I’m only doing water aerobics if I can wear one of those flower petal swim caps.
Happy Threadiversary! 
Tylenol is doing its magic for me. Apparently, I metabolize anesthetic drugs quickly, because I did not feel loopy, sleepy, or groggy at all after waking up. I noticed that some nurses were wearing the new Fitbit Charge - wow, now I have an itch to get one. That hospital visit is going to be expensive!
I was a synchonized swimmer in high school! I can still do a mean ballet leg!!! I’ll teach ya all!!!
Abasket, I’ll take you up on that offer! Synchro might look silly, but it is hard and requires both endurance and coordination.
BB, wishing you a continued good recovery - I’m glad to hear that all major possibilities are off the table - I hope 2017 will find a resolution for you!
Synchro is hard! I was horrible at it in high school. (required unit) I almost drowned.
My mother was the queen of the swim caps with the flowers, and she also swam (fairly well) with her head out of the water. The hair had to be protected at all costs.
My mother did a beautiful side stroke with hair out of the water. She could do it gracefully on both sides. My sister (who is prone to nasty ear infections) does a breast-stroke-head-out that is quite speedy. Neither ever indulged in the flowered bathing cap.
I also did synchronized swimming in high school, back in the days when it was called “water ballet.” I found the training in rolling while swimming very useful in my open-water-tri last summer, much to my amusement. I used it for spotting.
I grew up in a small town without a pool, so I could only dream about competitive swimming etc. I learned to swim in a small river. The water was a bit murky (yuck!!!), so it was only natural to keep our heads out of that water. I still prefer to swim in open bodies of water with my head above the water.
I was lucky to grow up in a small town with both indoor and outdoor pools. Everyone learned to swim because it was a high school graduation requirement ( unless you had a disability). I really don’t like to swim although I can.
I am a strong swimmer, but like FallGirl I don’t really enjoy it. We had a beautiful pool in my hometown where I spent many hours as a kid - hours of lessons - everything but lifeguard certification. I prefer a pool to open water - fear of what’s lurking below!
The “open bodies of water” where I like to swim nowadays are all tropical ocean waters, preferably in HI.
I grew up in a big city and never even thought there were indoor pools for average folks. Pools and swimming were for the summer. I learned to swim at camp. I started swimming for exercise when I got to college. I remember the first time I tried to swim laps – I swam one length and was absolutely exhausted. Decades later … I swam 1.6 miles today.
I may complain about aspects of the internet, but I value how it has brought this little (or large, considering all the lurkers) group together. Happy 7 year-anniversary to us!
Bunsen, hoping that 2017 brings you some sort of medical solution.
Wow… He is a scientific mystery:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/28/sports/ed-whitlock-marathon-running.html
Great article BB. My newest hero.
This-
“I believe people can do far more than they think they can"
And this too:
“Yet athletes like them who remain highly active as they age “haven’t killed off their inner 13-year-old,” Joyner said. He described them, in general, as curious, relatively unconstrained and full of “physical and emotional vigor,” not so different from the older aunt or uncle who insists on shooting squirt guns at family reunions.”
Asked why he kept running, Whitlock candidly said he enjoyed setting records and receiving attention. His approach remains pragmatic. He does not experience a runner’s high, he said, and does not run for his health. He finds training to be drudgery and even racing brings as much apprehension as joy.
“The real feeling of enjoyment,” he said, “is getting across the finish line and finding out that you’ve done OK"
Great article. I can’t imagine all of those lengthy runs in a cemetery though!
“I believe people can do far more than they think they can,” said Whitlock, a retired mining engineer who was born in greater London and speaks with British self-deprecation. “You have to be idiot enough to try it.”
That last sentence makes me think of myself!
Speaking of feeling like a 13 year old, last night I went to a glow themed barre class, complete with black lights and glow sticks. It was so much fun! Great music that I recognized, the novelty of the dark, good group of people - I felt about 30 years younger! I need to do stuff like that more often. I was on the fence about it but now am so glad I did it. I’m going to have a lot more fun in 2017.
That sounds fun, Sabaray!
Ed Whitlock is an inspiration. My older running friends are like that, too. They DO like the attention and have no plans to stop!
Stopping by to say “hello” to all! I’m finding it impossible to believe we’ve been on (or, in my case, on and off) this thread for 7 years! The nonjudgmental support is absolutely the BEST!
Not a lot of exercise, except pup walks, the past couple of days. I’m also looking forward to all the “holiday food” being gone. D and fiance are with us at the beach for a couple days.
H and I (and the pup) hit the road on Thursday for our drive to FL. Any “goodies” still in the house at that point will be thrown out! We’re renting a place on the west coast for 5 weeks. H believes this will get us through the worst of winter, but this is New England, so no guarantees about that. We’ve never done anything like this, so it should be interesting.
That article resonates on many levels. That intrinsic motivation of wanting to feel free, to move and play like our inner 13 year old child. The feeing of gratification that comes from knowing that you did well. And the extrinsic motivation of bring recognized by others for your accomplishments. Training hard is no fun. It’s uncomfortable, it can be exhausting. It goes beyond what is needed for just fitness and health. And I have to admit, it feels good to have others recognize the results of your commitment, particularly as you age. Sometimes I refer to all of this as my Peter Pan syndrome, lol.
Good post, Michael. I also thinks it helps us from getting like a lot of my former high school classmates on Facebook (who are lovely people) and only focusing on illnesses and aches/pains every day.
I think the “fun” element of d/e/h/w is something to really think about. Fun can come at all sorts of levels, surely there can be some “fun” in the health arena.
Working on finishing up my fitness grade card for 2016 and establishing my goals for 2017. Stay tuned.