Swimming at hotel

Hotel pools are generally quite small, suitable for splashing aound with small children. This one is small, but I made due for about an hour of bobbing around and stretching idle muscles. I’ll upload a picture of the pool.

Indoor swimming pool at Sandman Inn, Revelstoke, British Columbia

Swim workout, April 21

Approximate workout in 25-yard pool:

  • warm-up: 4 x (50 breast stroke + 50 crawl) = 400
  • 2 x 50 kicking 101 = 100
  • 1 x 50 body core, on back, breathing = 50
  • 2 x 50 body core, rolling side to side = 100
  • 1 x 150 front crawl with hand paddles = 150

Total, 750 yd.
Worked on breathing, timing, and body positioning.

Triathlon, really?

I know I’d be seriously undertrained, but I can’t find anything about offical cutoff times on the Web site, so presumably I could muddle along until finished.

Here’s a sample of how trained you should be, from beginnertriathlete.com:

You already know how to run [ha!], so you must work in the biking and swimming while only increasing in these events by no more than 10% a week. Once you have gotten up to 20min swim (forward crawl - no stopping), 30min bike, and 20min run, then you may start the final 13 week program. Getting up to these levels might take a month or several depending what you are strong in. Be patient. Swimming might take the longest. Once you have achieved these levels, it is usually a good idea to sustain them for a month or so before going on into the final 13-week sprint training program.

My own training level is that I swim about 600 years in an average training session, with plenty of stops and rests, I can run/walk three miles in possibly 45 minutes or so; and I think biking 20 miles is a long way. I haven’t biked all winter. And it’s in four weeks.

On the other hand, it would be an experience. The swim is around the central pond of the Dunes marina. Water temperatures would be only around 15 degrees C., so I’d need a wetsuit. It could be done.

marina south of Newport Beach


And thousands of seabirds spend the winter in this estuary, so I’d have to practice not swallowing any water.

Neuter your pets

All my pets are neutered, but there’s one more to take care of. My son adopted a stray calico kitten last winter. Her name is Goldie. Tonight I picked her up so I can take her to the vet at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow to be spayed. Here’s a link about the benefits of neutering. So we accept that it’s good for animals not to suffer from overpopulation.

Serving sizes

They do vary a little from one authority to another.

First of all, here’s a serving size game — guess what’s counts as a serving of different foods.

This is what approximately what I was told about serving sizes.

If we’re going by volume, why not just use 1/2 cup or 125 ml instead of ping-pong balls, light bulbs, bars of soap, dice, fists, balls, CDs, cup-cake wrappers!? (the latter being measures of diameter). All of those things (except CDs) commonly vary. And if volume isn’t reliable, how about weight? Here’s a PDF version of a serving-size quick reference card with some of those ridiculous measurements. To go along with it, here are dietary guidelines for healthy Americans (PDF). Here are further dietary guidelines aimed at educators.