Swimming, Intervals, and Yoga...oh my!

Swimming:
I did it!  I got up at 4:30 three times this week to swim.  Woohoo!  And, it felt great!  Today was tough though because this is the forecast:

(Note: the high of 36 actually happened around 1AM.  The real high for the day will only be in the 20s..brrr)

Yep, after 3 days in the mid to upper 60s, we're in for some snow.  Not just a light dusting, but 5-10 inches of snow!  So, all I wanted to do this morning when my alarm went off was stay in my warm, cozy bed.  But, I fought the urge and went to the pool.  And, it was the best swim of the week!  I had the pool to myself for the first 30 min and just plugged away on my drills.

Along with some balance drills, one of the drills my coach has me doing is the Superman on my front and back with fins.

(Here are my zoomers.  And yes, I still have an ugly toenail.  I just haven't gotten around to painting them yet!)

When I use the fins I can really feel it in my hip flexors, and it has made me conscious of my kick and my hips.  Plus, it's amazing how aware I become of those things when I take the fins off and swim normal.  Do any of you use fins?  If so, what are your thoughts on them?

Intervals:
On Wednesday it was 68 degrees for a high, so I gathered my boys, toys, snacks, and running stuff and headed to the track.  My plan called for 7x400 repeats.  Here are my splits:
wu: 800 - 4:08
ms: 7x400 - 1:31, 1:31, 1:33, 1:32, 1:32, 1:32, 1:33 (roughly a 6:00/mile pace)
cd: 1 lap ran with my boys.
My 4 1/2 yr. old wanted to run really fast, so I let him, and ran with my 2 1/2 yr. old.  It's so cute seeing their little legs move as fast as they can.  And, I know someday they'll be taller than me (I'm only 5' 4") and their little legs will be long legs moving much faster than mine.  Ha ha.

We went to the playground afterwards and played for a good 45minutes before heading home.  It was a great way to end a great workout.

Yoga:
 My yoga class on Thursday was very interesting, but in a good way.  We started by doing sun salutations, runners pose, planks, and downward dogs.  Then, we transitioned into a good 40 minutes of balance poses followed by stretching.  Somewhere in the middle of the class she had us do this crazy exercise.  Here is my best description of it:  Sit on the ground with your legs straight out in front of you. Then, bend your left knee, put your foot as close to your butt as you can, and pull your knee tight into your chest with your arms.  While keeping your back straight, lift your right leg and swing it left to right in a steady motion.  Do this for several minutes, relaxing your right foot on the ground when you need to.  Then, switch sides.  Wow!  This really worked my hip flexors and thigh.  It was tough because once my leg got tired I would want to slouch, but she kept telling us to keep our backs straight.  If any of you decide to try this, let me know what you think about it.  Was it hard, or do I just have really weak hip flexors??


This exercise was interesting to me because I never would have thought to do that.  I can see doing it on a regular basis to help strengthen my hip flexors which will maybe help with my swim kick.  Well, that's what I'm thinking anyway.       


And now, I'll leave you with a picture I just took from my patio:

Although the first day of spring is tomorrow, this is just another reminder that March is our snowiest month.  Sigh...60 degrees, please come back!