workout2

An accidental peek into the crystal ball.

For those who have yet to be enlightened, I've given up hardcore tanning as of the start of 2006. However, while I used to be really tanned in phases (depending on when I hit the beach), I am now, to the dismay of my parents, perpetually tanned due to my thrice-a-week swims. And in the mornings mind you. Being a faithful fan of the breast stroke (because that's the only one I know ha ha), I have still yet to figure how my tummy gets tanned. Now that's food for thought.

It might seem like I am having my cake and eating it, but no! In exchange for getting a tan while splashing around in the pool getting a workout, the chlorine has robbed me of m-o-i-s-t-u-r-e. I never knew it was even hereditarily possible for me to get dry skin till I got into the swing of my pool workouts. Don't even get me started on the state of my hair. Everybody's at my back, trying to get me to wear a swimming cap, but I look like the lead in The Revenge of the Alien Mushroom Head in one, trust me. Don't wanna go around freaking out the Delta users now do I?

Being in the sun has morphed from me being vain to a lifestyle. I love the pool, I love the beach and I love the feel of sunshine on my bare skin. However, the worry of getting skin cancer when I'm older creeps me out once in awhile. I do take the necessary precautions like applying sunscreen and avoiding the sun at its strongest, but there's always a 'but' ain't there? The best prevention of all naturally would be to avoid the sun, but that's proved futile. We were at Ikea today when I saw a Caucasian lady with her husband and toddler in tow. She was gorgeous but her skin was quite a wreck! It was kinda like Lindsay Lohan's freckles X 1000 + peeling tan. While it could be due to her genes, it got that niggling worry at the back of my mind surfacing again. What do you guys know about oral sunscreen?

Enough about the sun. I've been finding a little hard getting back into the swing of daily life here in Singapore ever since my return. I don't know if I'm being lazy or if my legs have lost their will to hold my weight. (Must be the extreme shopping I've done over in Bangkok.) I've now taken to shuffling and getting Jason and whoever else volunteers to drag me along. What's with me?!

My lazy legs remind me of something a friend once told me about workout performance. "Your performance has its peaks and valleys," he said. This is what I imagine him to be talking about:

However, the peaks and valleys of my performance seems to resemble this more:

5 days in Bangkok and I've seemingly lost the ability to swim 30 laps at once. I've taken to doing 20 laps each of the three times I was at the pool since my return. Is it all really in the mind?