12/24 - 12/30

Short and sweet, just the numbers.

Monday 3,600 yards swimming and big weights lifting.

Tuesday 2.10 miles of walking with a little shuffling.

Wednesday 2,550 swimming, 2.23 of walking with a .23 mile shuffle. I also lifted weights.

Thursday I swam 6,700 yards and lifted weights.

Friday I only swam 3,000 yards and lifted weights.

Saturday I swam 3,500 yards and lifted more weights.

For the week I swam 17,684 meters and lifted weights five times. I also shuffled .35 miles total.

Thank you, Jesus.

One More Time

I did it again. Friday had been my long swim day for the past few months and for good reason: I'm off work and have more time. Since I've been off for the holidays, however, I have been swimming long on Thursday. I don't know why; it's just when I want to do it. And like a lot of things in life, to do it begins with wanting to. 

This Thursday, I started with a long, exaggerated warm up of

5,000 1:31:51 (1:49)

That works the all-day swimming muscles as well as the aerobic and fat-burning enzymes within the muscle cells. After that it was 

6 X 100 @ 2:05
3 X 50 @ 1:09
25 breast/25 free
500 small paddles
400 medium paddles
total: 6,700 yards +6,123 meters.

I don't think I have ever swum that far this time of year. Having the Twin Rivers indoor pool has been a Godsend. I am a bit worried that I may be peaking too soon. But live and learn.

Thank you, Jesus for the pool, the health, and the time to swim. 

12/17 - 12/22

Another good swim week plus some solid lifting. I already wrote about Monday and my 3,199 meters, and Tuesday and the 2,742 meters. I did not swim Wednesday, but did Thursday and scribbled about the 6,625 yards I did them. Saturday I swam again. It went like this:

1,800, then my drop set of

400 6:09
300 4:38
200 2:57 (PR)
150 2:14
100 1:28
100 1:29
50
50

The drop set now totals 1,350 yards and leaves me huffing for air. I  took some seconds off some of the turnarounds, but I swam the early reps way faster so that the lactic acid didn't start stacking until I got to the 100s. That is where I will add next week, either there or with the 50s. I already adjusted the workout in my watch, but I still will have adequate rest after the 400, 300, and 200. I starts getting huffy with the 150 and gets worse from there. It is a stamina set. Really, it works everything, endurance, stamina, and speed.

After the drop set, I did

150 medium paddles
100 large paddles
50 extra large paddles
2 X 25 with forearm paddles
total: 3,500 yards = 3,179 meters.

For the week, I swam 17,297 meters, and lifted weights three times. Praise be to God

Friday on Thursday Again

Not like last week when I had to do Friday's long swim on Thursday, but this week I chose Thursday because I wanted a long one. Maybe it's because I was off Wednesday, on the road retrieving  some weights.Anyway, I went to the pool about 10:30 am ready to bust out a Randy Beetsdwon swim and  that is exactly what I did. It started with the long, exaggerated warm up I love. It looked like this:

4,800 1:22:15 (1:43)
112 X 100 @ 2:05
700 small paddles
25 easy
total: 6,625 yards = 6,055 meterrs.

That's training right there. I don't care who you are. Then Trevor and I met at Plate City and I benched

13 X 95
12 X 115
8 X 137
8 X 137
8 X 137

Then incline benches for 

10 X 95
10 X 95
10 X 95
I also did some cord work for the rotator cuffs. A good day. Thank you, Jesus.

Tuesday

The second day of my first full week off wasa another good one. I was late getting to the pool but I swam

1,800
50 for time off the deck. I need to practice this more because I was a bit surprised that I only swam one second faster than the day before when I pushed off the wall. I got a :36 the did 6 X 150 as

150 first 50 fast - 2:25
150 second 50 fast - 2:24
150 third 50 fast - 2:23
150 first and third 25 fast - 2:23
150 small paddles - 2:23
150 off fast, even easy - 2:20
250 easy
100 medium paddles
total: 3,000 scy = 2,742 meters.

Trevor was out so I had to work out again alone. We skipped bench Monday because we like to do that together. It is nice to have a spoter, but I didn't want to miss another session on the bench so I sis 

11 X 95
10 X 115
5 X 147
5 X 147
5 X 147
3 X 152

Then I did some inclines and declines and lots of rotator cuff stuff. A good day. I woke up this morning a pound lighter than Monday. Praise the Lord.

Monday

I woke up on a Monday morning and I didn't have to go th work. That is such a nice feeling. Sunday night I had made a list of things to do. Number one was to study, which I did as soon as i sipped down a cou of starter fluid. With cats on the bed and coffee in my cup, I starte number two on the list: blog. I wrote my weekly report and started another post, a piece of fiction about the last days of a dying man. I'll post it when it is worthy. I only wrote a few sentences, but I made some notes.

Then I had a couple of errands to run. I went to the recycle bins to dump and then to the back to do my Christmas shopping. Next-- three guesses what I did-- you got it. I went to the pool. Lately, Monday had been test day. I have been making some swims for time to see where I am and how I am progressing. For the last three Mondays, I have swum a 500 with the results looking like this:

8:23
7:53
7:34

I did the 500 after warming up with 1,800. I not only set a PR in the 500, but I got one at 300 in the same swim. I glanced at my watch after flipping and gliding and after four 50s and the time was 3:03, down from my record 3:08.I did an easy 200 with small paddles ro recover while swimming and then did 50 for time. On the 50s, I peek at the watch when :

200 small paddles
150 kick with gins (my second round of these)
11 X 50 @ 1:09 ewyh medium paddles
150 kick with fins
200 small paddles
total (without kicking): 3,500 yards = 3,199 meters.

Since it was Over 60s night, I had to workout at Plate City alone. I did upper back and lost of my rotator cuff work. As a result of all that work, I woke up this morning a fraction of a pound lighter despite eating Larry's fish last night. A good day. As I type this, CC is on my right leg, purring hard and being the queen of the house. That's how I like it. Thank you, Jesus for good health and nice cats.

