By Paul Tenorio

Diving Back In Archive

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Hey guys, it’s going to be a quick and short blog tonight and I’m sorry about that. As you know, it’s a non-workout day since Jeff gave me the morning off as a kind of mini-taper. But I didn’t tell you why I was tapering.

My Uncle John Reosti got back from Iraq last weekend on 10-days leave, and I headed over to see him at my grandmother’s house in Alexandria. John was a sports writer and journalist for a time before opting to join the Army just a few years ago — a choice that kind of caught me off guard. Anytime you have a family member fighting in a war, it’s a nervous time, so it was great to see him back on Bluedale Street.

My uncle also used to swim back in the day for Stratford Landing, and I guess by the time I got down to Alexandria he had already been informed about this little venture. Surprisingly (not), it didn’t take long for the trash talking to start.

“What did you swim in the 50 free?” he asked.

“Well, the last time I swam a timed race, I went 35 — but it was a bad race,” I responded.

“I can beat you.”

“John, calm down now. It’s tougher than you think. And my goggles came off in that race.”

“Well, 18 years ago when I swam I swam faster than that, so I think I can beat you now,” he said.

“John, after just five years off from the pool I got in and it was way harder than I remembered.”

“I swam a few times a week when I was stationed in South Korea,” he responded.

Oh … okay. I guess the race is on then.

Tomorrow I am headed back over to Alexandria for my other uncle’s 50th birthday, and before the festivities we will commence with a 50-meter race at Stratford Landing pool. It should be fun times.

I will not lose.

I will be coming off of a 90-minute soccer game out in Germantown, Md., and will have little time to recover before heading to the pool, but I’m not worried. I’ll do a quick warm-up and then smoke my Uncle John. No questions asked. And I won’t feel bad. Serves him right for talking trash.

Afterward, I think I’ll celebrate with a recent present given to me by my girlfriend Jenni’s dad — a big ol’ Kobe beef steak. That’s what I’m talking about.

As for today, it was a legit chill day until the afternoon, when I spent two hours in my car on the way out to Arundel for an interview for a feature I’m working on — and got just five minutes with the subject — before turning around and heading to FedEx Field for tonight’s Skins game.

I’ll update you on the race on Monday morning, and I’m excited about getting my first soccer game of the season in so I’ll update you on that as well. Hopefully we have at least 11 guys show up to the game, but I’m pessimistic. Running around with a man or more down for 90 minutes at noon in late August does not sound like too much fun.

But I guess it’ll be a good workout.

Have a good weekend!

Washington Post reporter Paul Tenorio will train with a swim club over the next few months and chronicle his journey as he attempts to transform from regular guy/sports reporter to competitive swimmer — everything from his waistline to his best times.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009 at 7:05 pm and is filed under Diving Back In. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.