Small Three

Saturday I did three workouts, but there were no monsters in the bunch. I was supposed to meet John at the pool at 9:00 a.m., but I was a no show. I just wasn't up to it and I stayed in, studied, and drank coffee. I did go to the little pool around 11:30 and swam

1,000 18:48 (1:52)
200 small paddles
4 X 25 @ :46
4 X 50 @ 1:06 medium paddles
4 X 25 @ :46
100 small paddles
total: 1,700 yards = 1,553 meters

That was pretty brief, but I didn't have a lot of energy, and I discovered the 25 felt good and I ought to do more of those. If I am to achieve the time goals I have set for myself for the 2020 Mississippi Senior Olympics, then I need to develop more pure speed. To do that, I need the 25s and 50s for speed and the 300s for stamina. 

I went out in the early afternoon for a short, easy run. I was knocking on the door of a twenty-mile week so I finished that out with a 2.27 mile effort. In the past, I discovered that twenty miles is sort of the threshold of run training. At twenty miles, I am getting in the minimum volume I need to get in shape.

Later still, I went to Plate City and did a bit of everything. On the bench, I pressed

10 X 95
10 X 100
10 X 105
10 X 110
10 X 115
10 X 120

To that, I added 13 X 30 on the incline dumbbell bench press. I also did more pull ups than I have a a few years, some Swim Pulls, and I even played around a bit with some alley stuff. 

I went to Tractor Supply and bought a tow strap for pulling a sled and a tire that I fixed up a long time ago but haven't messed with in a long time. I found out that I need some weight in the sled. I did some suitcase walks with a 45-pound kettlebell and I also played with the over-the-bar thing. I used a 50-pound dumbbell and found that is still a bit too light. The picture to the right is the bar that I set up to lift and push stuff over. I am still experimenting with this, but I'll figure it out.

To make a short story long, I had a good day with three nice workouts. Thank you, Jesus, for good health and the energy to use that health.

Wampy

Wimpy plus an A effort on one of my workouts, in case you're wondering. Friday usually offers me time for three workouts. I only got two. One, my swim, was less than stellar. John and I went to the little pool because it was thundering when we showed up and 7:15 a.m. I swam

2,000 38:42 (1:56)
5 X 100 @ 2:05
  1:30
  1:28
  1:29
  1:30
  1:31
300 small paddles
total: 3,000 = 2,742 meters

Not a bad practice, that, but far from top notch. Notice the 100s were barely getting 1:30. That is a pretty strong sign that I was a bit off.

I ran in the early afternoon. It was as cool as it has been all summer, 74 when I left the house a tad after 2:00 p.m. I intended to hit a touch over the 5.21 miles I did last week, but I felt pretty good and did some zigging and zagging before I crossed the Tallahatchie Road Bridge. Instead of doing an out-and-back on Wade Road, I took the gravel road that leads back to Money Road at the radio station almost a mile and a half from the bridge. At 3.25 miles, I lapped my watch and picked up the pace for the next 1.08 miles which put me on the paved big road headed back to town. My pace for the pick up was 10:21. That is not fast, but for me right now that represents a tempo run.

That was it. I wanted to lift some weights, but we closed on Mom's house at 4:30. I'll probably write about that later. It was a weird feeling for me.

Thank you, Jesus, for helping us sell the house and for giving me a wampy workout day.

Wempy

That is like wimpy but a little bit better, thus the "e." So now you know.

I thought I was going to Cleveland to see the grandkids and swim with the crew at DSU. Consequently, I slept in, which I severely needed, and studied for Sunday morning. Then Penny started asking me about going to Claudia White's party so I put all travel plans on hold.

I swam after lunch in the little pool. It was a good one, not a big one but a good one. I did

1,250 23:02 (1:50)
5 X 50 @ 1:09
4 X 300 @ 5:27
  4:43
  4:41
  4:40
  4:38
400 small paddles
total: 3,100 yards = 2,833 meters

A word about the 300s. I love that set. It makes me hurt so good. I swim it at about 85%, and it feels like a tempo run only in the water. My average pace was just a hair over 1:30 per hundred which puts me into my race pace at 500 yards. I arrived at the rest interval by guessing, and I nailed it. 5:27 gives me enough time to be ready to go again, but not quite enough to be fully recovered, close to full recovered, but not all the way there. 

This will be a major practice for me in the future. It should be great for the 500 which I am already thinking about for next spring in Biloxi. It should also be a good set for the half mile at the Heart O' Dixie Triathlon. Not only that, but if I work the reps up and do it after a long warmup, it will be a good set for getting me ready for the Chicot Challenge. In short, it is a top notch set. Today was the first time I had done it four times. Twice I have done 3 X 300. By number three I start to feel some burn in the rear deltoids and the triceps muscles. That means I'm working hard. The 300s are long enough to stress my aerobic capacity but short enough that I don't dread pushing off the wall. It is the perfect set. I am going to be unstoppable now. If Randy Beets were still around, he would be crying to his mama about this.

I was too lazy to lift weights. It was CC's fault. She climbed up into my lap after I got home from the pool and held me down most of the afternoon. Later, after 5:00, I took a short run. I had had big plans for running this week, but a sore calf halted all of that. I ran big Monday with 8.82. Thursday I just shuffled 2.34. But that's better than a poke in the eye.

Thank you, Jesus, for the good swim set and the health to perform it.

Wimpy

I have gone from wuge, to nwuge, to wimpy in my training this week. Wednesday I hatched some big plans. Hatched them in my mind that is. They started with a swim in the big pool. I did 

2 x 50
1,400
400 for time (7:18)
300 small paddles
total: 2,200 long course meters

That wasn't too wimpy, but I was planning more when John started out. I know I didn't have to stop because he did, but without thinking, I climbed out and started drying off once I saw him head towards the exit.

