Training and Next Year's Birthday Swim

I didn't get to the pool Monday because I really needed to get some yard work done, and as usual I lifted weights between sessions of yard mowing. It works well for me. I also managed 2.75 miles of shuffling. I don't feel too much pressure to pile on the distance right now since I am tapering down for the Suck which is now less than two weeks away.

Tuesday I did an M-pace run of 6.4 miles. Most of the run was an easy shuffle, but I inserted two .66 intervals @ 9:16 and 9:17 respectfully. My perception of late is that I need to work my lower back more so I did Dead Lifts of 8 X 120, 7 X 125, and 7 X 125 after the run. At DSU, I did a total of 5,000 yards which translates  into 4,570 meters.

Wednesday, I only did a 2.25 mile shuffle and seven box jumps before walking to work for my film class. I was just too tired to swim. The plan is to bust out a pretty good one Thursday.

Despite all the trash talking I've been doing on Facebook, Randy wants to train together Saturday. I suppose we will go to the pond. Last year we did a 4.95 mile swim at Chicot the Saturday before our epic race. I hope he doesn't want to go too far. At this point, we are either in shape or not. I have the endurance to swim about as long as I want to right now; however, I'm not overly confidant about my pacing ability. I should be fittest of my life for the water, but my pool times haven't been spectacular of late. That could have something to do with my main competition, Randy and Margarete, being absent. Outside of the Oaks day, I haven't seen Randy at the pool in months, although we have trained some together in the open water. I don't know where Margarete has been but she pushes me to swim hard when she is in the pool.

Anyway, believe it or not, I am ready to slow my swimming down some. After the Suck, I plan to swim primarily at DSU through the rest of the year. Beginning in January, I will start slowly ramping the distance back up for my next birthday swim. I don't remember if I've written on this blog of my latest thoughts on that or not. Now, I am thinking of going back to Chicot. I had been contemplating  Ross Barnett until Wilson Carroll told me about two bad encounters he had in the water with an alligator at Old Trace Park. That is where I was planning to start my swim. I ain't no gator boy. As of now the plan is for at least a 16-mile swim on June 1 of 2013. I may up that number depending on how training goes after January 1.