My swimming on the 23rd went well. I swam 26 lenghts (520 meters) in about 23 minutes. All breaststroke, and mostly all using my new paddles for my hands. They slow you down, make your arms work harder by creating resistance. Than I rested and chatted with the two ladies that I was with for a while. Than I started to swim again and managed another 16 lenghts (320 meters) before they threw me out of the pool. I could have swam a lot more, but I wasn’t sure that I should push it that much since it was my first time really swimming for fitness in two years or more. So I did a half mile in my first time out without much hassel. 8) The only time that I felt like giving up was in the first 5 lenghts (100 meters) for some reason during that time I felt like a brick in water, but than I got into a rhythm and my stroke and it got better. I have been reading in my magazine about swim fitness interval training and might give it a bit of a go. Was thinking that I might do my own program rather than what they had there, but theirs did give me a lot of ideas. The front crawl works your triceps and biceps quite strongly, and I need severe work there. I have never been good at the front crawl for some reason. I can do it but I never feel comfortable or proficent at it. But I will start to incorportate different strokes and some interval training as well as using my pull bouy and possibly the kickboard with the paddles. Seems strange since I always attributed some of that with beginners in swimming but I can see now how that would help you focus on one part of your swimming in particular at a time. 😯 Today, going for a walk with the dogs again than into town to get their new dog tags. Than I will come home and get some food and later today I was thinking about trying a different exercise. either weight lifting, or biking. I could always go swimming again but they seem to have very sparse hours of operation on the weekends. I seem to come down faster in weight if I do two training sessions per day. Like one half hour early and one half hour later, rather than one hour long in the middle of the day. Breaks it up more and it is easier to do. The day that I walked in the morning and swam at night, I lost 1.5 pds that day. It will be that time of the month here in a few days and so far I have not gone back up with water retention. Hopefully it is under control for this month. I have decided to start watching what I eat a bit more carefully too. Not cut down on portion sizes, but go more natural and less prepared for starters. My favorite prepared meal is a quiche or flan and they seem to run about 1000 calories for one of them. I never eat the crust on them but still that is a lot of calories for a small amount if you are only eating the egg part. I could make that myself and have more food for less calories. So there must be something being put in there because it is prepared that is making it go up in fat and calories. Up until now, it has not been important to pay attention to that sort of thing. I genearlly eat rather healthy as it is and so have been happy with my diet. But I am slowing down in weight loss, and if I indulge something naughty I find that I actually gain in weight. So that is why I have started exercisizing every day, and will now start watching what I eat as well. My areas of fall down diet wise is too much butter, and too much cheese. so I know what I have to do 😥 Well I should go and feed the crateurs, than go for their walk, tags and home again. Later I will decide on another form of exercise for the day and than tongiht it the Anne Summers party at my friends, and than a night out on the town in the club with the girls. Sorta looking forward to it and sorta feeling like just wanting to stay to home and watch dvd’s. is this a sign of getting old that I don’t have the enthusiasm for going out that I used to? 😯 I just don’t have a thing to wear and I can’t decide. 😉