I then had thoughts of a long bike ride, but Penny wanted to eat lunch at the Crystal Grill. After our meal, CC got on my when I reclined on the couch, and she didn't let me up for most of the afternoon. 

When I did get up, it was to experiment with an alley workout. What's that, you say? An alley workout is when I toss some equipment over the fence and into the alley at Plate City and so some sort of crossfit/strongman type of workout. I was thinking about pushing weight over a bar like they often do in strongman contests. They might use sandbags or stones, and it looks like a really effective full body workout.

Since I have neither sandbag or stones, I was at a loss to figure what to lift. Then I thought about all the short welded barbells I have. I tossed a thirty over along with a stand alone rack. Placing an empty bar on the rack, I lifted and dropped the thirty-pounder over the bar six time and then grabbed a forty-pound kettlebell and carried it 108 feet, swapped hands and carried it back.

Since the thirty-pounder was too light, I dropped my biggest kettlebell over, a forty-five, raised the height on the bar and did that six times. It was still a bit light. I am thinking of getting a short, straight bar from Leflore Steel and loading it with some ten pound plates, about six, that I have plenty of. Maybe I should raise the height on the bar again. 

Anyway, I did some playing around and that is all. I do have plans to do some more of that sort of thing. You have to experiment to find a weight that is enough to make you work but not make you want to go back inside and lie on the couch. I'll figure it out. Thank you, Jesus, for ideas and desire, and health. Help me to keep using it all.

NWuge

In case you are wondering, NWuge = Not Wuge. After Monday's wuge workouts, I slowed it a bit Tuesday. At the pool, I swam

1,000
10 X 50 @ 1:21
2 X 50 @ 1:21 small paddles
8 X 50 @ 1:21 medium paddles
350 small paddles
total: 2,600 long course meters

I didn't really feel like being in the water. The long run on Mondays always leaves me a little flat Tuesday so I just sort of go through the motions.

I did not run in part because my right calf is pretty sore after the long run with pickups. From not on, I think the pickups need to be done in a shorter run. I did hit Plate City to workout and hang out with the dogs. On the bench, I pressed

13 X 95
6 X 115
5 X 125
5 X 135
5 X 140

decline bench press

13 X 95

Triceps pushdown

20 X 25

Swim Pull

25 X 30

That wasn't a bad day. Thank you, Jesus.

Wuge

Monday was wuge. What is that? you ask. Wuge is huge plus wow. A lot of things are huge but don't have the wow factor. For my first day of full training since being sick, I did enough volume for huge and enough intensity for the wow factor resulting in a wuge training day.

Wuge started with meeting John at the little pool. Since it was raining (we love to swim in the rain, but lifeguards can order you out of the pool), we went indoors. I swam

1,200 23:26 (1:56)
4 X 50 decline 1 - 4
  50
  45
  44
  42
200 for time 2:58
400 small paddles
150 for time 2:14
350 medium paddles
125 for time 1:51
325 swim
100 for time 1:28
250 small paddles
total: 3,300 yards = 3.016 meters.

That's a pretty good start right there; I don't care who you are. 

Around noon, I went out for workout number two, a run out Money Road. Saturday was brutally hot, but overall, this has been the coolest summer I can ever remember. The heat peaked at 84. Image being able to do long runs at noon on Money Road in late June where there is no shade. I have been doing it all summer. I went for 8.82 with some multi-pacing thrown in. For my fitness level, that was wuge.

Workout number three was a Plate City special of seated rows, pull ups, and Swim Pull. I wanted to do bench presses, but I am waiting on my specialty bar, to get it back from Leflore Steel. Maybe Tuesday.

Three strong workouts in one summer day is wuge for an old man like me. On top of all that, the weight is continuing to creep downward. I hit 166 last week, about ten pounds short of my goal and twenty pounds down from my fattest. I could tell it a little bit on the run. Although it was still embarrassingly slow, it was a bit quicker than it has been since I resumed my shuffling. Also I am getting stronger on the pull ups. For the first time ever, I added some weight. I tied a five-pound plate to my waist for one rep and a seven-and-a-half-pound plate for one rep. Yeehaa.

Thank you, Jesus.

6/17 - 6/23

I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that the fitness plane I was piloting crashed last week. Not a crash landing, but it went down nose first and burst into flames. The good news is I am still alive. Thank you, Lord.

Monday was one of those big training days. I git the pool for 3,500 yards swum thusly:

1,500 30:17 (2:00!!!!!)
6 X 50 @ 1:12
700 13:20 (1:54)
7 X 75 @ 1:35
700 13:01 (1:51)
total: 3,500 yards = 3,199 meters.

In the afternoon, I shuffled 8.7 miles in a pace so slow that I re-earned my old nickname of Calendar Boy. That is what my junior high track coach used to call me. He said if I ran any slower, they were going to have to time me with the calendar. 

Penny and I went to Over 60s and chowed down on some good Larry's fish while enjoying some excellent live music and even better fellowship with Harry and Linda Adams and others. It was a nice and full day. It didn't stay that way, however. About 12:00 a.m. I awoke to, well you have already read all about that last week. I could not train Tuesday or Wednesday or Thursday or Friday. Well, I did do some very light lifting Wednesday afternoon.

Saturday, I went back to Twin Rivers and swam 2,400 straight in the big pool. Later in the afternoon, I shuffled 3.41 miles, and later still I went to Plate City and busted out a pretty big session hitting the entire upper body. On the bench I pressed

13 X 95
6 X 115
5 X 125
5 X 130
5 X 135

I also supersetted pull ups with the Swim Pull.

