Week Four: Mixed Bag

It was an up and down week four as I'm still trying to ramp up for The Great Noxapater Journey Run. Monday's little shuffle caused another flareup in my Achilles. I only did 4.21 miles, followed by core work and then 1,000 meters of swimming at Twin Rivers. Why so much swimming you ask? Lightening ran me out for the second time this year.

With the Achilles acting up, I didn't run Tuesday, but at DSU I swam

900
8 X 50 build @ 1:15
400
8 X 50 @ 1:15
300
6 X 50 @ 1:15
200
4 X 50 @ 1:15
100
2 X 50 @ 1:15
100 easy
Total: 3,000 meters.

Wednesday was an easy 3.15 mile shuffle and some yard work. Late evening I went to Twin Rivers and swam 4,600 straight. My time was very slow, but the shoulder felt good and was not sore the next morning. That was huge for my confidence. For a while, I was beginning to wonder if I could pull off Swim the Suck this year. I am way behind in training for that and I may perform below last year's effort, but it's ultimately all about health and fun anyway.

Thursday I ran 4.45 miles and swam 3,000 at Twin Rivers, and Friday I did 3.27 miles of road work before packing up and heading out for the Heart O' Dixie Triathlon, which I did Saturday. At the HOD, my time was 3:09:46, about a minute and a half faster than last year. As usual, I found myself regretting that I had not actually triathlon trained. I ran a lot more than last year, but didn't do much on the bike and held back on the swim because of my shoulder. Still I did the .5 miles open water swim in 13:14 and passed maybe thirty people or more in the water. That was fun. On the bike, however, I got my butt handed to me as I always do. I ran better this time, but only held up for three miles (one mile last year) before the wheels came off the bus and I was reduceed to a shuffle.

A good thing about the HOD is I get a great workout, have some fun, and get to see some of my relatives. I stopped in and visited with two of my cousins when I got to Noxapater and spent the night with my aunt and uncle. I also got an invite to go by the cabin of another cousin at the Neshoba County Fair, but since I was alone with my truck in Louisville, my bike in Philadelphia, and myself at the Neshoba County Fair, I had to take a ride offered me and couldn't do any extra visiting.

The best thing about the HOD is I beat Randy Beets who brought a whole team out against me this year. Dude, it made my day, my year, to be at the finish line and get to take Randy's picture as he came in after me. The picture to the right is Randy finishing with a stunned look on his face when he saw me. Priceless!

Due to the mini-taper and the Achilles issues, my numbers were down. I didn't fret it too much because it was time for a drop back week anyway. For the week, I

swam 12, 600 meters
ran 21.58  and walked 4.12 miles
lifted weights once and
cycled 27.5 miles.

Next Saturday is Bikes, Blues, and Bayous, a local biking event that I promised to do with my son, so once more my running numbers are going to be down a bit. But it's a fun ride and like the HOD, is a really good workout.