So Many New Leaves, Same As The Old Leaves

Morning weigh-in (Thursday):

Morning weigh-in (Friday): 180#, 11.5% BF

 

Back to the gym last night after a month off, and it was a doozy: for the upper body I changed to lower weights and higher reps to focus more on endurance, and for my legs I switched to plyometrics (ie jumping on and off a little elevated platform). A tough workout, and it was made worse by the hiatus -- but I have to say that the time off (which was mostly because I was busy/lazy) did my shoulder a world of good. My thumb, the other autumn injury, is also much better. It's an ill wind that leaves me with no justifications...

 

I am also back to yoga, and hopefully I can make it a regular thing again. I went Wednesday night, and it was a killer workout also -- I'm a bit stiff, and a bit off my stride, but I also seem to be a bit crabbed or hunched over too, hmmm -- but it felt really good to be back in the swing of things. First day of the new scene too, Alicia now doing the Wednesday night class.  Maybe the New Years resolutions were all kicking in, but the class seemed to be unusually full.

 

(Note: Hello new readers!)

 

The weight: Wednesday night was Emmi's last night in town, so I met her, Anne and the crew at The Bookstore for drinks. Very nice, they had that guitar & sax duo playing, and it was sort of a "do-over" for Tuesday evening, where the crowd was too big to just hang out. That was yesterday -- I don't know what this morning's weight is about, since we stayed in last night, with new books and an early bedtime.

 

Reading: I'm still working on that Byzantine book, but last night I started Solaris by Stanislaw Lem, which I picked up (along with the Byzantine book, and also Lem's Cyberiad) in Philly last week.

 

Tight Schedule: I got two emails yesterday, one saying my Russian visa application has been approved, and the other inviting me to the (15th annual) Superbowl of Chili, an event that I have never missed since it started, but which lands on the day we return from Russia. I have a feeling that that one's going to hurt...

 

Tonight is a tempo ride on the towpath, followed by a possible night out in Easton. Skis should be ready this weekend.

 

Low On Ammo

Morning weigh-in: 179#, 11.5% BF

 

Great ride last night. I was a little behind the other guys out (Doug, Eric, Greg) so I was surprised and happy to see their lights come up behind me on the trail, only it turned out to be two friends/neighbors (Matt H, Eric B), and so we pursued the other guys together. More lights coming towards us on the Spanky turned out to be more other riders (not sure who), then finally we caught up to Eric and Doug who were waiting for us. I hooked up with them for a while as my previous partners continued on, then peeled off when they took the trail back to their cars. It was a lot of work -- and I wasn't riding as well as I would have liked -- but conditions were awesome and we all had a lot of fun.

 

I headed home, then met everyone at Brew Works. Doug and Lori, Eric, Anne, and Emmi, and Debbie and Donna with their dates -- we took over one whole end of the bar, but there was too many of us to really make a cohesive whole (and the ladies were busy talking with their dates anyway), so Doug, Eric and I sat back and "solved the world's problems, one beer at a time."

 

Last Night, Part 2 was as good as the ride, but now I'm bushed. Tonight is yoga, then maybe another night out to say goodbye to Emmi who's heading back to school. First I have to get through the afternoon...

 

Locked And Loaded

Morning weigh-in (Monday): 178.5#, 12% BF

Morning weigh-in (Tuesday): 179#, 12% BF

 

Not too bad, considering what I ate over the holidays, and also considering my huge lunch and dinner yesterday. No workout either -- I skipped yoga last night.

 

I went to Nestors after dinner instead; I brought my DH skis in to get the bindings checked, bottom surfaces waxed and repaired etc: a typical preseason once-over and not a moment too soon. (They should be ready Friday night.) While I was there I grabbed some anti-fog, and toe warmers, and then I drifted over -- just looking, I swear! -- to check out the latest XC ski stuff. Maybe more than just looking, because I think my skis have seen better days, chunks missing from the bottom and so on, and they could really stand to be replaced. I also want a Droid, and I must be in an acquisitive mode because I'm also thinking of an iPod. The only thing I really need right now, though, is to save money, rein in my expenditures...

 

Anyway, the yoga class I was going to take yesterday got preempted by a special event, and I had most of what I needed for a gym visit, except sneakers, so that wasn't going to happen, and there was talk of a night ride, but my lights weren't charged... Today I have my gym clothes, including sneakers (and also a yoga mat just in case), out in the car, and my lights are charging as we speak -- I am ready for anything, but I hope we ride.

 

After that is Two Brews and Tacos at Brew Works.