For the week, I 

lifted weights two times,
ran 12.11 miles, and
swam 5,599 meters.

That is a huge drop off, but I am not sweating it. First, it could not be helped. Second, the body needs a drop down week every now and then. Sometimes I add them into the programming. Often I just let life do it. Illness, or some type of monkey wrench thrown into the schedule usually takes care of that on its own.

Thank you, Jesus, for restoring my health, and giving us good church Sunday.

The Answer to Everything

I took John to a medical appointment in Madison. Rising at 3:45 a.m., I wasn't the most pleasant fellow in the world by the time John finished filling out his paperwork after only an hour. Actually it was a little more than an hour. A nurse came out and helped him after he had worked on it for sixty minutes. During that time, I had plenty of opportunity to observe the waiting room. An old familiar pet peeve met me and everyone else there. I promise, I am not exaggerating one iota on what I am about to say.

I first noticed this problem in 1999 when I sat for entrance exams at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary. I wore a full business suit and tie that day and was so cold that I not only shivered but was in pain. That has been my constant sorrow ever since. 

I came prepared. Yes, I had on shorts, but up top I wore a T-shirt under my long-sleeve button down and a cap covered my head. I noticed a lot of people there were more prepared than I. No joke, I counted

   six sweaters
   two winter coats
   one jacket, and 
   one patient wrapped up in a blanket.

Not only that, but the office had two waiting rooms, one announced every few minutes to whosoever would listen, was "warmer than the other." Believe me, it was not warm, just not as cold.

Please tell me why this is necessary. Why do I encounter this everywhere I go? It has to cost a lot of money, and that cost has to be passed on to the costumer. Below is a list of public places I have visited and whether or not these places were cold:

restaurants, cold
City Hall, cold
churches, cold
Civic Center, cold
Walmart, cold
movie theater, cold
cafe, cold
school, cold
jail, I thankfully don't know
doctor's office, cold
dental office, cold
hospital, cold
post office, cold
CPA firm, cold
lawyer's office, cold
courtroom, cold
veterinarian's, cold
car dealership, cold
Sears, cold
JC Penney, cold
Big Lots, cold
Sherwin-Williams, cold
grocery store, cold
mechanic shop, hot
CVS, cold
Walgreen, cold
GNC, cold
seminary chapel, cold
motel lobby, cold

Tell me again, why this is so. Our esteemed national leaders have advanced all sorts of proposals to fix all our problems. There is the Green New Deal, emissions control, and the Paris Agreement of 2015. My answer is simple, effective, and costless: turn the thermostat up a few degrees. That is all.

Yes, it really is that simple. This will solve global warming, lower household expenses, and cure the high cost of everything. Not only that, but you will not have to watch people shuffle into a medical facility in Mississippi in June dressed like they live in Alaska during the most brutal winter on record. The absurdity of this was painful that day. Where is the morality here? 

Stop the torture. Save the planet. Be nice to old people, young people, and middle-age people. Turn the thermostat up.

The Overlooked Blessing

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So is blindness.

It was about 12:00 a.m Tuesday morning when I knew I was in trouble. My entire midsection felt bloated and my stomach unsettled. This was not good. Around 12:30, I knew I could have a bowel movement. That would solve my problems. 

I thought.

I had the bowel movement and within minutes I was back in the bathroom to enjoy a bout of projectile vomiting. Don't you just love that? Add to that a round of explosive diarrhea and you can probably write this post yourself. That went on most of the night, or early morning, to be more precise. Once, I fetched a barf bucket and filled it while experiencing diarrhea at the same time. I figure there was well over a liter of liquid in the barf bucket, and I added at least that much to the commode. I was sweating on top of all of that. Between these bouts I was drinking probably five or six ounces of iced green tea.

How can one keep that up over a few times and not die? Seriously. I must have lost over a hundred and fifty ounces of fluid per hour while taking in mere ounces. At the time, I was sure I could not live long, but morning came, not with joy, but with a cessation of of the hurling and retching. I slept most of the day, not all at once, but an hour at a time. 

Penny came home for lunch with a pork chop sandwich for me. Just the mention of pork chop sandwich almost made me hurl again. Before she left to go back to work, I told her there was something I could eat: a strawberry milkshake. She came home after 5:00 with my milkshake. I couldn't get it all down, but I consumed a full half of the large Sonic shake. I was hungry. I liked it. It tasted good and made me feel better. I put the remainder in the refrigerator for later.

Ice-cream. It is what I eat on my marathon swims. Why? For the same reasons I chose it after my bout of illness. It always goes down easy, is full of calories: protein, fat, and carbohydrate, as well as electrolytes. Besides all that, it is easy on the stomach. So try it the next time you have a stomach virus. You will be able to eat ice-cream and keep it down long before you can consume anything else.

Despite sleeping all day and feeling stir crazy by nightfall, I passed the whole night without waking once. Wednesday morning, I was able to eat a small bowl of cereal. Thank you, Jesus. I took a bath and ran a couple of errands. It wasn't much, but moving around even a little made me feel better. Later in the afternoon, I went to Plate City and worked out lightly. I didn't have the fire in the belly, nevertheless, I made some of my muscles do a little bit. That was good. 

