1/4/10; Row 5k.

Row 5k for time. It sucked. 19:43.6 was my total time.

This morning I was sluggish. My daughter woke up at 3:00 a.m. to crawl in bed with us and I had to take her back to her room. I’d kill for some uninterrupted sleep. I haven’t gotten any in at least three years…make that five. The alarm went off at 5:10 and I stumbled out of bed. Shaved, brushed, fed the dog, drank two glasses of water, ate some oatmeal with bee pollen, flax oil, 1tbsp peanut butter, wheat germ, and 1 tbsp honey. I was still groggy by the time I took the trash to the curb and hopped in the jeep to go to the gym.

The concept 2 rowers are pretty intense. I would say that these types of workouts are a lot like hill sprints, but sustained. I’ve done this workout before, so I knew it was going to suck. I can honestly say that even with the dampener (the plastic lever thingy on the side of the rower) set at 5, it still sucked. The first time I did this workout, I had the dampener at 10…naturally, because I’m tough and have something to prove. (whatever.) After talking to a friend who CFs in Korea, he told me to watch the vids on the CF site and that the dampener was supposed to be set between 3 and 5. Again, I put it on the highest recommended setting. I can’t really explain why I do stuff like that…perhaps it’s to see how bad it’s going to suck. Anyhow, the vids were REALLY beneficial. I learned some stuff about form, using the rower, and efficiency, and it really paid off- the last time I did this, I did it over a minute slower. I’m hoping I can smoke this time the next time I do it…in two days. Ugh.

New Year’s is definitely here. Capacity at the gym I go to was near double what it usually is. My wife says it will probably last until the end of February. Hopefully, this blog will last longer. I love that people feel motivated for eight weeks of the year to get in shape, then quit.

In other news, I’m dieting. I’m trying a combination of the “eat clean” and paleo diet. I like it so far, but we’ll see how it works out over the course of this year. Basically it’s the fundamental stay away from breads and processed foods diet…that’s totally hard for me because I LOVE cakes and pies. Anybody who knows me, will attest to this. They encourage the standard fruits, greens, veggies, fiber, protein intake equal to kg of bodyweight, and natural fats (avocados, nuts, fish oils, etc.) I’ve discovered that mixing fat free cottage cheese, some fruit, walnuts, and some light and fit yogurt satiates my sweet tooth. There’s very little fat, it packs about 15g of protein and has about 200 calories. It sounds nasty, but I think it’s totally yummy.

See y'all tomorrow.

P.S. I promise I won't post a comment this long the next time.