Vintage SNL

This is going to date me, but while working out today I remembered a skit from the original Saturday Night Live cast with John Belushi and Dan Akroyd. It took place on the deck of a ship from the days of sail. Belushi was Captain Ned, Akroyd was the first mate, every hand was a masochist, and the ship was called the Raging Queen. Struggling to finish 10 minutes of power hang-clean, push-presses, my mind flashed back to another vessel.

While in college I rowed on the freshman crew. I sometimes took the bow seat on the first boat, but mostly stroked the second boat. As a freshman, a lightweight and an oarsman on the second boat, I was the lowest of the low, a poor relation of the untouchables. My boat, an 8 man coxed sweep, a battered thing of marine plywood that nobody wanted, was also named the Raging Queen.

How this name passed muster with the university's athletic department, we never knew. Either the powers that be didn't stay up past prime time and so couldn't possibly know about SNL, or they did. Whatever the reason, we were party to the joke and butt of it at the same time. Oh the shame, rowing up to the start line to the jeers of the other boats. It would be ironic and sweet revenge if we won some races. But no. Bastards.

Despite the crew's dismal performance, we were in the best shapes of our lives (OK, we were also in our late teens). The training was grueling and always at an intensity that got the inner voices chatty. 'round about the 18th or 19th rep of PHCPP's I remembered Akroyd' s (or was it Belushi's, I forget who played first mate) line, "Discipline me, Captain Ned." Someone in my boat threw it out there one miserable practice session. Gallows humor. It got chuckles from the crew and saved the day.

9/30/10:

-50 burpees (3'50)

-10 minutes of power hang-clean push press (40)

-pull-ups w/Fe (2x6)

-dips w/Fe (11,12)

The no-mas-ometer reads 3.9.

3,862

98/64/74-This is a weird reading from my blood-pressure monitor. I don't know if this is an instrument error, a result of training, biofeedback practice, or because I just finished an Asahi Dry.