Thank you, Dear God, for good health. I realize I take it for granted almost everyday. Forgive me and help me be more mindful of this great blessing. Take a moment and think of the unthanked blessings God has heaped upon you. Now take a few moments and give thanks. "Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised." Psalm 145:3

Massive Monday

I hit the pool early. It was supposed to rain, and had some when I got there a little after 7:00 a.m. so I went indoors to prevent being run out of the big pool half way through a practice. John was a no show. He has been ill of late. I swam

1,500 30:17 (2:00)
6 X 50 @ 1:12
700 13:20 (1:54)
4 X 75 @ 1:35
700 13:01 (1:51)
total: 3,500 yards = 3,199 meters

Notice how slow the swim was. I almost never average 2:00 per 100 on short course. As I warmed up, I swam a little faster, but still I wondered what was wrong.

Donny Cleveland of Leflore Steele contacted me about the time I finished the practice. He said to come by after lunch and my stuff should be ready. Yee haa! The stuff was a welded barbell, 75 pounds, and a specialty bar. I don't even know what they call those things, but I wanted one and showed Donny a picture. "We can build that," he told me with confidence. When I picked the equipment up, I was as happy as a dead pig in the sunshine. I'll post some pics and maybe a video later.

I wanted to play with the new toys right away, but Monday is long run day right now so I put on my running shoes and hit the road. I went out Money Road for 8.7 miles. The pace was pathetically slow, but the weather was unusually cool. Thank you, Lord. We had Over 60s that night and I just had time to get a bath and dress for that. No time for the toys.

Monday was a good day. Over 60s was nice as it always is. Thank you, Jesus.

6/10 - 6/16

Monday has turned into big numbers day. I swam 2,600 meters and ran 8.46 miles. Tuesday was marked by a single swim and nothing else. I got in 2,700 meters. Wednesday I swam 2,500 meters and ran 5.21 miles.

Thursday I sprung for a trip to the kids' and a practice with the DAM swimmers. Before I left town, however, I pedaled 22:00 minutes on the trainer and did some squats at Plate City. At DSU, we swam 2,500 meters with all sorts of insane breathing patterns. 

Friday I swam 3,700 yards in the little pool, and warmed up on the bike trainer for 10:00 minutes before shuffling 3.08 miles. And Saturday was a really big day with a 2,850 yard swim, a trainer ride of 41:00 minutes, a run of 1.87 miles, and a whole big batch of weight lifting hitting the entire upper body. 
For the week, I

lifted weights two times,
ran 18.66 miles,
pedaled 1:13:00 on the trainer, and 
swam 16,285 meters.

That's pretty good training right there, I don't care who you are. Thank you, Jesus, for a solid week.

Saturday

I slept so well Friday night that I didn't know what day it was when I arose Saturday. I was thinking it was Sunday. I took that to mean I slept well. I felt like I did. I have taken naps when I woke up and didn't know what day it was. Penny and I both snoozed in later than usual and started the day slower than normal. In the later part of the morning, I went to Twin Rivers and swam the little pool since there were a few kids in the big one. I did

1,200 21:45 (1:48)
10 X 100 @ 2:05
  1:29
  1:29
  1:27
  1:28
  1:28
  1:27
  1:27
  1:27
  1:26
  1:27
200 small paddles
5 X 50 @ 1:06 with medium paddles
200 small paddles
total: 2,850 yards = 2,604 meters

That was a good swim. I got work but not an over amount of fatigue. After lunch, I put in 41:00 minutes on the bike trainer and then did my first transition run of the day. I shuffled 1.87 miles. Yes, Friday I did 10:00 on the trainer and then ran. But that is not enough on the bicycle to be called a transition run.

Late in the afternoon, I mowed the back lawn and worked out at Plate City. I did a bunch of stuff including the flat bench press where I pushed

12 X 95
10 X 100
10 X 105
10 X 110

dumbbell incline bench presses

10 X 35
11 X 35

I did some pullups and some Swim Pulls. I changed the weights out on the Swim Pull. I was always adding up the weight and was rarely sure I got it right because I had so many small plates of odd denominations. I had three pounders and a 4.4 pounder, and two tens that were of different diameters and I was always second guessing my addition. I happened to notice that I had an odd number of 25 pound plates, so I swapped out the two mismatched tens and two odd shaped 2.5s for a single 25. Now it is easy to count the weight. I promise, that will fire me up for weeks to work harder on that machine. That is the main reason I like to make changes to the gym. Every time I do, it gives me a motivational boost for weeks to come.

So it was another three-workout day. Nice. Heart O Dixie, I am getting ready for you. Thank you, Jesus, for a nice day of training and hanging out with the dogs, the wife, and CC. Life is good.

Friday

John was out so I worked on my sermon and went to the pool abut 10:30 a.m. There were kids in the big pool so I went to the little one. I swam

2,200 40:06 (1:49)
4 X 50 @ 1:09
3 X 300 @ 5:27
  4:48
  4:46
  4:45
400 small paddle
total: 3,700 yards = 3.381 meters.

That is my longest swim since Chico,t and I felt strong and smooth. Notice that the 300 short course takes exactly the same time as 250 long course. That set gave me a good feeling. It should be a dandy for the Heart O' Dixie swim because it works both speed and endurance.

Later in the day, I did a ten minute trainer ride followed be a 3.07 mile shuffle. I intended to do some weights, but you know where the road of good intentions leads. Still not a bad day. Thank you, Jesus.

Back to the Crew

My parents are buried between Ruleville and Cleveland, and Penny and I have grandchildren at Skene (a few miles west of Cleveland). Not only that, but there is a Masters swim crew that I trained with for years at DSU. To cut straight to the chase, I was overdue for a trip to my old college town. Thursday, I made that journey.

Before I made that trip, however, I first did a short trainer ride and some low volume squats at Plate City. Every little bit helps, and I can't afford to neglect leg strength. I have none of that naturally.

