I often notice wildlife as I'm cycling (eg the skunk the other day) but for some reason last night I particularly noticed the wilddeath - i.e. roadkill. I passed a dead woodchuck (he deserved it, probably), a baby raccoon, countless squirrels and chipmunks, and then, horrors, a tiny bird flew out from the grass at the side of the road and was crushed under MY wheel! My husband is a birder, so I took a moment to note its characteristics (grey head, yellowish body, etc) thinking he could quickly ID it for me. He gave me a tentative label of warbling vireo, but wasn't quite sure and I didn't want to go back and take another look!
It was a nice ride, though - 10 very hilly miles, after a day of a huge allergy attack (I cleaned under and behind my bed, kicking up a LOT of dust!) I felt pretty strong, which is good since lately I've been feeling just the opposite. I haven't run in a while - I'm inhaling NSAID's trying to self-treat my foot. (But will go to the doctor too, as soon as she'll see me.) And I'm swimming a lot more. Today I tried to do that kicking thing (i.e. move my legs while I swim) and it is HARD to sustain. I also don't think I was actually moving much faster, but it's hard to tell. (My usual glacial pace is 6 lengths, or 150 yards, in 5 minutes.) I'll do spinning class tomorrow (despite the fact that my shoe, only 7 months old, is almost completely separated from its sole (just as Lord Voldemort is separated from his soul, but now that's a completely different blog - I can't wait til July 20, can you?!) It's always something as the great Roseanne Rosanadanna used to say.
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4 comments:
Do you do kicking drills with a board and fins? Give it a shot if you don't (I hate kicking too!)
I've heard Terry Laughlin's Total Immersion book has some good drills and explanations about efficient swimming - maybe you could get it from the library or ebay?
Good on you for training whn you've had an allergy attack - that's often a 'day-off pass' for me :)
I'm not a big fan of kicking ... often I simply forget. I'm a way more glacial swimmer than you! In the pool I can do 1/2 mile just under 40 minutes. Speed has not been my first concern ... not drowning is high on the list for me! But now that i can swim, I know I must give more attention to the kick. I kick like I pedal on a bike --- flexing my knees. I am reading Total Immersion (lptepa cited the book) and find it most helpful. Honestly I don't do the drills but I try to visualize what he is saying about the kick and it does help me (on those days when I am not worried about drowning or jelly fish). My sister does the kickboard thing, but I always go backwards when using it. The book says that going backwards is a sign that your ankles aren't flexible enough. Who knew ankles played such a key swimming role?!
PS ... I'll say a requium prayer for your little deceased feathery friend. Hawk
Another Harry Potter fan :o) I hate seeing roadkill and always try to avert the grandchildrens eyes. So sad when you see such beautiful creatures killed...I know it must have upset you but it couldn't be helped.
Hope the foot kicking comes easier with practice.
Rx
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