12/10 - 12/16

I had a nice week in the water and a better one with the weights. Monday, since I had to work late because of final exams, I lifted first and swam second. I usually do it the other way around. On the bench, I pressed

10 X 95
10 X 115
6 X 142
6 X 142
6 X 142
3 X 147
7 X 137

In the water, I swam 3,100 yards which included a 500 for time in 7:53.

Tuesday, I swam 3,600 but did not lifting because Trevor was out and I had to work late once more. Wednesday I hit the weights hard and hot the water for 4 X 500 and then 6 X 50. The 500s looked like

9:01
8:47
8:49
8:29

Thursday was this week's Friday. I did a total of 6,500 yards which included one 4,600 yard straight swim.  Afterwards I did a bunch of bench pressing. 

Friday, Penny and I sent to Jackson and I purchased a small medicine ball, some tubing with handles,  and a couple of pair of Olympic plates. Saturday, I was back in the pool and back at Plate City. in the pool, I played around and did some breast and back strokes which I almost never do. I finished the day with 2,525 yards. 

For the week, I 

lifted weights four times, and
swam 16,477 meters.

Now if I can just get back to some shuffling. Thank you, Jesus , for what you allowed me to do. 

Friday on Thursday

Friday is my long swim day. Long swim, like long run and heavy weights is a relative term, a movable one. Right now, a long swim for me is around 6,000 yards. In the past, I learned that a good way to train for marathon swimming, is to do traditional pool work that includes lots of drills and sprints of various distances and rest intervals. Add to that one day of volume and you have the recipe for endurance. Usually I wait until after the first of the year to begin my buildup. I have already started this time in part because I have the opportunity with the new Twin Rivers pool and I have the hunger after being dry for almost ten months and doubting I would ever be able to swim again. Now I can swim. Thank you, Jesus.

This week, Penny wanted to go to Jackson Friday so being off work, I did Friday on Thursday. Here's how it went:

4,600 1:21:17 @ 1:45 pace
10 X 100 @ 2:05
10 X 50 medium paddles @1:06
400 small paddles
total: 6,500 yards for a total average pace of 1:42. That is training right there. 

After going home, taking nutrition, and resting, I lifted at Plate City. Trevor was out and it was rainy out so Ii was happy to get a good lift in. I did on the bench press

10 X 95
10 X 105
10 X 115
10 X 125
10 X 130
1 X 135

on the incline bench press, I hit

11 X 90
10 X 95
10 X 100

Then I moved to the decline and pressed

11 X 80
10 X 85
10 X 90

I also did lots of cord work and tried to do some flys but my shoulder really did not like that too much so I only did one set. Friday on the way to Jackson, I could feel my pecs getting tight and sore. I love that. Why is it that the only muscle in my body that ever gets sore is the pectorals? Maybe because I don't work any of them as hard. Anyway, that was one good training day and I am thankful to Jesus Christ for blessing me to be able to pull it off. The shoulder is not 100 %. Maybe it will never be, but as long as I can do the kinds of things I did Friday, I am a happy man. 

New Toys

I mentioned in an earlier post that I placed my first order in two or more years from SwimOutlet.com. So what did Santa bring me?  First, I acquired some new goggles. Those are always needed, and to swim with a new pair is incredibly refreshing. It always amazes me how much better I can see when I put on an unused pair. Swim with old goggles long enough and you begin to hit your head on the wall while failing to negotiate flip turns. That doesn't feel good and can be dangerous. 

I also got a pair of fins that fit. For the last few years, I have been operating with a pair one size too large. To make them work, I would sometimes pack a pair of heavy boot socks in my swim bag. But I really don't like treating big socks like that. Besides, that necessitates putting on the socks, and packing the wet heavy ones back into my bag at the end of practice. What that meant practically was that I did little work with fins. My mind goes all over the place on the need to even do kick sets. As a marathon swimmer, kicking is not a big deal. But with this new interest in the big swim meet on the coast, I am beginning to think like and train like a pool swimmer and that means kicking.

Besides goggles and fins, I also picked up a new jammer. Jammers are to swimmers what barbie dolls are to little girls. You can never have too many because putting on a wet one is not fun. Usually my daughter gives me jammers for Christmas. I hope she does that again this year. I have decided that I like the cheap ones from Sporti the best. They are a little thinner and thus they are more comfortable than the more expensive models and don't start pulling down in the back like the thicker ones do. When your jammers started drifting down, your concentration is challenged. Nothing is worse than having something to worry about when you are trying to do a really long set or worse, a marathon swim.

And finally, I bought a new pair of paddles. Paddles also are like barbie dolls. I have lots of them, and I want more. This latest pair is an extra, extra large set from TYR. Mostly I bought them to see if they were really as big as advertised. They are as humongous as advertised. I do most of my paddle sets with Speedo Power Paddles. I have the small, medium, and large pairs. Now I have a really extra large pair from another company. Those things are so big they frightened me a little. I used them last night and refused to swim over 25 yards at a time with them. They will either make you strong or destroy your shoulders one. Or both. I will continue to use them but sparingly, and  hopefully I will build an immunity to their destructive potential.

Notice how the clear TYR dwarfs
my go-to Speedo paddle.

So now I am planning my next order. I want more goggles, more jammers, and more paddles. I even thought of getting a tempo trainer and a mono fin. Not that I need anything, but what does need have to do with it? That's right, nothing. Thank you, Lord for toys and time to play with them.

Tuesday

After a big training day Monday, I wanted another Tuesday. I was at the Moorhead campus all day giving exams, reading bad essays, and making one schedule. When I found a high gear and headed east, I was wound as tight as a two dollar watch.