I got a late start going west due to business, a funeral visitation, and some necessary shopping. But I stopped by the cemetery and did what I usually do. I just got out of the truck and stared at the headstone for a couple of minutes and left. I have never been a graveside visitor, but I do stop fairly regularly at the Lehrton Cemetery to spend a few moments at Mom and Dad's grave.

I then went on the the kids' house, as Penny and I call it. Caitlin was baking brownies. Who knew? I got mugged by the dogs and hung out with Zane. When 6:00 o'clock came, I headed to DSU, to the pool and the Mad Swimming Scientist as I call him. We swam long course meters thusly:

1,100 (they did 800 skips, I did straight swimming)
4 X 100 breathing 1st 25 no breath, 25 every 3rd, and 50 every 5th. 
8 X 50 @ 1:30 decline 1 - 4 (my best times were 44 and 44)
3 X 100 same as above but the last 50 breathing every 9th
300 easy with paddles
total: 2,500 meters.

It was nice to swim with the old crew again. Duke was not there and neither was Tabatha. I missed them, but it was good to see Ricky and Mark. I need to go back every couple of weeks. Not only do I enjoy the company of other swimmers, it is good to have a coach tell you what to do, to make you do things you would not do on your own. I never do breathing patterns when I train alone. Never. And the grandchildren are growing up. You can never get that time back.

God gave me a good day. Thank you, Lord.

It was a good day and I enjoyed driving home in the daylight. Jesus is the light of the world. 

Wednesday Wobble

Lately I have been. Wobbling. Maybe that's not the right word. I've been sagging a bit. I only did two workouts yesterday. Wobbling, or fatigue is responsible for my lack of production.

I met John at the pool a little before 7:30. He has turned over a new leaf. That makes four times in a row he has been on time. I swam

100 (picked up money off the bottom of the pool)
1,700
2 X 250 @5:50
  4:48
  4:50
200 small paddles
total: 2,500 meters.

You might wonder why the 250s on 5:50. The reason is I had a set of 5:50 programmed into my watch already. It was put there for doing 300s in the short course pool. I was scrolling through the workouts and Cha ching, I see 5:50. Should work for 250s long course. It did. I only did two because John and I were pressed for time. I am beginning to get a little hungry for a longer swim.

I ran, but I waited until after 4:00 not because it was hot, but because I was lounging. CC was hanging out with me I didn't have the fire in the belly. When I did go out to play, I shuffled 5.21 miles at another miserably slow pace. The hamstring, by the way, was better. I should do more leg curls.

I needed to lift, but I just didn't. Here is where having a partner helps. I lifted a lot when I had Trevor. Now that he is gone, there are more days that I let it slide, especially after running kind of long. Still, it was a good day. Thank you, Jesus.

Tuesday

Tuesday, I didn't do much. I'm not sure why. Yes I am. I was tired. I started out with a swim, meeting John at the pool. That first work out went went like this:

1,700 37:51 (2:13)
8 X 50 @ 1:21
200 small paddles
4 X 50 @ 1:21
200 small paddles
total: 2,700 meters

That was a pretty decent swim although a little short. I was thinking of a trainer ride, but musing on it was as far as I got. I took a couple of naps instead. I did go to Plate City but did little there. On the bench, I pressed

10 X 95
5 X 115
5 X 120
5 X 125
5 X 130

I also did a couple of sets of leg curls. For several weeks now I have been having some issues with my left hamstring. I though some gentle full range of motion strength work might help. What I have been doing is not working. I felt no pain or discomfort while I did two sets of light (25 pounds) sets at ten reps each. Tomorrow will tell if that easy word stimulated the muscle enough to possible generate some healing/rebuilding. It has been bothering me since I felt a little pull while doing a heavy set of dead lifts. 

Thank the Lord, I have been able to continue training.

Monday

I like to think that I'm back to training, real training for a real event. I haven't, however, entered into that beast mode so to speak. John was on time Monday morning at the pool. That makes two days in a row, Saturday of last week and Monday of this week. Wow. He is messing up my funeral sermon on him. I swam

1,600 33:42 (2:13)
4 X 200 @ 4:30
  3:47 (1:53)
  3:44 (1:51)
  3:42 (1:50)
  3:39 (1:49)
200 small paddles
total: 2,600 long course meters

The 200s felt good and 4:30 was the perfect interval for them. That gave me just enough time to get my breath back before starting the next rep. I need to add to the reps and work the rest interval down on those to get myself ready for the HOD. Right now I am feeling like I really can't swim fast, like my arms just won't move quickly and my mind won't demand it. I guess I'll get through it. The 200s felt like a little push but not fast. We'll see what the rest of the week brings.

The weather here was pretty cool here for mid-June. I ran about 3:30 p.m. and the temp was 84 with a north wind. I went straight out Money Road and back for a total of 8.46 miles. There is no shade out there and it was OK. I was shuffling like an old man running in vain from a dangerous dog. But I was out there doing it. One day my pace will come back, I pray. Thank you, Jesus, that I can run at all.

6/3 - 6/9

Recovery week went well. It started, Monday, with a 1,500 meter swim and a 7.76 mile run. Tuesday I did 1,096 meters and some weight lifting. Wednesday I stroked 1,700 meters, ran 5.02, and lifted some weights.

Thursday was the first day I did any quality swimming and not much then. I hit some 50s at about 80% effort with lots of rest and only 1,826 meters of volume. In addition to that, I also lifted a little and spent 21:00 minutes on the bike trainer.

