Friday

You know what I do on Fridays. Yeah, I sleep a little later. Yes, I do drink more coffee. You are right, I hang out with the cats. But that is not what I'm talking about. 

Thank you. Yes, I swim long.

I arrived at the pool around a quarter till noon and no one else was there. No one. I started stroking and right away I knew I was not strong and not ready to kill it. But I kept swimming. Marathon swimmers never "kill it." We survive it. 

First I made 1,000 yards. And then 1,500, a miles and finally 2,000.

Nothing hurt. Nothing was sore. I just wasn't strong, not fresh. My pace-- revealed by glancing at the Garmin on my wrist-- showed I was barely moving. But I kept swimming, and the 2,000 eventually became 3,000.

It takes a long time to swim a long time. After a really long time I had swum 4,000 yards. Then I began the slow climb to 5,000. At 5K, it is tempting to tap out. That is a good swim right there. But with the Senior Olympics and the Chicot Challenge coming up, I was motivated just enough to keep stroking along and doing flip turns.

Finally I hit the big 6,000. At 6,000 I become impressed with the numbers rather than being intimidated by them. Here I begin to pay as much attention to the time as I do the distance. After 6,000, I start swimming down two hours. On this Friday, it only took a couple of hundred over to hit the two hour mark. Then I was chipping away at 7,000.

When I made 7,000, I knew then I was not going to stop short save for some sort of sudden, catastrophic injury. When I hit 8,000 the question was how far to go beyond my 8,200 of last week. I stopped at 8,600 yards. No feeds, not stops for water even. Two hours and forty-five minutes of straight swimming. I have some endurance now. But this is not the end. Heck, I haven't even started swimming the ponds yet.

Thank you, Jesus, for a good day.

Latest addition to Plate City

I shot this little video when I was working out Saturday afternoon. I laid some more blocks, got the hack squat out of the yard, and rearranged some things. Plate City is better than ever. I will shoot a vid of the latest edition of the gym soon and show you. 

More Gooder Plate City

I know I described this in my last blog post made only minutes ago, but I remembered I had shot this little video so here it is. I did some warm up sets on the bench press and then did the following (the numbers in the left column are the bike sessions and, well you'll figure it out)

1:05  10 X 95
1:07  10 X 100
1:06  10 X 105
1:03  10 X 110
1:05   8 X 115
1:07   8 X 120
1:05   6 X 125

I took a short break between each round, just enough time to record and walk to the back fence and to the bicycle. This is a nice workout that hits strength and cardio. I like it and will no doubt repeat it often in the future. 

Long Course!

After work I hit Plate City for only the second time this week. I did a workout I saw Josh Bridges do. It was the stationary bike and bench presses alternating. I did seven sets of each going about a minute on each bike leg, getting off and going straight to the bench. The bench looked like this (warm up sets added)

15 X 45
10 X 65
10 X 95 (bike started before this set)
10 X 100
10 X 105
10 X 110
8 X 115
8 X 120
6 X 125

Of course I played with the hack squat machine. Dude, I forgot pictures again, and I don't even need weight on that thing. I did the first set of 8 with no weight and then only added a five and another five for two more sets. I did leg presses for the first time in months. I enjoyed using the fifty pound plates. I did 100, 150, 175. It was a good workout and then I was on my way to DSU.

I went to DSU Thursday night because I wanted to practice my dive start off real blocks. All I have done recently is off the deck at the Twin Rivers tiny pool which is only about four inches from the water's surface. Would my goggles survive the added height of the blocks? Better to find out now than to get to Biloxi and have a catastrophe.

I also like to go that way now and then because we have grandchildren over there. And dogs. Sadie, my daughter's relatively new boxer, goes ape when I show up. Like Smu, she likes me a lot and I don't mind at all.

Quinton called while I was there and said the place in Carroll County was on fire. Great. I contemplated going back, but after calling Junior Barrentine, I decided to stay and do my swim.

When I got to the pool, I was shocked that I had forgotten that they switch the pool to long course this time of year. It has been a bit, and I was excited to see what it felt like after months of tiny pool swimming. I began to warm up and then after only a couple of laps, I noticed that the others swimmers were doing a kick set. What?! Cagri didn't wait on me! Then they were doing a pull set. I'll just do my own thing, I thought. 

I got to the wall and was getting my other Garmin out when I heard Cagri announce the set. I'll just jump in, I thought. The set was a ladder, one to four and back down again. Swim it anyway you want: use paddles, fins, mix it up, whatever. I like. That's 2,000 meters on top of what I already did. The whole practice went like this:

1,200 warm up 23:26 (1:56)
100 1:41
200 3:43 (1:47)
300 5:21 (1:46)
400 7:17 (1:49)
400 7:16 (1:49)
300 5:28 (1:49)
200 3:37 (1:48)
100 1:52 then
200 easy
6 X 100 small paddles @2:16
total: 4,000 long course meters.

After that, I crawled out and put my cap on the test my goggles on a dive start. It worked, the technique I developed in the tiny pool of pulling my cap down over the top of the goggles. I only did one dive.

I learned a couple of things. One, I learned my goggles will survive a block dive. Two, I learned I can get to the wall in a long course pool in under 2:00. Remember, last summer I could not do it. I am fitter and faster now but I don't know if I can do a set of 20s or not. Thank you, Jesus.