I got home and tried to unwind. Trevor texted that he was working late so I decided to hit the pool hard and drop the weights. As usual, I had the pool all to myself and swam

1,650 31:01

Then I did what I have named a drop set that morphed a little from last week. It is swum on a 2:00 base starting with 400, dropping to 300, then 2,00. Last week I went to 100 and 2 X 50. This week I inserted a 150 in the mix to up the whole set to 1,250. I also cut a couple of seconds off the first rest interval and one second off the second. That made little or no difference since I swam the 400 about 20 seconds faster than last Tuesday. It is a nice set that works endurance, speed, and stamina. I will take some more time off the early intervals for next week and add another 100. I'll keep adjusting this thing until I create a monster that I can do. The drop set looked like this:

400 6:33
300 4:52
200 3:09
150 2:25
100 1:33
50 :44
50 :47
total for set = 1,250

After the drop set, I did a straight 700 with small paddles and then a kick set with fins of 3 X 50. The swimming amounted to 3,600 yards. This is only my second kick set of the comeback, and I am cramping like a mean woman. It will get better. I hope. I enjoyed the swim, and felt refreshed, like all the frustration of the day were washed away as I left the pool. Thank you, Lord Jesus for letting me swim.

Pool Matters

I have a new focus: the pool. As a result I did something last week I haven't done in about two years or more. I placed an order with SwimOutlet and my new toys arrived Saturday afternoon. I had already swum for the day so I didn't get play with them then. Monday was the start of exam week so I was not even sure I could swim at all. I worked until 5:00 and then Trevor wanted to work out so we hit the weights for some serious bench pressing. I did

10 X 95
10 X 115
6 X 142
6 X 142
6 X 142
3 X 147
7 X 137

That's seven sets plus I did some other stuff, especially on the tubing, working on the rotator cuff muscles and the fast twitch pulling muscles for swimming. In the last post I related that I think that work is beginning to pay off. Since it was still early, I decided to go on to the pool even though I don't like to swim after lifting. At the pool, I swam

1,600
500 for time (7:53, last week it was 8:23)
200 small paddles
100 kick with fins (one of my new toys from SwimOutlet)
4 X 50 medium paddles @ 1:12
4 X 50 large paddles @ 1:16
50 for time (:38, this is more evidence that my weights, tubing work, and sprints are reaping a harvest)
4 X 25 extra large paddles (more new toys, these things are HUGE)
200 swim with fins
total: 3,100.

A pretty good day considering I was not even sure I could swim due to the craziness of the exams Thank you,Jesus.

12/3 - 12/9

I swam, I swimmed, and I swum. That's what I did last week. By the way, the declension of the verb "to swim" is swim/swam/swum. If you say, write, or think "I have swam," I will not be your friend and I might even throat punch you. You have been warned.

Monday I swam 2,787 meters in the little pool and bench pressed

10 X 95
9 X 115
15 X 120
5 X 142
5 X 142
5 X 142
Decline bench press 13 X whatever is on the bar. So it was a pretty good day.

Tuesday, I swam 3,107 meters and did some Plate City stuff on my own since Trevor was out. Wednesday I did more weights and more swimming, 3,153 meters worth. Thursday, Penny and I had a ministers' and wives' banquet so there was no Plate City for me, but I did get into the pool and do 3,199 meters.

Friday is my long day. I did lots of tough sets during the week trying to recapture what little speed I had. I did 

4,200 straight in 1:16 (1:49 per 100 yard)
9 X 100 @ 2:00
2 X 500 @ 9:552 X 500 small paddles @ 9:55 first was in 8:13
4 X 50 @ 1:12
50 for time (:39)  This is the first evidence I have that I am getting some of it back. The first time I broke :40 since my comeback.
50 easy
total: 6,400 yards = 5,849 meters. 

Saturday was one of those cold and rainy days that makes working out at Plate City something I am not going to do. So I went to the gym at Twin Rivers, which I do once or twice per year. I did the whole upper body then went to the pool. and swam a bunch of slow and short repeats until I made 2,300 yards. I then tapped out. So for the week, I

lifted weights four time and 
swam 20,197 meters. 

If I just had some running in there it would be a good week. Nevertheless, thank you, Jesus for some nice swimming.

Friday Morning

It is Friday morning, and the day lies before me like an open road waiting for me to come and drive. What will I make of this opportunity at life. Friday, everyday is a gift from from God and should be treated as such. I do have plans.

Right now, besides my computer, I have a cat on my left side and a hot mug of coffee on my right. This is how I like to begin a  day. There is a bill I need to pay and I have an appointment with a financial adviser. Dad used to  fill that role and this is just one of many ways I miss him. When it came to matters of money, his word was gold to me.

After the business, I plan to go to the:

  a) gym
  b) dentist office
  c) pool

Yeah, the plan is to bust out over 6,000 yards. It's been a good swimming week. Today should make it better.Thursday was a good one. I swam

50 (equipment adjustment)
1,500
then I did a set of the following all on a 2:00 base:
400
300
200
100
50
50  After that I swam
250 medium paddles followed by 50s @ 1:16 
4 X 50 large paddles
4 X 50 medium paddles
4 X 50 small paddles
total: 3,500 yards.

I am not sure what shape today's big swim will take. I might just make it up as I go. The key concept for my Friday swims is volume. During the rest of the week, I am striving to regain my lost speed. I'll let you know if I get it back.

Wednesday

Trevor usually gets off work early on Wednesday, but for me it is one of my long days. He texted about 1:00 and wanted to know when we were working out. That meant I would not get to swim before the weights which is how I like to do it. So we hit the weights then I went inside for some nutrition and rest before going to the pool. At the pool, I swam

1,500
5 X 100 @ 2:05
250 medium paddles
3 X 100 @ 2:12
900 small paddles
total: 3,450 yards.

I am beginning to notice something about myself. I am consistently tapping out when the sets get tough. On the first 100s, I quit after five reps. Why? It's like I have no tolerance for swimming pain anymore. On the second set of 100s, I increased the interval to give myself more recovery time and still stopped at a mere three reps. What the heck?!?!?!  I remember training for Swim the Suck a few years back and wearing two Garmin watches and doing up the 26 X 100 at under 2:00 in the long course pool. I can't accept the possibility that I just can't do it anymore. Maybe I am so far removed from top form that I can't yet embrace the discomfort that comes with hard interval training. I had thought that the prospects of the Senior Olympics had filled my motivation tank to the top. But when it gets difficult in the pool, I am taking the easy way out.

