The Life of a Swimmer

Dear Cottage Friends,
I decided to post a post about swimming, since
I spend a great deal of time in the water.
Hope you enjoy it!

• Swimming started in the 1st century.

• Over 50% of world-class swimmers suffer from shoulder pain.

• Swimming has been a part of the Olympics since 1896.

• Some people think swimming started when a person fell into the water and panicking, he started to swim in a way we call today dog paddle.

• Egyptians made a picture or symbol for swimming as far back as 2500 A.

• Peanuts are a source of energy for swimmers.

• Drags slow you down in swimming because they are not skin tight.

• The shorter your hair is the more chance you have for swimming faster because there is less friction.

• Swimming can be done for competition and it is helpful in survival.

• An hour of vigorous swimming will burn up to 650 calories. It burns off more calories than walking or biking.

• Swimming strengthens the heart and lungs

• Swimming works out all of the body’s major muscles

• Swimming help reduce stress

• Water’s buoyancy make swimming the ideal exercise for physical therapy and rehabilitation or for anyone seeking a low-impact exercise.

• Swimming is a great cardiovascular exercise because you are moving against the water’s resistance, which is over ten times that of the air.

• You can swim for exercise no matter what your age. Some people teach their infants and toddlers how to swim so that they will learn to love and respect the water at a very early age. I also know people well into their eighties who swim regularly to stay in shape.

• An estimated 65 thousand people in the United States alone do not know how to swim. Many of them learned as young children but never go to a pool, lake, river, or ocean anymore and have forgotten how to swim over the years. Others were never taught and continue to avoid the activity altogether. It was once thought that knowing how to swim was important for safety reasons, but now it is pretty much left up to the individual.

• Swimming in extremely cold water can be very dangerous. People with heart conditions or other ailments, as well as elderly people, should avoid swimming in water that is too cold. Cold water cools down the human body 25 times faster that cold air does, so swimming in water that is below about 15 degrees Celsius should never be undertaken. This can lead to thermal shock, hypothermia, and eventual death.

• Swimming is also a very safe form of exercise because it is considered to be low impact and easy on the bones and joints. You can do exercises in the water using floats and weights and enjoy a good workout without worrying about serious injury. This is especially true if you have arthritis or other types of physical limitations.

• It really is true that you shouldn't swim for about an hour after eating. This is primarily because your body is digesting your food and you may get a cramp during the time right after you eat. Allow your body to rest after eating and then go into the water.

• Swimming is a good way to lose weight. This form of exercise will stimulate your entire body and could lead to an increase in metabolism over time. If you are trying to lose weight, swim for at least twenty minutes three or four times each week.

• Going swimming is very relaxing and has been compared to yoga and meditation in terms of its soothing effect on the mind and body.

I found this facts out in another blog called Interesting Facts. It is really cool.
I have been swimming for 6 years now, this is the first year that I am seriously competitive about it.  I swim every afternoon that I can from 4:00-5:30 PM and at some point I will start swimming doubles which is where you practice from 5:30 AM to 7:00 AM. I haven't started that yet. :D

This year I switched teams from Gold to the Marietta Marlins. They both swim at the same pool, so it is fun to see old friends as I come and go from practices. Most of my friends were the same speed as me, so at the Stingrays meet in February, it will be interesting to see which one of us is faster. I am looking forward to that meet.

Until I post again,

Hannah

Funny things that have happened while on our trip:

We went to Williamsburg, Jamestown, Washington D.C., Quincy, MA. I will tell the funny things that happened in order of where they happened in accordance to the sentence above.
Williamsburg-
For lunch we ate at this outdoor tavern area. The one problem was it was highly inhabited by bees! I mean like 4000 bees all swirling around your BBQ sandwich. Okay... so I'm exaggerating a small bit...but there were a lot of bees!  We move a table farthest away from the bees which are in the middle of the restaurant. But we watch our food and LOOK at it before putting it in our mouth. Suddenly calamity strikes......
A BEE lands on my potato chips. Dad smacks his hand down, killing the bee and also smashing my potato chips. I scream, my dad says, "Got One! Theirs only 2000 left. If we all kill 5..."  Mom was hysterical with laughter, my sister was saying that we sparked a revival because a lady and her husband had just killed another bee across the way. I was wondering how many bees their actually were. Harris and Haven were in awe of dad's skills.
This is one of those stories that goes in the family album, as a best-seller.