Back to One

I think I'm through purchasing. Weights. Machines. Maybe.

I've been saying that for a long time. I need to stop primarily because it knocks me out of a workout every time I do. Like Wednesday.

I bought a hack squat machine. A real one. A good one. A real good one.
I had to travel to Woodland, Mississippi. At least now I know there is a Woodland. Did you? Not only did I purchase a really nice machine, but 488 pounds of weights came with it: four one-hundred pound plates and two forty-four pounders. Wow. I have never had 100s before and I really don't need plates that big. In fact, I had quite an ordeal unloading those things. Just to move on a little is a real feat for me.

Pictures? Tomorrow. I'll snap some this afternoon and post Friday. Yesterday I was so intent on getting the plates and the machine unloaded and then getting to the pool that I didn't even think about pictures. 

The machine weighs about 300 pounds and is big. So I picked up Keith Ratliff for some muscle and decided to go in through the back gate, to open it up and back the truck through. That meant I had to put the dogs on the patio and then undo the myriad of stuff my wife has stacked, leaned, and attached to the fence and gate. It took some doing, but I got it done. Keith and I dumped the machine in the yard and the plates on the ground and then I shifted into swim mode. I need to lay some more blocks and do some more planning, but it will work.

At the pool, I was unhindered by kids. Alone. I was alone. I swam

2,700 51:55 (1:55) you can see that I was off
800 for time 13:33 (1:41) yep, I was off
500 small paddles
3 X 400 @ 7:45
 1 - 7:00 (1:44)
 2 - 7:10 (1:47)
 3 - easy 7:30 (1:50)
total: 5,200 yards = 4,752 meters.

A pretty good day it was. Thank you, Jesus.

Back to Two

Tuesday I got two in. First was Plate City Gym for some benches and squats. On the bench, I pressed

15 X 45
10 X 65
10 X 95
7 X 115
4 X 135
3 X 145
2 X 155
1 X 160
1 X 161.25
3 X 171.25 pin press #10
6 X 140
13 X 120

The squats are still classified.

At the pool, I swam

2,000 36:08 (1:48)
200 for time 2:56 (1:28)
300 small paddles
6 X 100 @ 1:52/53 plus a 50
 1 - 1:27
 2 - 1:29
 3 - 1:27
 4 - 1:27
 5 - 1:29
 6 - 1:28
50 - :42 The 50 was an addition to this set. I did the first three 100s at 1:52. I'll make that four the next time I do the set.
400 small paddles
150 agility paddles
12 X 50 @ 1:09 some swim, some medium paddles, some large paddles
200 finger paddles
total: 4,500 yards = 4,113 meters.

It was a good day made better when I received a text at 11:13 pm that my friend, who had been missing for fifty-four hours, had called. He was OK. Thank you, Jesus.

Only One

Monday is normally three-workout day. Not this time. First, when my alarm shook me awake at 5:00 am, the rain was coming down like a monsoon on a Pacific island. Then after work, I had to make a trip to Carroll County. When I got home, I lay down and took a nap. I still had time to go to Plate City, but when I awoke, CC was asleep on my lap. I don't wake up sleeping cats. It's rude. I'm not rude. I am not, Sunita Sharma.

So I did what I always do when there is a choice about which workout to do. I went to the pool. When I got there the place was full of kids and parents and who all the heck I don't know. I went back to my truck to hang out and wait. About fifteen minutes later I went back after I saw several carloads of people leave. There were still a lot of folks in there. I saw Debbie and she motioned for me to come to her. 

"I want to talk to you," she said. 

I sat.

"Graduation." I thought, Thank you, Jesus.

Then we chatted about me having some lessons there.

"I want you to give me a date. A starting date. We'll set up the lessons and give the money to the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi."

Cha ching!!!

We chatted a bit and then I looked at the calendar on my phone and said, "Let's start the week after the 6th of April."

So it is set. If you can already swim, but want to work on your stroke and learn how to swim all day long, or a few laps long, you need to sign up for these lessons. 

Finally, a few more people left, and I got into the pool. I swam

1,200 22:07 (1:50)
7 X 500 @ 9:50
  1 - 8:36 (1:42) first 100 fast
  2 - 8:29 (1:41) second 100 fast
  3 - 8:34 (1:42) third 100 fast
  4 - 8:45 (1:44) fourth 100 fast
  5 - 8:46 (1:44) fifth 100 fast
  6 - 8:39 (1:43) first 100 and last 50 fast
  7 - 9:06 (1:48) easy, cool down
total: 4,700 yards = 4,295 meters.

The 500s were nice. That is definitely an endurance set, but it did not neglect the speed fibers in my muscles. I wish I had discovered this set earlier. It should do well in preparing me to do the 500 at the meet on the 6th of April.

Nice swim. No, the kids aren't done. There is another graduation today, then something else tomorrow. But we are getting close. Thank you, Jesus.

3/18 - 3/24

This was the week. My first swim meet is three weeks out and for my other athletic adventures, this is where I always wanted the most volume as well as a lot of quality of training. I got it, at least I swam more that week than anytime since Chicot Challenge VI in 2017.

Monday I lifted weights and swam 3,473 meters. The swim included some tough sets. Tuesday I did more weightlifting and swam 4,113 meters. Again, there was a healthy dose of quality in those meters.