Friday, I swam 2,600 meters with some quality 100s. I ran 2.54 miles and lifted weights again. Saturday I did all three with a 3,000 meter swim, and bike trainer/squat session, and an upper body weight workout.
For the week, I

swam 11,724 meters,
lifted weights five times,
pedaled 54:30 on the bicycle trainer, and
ran 15.32 miles.

That's a pretty solid week. The swim was light, but that was programmed. This week, I will start pushing the swim volume back up and also try to hit some higher intensities in the pool. I need more time on the trainer, and only a few tenths of a mile more of running. Thank you, Jesus, for a solid week of training and a great Sunday at Centerville.

Saturday Triple

Penny was out of pocket, Saturday, which left me feeling a little more free to train. John wanted to meet at 7:30. I don't like to get up at work time on the weekend, but guess who always accommodates whom? He was on time. Yes, you read that correctly. John was on time for the fourth time in about 450 get togethers. I swam

1,500 33:24 (2:13)
4 X 150 @ 3:55
  2:47
  2:28
  2:42
  2:43
300 easy
4 X 100 @ 2:15
  1:46
  1:48
  1:47
  1:49
200 small paddles
total: 3,000 meters

A couple of notes. That was my longest swim since Chicot. It was also the most quality since Chicot. From here on, the training is geared towards the Heart O' Dixie's half mile swim. For that, I need more speed, a better arm turnover, and a higher VO2 max.

Workout two took place when I forced myself into the old study to do a trainer ride. I went for 33:30 and then did three sets of squats. That hit my legs, but they didn't feel blown out. I should recover and be able to go long Monday.

My third workout happened when I went to Plate City about 5:30 p.m. I did shoulders, shrugs, Swim Pulls, pull ups, and rotator cuff work. 

In short, I hit another triple. Working out three times a day is great for weight control and for total fitness. Thank you, Lord. It was nice.

Slow Friday

It was a slow-moving day, Friday, just like I wished. Starting with a swim, I was supposed to meet John at 7:30, but he was late. I swam

1.400 30:57 (2:12)
6 X 50 @ 1:21
5 X 100 @ 2:15
100 easy
300 kick with fins
total: 2,600 plus 300 kick

Notice that I upped to total just a little bit and the quality eased up some also. The next big thing is the Heart O' Dixie Triathlon and that is an intense swim. A half mile in open water might sound like a piece of cake to you. Hey, you think, you just swam 12.75 miles. Yes, but to do this the way I want to requires some retooling, so to speak. I need to work on speed, stamina, and the ability to suffer. Suffering during a hard half mile is a totally different kind of suffering than suffering over twelve miles.

About mid-morning, I took a short shuffle, 2.54 miles. I kept the pace at a blistering sub 13:00 minute per mile pace. I was looking back through my training diary yesterday, and I was surprised when I saw how little I have run this year. No wonder I am shuffling like an old man. I am an old man who has run very little since 2016. But I am out there trying once more to come back, to regain some earlier form. How far back will I get? I don't know, but I hope to return to some of my Buddy Bones Friday marathons this winter if I can stay healthy. One in particular that I never go to do is the Buddy Bones Parks Marathon. On this one, I will run a mile at several of the parks in town. Thirteen parks and with the to and fro, I will have the 26.2.

By mid-afternoon, I forced myself out of the house for some Plate City stuff. I bench pressed, did some T-bar rowing, one arm rows, cord work, and rotator cuff stuff.

Penny and I had plans for the night. We went to Crystal Grill early. I got the two pork chops which are almost as good as a rib eye and a whole lot cheaper. We then went to the Greenwood Little Theater and watched "Ragtime." Wow. Just wow.

It was a good day and night. Thank you, Jesus.

Thursday

John was out of pocket Thursday so I slept in. Never mind it was monsoon raining. The City of Greenwood had its annual employee picnic at noon, and Penny wanted me to go so I did. We met at the Civic Center and had lots of good food. Afterwards, I took a nap and then went to the pool. I swam

1,100 20:46 (1:53)
5 X 50 medium hard
250 small paddles
400 easy/hard by 25s
total: 2,000 plus 300 kick with fins

That was in the little pool, of course, and it was the first time since Chicot that I have done anything resembling quality. It wasn't much, but it was a start, a start to training for the Heart O' Dixie Triathlon held the last Saturday in July.

Later, I hooked my road bike up to the trainer and spun on it for 21:00 minutes. That is the beginning of my bicycle training. After that I lifted a few weights. I really didn't feel like doing much and I didn't. I performed rotator cuff stuff, one set of Swim Pulls, some dumbbell curls, and I punched the BAS some. Then I took nutrition and spent the rest of the evening watching lion videos on YouTube. Lion life if tough. I am thankful I am not a lion.

It was a good day. Thank you, Jesus.

Wednesday

Recovery continues as I slowly ease back into my normal routine. I did a three-workout day Wednesday, but it was three short ones. First, I was supposed to meet John at the pool at 8:00 a.m. He was fourteen minutes late which is almost early for him. I swam 1,700 straight and then did 200 kick with fins.

Back home, I lounged on the couch and took a nap. After lunch I took another nap and then headed out for a shuffle. I went 5.02 miles at another miserable pace. The weather had clouded over, the temp was 83, and the breeze made running on Wade Road almost comfortable. It was nice.

I felt pretty tired then, but I went to Plate City and did a little bit of lifting. I didn't do much; I worked the upper back to balance yesterday's chest work. Then that night, I had my swimmers whom I am working with and still raising a few coins for the DFM. They are getting better each week, and I am enjoying the process.

I slept in this morning. If John had been here, he would have wanted to meet at 7:30. He said at the pool yesterday that, "We need to get here earlier."

I responded, "What do you mean we?"

