Viva summer!

After approximately 8 months of complete sloth, the arrival of summer has kicked me into gear, exercise-wise. Yesterday I went for a short hike with some friends in one of many local state parks, under a non-canopy of trees stripped bare of leaves by an infestation of gypsy moth and tent caterpillars. Today I ran a mile (baby steps, people, baby steps) and this week I plan to go swim some laps in the university's outdoor Olympic-size swimming pool (and maybe jump off the high platform, if somebody dares me).

I've also grouped with some co-workers to play a little softball after work, and was pleased to note that even after a hiatus of 6 or 7 years, I can still throw and catch (and hit, thanks to the other team's error-prone infield). Running, however, is another matter. After 3 innings, all the sprinting involved in running the bases took a toll, and two days later I literally had to use my hands to help lift my legs--say, to get out of my car, or tie a pair of shoes. Hopefully by the end of the summer I'll be a little less wimpy.

One inspiration for this activity is the sudden (and somewhat inexplicable) athleticism of my brother Dan. He started going to the gym in January or February, and along with his friend Cooper (who I have known for 20 years) completed his first triathlon last weekend. Last Friday night I participated in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life as a part of a team from work. The Relay is a fundraiser in which each team has walkers circling a high-school track for 24 hours straight. Since I'm a little younger and have less family commitments than most of them, I volunteered for the 2-4 AM shift, giving me fond memories of my first days as a WRBC DJ. After my shift, I hopped in my car to drive straight down to Philly, arriving just in time to catch the guys just before they headed off for the swim portion (1/2 mile in the Schuylkill river, followed by a 13-mile bike ride and 3-mile run). It was really fun watching them, and I caught them at all the transitions, and got some photos as they sped past me. As a result, some of them are blurry, but you get the idea. I was really proud of Dan for doing this crazy thing, and he did great; both of them finished in under two hours.

Click on the Dan's fat cat Cutie for a slide show of photos from that weekend.