So last night, I had what was my “last supper” (not to be confused to blasphemize the actual Last Supper).  It was a big plate of chimichangas with Spanish rice and smothered with cheese sauce goodness, all washed down with a very big (and shockingly expensive) margerhita.  If all goes according to plan, that’ll be my last “good” meal for some time to come.

My alarm rang at 5:30 AM this morning to wake me up for masters swimming.  I stepped on the scale today at a whopping 184 pounds – 32 pounds over what I consider my race weight!  I’m guessing that at least two of those pounds are a result of last nights dinner, but I’m taking them at face value.  It gives me more motivation when I get to add those two pounds to the overall weight loss. :)

The actual masters swim session was a harsh dose of reality.  What is supposed to be my strength certainly didn’t feel like it.  The lactic acid started building in my upper body after just 150 meters (LCM sucks, btw!).  150 meters, people! That’s under 4% of what the swim portion of the IM distance is!  I totaled 1,200 slow, painful meters for the day before calling it quits.  I knew I was out of shape, but today I had a good taste of exactly how out of shape I have become.

But it was movement.  And you have to start from somewhere, right?!  So, this morning it has officially begun.  The road back is going to be very, very long and very much uphill, especially for the first few months.  Gone are the days of pizza and beer and it’s back to apples, oatmeal, and cottage cheese.  But I’ve always enjoyed the journey and seeing the gains that can be made with a little discipline and hard work.  So it’s back to the grind stone and hoping that I end up someplace close to where I’ve been before.  It doesn’t really matter that much if it’s faster or slower than previous years, but just that I arrive happy, healthy, and in one piece.  Let the 2009 season begin!