Jamestown-
Jamestown was a different place. There was the museum and there was the place itself. We went to the museum itself and at the end we went onto this ship( I think it was the Susan Constant). The sun was shining and I was very hot, I just wanted a quick look around and then get off the ship and to a water fountain.
I quickly look around and step into this captains room. I was carrying a notebook for school references so that I can write down anything I would like to remember, or that interests me. This sailor person says "Young lady in the purple, come over here. " I swallow hard, and walk over to him. He asks me "What's the notebook for?" I say"uhhhhhhhhhh notes?" He asks, "Do ya have any questions?" I say "nope... it's only notes."
I think he thought I was here for a school assignment and needed some help with answering some questions.. well... no they were just notes. My mom and I both thought it was hilarious. We would repeat the conversation over and over during our trip. It always made us go hysterical.

Washington d.c.-
When we got to D.C. we walked around the mall ( monument area) Not the shopping mall.. not that that wouldn't be fun.  My sister and brother saw some pigeons and went to scare them away. Apparently these pigeons were not the get 3 yards away and they spook kind. They were the we've lived all our life and aren't scared of anything, except when someone is so close they could touch us. So my brother got so close he could touch and scared them off. That's when it happened.
They flew straight at me.... I duck.. not knowing how good their sense of direction is.. I lose my balance and fall to the ground laughing hysterically. The worst part was... The mall's benches were inhabited by people that day...

Quincy, MA-
We camped up in MA. It basically rained the whole time... and we were tent camping.  Then the bathrooms close... YEE HAW this is one of those places you remember because it is just hard not to. 

Say Quack and snap and I wish I was used!

We have  3 inflatable animals in our houses. one is our excruciating duck. I say excruciating because it's a hassle to blow up and a hassle to carry. Two is our alligator or crocodile. I have no idea if it is either!  three is our inflatable swan.
Our duck is an inflatable nightmare! In other words, it's massive! It has a comical expression that most ducks don't have. Actually, I don't know of anyone else who has a duck like ours. In is a bright yellow and is basically impossible to climb on to from the water and is very annoying to be pushed off of. In other words, it's the one of the things people look for  when they drive by if the duck is out; we're here!
Our alligator(that's what I call it.) Is much easier to climb on to from the water. It is our newer inflatable. I myself am scared of alligators so even though it's an inflatable; i generally stay away from him as much as possible, don't ask my why. He is about 5 ft. long and is much easier to blow up than the duck.

We have never used the swan. it is much smaller than the duck and the gator so i don't know when we will begin using it.
In summary, we have a lot to be thankful for in our house today! We have an annoying inflatable duck, a giant alligator and a never used swan!

Rainy weekend!

I was going to try to ski this weekend, but as it is sort of windy and cold with the tropical depression and all. I decided to forfeit my water goal for this weekend.  I was very excited to try to ski again. I tried to do it three or so years ago and was not very successful at it.  I went straightaway underwater and got water up my nose (by the way; that does not bother me now!) That was it with skiing for me, until a few weeks ago when I was okay at knee boarding that I decided to try it again.
Except there was that small factor: weather. The weather is terrible for skiing. It is very windy and is chilly and rains every now and then. VERY EXCITING labor day weekend right? Well, we are having a rest time at the moment and then our family is going to watch a movie: I have no idea what it is about! We actually had some kids at our neighbors house this weekend. It is very rare when we have children anywhere close to us at our lake house.
Our neighbors had their grand kids over for a day and they were very nice. They came over to our dock and swam and jumped on our BIG YELLOW DUCK! Our duck is a whole other post! I am about to end this post and do something else.
So for now: your blogger,
Hannah