Wednesday I only swam but I hit the pool for 4,615 meters. For the first time in years I did the old 20 X 100 set. The interval was a little slow but I actually swam 21 X. Thursday I lifted more weights and swam another 3,650 meters.

Friday is endurance day and I swam 8,200 yards straight. From the start, I was thinking of throwing in the towel, of tapping out. But I kept going and even finished with a little juice. These swim not only produce that all-day endurance needed for the Chicot Challenge, but they produce the patience of mind needed to just keep going. 

Yesterday I posted about Saturday's big training. I did the Viking 5K, rode bicycles with my son, lifted weights, and swam. A good day it was, I awoke Monday morning weighing less than I have on a Monday morning in two full years. I am always my heaviest on Monday morning so I am looking forward to some good numbers on the scale and in the pool this week.

For the week, I

ran - 3.0 (I know a 5K is supposed to be 3.1, but ours is not),
biked - 3:00 minutes on the stationary and 9.47 miles on the road bike,
lifted weights - four times (all upper body, not lower body because of the knee),
swam - 26,184 meters = 16.27 miles.

That's real training right there. I don't care who you are. I need another big week in the water before my taper next week to be at a peak for the swim meet in Biloxi. Thank you, Jesus for good weather, good health, and good energy.

Quad for the Bod

Saturday I worked out four times.

Four. Times. In. One. Day.

That should help me unfat a little. Maybe.

It all started with the Viking Half Marathon and 5K.

My son wanted to do it so we signed up. Then my knee went gimpy Monday and I didn't run or do squats all week, and doubted I would even make it to the starting line. 

Father and son before the start

I did, however, show up at the start but was unsure if I could run or if I could run if I could finish. Forrest has had his own knee issues with surgery two years ago. This was his first 5K in that much time. So we were two guys who hobbled.

Of course we raced. It's what sons and dads do. If you want to save money on auto insurance you call Gyco. But it you want to race, you run with your son. That's what you do.

Trailing Forrest early in the run.

I started just shuffling a bit and was surprised when I looked at my Garmin and saw I was running an 11:something per mile pace. Lately I can't seem to crack a 14:00 mile. Yeah, that slow. When I spotted Forrest ahead of me, I tucked in behind him and ran on his heels for a bit. Then I noticed the Garmin read a ten something per mile pace. I was huffing like my wife does when she sees I've been to Academy Sports and bought some more weights. But that's what you do, huff, if you run a good 5K. If you want to save money on car insurance, . . . .

We went through the first mile at 10:08. Then I pulled ahead a little. I remember not long after that Forrest said he had to walk some. I said OK and pressed it a little. At that point I was thinking, if I can just get to the halfway point ahead of him. 

At the half way point I was still ahead. When we made the dogleg onto Lelfore Avenue, I looked back and saw he was about 150 meters behind me. Early on Lelfore we passed the two-mile mark, and I was running scared. River Road is the final leg of the 5K, and when we got there I just kept pushing afraid he would catch me and pass me. River Road turns into Front Street when it crossed Fulton. I was looking at the finish line. But one of my symptoms of old age is that I can no longer move my head enough to look behind me. When I ran past Regions Bank, I looked at my reflection in their big glass front. I knew from that that he was at least thirty feet back when I didn't see his reflection behind mine. 

I crossed the finish line in 29:56. To say I was surprised is an understatement. I was shocked, but in a good way. I expected to run 36 or 37 minutes. With the rare miles I put in, I can only assume a few things about my performance.

  1. The weightlifting, particularly the squats, must have helped a lot. My legs are as strong as they have ever been, and as Mark Bell says, "Strength is never a weakness."

  2. I dropped a few pounds over the past three weeks and there is no speculation that that has helped. Lose weight, run distances faster. It's not socket rience.

  3. Saturday one week ago I ran up Woodall Mountain. That was a Vo2Max workout and no doubt helped me a lot.

It was a great day to run: cool, dry, sunny. After the race Forrest and I ate Larry's Fish and Hot Tamales from Honest Abe's. Then we left. First I checked my status and found out that I had won my age division. But we didn't stay for the awards ceremony because Forrest wanted to make a bicycle ride. He has a new bike and was eager to try it out.

Food Alley after the run

We drove up to Money and rode one of the side roads. It was windy, nevertheless, we had a nice ride. We only did 9.47 miles but on top of that hard-run 5K, I felt like my legs were pretty much done. 

On the way back to town, we hatched the idea to lift some weights at Plate City. I did benches, shrugs, lateral raises, pullups, lat pull downs, and the Swim Pull. Notice there is no leg work in there. Running and cycling took care of that.

So we did three workouts. Forrest had to go to work after a short session for him. I stayed and lifted more then I went inside, took some nutrition, and rested for workout number four.

Workout number four was-- drumroll -- a swim. Are you surprised? At the pool, I swam

1,300
200 for time 2:56 (1:28)
300 small paddles
6 X 100 @1:53 (the first two @ 1:52)
  1:30
  1:30
  1:29
  1:28
  1:28
  1:28
300 small paddles
4 X 25 dive start
  19
  19
  19
  20
6 X 50 @ 1:09 medium paddles
total: 3,100 yards = 2.833 meters.