Either I don't have the heart for hard swimming anymore, or I don't have the heart for hard swimming anymore. Sigh. Maybe it will return. I'll try again today and see what choice I make when I am gasping for air at the end of the lane. Maybe today I won't be a coward. Help me, Jesus.

Start of the Week

I started the week with that new motivation i wrote about yesterday. The water was 90 degrees hot but what else is new? I have water. Monday I swam a total of 3,050. I wrote about that one already. Tuesday, I did 

100 (equipment adjustment)
1,300
5 X 50 @ 1:06
200 medium paddles
5 X 50 @ 1:09
200  medium paddles
5 X 50 @ 1:12
850 small paddles
total: 3,400 yards.

Notice the change in interval times. I am looking for the right interval, one that gives me plenty of rest but doesn't waste time. Later, when the speed is built (I hope), I will cut the rest time down to work on heart rate and lactic acid neutralization. 

Trevor texted and said he had to work late so he couldn't workout, but I was  already out of the pool or I would  have done another 1,000 or more. Anyway, I decided to do a swim session at Plate City. I did walking curls and the Swim Pull and lat pull downs, etc, stuff to target the swimming muscles. Now I am itching to get back into the water. My 50s were not any faster, but that is still the goal. Than you, Lord. Goals are fun.

New Motivation

I met someone in the pool the other day. She comes from Durant and swims with Linda Gail Fondren. She is an older lady, and she asked me if I knew about the Senior Olympics. I did not and really didn't think too much about her attempts to interest me in them. It seems there are State games and National games. Sometimes a seed someone sows requires the right time to germinate and sprout. This one sprouted several days later.

I was at home hanging out with the cats when what she said came to mind so I did what everyone does now: googled. The more I read, the more I became intrigued. Of course I looked up the swimming. The events, the individual ones, are all done in age groups. The longest swim they have is 500 yard short course. I looked up past results and almost jumped out of my seat. "I can beat those times!" I almost shouted out loud. I searched and searched and with the exception of the sprints (I am an endurance swimmer), I could have won them all last year.

Needless to say, I am planning on signing up and competing this year. And already, this has had a huge impact on my pool swimming. I have been swimming regularly but not particularly hard. I like the zone two stuff, the all-day pace that I am so adept at, but really hard intervals, the kind of swimming pool swimmers do, I have always shied away from. That is one thing I miss about swimming with the crew at DSU. Having a coach is like going to school. They make you do things you would not do on your own, like hit the hard intervals over and over. Yesterday I hit the pool with a zeal I have not had in years. I did the following:

1,350
500 for time (8:23, the fastest swum at the Senior Olympics was 9:55 by someone ten years younger than me)
200 small paddles
200 for time (3:09)
200 small paddles
100 for time (1:27)
500 small paddles
total: 3,050.

Now I can't wait to go back today. I am planning some 50s on a longer interval and lots of them. Since my shoulder injury, I have lost some speed, not that I ever had a lot. Under Coach Petya, we used to swim 20 X 100 @ 2:00 often. I would swim the first four under 1:20 and do them all under 1:25. Now, the best I can do is 1:27. Sigh. But I plan to get those seconds back. I have been thinking, planning, scheming on how to do it. My plan involves Plate City, of course, and the pool. The missing motivation is back with a vengeance. I always wanted to swim, just not swim too hard. Now I want to swim hard, to pay the price for speed so that I can compete not only in the "distance" events (500 is a long sprint for me), but the sprints as well. Follow the journey if you care to. The dates for this year's Olympics have not yet been set, but last year they were held in late April and early May on the coast. That gives me time, motive, and opportunity to get into much better form. Thank you, Jesus.

How will all of this pool training impact my training for that thing I don't mention until after the first of the year? It should help me and help a lot. Speed is always nice to have and I learned long ago that training like a pool swimmer most of the week, and reserving one day for volume is very effective at building endurance. In short, it will make me a more well-rounded athlete, and as one strength guy I watch on YouTube says, "Strength is never a weakness." That part of the training has always been a part of my all-day swimming program, only now I am already hitting the weights with an energy I never have had before. After my last two Plate City sessions, I came inside with my arms trembling. I never did that in the past. Thank you, Lord.

11/26 - 12/2

I had fun, but not as much fun as I would have if I could have run. I can, however, swim and lift and I did plenty of those. Monday I did not get to swim. I have already forgotten why, but something threw a monkie wrench into my plans. It might have been Over 60s. Yeah, that was it. Another chance to miss a workout and overeat. They are everywhere. I did lift. 

Tuesday, I swam 

1,000
2 X 50 small paddles
100 small paddles
2 X 125 small paddles 
total: 1,600 yards.

I also lifted weights.

Wednesday I swam again. This time I did

1,100
6 X 50 @ :55
700 small paddles
total: 2,100 yards, plus weight lifting.

Thursday I swam and lifted again. In the pool, I swam

1,200
7 X 50 @ 1:00
750 small paddles
total: 2,300 yards.

Friday will be long day from now on. I won't mention why. I only start using that word after the first of the year. I swam

2,350
7 X 100 @ 2:00
450 small paddles
6 X 75 @ 1:35
450 small paddles
12 X 50 @ 1:03
300 small paddles
1,000
total: 6,300 yards. 

This was my longest swim of the year and the kind that builds endurance. For some reason, Trevor and I did not lift. I remember now, it was the Christmas parade that knocked us out.

Saturday it was

1,300
3 X 50 @ :55
200 medium paddles
4 X 50 @ 1:00
200 medium paddles
5 X 50 @ 1:03
800 small paddles
total: 3,100 yards.

After watching Alabama beat Georgia for the SEC title, I went outside and hit it pretty hard, working shoulderes, and swim muscles. 

