Week Five

Week five was another cycle of less than stellar numbers; however, I believe it was a solid brick in my overall prep for the Great Noxapater Journey Run. Looking back, I have realized of late that my easy days, one of which was Monday, have been overly difficult leaving me too fatigued to hit my intervals on the hard days. Monday, I watched one of John Wayne's 1930s movies while I pedalled my bike for 51 minutes. When the movie ended, I immediately hopped off, donned running shoes, and hit the road for 4.32 miles. The run felt good but it was a little too much. That evening I swam 5,200 straight at Twin Rivers. When my shoulder was not sore the next morning, my confidence soared. I think I'm going to be able to pull off Swim the Suck after all.

After drinking coffee and hanging out with Jeff on the patio, Tuesday I went out for 7.55 on foot. The weather was hot, my legs were tired, and I ran like a drunken fat man. But I ran. At DSU, I swam

1,000
8 X 100 @ 2:30 breathing 3, 5, 5, 3 by 25s
4 X 100 pull
8 X 50 @ 1:15 breathing 5 and 7 by 25s
200 easy
Total: 3,000 meters.

Wednesday I got back on the bike trainer, but I only did 16 minutes. When I got off, however, I immediately started my run and did the first .11 at a quick pace before slowing for a plodding 4.32 miles. At the local pool, I swam

1,000
5 X 100 pull with small paddles
1,000
5 X 100 pull with small paddles
1,000
Total: 4,000 meters.

I did another bike trainer/run Thursday with 16:15 on the pedals and 5.1 miles running before I experienced the worst bonk of my life. Monday morning I weighed 164 pounds. Thursday morning I had dropped to 155.8. You don't loose that much weight. This drastic difference in weight means I wasn't refueled and probably partly dehydrated, hence the recipe for a perfect storm if by perfect storm you mean major bonk. I had planned to run another 7.55 miles, but at 5.1 I started walking and slowly strolled the 2.57 miles home. I regrouped enough to hit the pool later in the day for 2,200 meters.

The super bonk left me so exhausted that I did nothing physical Friday. I napped. I snacked. I watched TV. But that was about all.

Saturday was the sixth Bikes, Blues, and Bayous, the rolling cycling party that wends its way through my part of the Mississippi Delta. We are the largest bike event in the state, and we take great pride in our ride. This year we had 707 participants from across the South show up to rumble along otherwise lonely roads in the heat, the sun, and the interminable wind with the promise they would get hot and tired but also experience some of the best rest stops ever dreamed by an halucinating cyclist.

I promised my son we would do the ride together. He hadn't ridden his bike since BBB a year ago so I knew we were in for a slow, lonely journey. But I was OK with that.

We quickly became the very last riders on the course, Forrest and I, which meant, among other things, that a motorcyclist and a SWAG truck were tailing us for miles. Occasionally I would ride ahead for a kilometer or more and turn and ride back at a speed that gave me a workout. This way I was able to get the work I wanted and stay with my son at the same time. On one such ride-ahead-turn-around, I drew closer to the SWAG vehicle only to look in vain for my son. When I turned around behind the truck, I saw Forrest sitting on the tailgate, his bike in the bed of the truck. He had dropped and now I was all alone in last place still eight miles from Minter City, the best rest stop ever. I rode hard, made it to the Church and chowed down on some unbelievably good food. To my surprise there were still some cyclist there so I had hope of not riding alone all the way back to Greenwood. 

On the trip from Minter City, I passed a lot of the slower riders and looked for someone to team up with. I made it onto Money Road and slowly started reeling in two riders. When I approached to within thirty yards or so, I saw one of the riders get sideways and go down in a fearsome crash. Before I closed the gap and got off my bike, her partner was already standing over her repeating, "Amy, Amy." She didn't move for a minute or so and then she was groggy, confused. Pieces of her broken helmet littered theroad. After a couple of SWAG vehicles and the ambulence got there, I decided they could make it without me so I left.

A few minutes later I was in the ghost town of Money where there was another great reststop and I had the pleasure of finding Robin Bond and Randy Beets. They were riding with a girl named Claire. Now I was not alone, and I got to enjoy the company of my friends. We rode easily the final ten miles to Greenwood.

All in all it was a good day. I spent some time with my son, rode alone for several miles, ate some good food, and spent time with some of my friends. The weather, although hot, was much cooler than forecast, and the wind was at our backs much of the day.

For the week, I

swam 14,400 meters
walked 5.51 and
ran 21.29 miles
lifted weights one time (lower body)
and spun 1:23:15 and rode 63.9 miles.

Although the numbers weren't big, I percieved a fitness boost from completing the Heart O' Dixie Triathlon the week before. Also the increase in cycling coupled with a fair amount of running but with numbers low enough to give some rest, equals, in my mind at least, the foundation for some good training in the upcoming weeks. The Oaks (10 K) is coming up in six weeks so I plan to focus on the run and the swim. I hope to string together several 20/20 weeks, or better yet some 30/20 weeks.