Well, that sure topped off a busy week. If memory serves me correctly, this is the first time I ever did four workouts in one day. It was fun. I am tired. I am grateful. God gave me both the health and the energy to have that much fun in one day. I am blessed. Thank you, Jesus.

Friday

Friday morning I went to the pastors' breakfast at North Carrollton Baptist Church. That means I did not get to sleep late. After the breakfast,  I went on a search for combination locks. 

Don't give me advice. Just don't.

I did go to the pool about 1:00 o'clock when I stopped looking for combination locks. I swam. And I swam. And I did not stop until I had gone 8,200 yards in 2:32:09. That is my longest, since June of 2017, almost two years.  

It felt real.

It felt good.

But it didn't feel real good.

Friday's swim puts me at a pretty good training volume for the week if I swim not another single stroke. But I do plan to swim another stroke, several.

Axle Bar

I wrote a little about the axle bar in my last post. Here it is. This is a simple piece of equipment that I had made at Leflore Steel in Greenwood, Mississippi. All it is is a schedule forty pipe cut to length with a washer welded on each side for a stop. This is a strongman tool that they use to develop grip strength while doing other stuff like dead lifts and presses. The fat bar works the grip like crazy. I made the purchase when Trevor was working out with me because he became interested in strongman stuff. I finally used it Thursday, and it added some variety to my workout.

Plate City keeps blowing, going, and growing. Praise the Lord.

Free Thursday

Thursday I finally got to go home and be free. I took a nap. Really, that was the first time in weeks that I felt the need to snooze before I could get out and do some stuff. The first stuff I did was at Plate City where I benched

20 X 45
8 X 65
10 X 95
12 X 100
10 X 105
10 X 110
10 X 110
10 X 110
10 X 110
10 X 110
10 X 110
11 X 110

I think that is the most volume I have ever done on the bench. I also dead lifted and played with the axle bar for the first time. I pulled

5 X 50 ab (axle bar)
6 X 70 ab
7 X 81 ab
2 X 135 rb (regular bar)
2 X 91 ab
1 X 140 rb
3 X 100 ab
1 X 145 rb
2 X 100 ab
1 X 150 rb
2 X 100 ab

The axle bar is 1.9 inches in diameter all the way so that holding it is difficult. When I went above 70 pounds, I switched to a reverse grip to hold it.

I also did three sets of Swim Pull and some rotator cuff work.

At the pool I had a nice swim. I started with

1,100 warm up, then
6 X 50 @ 55 swim time 4:31 (1:30/100 yard)
200 small paddles
6 X 50 @ 59 4:22 (1:27)
250 small paddles
6 X 50 @ 1:03 4:19 (1:25)
300 small paddles
8 X 50 @ 1:06 5:53 (1:27)
350 small paddles
4 X 50 @ 1:09 2:57 (1:28)
100 medium paddles
200 easy
total: 4,000 yards = 3,650 meters.

A lot of quality there. I believe this is the most 50s (30) I have ever done is a practice. However, it is not as many quality yards as I did last night in my 21 X 100 set - 2,100 vs 1,500). Nevertheless, the quality (speed) in 50s is a bit higher than in 100s. 

All in all, it was a good training day that I thank my Lord Jesus for.

An Old Favorite Returns

Wednesday I had to go to Carroll County to change locks on the gate to the Ski Lodge. Another day of errands. I also bought gas and went to the bank. Today I play. While in Carroll County, I thought about taking a run, but my knee is still a bit gimpy so I walked .6 of a mile instead. Yeah, it's that bad and I am signed up for the Viking 5K this Saturday.

At the pool, I warmed up with a long 2,500 yards. Then I did something I haven't done in I don't know how long. I swam 100s hard on a not too long repeat. For the longest of years, 20 X 100 @ 2:00 was my favorite workout. It is a tough one, but it makes you strong. Maybe I haven't been doing it since by comeback because I tried it late last summer in the outdoor pool, and I could not make the interval. In the past, I did them @ 2:00 in both short course and long course pools. But I could not even get back to the wall in two minutes much less turn around at that time. So I sort of let my old standby slide. I have been doing some 100s, but usually six or eight, and the interval has been at 2:05. 

I screwed up my courage and knocked off 21 @ 2:05. They felt tough. They felt good. Now I am back to a workout that is guaranteed to pay dividends. I should do this at least once per week. For the Heart O' Dixie, I will swim this a lot, possibly adding more reps and lowering the interval a second at a time until I get it back to 2:00 flat or lower even.

After the tough set, I swam 250 with the finger paddles and then 150 with the small paddles. That gave me 5,050 for the day. Enough. Thank you, Jesus.

More Stuff

Tuesday was another one of those days where life happened. Of course, I like to come home and play rather than having to take care of business. Monday I had to take care of business. Tuesday I had to take care of more business. Today I still have to take care of business. I just want to play.

Despite going to the vets Monday, I had to go again Tuesday. Bear needed to go and I am trying to clear my schedule out so I can, you guess it, play. Not only did I have to go back to the vets, I had to wait again for the electrician to come back and install a light in our living room. You can't do that? you ask. Not after seeing our old one catch on fire, literally. I punted to ball to someone who can handle it.

