The Spew: keeping you up-to-date since 2003

Morning weigh-in: 179#, 14% body fat

I went swimming last night, which turned out to be a lot of fun. It was Doug and myself, as guests of Greg H at the Bethlehem YMCA. The setup there is pretty nice, not too big on weights or cardio machines that I could see, but they have several racquetball courts, hot tub & sauna, etc, and of course a pool. The water was chlorinated, but not too strongly.

I forgot how much of a workout swimming can be! We each did our own thing, swimming laps in the same lane -- a woman sharing our lane but "driving on the left side of the road" if you know what I mean, fled to the (empty) next lane over, after bumping heads with Greg... He was doing some specific workout, two double laps (ie 100 yards) hard, then a quick break before doing another two, over and over, while I did a bunch of laps in a crawl, then a "resting" double lap on my back, then a few more crawl, then a double lap of breast stroke, etc; Doug just did laps and worked on his form. Plenty of rest & BS breaks, the time flew by: we were there for an hour, finishing at 9:30. I'm sure I did more than a half mile -- 18 double laps -- but less than a mile. Greg did considerably more, Doug about the same as me. Afterward, we each went our separate ways -- I was meeting Joe G at Which Brew.

Before swimming I made that "pasta & wilted greens" dish, which was awesome but leaves you with a very strong garlic aura... the poolwater & subsequent shower burned it off, but after a while at WB I started to smell chlorine, then garlic again, so I called it an early night before I offended too many people. (Also, I've been thinking about the Superbowl, and am not too happy with some of the decisions I made -- don't ask -- so I think that'll be it for blowouts for a while.) Anyway, while I was there I had an Old Heathen Imperial Stout, and some black bean hummus (again with the garlic), and that seemed to whet my appetite because when I left I didn't go straight home, but to Taco Bell and got a shitload of all the wrong things... Damn you, Taco Bell!

Today I ran with Dawn, my trainer. I've been working with her for years, mainly weights which she's good at but it's not her thing; I think she's been waiting for me to break down and ask her for running advice for more than a year now! Anyway, she's helping me get ready for that 5k, pretty serious about it too, more than I am so I better get my act together...

In other news: soon I will be a godfather to my as-yet-unborn niece, but first my sister-in-law has to survive her pregnancy. She and my brother are the ones who got married in October; now they have a baby on the way, but apparently she's having a rough time, serious health issues, and she just went into the hospital. Her doctor was thinking of inducing labor early, say March 1, but is now talking (worst-case scenario) of possibly a C-section as soon as the baby can survive outside the womb... I talked to them last night on the phone: Amy's in a bit of pain but she seems to be holding up OK, and I joked with her to keep it in perspective: someday the baby will be thirteen and giving her lip! Anyway, that was my connection with the adult world for this week. (My next task: are conditions still OK for XC skiing, or should I do a road ride with Joe C and crew tomorrow instead?)