortly after I started, I was joined by two seniors meandering through the pool at their own pace. I would frequently pass them as they made their way across the water in various jogging and arm punching motions. Occasionally they would get out and sit in the spa, or talk across the pool to each other as I swam my laps between them. A little over an hour later, after finishing my drills, I took off my goggles and made my way up the steps. My pool companions asked me if I was training for something. "I'm training for my first triathlon, but I'm a real terrible swimmer." they quickly clicked their tongues and responded, "You looked fine out there," and "such great endurance," followed by a "your stroke looked nice and smooth!" I felt grateful for the kindless of strangers and realized I need to stop reinforcing that sentiment of being a terrible swimmer. I want to be a Good swimmer. The kind that gets across a mile in a triathlon and still has plenty left over to kick ass in the bike and run.