About 4:00 pm, I finally made my way to Plate City for some serious weight training. I did seven sets of lat pull downs, sex sets of T-bar rowing, and some pull ups and the Swim Pull. That gave me about an hour to get some nutrition and recover a bit before going to the pool.

I didn't even get to the pool until after 6:30 and the babies were still there. They do lessons now on Saturday and Sunday even. My fear is that they will keep doing lessons after the first week in April when it was announced the baby lesson would end. The reason I think that is the schedule was supposed to be Monday through Friday until 6:10 with the lessons ending at 6:20. Now they go every day of the week and later than advertised. My guess it they will last all summer.

Sigh. Enough whining. It really isn't that big of an imposition. I have more access to water now than ever. Pretty soon, the ponds will be open. I. Can't. Wait.

At the pool, I swam

1,700 30:59 (1:48)
700 for time 10:59 (1:33)
700 small paddles
200 for time 3:07 (1:33)
300 small paddles
600 easy
total: 4,500 yards = 4,113 meters.

A double is not bad. Thank you, Jesus. I hope for a double today. The knee is still too gimpy to run.

Man-maker Set

Life happens. It happened. We had some electrical issues at the house and I had to wait on the electrician to come by. Not only that, but the cats were out of food and Pee Wee needed to go to the vet. So that sort of threw a several monkey wrenches into my normal plans of a three-workout day. What got left off was the run.

Late in the afternoon, I went out to Plate City and just did bench presses. I normally also squat on Mondays, but m knee hurt when I gently moved one time and I decided to let it rest. I guess running four times last week was too much. On the bench, I pressed

15 X 45
8 X 65
8 X 95
7 X 115
4 X 135
3 X 145
2 X 150
1 X 155
1 X 160
1 X 165 with pins @ #9 spot
3 X 170 @ #10
6 X 140
12 X 120

Later I went to the pool and there was too much going on, so I went home and came back later. I have two training weeks before taper week and then the Senior Olympics. I have fallen off on quality swimming lately. So I swam

1,300 warm up, and then did my Man-maker set:
400 6:20 (1:34)
300 4:41 (1:33)
200 3:00 (1:30)
150 2:13 (1:28)
100 1:28
100 1:29
100 1:28
100 1:29
100 1:26
50 43
50 43
50 43
50 43
50 43
50 44
25 22
25 22 for a total of 1,900 yards all @1:34 or below. I cooled down with
600 easy with small paddles for a total of
3,800 yards = 3,473 meters.

Not a bad day. This Man-maker should put some speed back into my 500. Thank you, Lord, for a good day.

3/11 - 3/17

Spring Break week was nice, as usual, and I did both a lot of training and a lot of goofing off. The week began with a tree-workout day consisting of a 2.77 miles shuffle, and 4,200 yard swim, and a weight training session. 

Tuesday I continued my hard-working ways with more weights and more swimming. I hit 3,500 yards in the water.

Wednesday I began my sinking spell which I decided was in part connected to my weight loss. I lifted and swam a paltry 1,500 yards. I also did a bicycle/run. Thursday was only slightly better. I lifted again and swam a still slim 2,100 yards. 

Friday Penny and I began our road trip. Before we left, however, I did a shuffle out Money Road on an empty stomach. The run was horrendous because my calories were limited the afternoon before. I had a protein shake for supper which I finished about 5:45. I ran abut 8:00 in the morning and it was a pitiful shuffle. But thank God for it.

Then we left on our trip which meant a lot of sitting and eating junk. The last blog post tells the story of our adventure if you want to read about it. I will repeat here that Saturday I ran up Woodall Mountain, 1.01 miles. That was the only exercise I did for the last two days of Spring Break.

For the week, I

rode 6.99 miles on the bicycle,
swam 10,327 meters,
ran 8.16 miles, and 
lifted weights four times.

A good week it was. Thank you, Lord.

Spring Break Road Trip

Penny and I left the house about 10 am Friday morning. We were headed north and east with no firm plans except to return the next afternoon. We had mentioned Iuka and Pickwick Lake. Mostly we just wanted to get away, do some riding, and spend some time together.

With my mom sick for years and Jeff ageing and sick for years, we had not made an overnight trip together in years. Really, years. Now we can. Although I had her truck in the shop twice over the past two weeks and shelled out over $1,100 to get it fixed, I managed to convince Penny that we could afford the trip. We left with smiles, a prayer for traveling graces, and the hope to see new country while enjoying ourselves.

We went east on Highway 82 until we got to the Natchez Trace and then turned onto it and headed north. The Trace was nice with its light traffic, absence of towns, and its overload of nature. We stopped here and there to use a restroom and retrieve snacks. We had plenty of snacks. I didn't fall off the wagon. I dived off head first into a bag of candy and chips. 

I asked Penny if she was OK with us staying on the Trace all the way to the Tennessee River. That is a little past the turn to Iuka and into Alabama. She has no problem with that. When we got to the river, we went across and stopped at a pulloff on the north side. The river is a huge barge canal at that point. I saw what I wanted to see. There was a place where a boat could motor up to the shore there. Then we drove back to the south side. There is a rest area there. We used the restroom and then did a little exploring and found a boat landing. Cha ching!!! Restrooms, boat landing, landmarks. The bones of a documented swim.