For the week I

swam 14,074 meters, and lifted weights four times. That is Beetsdown training. Thank you, Jesus.

Thursday I

RIP Jefferson Hodge

It is not in the Bible, but I truly believe all dogs go to heaven. Jeff, our fifteen-year-old weeny hound,made it there early Friday morning, November 23rd, the day after Thanksgiving. We had known he was going downhill. We had known he was sick. We had known this might be the last time. Over the past two years, he has been in and out of the hospital and near death over and over. And over and over, God and the vets have come through and the little man came home to give us another round of his indefatigable, unconditional love. This time, I was sure was the last, and my desire was to keep him home and let him die where he lived and loved. But I knew that would never satisfy my wife so when she asked me to take him to the vet, I didn't hesitate.

He was a good dog. He was special. He was my wife's little baby. I was in the bathtub fifteen years ago when I heard the fight. Our son, Forrest, came home with a young dog, Jeff. It got loud. It went on a while.Then it stopped all of a sudden, and the silence was pronounced. I later learned that Forrest sat the dog down, maybe so he could gesticulate more effectively as he argued his case. Jefferson, a six-month old Dachshund jumped up on the couch where my wife sat and made his way up into her lap. And that is pretty much where he stayed for the next dozen and three years. The argument was over. After a few moments of silence, she opened the bathroom door with a smile on her face and the tiny hound in her hands pulled tightly against her chest. No one had to tell me that we had a new dog, a new family member.

He really was a sweetie. It took a little time, but the cats eventually accepted him. He loved them and all cats with an affection I have never witnessed with a dog before. He loved all animals, but he was especially drawn to cats. Go figure. In fact, when he got older we developed a ritual. I would take him with me to the recycle bins on Saturday mornings. He ran loose while I dumped our stuff. Then we walked on the walking trail down n the river to get him and me some exercise. After that, it was time for a drive. He would hang his head out the window, and we drove the North Greenwood, sniffing the air, looking for cats. We knew where to search and always found some. His eyesight was already failing so they had to move before he could see them. When it all worked out and he saw a cat, he would whine like a little baby. It made him happy. I loved seeing him that way.

That was our Saturday ritual. On Fridays we had a different one. Since we went on a four-day schedule at school several years ago, he has liked to hang out with me while I drank coffee and studied after Penny went to work. Typically, I would have one to three cats, a hot mug of coffee, several books along with my Bible and Jeff on he bed. He loved it; so did I. He just wanted, always, to be close to someone he cared about, his family

Speaking of family, he loved the grandchildren and all you had to do was say, "The kids are coming," and he would hop off the couch and wait and whine at the front door. Although he understood a lot of English, he never got a handle on adverbs. So if you told him too early, you gave him a bad day. You could not call him off the door with the words "later" or "tomorrow." He looked for the now.

Over the years we have watched his transformation from a young dog to an old man, then a very old man. He slowly went blind, then deaf, then he had trouble walking. Trips to the vet became more frequent, more expensive, and more stressful. This time, Monday of the Thanksgiving Break, I knew was the last. Not that I am any expert on death. But after watching Mom pass, I saw all the same things in him. I wanted to keep him home and let him die with us. I hate that he passed in a cage at the vet's. But my wife wanted to give him ever chance of making it. I was too much of a coward to even state my position. So I took him on.

Jeff and I on a Friday morning. 

Jeff is one more in a long string of stressful losses. Loss has now become a major category in my thoughts. As an English teacher, I often use Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea in Composition II. My students write papers on the novella. One of the topics I always offer them is loss and restoration. The old Cuban fisherman loses the boy as his fishing partner, his reputation as a champion fisherman, hooks, lines, leaders, a knife, a boat oar, a tiller handle, and even the great fish he finally hooked after going eighty-four days without a catch. None of my students over the past fifteen years has ever chosen that topic to write on. After doing my last few funerals, I finally figured out why. They have not lived long enough for loss to be a major issue in their lives so as a writing topic, it is not something they easily identify with. By the time you get into your 60s, loss becomes a big deal, an old friend, or more accurately, a dreaded enemy. Over the past few years, I have lost both my parents, our holiday traditions, several animals, my childhood home, land in Carroll County, a church we pastored for twenty-two years, church members, friends, my swimming, and my running. The swimming and running have come back only to see the running go again. I have seen elderly people I pastored go through loss after loss until they had only two things left: their life and Jesus. Then they lost their life. Jesus has to be enough. 

He is.

Jeff and I on one of our Saturday morning drives.

Another thing about all these losses is when they occur. They happen at a time in life when we dislike loss the most. I always heard that old people don't like change. Now I understand it. I hate change, but it keeps coming at a faster and faster rate. And the changes are having more and more of an impact. Changes in our bodies, in our country, in our world, in our homes. They not only irritate us, but they hurt. 

Jeff's final resting place.

Deeply.

We had a trip planned with Andrea and Caitlin for Friday, so I picked his body up Saturday morning. Penny bought a metal box, and we placed his body in there and drove to Carroll County. Although it had rained recently, the ground was only soft for about six inches. I labored hard to dig his grave. We placed him at the head of our tombstone, covered him up, and had prayer. His body will lie by ours until that great resurrection day. That is some comfort to us.

Losing Jeff has been difficult for me, but devastating for my wife, Penny. He chose her from the beginning, and he was always hers. And I know this will not be the last loss she or I suffer. These kinds of blows makes you want to insulate yourself so you will never go through that again. But pain is the price we pay for love, and love is worth the price.

The Unmentionable Event

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas." Not only that, but I'm beginning to feel the inner rumblings of something I will not even mention yet. I'll begin to name it after the first of the year. That is my tradition, and I will stick to it. But already it is informing my training decisions. Last week I did  6,250 yard session in the pool. This week I hope to exceed that. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know why. Ordinarily I am only swimming twice per week for a total of about 6,000 yards. This year I am swimming four to six times per week for 12,000 to 15,000. Still, however, I am not in terribly good form. My times are off, and my endurance is suspect. But with the yards and the weights, I feel like I am beginning to come around.

