Welp, in less than two weeks, I can join 1% of the population in saying I completed a marathon. How 'bout that!
One thing I've come to learn about myself is that if I don't have something to shoot for, I pretty much go to shit physically. Or in the very least, I wander aimlessly. Since I've come to the conclusion that A.There aren't any chicago musicians doing anything I'm stoked enough about to devote loads of time to a band again and B. Since I work from home, said loads of time can easily be diverted to other worthwhile activities, I've decided to throw down the gauntlet one last time and get back into competitive swimming again. My reasons are many, but the most important ones are:
A. Swimming is, and always will be one of the greatest physical fitness activities one can do. Nothing else I do compares to it.
B. I'm 27 years old. While I know its highly unlikely I'll ever be as fast as I was when I was 17, this is probably the last chance I'll have in my life to be anything close to competitive. I'm not talking olympic trials or anything, but I know I have a shot of doing some things locally/regionally
C. Despite all evidence to the contrary, I'm one competitive motherfucker. And no more do I manifest said competitive nature than when swimming.
D. Unlike the marathon, triathlon or half marathon I have trained for/completed this year, I actually have time goals to hit in swimming. Finishing ain't gonna hack it here.
So there ya go. Tonight, I begin training with the Chicago Blue Dolphins. I know where I wanna end up, but getting there isn't going to be easy. Primarily, I need to get smaller. Like REALLY smaller. You see, in the past couple years, I spent a lot of time doing bulk lifting (and drinking). At one point, I was benching 250lbs. While that's all well and good if you wanna, say, bodyslam people, it's hardly effective in doing the butterfly for 100 yards in less than 55 seconds. The net result is that in the time I swam and now, current build is woefully inadequate for my new needs. Lean is the way to go. So, I'm taking in about 1500 less calories than I'm consuming in a given day to shrink every single cell in my body down to about 170lbs. The net result is that those of you who won't see me for a few months probably won't recognize me. But needs must when the devil drives!
For the record, I'm using Keyoe's diet/exercise assistant to monitor everything. For anybody who's looking to make serious weight/size adjustments, I'd highly reccomend this thing. The food database is particularly badass. Can't go wrong when it includes every beer I ever drink.