He didn't seem to get it.

He is out of pocket to day. I will swim later and try to lift a little. That's the plan if I don't rest all day. Tomorrow we are supposed to meet at 7:30. He won't be there until ten minutes 'til eight. 

It was a nice Wednesday. 

Thank you, Jesus.

Recovery

The week after Chicot is all about recovery: recovery from the stress of the long swim, and the recovery of the cessation of weight training. I have started both.

Monday I was supposed to meet John at the pool. He was a no-show. I swam an easy 1,500. Later, I shuffled 7.75 miles at a miserably slow 14-plus minutes per mile. That is so slow it is embarrassing. But at least I was out there trying.

Tuesday I was supposed to meet John at the pool. He was a no-show. I swam the little pool for a mere 1,200 yards. After Penny came home from work, I did my first lifting session in a week and a half. By the way, one thing I did differently this year was to carry the weight training to within one week of the swim. In the past, I have ceased the weights three weeks out. The new way certainly didn't hurt and may have even helped seeing that I swam well. I did rotator cuff work and bench presses. On the bench, I pressed

14 X 95
12 X 105
10 X 115
7 X 125

Then I did some speed work with the axle bar. Why the axle bar you ask? Good question. I have been reading about people benching with an axle bar and in my mind I could come up with no reason to do that. In case you are wondering, an axle bar is a 1.9 diameter hollow bar that machine shops use to make trailer axles with. Weight lifters have stops welded on them and use them to lift with. The larger diameter works the grip more than a standard Olympic bar. But benches? I tried it to see.

If there is any advantage or disadvantage to benching with an axle bar, I was unable to detect it. Concerning speed work, that is sub-maximal loads with the lifts done as explosively fast as possible. The idea is to stimulate the fast twitch muscle fibers. Since I learned of this technique, and since fast twitch muscle fibers is something I could use more of, I decided to implement it into my training. I pressed

3 X 50
5 X 50
3 X 50

That's the amount of weight on the bar. I don't know what my axle bar weights. I need to find that out. I also did some calf raised, two sets, before calling it a day. It was a good one. I have a year now to prepare for Chicot IX. That will constantly be on my mind until then. 

Thanks for reading. 

Praise Jesus Christ.

Chicot Challenge VIII: The Comeback

The question I always get over and over before Chicot is, "Are you ready?"

It's a natural inquiry and probably one I myself have asked others. But I never want to answer it. In fact, the question makes me uncomfortable. Usually, I just mumble, "I don't know."

Endurance athletes are acutely aware of how tenuous a good performance is. The event itself, be it a marathon run, bicycle ride, or swim, beats us up even in success. And then there are those days. Over and over I went to the pool this year while training for the big swim, and not long into the practice I knew it wasn't my day to swim. Sometimes it just isn't. The body is tired, the muscles are unrecovered, the mind checks out. You can have the most ambitious training planned out and still lay an egg at the pool. It happens. This year, it happened to me. A lot.

I bowed while Gerald prayed God's
protection over us at the start.

Saturday morning, however, not very many strokes into Chicot Challenge VIII: The Comeback, I knew it WAS my day to swim. I had intended to start very slow and be ultra conservative all day long. My shoulders were just getting whole after both arms fell off, the left one during Chicot VI and the right one a couple of weeks later while moving some concrete blocks. But when I started swimming June 1 at the Lake Chicot State Park, immediately I noticed that my stroke had a snap, and my tempo felt a little quicker than usual. I wasn't trying to swim fast; my body found its own pace; it was ready to go.

Gerald and Gerry Johnson paddled, one on each side of me, while my wife, and Gerald's wife and daughter were aboard the pontoon boat piloted by Charlie Turner that trailed closely behind us. I felt as secure in the water as I did strong.

A shot from the boat showing Gerry and
Gerald sandwiching me between them.

I wore a brand new Sporti jammer and a new colorful silicone swim cap with my Garmin GPS watch underneath the cap and set to buzz every mile. Gerald fed me my usual diet of ice-cream every 45:00 minutes. Experience has taught me that 45 minutes is the right frequency for my caloric needs, and it also helps me keep up the the time. Only strokes after the second feeding, the watched buzzed for the third time. That means I was averaging 30:00 minute miles for the first three. That's when I started thinking about swimming for a time.

Last year, I worked the boat while Wilson and Spence Carroll, along with MJ Staples relayed the swim in my place because my right arm was still growing back on. They swam from the State Park to Ditch Bayou in 8:13. That's eight hours and thirteen minutes. I was beginning the think I could beat that. In fact I had beaten that when I swam a two way in 2017. I did that in 16:00:43, which means I swam it back to back in 8:00 hours each time. But I had suffered much since then and was still unsure of myself. The first commandment of endurance athletics is: "Thou shalt not destroy thyself." Going out hard when I had not done a marathon swim in two years seemed like a sin, like a good way to destroy myself.

I know it doesn't matter, beating their time. In fact, it almost seemed wrong because they selflessly saved the swim by stepping up and volunteering to do the swimming when I couldn't. But it gave me a goal, the idea of beating the relay time, something the think about and motivate me as the miles and hours dragged by. 

The watch buzzed the fourth time not too long after we passed under the Causeway bridge. While going under I chatted with a couple of fishermen. Penny yelled from the boat, "Zane, you need to get out of there." She was right. The Causeway is a heavy traffic area and I needed to clear it and get gone so I put my head down and swam away. That was my only transgression of the day. I learned a long time ago that to finish one of these things, you need to keep your head down and swim. Eventually, the temptation to pull up and look around arises. Along with that is the urge to do some heads-up breaststroking. Both of those are time killers and only lead to more laziness. Keep the head down and swim.