Training for marathon swims is a lonely venture. Not only that, but it is a lonely adventure. I do, however, miss the camaraderie and the competition of swimming with a squad, like I did for years at Harvard on the Highway. I may drive to DSU, I'm sure I swim during the Christmas break some so I can gauge myself against the guys I used to drag up and down the pool. Can I still do it? My times in the pool while alone say no, scream it. We'll see.

One area where I am not alone is at Plate City. With Trevor as my workout partner, I now lift harder and more consistently than I did when I was out there by myself. Will this make a difference in June? It should. It will. I only have to keep doing what I am doing, and I should show up in all-time shape. Not only that, but I have some ideas. My running has crashed again but Trevor has the thought of setting up my bike trainer under the Swim Pull machine. Cha Ching! I haven't done it yet becuase I need to do some wood work, but it's coming.

All in all, the excitement is beginning to grow. The fitness is slowly building. That lake, my liquid mistress is waiting. I will meet her this June, God willing. Thank you, Lord.

Aftermath of the Egg Bowl

There iws a lot of absenteeism at work today. I'm not talking about students, but faculty and staff. I kid you not when I saw the reason is the Egg Bowl. I saw on of my unfortunate colleagues and told her, "I'm sorry for your loss." She almost broke into tears, but managed to not cry, but did express her disgust.

At church Sunday, I told one of my parishioner that I was sorry for her loss. I offered her  my hand to shake. She glared at me like she wanted to claw my eyes out. People take this thing really seriously. Especially Ole Piss fans. They have an elevated view of themselves, their school, and their football program. Schoiol pride is one thing, but delusion is another.

Ole Miss has had, over the years, more success than Mississippi State. I am convinced that that is the only reason many of their 'fans' pull for them. They don't know what it is like to lose, to support a struggling program, to be faithful through hard times. If you watched the game, which was in their stadium, you noticed a lot of empty seats. A lot of empty seats. They knew ahead of time that they were in for an arse whooping and simply would not endure it. State fans, on the other hand, fill the stadium even if an imminent butt whooping is coming. 

Then there is the matter of social media. Last year, Ole Miss fans applauded bad sportsmanship as well as the intentional injury to our quarterback. One even told me it was OK because State fans were rude to their players. Rude to their players. Ya think? This year, Ole Miss fans showered our players with soft drinks. Rude much? Dude, who really gets bent out of shape about something like that. Wait, don't answer, Ole Miss fans that's who. I guess I should lighten up. I know some good people who pull for the school up north. If not for them, I'd tell you what I really think.

On a bright note, this was the first Egg Bowl I ever watched where you could not telll the announcers were pulling for Ole Miss. Really, no exaggeration here. Normally is is obnoxiously obvious who the Yankee announcers want to win. I always wondered why. This time I detected no bias in the way they called the game. Maybe that is because the contest was so one sided that there was not opportunity to show where their sentiments lay. Maybe.

Anyway, it was  a glorious game. Thank you, Jesus.

Slow Start

For me, the term "slow start" usually refers to Friday mornings when I lounge longer, drink more coffee, and start the free day slowly, leisurely, at my own pace. For this title it means the week, and my training. I got home from work in pletny of time to make it to the pool. But I lay down on the bed, turned on the Feinbaum Show, and got comfortable as CC hopped up in my lap and began to purr. That is where I stayed for the rest of the afternoon.

Besides growing lazy, I have a huge skin rip in the palm of my right hand put there digging Jeff's grave. Yes, I had gloves. I tried swimming Saturday night, but it was more painful than I was willing to endure.

Trevor came over and we did lift, but that is all. No swimming, and no running. LEarly last week, I hit my lowest weight of the year. Already the scale numbers are trending upward. I need running for my weight. Without it, I have never been able to keep the belly flat. Sigh.

The hand hurt even bench pressing. I had to adjust my grip in an awkward way to keep the bar off the raw part of my palm. I hope to swim today, but I am not sure I can. I plan to try putting a patch of duct tape over the wound and see if that will give me some relief. If I can't swim, I fear I will fall back into the pit. Lord help me.

11/19 - 11/25

This was Thanksgiving Break week, the one I had intended to bust the top out of the numbers. I had a pretty good training week, but not the one I wanted. Thank the Lord anyway. Since I have already written about several of the days, I swill make this sweet and short. For the week, I

swam 12,878 meters,
ran 6.39 miels,
lifted weights three times, and 
waqlked 1.78 miles.

The knee brought an end to the running, and a huge blister on the palm of my hand caused the swimming to fall short of where I wanted it to be. But still a pretty decent week. Thank you, Jesus.

Day Two

Day Two was another Beetsdown. I ran in the morning, swam in the early afternoon, and lifted in the evening. A nice full day. Though in coffee and cats, and it was one for the ages. First, my shuffle was not fun because, though I failed to mention it in yesterday's post, I did squats after the Monday run and was sore before sundown. Tuesday, I drove to Wade Road so no one would see me shuffle along in pain, which is what I did. The pace was snail like and I only did 2.26. Then I went home and hung out with CC ans studied for Sunday morning. 

After lunch I went to the pool and swam 3,850 yards straight in 1:10:34 which is 1:49 per 100. You know what came next. Home for nutrition, rest, and cats. Trevor made it to Plate City around 5:30 and on the bench I pressed

12 X 95
13 X 115
13 X 120
13 X 125
14 X 125
13 X 125
4 X 130

I am going through a buildup focusing on reps. I just want to experiment and see how this effects my strength. While walking around the backyard, my knee hit me twice. By hit me, I mean it felt like I had a little man inside trying to cut himself out with a knife. All in all, it was a God-blessed Randy Beetsdown day. Thank you, Jesus. 

