I be strokin' -- that's what I be doin'

I slept like crap last night, probably because I tried to go to sleep before I was tired. But it was already 11pm and I knew I was getting up at 6 the next morning. I should have known better, though, because all I did was toss, turn and get up three times to go to the bathroom. This drinking water business messes with my schedule!

6am came way too early and I almost didn't make it. But somehow I scraped myself together and got into my swimsuit. I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but I think getting all of my stuff together the night before makes a big difference. If my clothes are all ready to go, in a bag, my lunch is already made, and my only job is to get dressed, it becomes a lot harder to talk myself out of it. And, of course, it's a lot easier to optimistically get prepared for a nice long swim the night before, when I'm still more than 8 hours away from the reality of it.

My swim this morning was okay. They are having some problem with faulty O-ring heat whangdoodles, which meant that the pool was COLD. Brrr. But I dutifully did the laps, and even did a few hundreds. I get so frustrated, because I know I have the cardio ability to go a lot farther, but I also know that I don't relax enough and end up spending all my energy thrashing around and wear myself out super fast.

One interesting thing I noticed is that I seem to swim better toward the end of the workout. I don't know if that's because I've gotten more comfortable and am in some kind of zone or if it's because I'm tired and just don't have the energy to fight the water and so am forced to have a little more economy of movement. It's weird, though, because during the last 10 minutes of every swim is when I start feeling like I could just cruise for several laps.

Do any local people know of a stroke clinic in the Triangle area? I was originally planning on taking swim lessons, but I think I need some more focused instruction. I've established that I can do the swimming; now I just need some help smoothing everything out so I don't waste so much energy on my abominable form.

On the nutrition front, I went shopping last night at Whole Foods. I wish I could do all my grocery shopping there and buy nothing but their fancy-schmancy yuppie products. But alas, I will take my broke ass to the Teeter for most of my groceries. But when it comes to produce, it's Whole Foods all the way, baby. I don't mind paying more for veggies, especially if it means I'll actually eat them instead of watch them rot away in the refrigerator.

I've been thinking about joining a local produce co-op, where you get a mystery bushel of vegetables every week or so. I just worry I'll end up with 47 pounds of okra that I don't have a clue what to do with. And now I am just babbling.

Workout
Swim: 1350m (100m kickboard), 40 minutes (distance is a guesstimate, because I kept losing track of my laps.)

Nutrition
6:30a: Pria Bar
9:30a: 1c oatmeal; 1 apple; 1c tea w/ Splenda
12:30p: Salad (lots of veggies, no almonds); 2T ginger dressing; ginormous chocolate walnut cookie (free work food will be my downfall!); Diet Coke
3:30p: 1c veggie chili; 1c tea w/ Splenda
4:30p: Handful chocolate peanut butter Chex mix (just because it was there. Not such a good reason.)
5:30p: Strawberry shortcake (coworker's going-away party. *sigh*)
7:00p: Apple

--here's where it gets really bad--

7:30p: 2 pints of beer; handful of nachos; chips w/ spinach dip
9:00p: 2 glasses of wine; 2 pieces of bread; bites of about four appetizers; some fancy tuna dish; bites of about six desserts; 1 glass champagne; coffee w/ cream (I don't think I ever need to eat again)

Hydration
64oz