A not so clear photo of the Tennessee River from the
north side where the Natchez Trace crosses.

"You know why I wanted to come here?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said without excitement.

"It's twenty-eight miles from here to the marina at Pickwick Lake."

"This it too far to drive back and make it to church the next day."

"This will be a multi-day event," I answered. "Like a Thursday, Friday, and Saturday."

"That means people will have to take off work."

"I know, I know."

She wasn't hostile but didn't seem enthused either. How could she? These kind of dreams are understandable only to endurance athletes. This one has been growing inside of me for a long time. I want to do one more really crazy swim before I get too old. That deep satisfaction of the 2017 Chicot still stirs me to go to those kinds of extremes again.

Eventually we made it to Iuka and searched for a motel. Penny didn't like the looks of any there so we drove on to Pickwick. On the way, we passed an interesting looking restaurant called Freddy T's, and we also drove past a Hilton Inn before we motored across the dam at Pickwick. I was shocked at how turbulent the water below the dam was. I would not want to swim in there. But above the dam it was relatively calm and I knew from some experience with that river system and from maps that there was swimmable water all the way to Florence, Alabama. I swam twelve miles there in September of 2007. Farther upstream, I swam ten miles four different years near Chattanooga.

We checked in to the Hilton, rested a bit and then went to Freddy T's. After we were seated, our waitress informed us that their kitchen didn't open until 5:00 o'clock. It was 4:18. We decided to stay which gave us plenty of time to study the menu. They had crab legs. I tried to talk Penny into getting them because she loves them and it makes me happy to see her enjoy herself. She pointed out the price. They were high, but I was more than willing to pay for the joy it would give us both. She refused saying one pound was not enough for her. 

I ordered Cajun Fish and she chose hamburger steak. It was good but not excellent. After our meal, we drove around a bit then went to the room to crash.

I slept well, while Penny did not. She had some sort of allergic reaction the night before but awoke clear of the rash that covered her up after our restaurant experience. I stayed in bed and studied awhile after Penny went to breakfast. Later I went and then we checked out and headed to Adamsville, Tennessee to visit the Buford Pusser museum. The museum was interesting, and then we drove back to Iuka. 

Once back in the little town in Mississippi, we stopped at Cappleman's Antiques. I had found it on the internet, and it looked like an interesting stop. We went in, and the woman behind the counter asked if we had ever been there before. 

"No," Penny blurted out. "We're from Mississippi." 

That stopped the proprietor dead in her tracks. That face. You could have tossed a ping pong ball into her mouth. I had to leave the room. I scooted into an adjoining book room, hid behind a shelf of books, and laughed so hard I almost passed out.

I couldn't stand it. When we left as soon as we went out the door, I burst into laughter.

"What's so funny," Penny wanted to know.

"We're from Mississippi," I answered between chuckles.

"I noticed her face. Then I realized what I said. I mean, we've been so many places, I didn't know what state we were in."

Really, you can't make this stuff up.

Unbelievable she did not get angry at my laughter. Usually she does not take well to being laughed at.

We left there and after Googling Woodall Mountain which was to be our last stop before heading home. When we got to what I thought was the last stop, I got out and told Penny to drive up while I tried to run to the top. I did it. It wasn't too bad and I had to make a few laps on top to finish a mile. It was a big pull, bigger than the one on Humphrey Highway. I am not that fit, but I felt like I had something although at one point the road was so steep I thought I might have to quit.

A little view from the summit.

The registry on the mountain top.

Old man shuffling to the top of the mountain.

So I got in the Trailblazer, and we headed home a different way than the way we had come. We went home through Oxford and then to Batesville so we could stop at Cracker Barrel. Penny loves to eat and shop there. We had a nice meal. 

The sun still gave some light when we arrived back at 333 West Monroe Ave. I went in and immediately let the cats in. CC was insatiable. Baby Kitty was vocal. Luvie just stayed on the back porch in his spot. He is the only spot cat we have and he seems to never want to leave his latest spot anymore.

It was a nice trip, and we immediately planned to make another. This summer we will do it again, a different one. I can't wait. Thank you, Jesus, for giving us a good and safe trip.

Thursday

I only partly rebounded from the physical malaise I suffered Wednesday. Because Thursday is a two-workout day and I was off work, I went to the pool early, in the morning. I still didn't feel it although I was not quite as weak as I was Wednesday. Glancing at my watch underwater told me that my feelings were accurate. I was a little quicker than yesterday when I bombed out and tapped early, but not a lot. I have a new theory on why I have suffered this decline the last two days.

I think it has to do with me weight. I am an expert on losing weight having shed some 600 pounds over the past few year. Really, I have: fifteen pounds forty times. I have noticed that when I am on the way down, I usually hit a plateau. What happens is you just keep doing the right things and eventually your body starts dumping the pounds, sometimes suddenly and stunningly. That happened Wednesday morning when I woke up four pounds lighter than the day before. I thought it a matter of mild dehydration so I paid extra attention to drinking all day and into the night. I was urinating through the night and it was clear. When I awoke an additional .4 pounds lighter Thursday morning, I realized what was going on. For about two months I have been stagnated not able to get under 170. I'm under now. Just like in the past, this sudden drop of weight has been accompanied by some bad workouts. It is, however, a price I am willing to pay.

