Monthly Archives: March 2011

Have I mentioned that I’m back in the pool again? Like, not just to splash around post-surgery, but to seriously work out and train for the 4.4-mile Great Chesapeake Bay Bridge Swim? My first real swim “back” came last Wednesday, when a runner-friend and I hit the Takoma pool for a mid-day swim date. He was in the lane next to me, wearing maroon swim trunks. I decided I’d swim straight through—no sets, just a big chunk of yardage—until he got out.

The transition between him leaving the pool and another maroon-trunk-clad dude getting in was so seamless, I didn’t even notice the switch until, 3,200 yards later, I decided I was tired and would like to get out, please. Meanwhile, my buddy was waiting upstairs. In case you’re wondering: No, they looked nothing alike, aside from the trunks. Confusion is a great motivator.

Anyway, while he was waiting, my buddy noticed this lovely manifesto for the pool’s youth swim team, the DC Wave:

DC Wave Swimmer’s Will

I will always say “I will” or “I do.
I will think positive at all times.
I will respect myself, teammates, coaches, parents, and competitors.
I will do my best each day.
I will be on time.
I will start and end each swim at the wall.
I will start each set on time
I will streamline always.
I will flip all turns.
I will breathe from both sides.
I will push myself past what I believe is possible.
I will encourage my teammates.
I will follow directions.
I will have a strong kick.
I will have fun!

The double meanings here are incredible (have a strong kick, indeed!), and I’ve clearly decided this will be my new manifesto, too.

What’s motivating you this week?

After all my pining for spring earlier this week, I’m going to make one last case for winter.

Though I’m anxious to emerge from the darkness of injury and winter and fully blossom into the spring of my recovery, I also still have a taste for chili. So I’m relishing the chill still lingering in the air, because it gives me an excuse to make delicious, stick-to-your-ribs meals that seem inappropriately heavy once asparagus hits the farmers markets and flowers grace the magnolia and cherry trees.

It’s in that spirit that I offer an old favorite recipe, penne with cannellini beans and spinach. It’s based on a long-lost Cooking Light recipe, but has since become my own. It’s super-easy, and is a great way to use up spinach that’s been sitting in the fridge a bit too long for salad purposes.

Penne with cannellini beans and spinach

1 cup whole-wheat penne

1 cup spinach

1/4 cup asiago cheese (and hard cheese appropriate for an Italian dish will do—Pecorino Romano is especially yummy)

1/4 cup cannellini beans

5 garlic cloves, minced (adjust this if you’re not a garlic fan)

1 tablespoon olive oil

Sea salt, freshly ground pepper to taste

Cook pasta. Steam spinach, if desired (you can also just mix the spinach in and let it wilt from the heat of the pasta). Place both in the bowl you’ll be eating from. Add rest of ingredients. Mix well. Devour.

In other news, I tried a new kind of chili recommended by the wonderful cooking blog The Bitten Word. Black Bean Chili with Butternut Squash is an instant classic in my book. Stay tuned for my simplified version of the recipe next week.

“I promise you one thing: A lot of good will come out of this. You have never seen any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of the season.” – Tim Tebow

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with Tim Tebow. I spent four years of my career as a reporter at The Gainesville Sun, where the University of Florida quarterback’s every move made the news. This isn’t a dis on The Sun, which is a great paper, but merely an observation about the population—when Tim Tebow sneezes, Gainesville wants to know about it. An example of Gator fans’ adoration for Tebow: A UF alum friend of mine lists Tebow as an honorary groomsman in her upcoming wedding.

Tebow is also obnoxiously sincere. According to news reports, he skipped his high school prom to work out. He once, famously, burst into tears on the field after a big loss.

It’s hard not to admire his work ethic and ensuing strength. His college strength-training routine is famously intense, and even in college (he plays for the Denver Broncos now), he could bench something like 480 pounds. When he runs, he doesn’t weave through linebackers; he runs over them, collecting them like bugs on a windshield. And that obnoxious sincerity, combined with his passion for the game, makes him pretty inspirational (there! I said it!).

The quote at the top of this post came after the crushing loss that caused Tebow to get a little weepy. It didn’t strike me as being especially poignant at the time, but the quote popped into my head during physical therapy this week, and sort of got stuck there. It’s firmly lodged there now, and is serving as a sort of promise to myself: I couldn’t do anything to stop a snowboarder from slamming into me and tearing my ACL, and can’t do anything to speed up my extended ski-patrol training. I can’t control how quickly my knee heals, or how soon I’ll be able to walk normally again. The one thing I can control: How hard I try.

So I promise you—and myself—one thing: A lot of good will come out of this. You have never seen any physical therapy patient, or ski-patrol candidate, work as hard as I will work the rest of the season.