My Latest New Pond

The pond. 

That was my choice.

By going to the pond instead of to DSU, I chopped off fifty miles of driving and gave myself some solitude with the ducks, the whispering wind, and the lonely water. The more I thought about it that day, the more I became consumed with the idea of swim testing the new pond. I love me a new pond.

I called David a few days ago and he told me that block of newly repaired and recently pumped up ponds have not even been stocked yet. That means the water quality is way above average and will likely be that way the remainder of spring and summer.

I got off work about 11:00 am-- it's terrible to have to work on a Friday-- and had a bite to eat, took a nap, and spent some time with Luvie. Then, to decrease my odds of failing to swim, I put my wet suit on before I left home. It was cloudy and cool and those conditions always sap a lot of my will to work. On the farm, in the vast openness of the delta, the wind and the coolness is always amplified from what it is in town. Getting naked in those uncomfortable conditions always makes me just want to scream, to turn the heater on in my truck, and find a high gear back to town. Not this time.

When I parked at the new swimming hole, I tossed my thermometer in but I didn't wait for a reading, opting instead to wade right in. The water felt pretty good. I swam one lap and then stopped just long enough to check the Garmin watch and the thermometer. The water was 61 and the distance was .79. That was the longest measurement I have ever recorded for a single lap. Great. And the 61 felt really nice. At the first of the week, 66 was freezing. This time I embraced the chill having acclimated a little bit these past few days with this being my third open water this week and year. 

Then I started back swimming and just cruised along without a plan. With my right hand and wrist being in the shape they were in, I was a little reluctant to swim very far. I stopped after one hour and fifty-two minutes and a total distance of 3.67 miles. I became a little tired towards the end, but not too much.

After swimming I decided on a small shuffle. This area has lots of gravel top levee roads which are great for running. There are also a lot of levees without gravel which are nice when the ground is dry. But one simply cannot run on gumbo ground when it is wet. It can't be done.

Saturday, I went out for a run in the morning at a time when the showers had slackened. I managed to shuffle for 8.82 miles and would liked to have gone farther, but I lost my nerve and stopped there. I was a little surprised at how good my legs felt. I was very slow but not too tired. I still don't trust my body and am fearful of re-injury. Next Saturday is the Viking Half Marathon and 5K. I'm trying to decide between the two distances. I want, of course, to do the longer, but the fear still lingers pretty strongly. Penny is working as a volunteer and both of our kids are running the 5K. 

For the week, I 

ran 27.24 miles,
swam 19,352 meters,
lifted weights one time, and
walked 8.64 miles.

That's a pretty good week right there. Luvie was even happy.

Compared to last year, I am a little bit ahead in both running and swimming volume. This year I have swum 16, 492 meters more than last year at the same time, and run 8.04 miles above last year's total . Also I am bench pressing more than I was march a year ago. All in all, I am OK if I can stay healthy and continue to find ways to train.