At the pool, I stopped after 700 because the infant swim teacher left, and I thought she would come back. If I was to do some quality swimming, I needed to do it while she was gone. The quality I did was 6 X 100 @ 1:53. The last time I did that set, it was 5 X 100 @ 1:54. I aimed for 1:30 or better on each rep and I made it in

1:30
1:30
1:30
1:30
1:29
1:29

I followed that with 300 easy with small paddles. Then I did some 25s, eight of them @ :45. That is a pretty long interval, but not as long as what it will be the next time I do 25s. The way I see it, there is only one reason to do 25s and that is to work on speed. The faster you do a rep, the more rest you need and should take. The goal of the set of 100s was to work heart rate and lactic acid buffering, the ability to hammer it and not die. So the rest interval in relation to the intensity of the swimming was short. The goal of the 25s is to increase speed. The goal of those long warm ups I do is low-end endurance, aerobic fitness, the kind of thing I need when I do the Chicot Challenge. So there you have my swim training philosophy in a nutshell.

I went home, ate a light lunch and watched In the Heat of the Night while easing in and out of sleep with little CC on my lap. About 4:00 pm. I got up and hit the gym, slowly and deliberately. There is no way I could have done a crossfit type workout. The residual fatigue was too high. I like crossfit and am slowly incorporating more and more of it into my training. But I wonder about the sustainability of that kind of workout. Will those guys still be hitting it like that when they get my age? I doubt it. 

The traditional type of weightlifting I am doing can be done when you feel like you'd rather take a nap. One can warm up slowly and slow the heart rate between sets with some mild walking rather than jumping into another set and pushing oneself to exhaustion. Maybe I'm lazy, but I am still in the game and able to swim all day at the age of 62. On the bench, I pressed

20 X 45
10 X 65
10 X 95
12 X 100
10 X 105
10 X 105 incline one
10 X 110 incline one
8 X 105 incline two
10 X 100 incline two
8 X 100 incline two
4 X 95 incline three

I also did some calf raises, standing and seated. It has been awhile since I did any of those. Of course I did rotator cuff work as well as some upper back work since I will be off for a couple of days.

For the day, I totaled 2,100 in the pool, and did lots of volume on the bench press. Thank you, Lord, for all of your blessings.

Two Point Five

Wednesday is three-workout day, but there were some problems. The first problem was my right knee. It was a bit gimpy so in my great maturity and restraint, I decided against running. Instead, I got on the mountain bike and went over the bridge. This was my first ride of the year, the thee and a half minute stationary bike rides notwithstanding. 

I warmed up enough that a stopped the bicycle at a turnrow and did some shuffling, and whole 1.02 miles. Then riding again, I headed for Wade Road and there I shuffled two of the gravel stretches of that road while pushing the bike. In all, I shuffled 1.28 miles and pedaled 6.99 miles. It was a workout done just before lunch.

In the afternoon, I went to Plate City, of course. What did you expect? I worked on shoulders, shrugs, cleans, and dead lifts. I even went over the fence and did six tire flips with the big tractor tire. Workout number two in the books.

We picked Penny's truck up from the shop after 5:00. It's been in the car hospital since Friday and was in a few days before that for another stay. Now, life returns to normal. Somewhat. Is it ever normal? 

For workout number three, I headed to the pool. I was toying with the idea of doing a long, steady swim maybe 8,000 yards. I have done this (training) long enough to know never to make firm plans. Sometimes your body doesn't appreciate what your brain can dream up. That was the case Wednesday night.

To say I wasn't feeling it is a gross understatement. I could barely stay above water. I swam 1,000 and the time was 19:37. That is barely shy of 2:00 per 100 yards. On a warm up, I normally swim somewhere between 1:48 to 1:52. When there is that much of a slowdown, something is wrong. I was tired, didn't feel good, and didn't even want to be there. I swam another 500 and the time on it was 9:47. I tapped out. You have to listen to your body and mine was speaking to screaming at me. I listened and went home, not disappointed, but a little surprised. Yes, I have been pushing it lately, but not that much more than usual.

So that is why I titled this post, "Two Point Five." I did two and a half workouts or three if you give full credit for a slow 1,500 yards. Despite the early tap, I was happy with the day. Thank you, Jesus.

Fun Day

Tuesday was a enjoyable day, and I got a lot of things done. We still have a vehicle in the shop and since I wanted to do some running around, I drove Penny to work. Then I went home, drank some coffee, and wrote a blog post. It wasn't long, however, before I was in the back yard.

I had several things going on at Plate City. Before going home, I picked up some more blocks from Home Front and some big nails from True Value. I laid another row of blocks to get the stationary bicycle off the grass and to give me room to move the trap before in front of the dead lift bar. Those might seem like small things, but they were real improvements. Not only that, but Delta Street Ministries had posted again about some weights they were getting rid of. They are going all Olympic. When I saw the message on my phone that I could come get them, I jumped the fence, cranked the truck, and found me a high gear.

Since I posted about that last night, I'll spare you the details. It was a lot of weight and the mats they gave me were a huge boost. I spent the afternoon organizing and working out. It was pull day, and I did six sets of lat pull downs, six sets of T-bar rowing, and four sets of pull ups and Swim Pull. Not only that, but I did squats and mowed the lawn. The gym looks fantastic, and I feel fantastic.