Day One

Day one of my Thanksgiving Break was a buster. I call Monday day one because even though I got out Thursday afternoon, Monday the 19th was the first day I was at home when I would normally have been at work. I started out by drinking extra coffee and hanging out with CC and Baby Kitty. Then I went out for a run and did 4.1 miles. The pace, while still slow, was quicker than normal. 

After taking nutrition and resting, I want to Twin Rivers for some serious swimming.  I did

2,500
3 X 200 @ 4:00
300 small paddles
4 X 150 @ 3:00
300 small paddles
6 X 100 @ 2:00
300 small paddles
6 X 50 @ 1:15 medium paddles
6 X 25 @ :45 large paddles
600
total: 6,250 yards = 5,712 meters.

I didn't workout at Plate City Because we had Over 60s at First Baptist in Itta Bena. But I had enough. That is pretty begi day, praise the Lord, a real Beetsdown.

11/12 - 11/18

Since I have already written about each day of this week, I will keep this short and sweet. For the week, I 

swam 15, 583 meters,
walked 2.8 miles,
lifted weights 3 times, and 
ran 14.51 miles.

That is training. A note on the swimming numbers. Right now I am swimming short course yards, but I always convert to meters for the purpose of record keeping. For me, it makes little sense to have tow numbers at the end of the year: one for yards and another for meters. With the shoulder almost well, and a heated pool less than a mile from home, the swimming is coming along well. I still have not regained my speed. My times for 50s and 100s are much slower than they used to be. Would they drop if I went to DSU and swam against my old pals? I may drive over soon and find out.

Thank you, Jesus for good health and motivation.

Fabulous Friday

If you are wondering where I have been for a few days: computer problems. Anyway, I miss the little bit of blogging that I do three to four times per week. I wrote about training through last Wednesday. Today, I'll come up to date, Despite the title, I will cover Thursday through Sunday.

Thursday I swam

1,650
5 X 50 @ :56
500 small paddles
total: 2,400 yards.

At Plate City, Trevor and I did our first alley workout. This was a cross-fit type of deal that involved the sled (our first use), some light squats, ropes, and running for three rounds. Then we did our four bench bench press circuit three times for 12 sets of bench presses. A good day.

Friday, shuffled 5.1 miles then swam

2,000 (1:51)
6 X 50 @ :56
300 small paddles
7 X 50 @ 1:00
250 small paddles
total:3,300 yards.

Saturday I swam 

2,250 (1:48)
12 X 50 @ 1:00
300 small paddles
9 X 50 @ 1:00
400 small paddles
total: 4,600 yards.

Saturday night we ate at church and we did the same thing Sunday at lunch. Sigh. It is really hard to lose weight when every time you turn around, you are doing a special eating. Anyway, it was good training a lots of fun. Thank you, Jesus.

Wonderful Wednesday

Wednesday was a good day. They all are, but some are more enjoyable than others. It started, the enjoyable part, with snow. Actually it began to sleet around 11:00 am and by noon it was snowing like it rarely does around here.If we have ever had snow this early in the year, I don't remember.

I went to to pool right after work and swam

1,500 straight
4 X 50 @:56
450 with small paddles
total: 2,150 yards.

The warm up was at a 1:50 pace, which while not fast, was the fastest I have done warm up swimming in a few weeks. The 50s at :56 was the first time I have done that in weeks, not because I had no desire, but because I forgot I had that programmed into my watch. That is a heart rate set, and I only did four reps to see what it felt like.It felt OK, and I hope to do it again today.

After the swim, Trevor and I met at the frozen Plate City Gym. We hit it hard and had fun. The novelty of working out in the ice was neat.

I waited a bit to run because at 5:30 there are still a lot of cars in downtown Greenwood. About 6:00 I headed out the door. It was cold and when I got onto the wooden part of the catwalk on the Fulton Street Bridge, I began to slip because of theicee. I only shuffled 2.16, but that puts me at almost nine miles for the week. I plan a big one Friday so I should have a good week in terms of miles.

I climbed out of bed this morning with the excitement and anticipation of an eight year old boy the night before Christmas. Today when I drive off campus, I will be off for ten days. Big training here I come. Beetsdown training here I come. Getting in shape, here I come. Thank you , Jesus.

Terrific Tuesday

It wasn't the best training day, but it was a Beetsdown. I started with a trip to thhe pool where I swam

1,400
12 X 50 @ 1:00
400 smalll paddles
total: 2,400 yards.

I went home to recover and about the time Trevor usually gets to Plate City, he texted that he had to work late. So the gym was out. Instead, I went out for a shuffle in the extreme cold. Since I did a long run Monday, I settled for 2.27 miles of old man run pretending. But I was out there and I enjoyed it. I used to hate the winter time (it is winter in Mississippi), but now I enjoy it. I like running in the dark, and I enjoy being out in the cold. It was a good day, and I look forward to a better one today. Praise God.

Magnificent Monday

I kicked Randy Beets from can to can't Monday. First, it started with swim in the little pool at Twin Rivers. I swam

1,100
10 X 50 @ 1:00 as 6 swim, 4 small paddles
400 easy
4 X 50 @ 1:00 medium paddles
total: 2,300 yards + 2,104 meters. I wanted more, but was out of time.

I then went home to recover before Trevor showed up at Plate City for another Beetsdown workout. On the bench I did

10 X 95
15 X 115
15 X 120
12 X 125
12 X 125
12 X 125

I also did some squatting and a lot of cord work.

After Trevor left, I sent out for a shuffle despite having done squats and despite the fact that it was cold and rainy. The shuffle was slow, but I did 4.5 miles, a new high for this comeback. All in all, it was a major Beetsdown. Poor Randy, he doesn't have a chance. Thank you , Jesus.

11/5 -11/11

I made the best of a difficult week. Forced to work like I had a regular job, my numbers were down. I did manage to shuffle for a few more miles than I have been. But I only got into the water once, and only lifted thrice. Weather had some impact on that along with other things. But I did the best I could in having a Randy Beetsdown week. 

