Splash.

Your favorite guy from Kentucky living in Japan named Chris (enough qualifiers?) has been wholly negligent of the blog he for a while had so regularly posted to.  Well, that may not change immediately, but for today, I have two quick things to note before nodding off.

First, I started swimming today.  I didn't count my laps in the City Pool (admission: 300 yen/day, closed Monday, 25 m lanes), but I would estimate somewhere around 30.  That puts me around 750 m for the day, and it took me in the neighborhood of an hour to complete.  As I sit tonight, munching on some steamed broccoli and pondering how fast I can type so I can get to sleep, I feel that's pretty good for two reasons.  The first reason is that I'm not a swimmer, though I can "swim" well enough to not die.  The second reason is that I'm teaching myself to swim by way of observing others and watching videos on YouTube.  For a first day, I feel good.

My goals in the water are three, the first two of which are not specific. 1) Feel comfortable and relax 2) become efficient in motion 3) swim 4 km (2.5 miles, 160 laps in a 25 m pool) without stopping.  That third goal seems a bit far off, but I'll get there.  I'll achieve them in order, and I'll do my best to throttle back the effort (keeping my heart rate around 140) such that swimming longer distances becomes a matter of routine, much like cycling.

After getting out of the pool, I checked some vitals.  I have no goals here, since I'm very close to my target weight, and my blood pressure and heart rate have, for as long as I can remember, been more than ideal.  Weight: 80 kg (176.4 lb).  Blood pressure: 111/61 mm Hg.  Heart rate: 54 BPM.  It's important to note that I was not resting before taking these measurements, but changing in the locker room and walking out of the building when I spotted a machine to check it for me.  If I had been resting, these numbers (not my weight, Silly) would have been lower.

Second, I'm working on a significant entry to mark my return to typing (I'll avoid the terms "writing" and "composing" for now).  So, if you're inclined to check back (or you're receiving automatic notices via an RSS feed or other method), do so in a week or two.  As for now, I'm going to brush my teeth, and keel over.

QotD:
"Half measures availed us nothing." - Big Book Online, Chapter 5, Alcoholics Anonymous. No, I'm not an alcoholic.

HotD:
Click Here. Because this question has no useful answer, and if it does, I probably don't want to know.