Later at the pool, I swam

1,300 24:21 (1:52)
7 X 50 (It was supposed to be six, decline 1 -3)
  1 - :48
  2 - :45
  3 - :43
  4 - :41
  5 - :49
  6 - :44
  7 - :40
150 2:16
100 small paddles
150 2:15
100 small paddles
150 2:16
150 small paddles
150 2:17
250 small paddles
7 X 50 @ 1:09 with medium paddles
300 small paddles
200 kick with fins
total swim: 3,500 yards = 3,199 meters.

I weighed 169.4 this morning. I haven't been under 170 since 2017. I need to get under 160 which is where I lived until late 2016 when I hurt my knee. Thank you, Jesus, and help me keep doing the right things.

Even More Upgrades

I made another haul of weights today. In addition to the weights, Delta Street Ministries gave me three mats, real mats. They are upgrading their weights going from one inch to Olympic. Thus they are clearing out the one inch plates to my advantage.

Check out the picture above. These are some of the plates I acquired to day, sitting on the mats they donated. So I drove some more nails into the wooded power rack to hang some of these plates. Not only that, but I set aside some plates to take to Leflore Steel to get another welded barbell made.

I put one of the mats under the leg press machine. These mats are thick and heavy and are not going to blow away in the wind or be dragged off by the dogs. 

Two of the mats went under the dead lift station. With the bumper plates, it will be totally acceptable to drop the deal lift bar now. I also added another row of blocks on the front which improves both looks and functionality. The trap bar now sits outside the dead lift bar so I don't have to step over a bar to do the farmer's walk which is what I use the trap bar for. 

I just finished lunch. After a nap, I plan to hit Plate City with renewed vigor. That is one of the things upgrades to the gym do for me: it shoots my motivation through the roof. 

Thank you, Lord.

Big Three

Transitioning from sleep to consciousness was sweet Monday morning. Even half way between slumber and wakefulness, I was aware that I did not have to go to work. The Spring Break proper had begun. 

Once I had coffee and clarity, I began to peck on the computer, writing out my last week's record of training. That's when I noticed the rain. The sound of raindrops pecking on the awnings outside was soothing and disturbing. Soothing by sound, but I realized my hope for a three-workout day could be in jeopardy. 

I toyed with the idea of a treadmill run. However, that for me is always a last resort. Finally, about 10:00 0'clock not hearing the rain anymore, I got dressed and headed out the door only to discover water was still pelting from the sky, not hard but too hard. I would surely get soaked, and it was a bit cool for that.

So I fretted and looked for my raincoat, the one you are supposed to be able to run in. Running raincoats are sort of like wetsuits for swimming. They don't actually keep you dry, but you get wet slowly so that if it is not too cool, your body heat can warm the wet next to your skin. I couldn't find my raincoat, but looking out the door again, I saw that the rain had stopped, and I went for it.

I made to to Bankston School before it began to precipitate with a vengeance, so instead of going over the bridge, like I wanted, I turned back towards home. Thankfully the heavy rain didn't last long and some zigging and zagging got me 2.77 miles of shuffling and a little walking. 

Workout number one was complete.

Workout number two was a bench press session at Plate City. See the previous post for a short video of the latest improvements I made on the gym. On the bench, I pressed

15 X 45 
10 X 65
10 X 95
8 X 115
5 X 135
3 X 145
2 X 150
1 X 155
6 X 140
11 X 120

Workout number two: done.

After that, I took nutrition and waited for Penny to come home so I could go to the pool. At the pool, I swam

1,200 warmup
4 X 50 decline 1 - 4
  1 - :49
  2 - :46
  3 - :42
  4 - :41
600 for time in 9:23 (1:33)
1,000 easy
200 for time in 3:00 (1:30)
1,000 cool down
600 kick with fins
total swim: 4,200 yards = 3,838 meters.

Workout number three, successfully completed.

I was a little disappointed in my 600 time. I took a peak at my watch at 500 (the distance I will swim in April) and the time was 7:49. I have been under 7:30 for 500 about a month ago. Why the slowdown? Two possibilities. One is the swim lessons which have had a negative impact on my interval training. With babies in the water, I don't feel comfortable blasting it as hard as I can creating waves and splash. As a result, I am now swimming at night so I can be free to swim how I want. Another possibility is swimming after lifting. Moving my swim till the nighttime has put the lifting ahead of the swimming. Given the choice, I always liked to swim then lift rather than the reverse. I am going to the pool with muscles that have been blasted with the weights about two hours before. How much difference does that make? I really do not know.

So I don't know if I will get my time back below 7:30 or not. Time is running out. Anyway, all I can do is all I can do. While training for the swim meet, I am simultaneously training for the Chicot Challenge. These are really polar opposite events and require different training. But I like to mix things up, and they are really mixed up now. 

A few things I'm banking on to help me swim faster at the meet are: I will taper (and I haven't been fresh in awhile), I will shave down (I routinely shave my legs, but for the meet I will shave my arms and chest), and I will be competing with other swimmers. I know in running, doing an event means your times go way down below what you do in training. Cagri told me the same thing happens in the pool. So how will it go? I have never done a pool meet so I am looking forward to the opportunity to find out about these things.

Thank you Lord. I'm having fun.