Monday I lifted weights and shuffled for 3.24 miles. That was my longest of the comeback and made me feel really hopeful.

Tuesday I shuffled for 2.1 and did some walking. Wednesday I lifted and then went out and broke my shuffle record with a 4.1 mile run. Now I know the legs are coming around. 

Thursday I lifted and did my only swim, 3,350 yards straight in 1:03:06 which comes out to a 1:52 per 100 yard pace. Not good.

Friday, Penny and I went to Jackson but before we did I shuffled 1.65 miles. In Jackson, I purchased four 25-pound Olympic Plates for the gym, and Sunday I saw another listing on Facebook for some Olympic weights for sale and drove to Yazoo City after church and got them also. Plate City is loaded. Now to just keep lifting.

For the week, I

ran - 11.09 miles,
lifted weights three times,
walked 5.86 miles, and

swam 3,061 meters.

At least I pushed it up in one area. This week, I hope to push it up in all areas. And then there is next week, Thanksgiving week. I hope to smash myself then and make a big leap in smashing Randy Beets. Praise God.

Dreaming

I've started to dream again. Did I mention that earlier? For a long time I didn't. I'm not talking about the things you have in your sleep. I have those constantly. But I mean those ideas, desires, goals that make us want to get out of bed, to do something, that excite us.

Before Mom passed, she was buying all sorts of stuff she could never use. She purchased cookers, sock knitting machines, computers, even a circle saw which she said was too heavy and she gave to me. "She's dreaming " was my sister's explanation of Mom's behavior. That was/is a good thing. She always had projects, ideas, things she wanted to do. She stopped dreaming, the best I could tell, right before she died.

When I was unable to run or swim or lift weights, the dreams went away. So did my zest for life. For the first time ever, there were days when I could not get out of bed. But now the dreams have returned, and I arise early to try to make them come to pass.

If y
ou read this blog and maybe if you don't, you know that I have been lifting, swimming, and even shuffling a little. Now some old dreams along with some new ones have returned. One dream that I missed doing two years ago was the Parks Marathon. This is not a race you can sign up for a complete. It was my brainchild in line with a lot of marathons I did alone, on Fridays, my day off. I called most of those adventure runs or Buddy Bones Marathons. You can look on my Facebook page and check out my albums and find pictures of these sole events that took place in the wilds around Holcomb, Mississippi, on the streets of Greenwood, and on the county roads around my hometown. I loved them and they kept me fired up and climbing out of bed early to go play, the one thing I ahve always wanted to do.

Last night, I shuffled a slow but fun 4.1 miles. That brought the mind the Parks Marathon, my idea of running to and at least a mile in 13 parks in and around Greenwood. With the my burgeoning running, the idea of spending Fridays on foot has me chomping at the bits. I want it.

Not only do I want to do the Parks Marathon, but I have thoughts of crazy Plate City Gym workouts. I think of setting up the bike trainer and doing sets of squats sandwiched between bouts on the trainer. The idea is to bomb my quads until I have to crawl back inside the house. I have similar thoughts on bench pressing. Recently I did a workout of ten sets of ten on the bench. Now, I want to start with a set of twelve reps, then up the weight and do another nine sets of ten. That should leave me sore for days.

Yes, I have some wet dreams also. No, not that kind. Swimming. I have done crazy swim workouts in the past. The wildest ones involved swimming mixed with running at the catfish pond. That, by the way, is a sport now. They call it Swim/Run, I think. But I do mine alone on the fish farm. It's a proven fitness builder, and I look forward to doing more of that this spring. The dogs, Pee Wee and Bear love it out there and need to go back.

And then there is the bicycle. I have more dreams than I have fitness or time or money. But I do have some time, and the fitness is returning. Thank you, Jesus.

Limited Success

Limited success. That is how Hades Week has gone thus far. I have not seen the water, but I plan to go tonight.I have run the last three nights so after Plate City today, I will head to the pool instead of the road in the dark.

Yesterday, Trevor and I had a good workout. I reluctantly went for a run. I say reluctantly because my knees felt gimpy Tuesday night. Despite Tuesday's troubles, the middle hing of me aged legs felt fine as I shuffled along at just a tad faster than a quick walk. I went for 4.1 which is my longest of the comeback. That also brings me to my highest wee's total this year, still low, but creeping upwards. There is no doubt that I have gained some sort of fitness, or am gaining might be more accurate. I was pleased with the shuffle and felt good afterwards. By feeling good, I had that smooth feel that a run of the right length gives. It washes away all nervousness, agitation, fatigue, and frustration. I guess it's the endorphins along with a lot of blood pumping. That's one reason I always like to run. It makes me feel good, healthy, whole.

Tonight, I plan to hit the pool big time. It's hard to know how I will feel, but I hope to swim around 4,000 yards or more. We'll see. Thank you, Jesus for a nice run and returning health.

Tuesday

The week is shaping up the be a bust compared to the last one. Friday had been planned out by my wife, and Saturday is going to be taken up by a trip to Tuscaloosa to see Mississippi State play Alabama. Those are my two big training days knocked out. Not to mention that my yard needs mowing and my house needs painting. Then there is the fact that this is butt kicking week. We have registration and have to be in our office like a regular job. That knocks swimming out. all that, I need some rest. I really do tire of going all the time. I want to stay at home.

Monday was a pretty good day with a weight session and a run, the longest of my comeback. Right now it is raining dogs and hyenas. Maybe that is a good think because although it might knock us out of a gym workout, if that happens, I will go to the pool and pound the water like I'm mad at it.

Yesterday, all I got done was a run. Trevor texted that he was out so I put on my shoes and headed out the door. I wanted to swim, but with the end of the week taken away, I knew I needed to keep the comeback rolling. My knees felt gimpy so I didn't do anything like I wanted. I walked and shuffled slowly for a total of 3.1 miles. Not much but I am ahead of last week.

Anyway, all  I can do is all I can do. I hope it rains all day and I am forced to the pool. Thank you, Jesus.