The watch buzzed the fifth time, then the sixth. Either just before or just after the sixth buzz, I felt a shot of pain in my right shoulder. I immediately asked Gerald for some Tylenol. I learned from MJ about liquid Tylenol, and that is the way to go. It is easy to take. In the past, I did the pills which is a recipe for dropping them into the lake and imbibing lake water. I had a small eight ounce squeeze bottle which was perfect for the job. Gerald asked me if I wanted anything else. "Yeah," I said, "prayer." I put my head down and swam away.

I once read that "things" (pains and crises) come and go in a marathon swim. My experience has found that to be true. The shoulder went. It pained me no more for the day, although it did feel a little tight late in the swim. Around the eighth buzz, the left elbow began to hurt. This is a pain that crops up from time to time. It stems, I think, from a bicycle crash I had a few years ago. I stays a little while, but it always goes. Would it go this time? It did. While it was there, however, it messed with my mind and slowed my pace. But after it left, I slowly tried to ease back into my tempo.

Buzz number nine brought another discomfort. Some tissue under my right scapula began to grumble a bit. That is one of the rotator cuff muscles. It is an antagonistic muscle to the ones that rotate the arm inward during the swim stroke. I work those, the antagonist, a lot at Plate City doing external rotations. Although it went, it repeated the cycle, coming and going, several times during the day.

Buzz ten brought two things, one good and one bad. The bad was pain in my right hand. This was a problem when I first started doing Chicot. I finally figured that it stems from the muscles on the bottom of the forearm dominating the muscles on the top of the forearm resulting in pain in the hands and tendons on the top side. I do work those from time to time, but was inconsistent this year. Thankfully, it never got bad and was only a reminder of how many things can go wrong when you push your body this far. The other thing, the good one, was I could see Ditch Bayou. I asked at one of my feedings, "Isn't that it up there?"

Penny answered, "No. You always miss it. It's around the corner."

She likes to say I "always" do things that I do once. I don't always miss it. I did miss it in 2017. But it was black dark then, and I thought the lights at Lighthouse Inn were the ones at Ditch Bayou. This time I knew I was right. I also knew that although I could see the end, it is still almost three miles down the lake. That's a lot of swimming.

That little gap up ahead with the shinny roof
is Ditch Bayou. Again, notice how I
am protected by the crew.

I put my head down and swam. I also knew from experience not to look up too often. That can be very discouraging. You swim and swim and swim and look up and it seems like you have not drawn any closer. Just swim. Keep the head down and swim.

I now knew that I was going to beat the relay time. I also knew that if Bethany Theilman of the DFM came when I told her I would finish, that we would be through and gone by the time she arrived. Still, I kept my head down and swam. The watch buzzed the eleventh time. I swam. The watched buzzed the twelfth time. I looked up. I was less than a mile from the landing, the finish.

I then began to do surges, but I couldn't hold them. I would go about a minute hard. When Gerald offered my another feed, I knew we were 6:45 in. I looked up and judged us to be about a half mile from shore. I can beat seven hours, I thought, if I push it. I shook my head no to the feed and then put my head down and swam. I pushed it hard, and finally I was in the bayou. I shot straight for the rocks and climbed out. Pulling the watch out from under my cap, it read 12.75 miles in 6:57:36 at a 32:45 per mile pace. On the grass, I looked up and saw Bethany coming my way from the back of the Country Store. Wow. She was early enough to catch us.
 

On shore at Ditch Bayou.

Once on shore, I became very emotional but managed to not burst into tears. I am always like that at the end of a long swim. I don't know why, but if I had the opportunity, I would get alone somewhere and just sit down and cry. I always feel that way. 

I felt good about my performance, and the crew was magnificent. Charlie Turner made his first appearance at the swim, and he was a skillful pontoon pilot. And the only kayaker better than Gerry Johnson is Gerald Johnson and that is only by a little bit.

As soon as we finished the wind began to pick up a little. The water had been flat all day. What a blessing, an answer to prayer. Seeing Bethany and the girls she rounded up to cheer me in was a blessing. To share an event like this, one that touches me deeply within my soul, with friends has a staggering impact on me. Everyone agreed that God had given us a good day.
 

I always love my watch shot.

Charlie Turner, the newest member
of Team Centerville.

We left Bethany and Ditch Bayou and motored back to the State Park, tired but happy, satisfied, edified even. The one-way swim was nice. It's long, but not so long that it totally destroys me. It is also short enough that the crew enjoys the day. They still work hard and were tired at the end, but after Chicot VI, I perceived that I had asked a bit too much of everyone. Has Chicot finally standardized after all these different editions? Possibly. I have two sides to my personality. One wants the same distance, the same course every year. The other wants a new challenge, and new route, and new swim. Which side will win out? Stay tuned and see.

Having my wife on board gives me a huge boost.

5/27 - 6/2

What a week. Chicot week. I will only tell a little about that in this post. I will do a separate post on the big swim.

Monday, I swam 2,500 meters and ran 7.17 miles. Tuesday, I swam 2,200 and ran nothing. Wednesday I swam 2,000 and ran 7.31. Do you see a pattern here?

Wednesday left me pretty tired. Thursday I swam only 1,300 and instead a the short run I had planned, I took a nap instead. I also went to bed early that night and slept well. Penny took Friday off work and we both slept in until about 8:00.

We left for Lake Village around 2:00 p.m. We ate at Foxx's Pizza with the Johnsons, and Penny and I were both in bed early. Saturday, I swam from the Lake Chicot State Park to Ditch Bayou. That was 12.75 miles of swimming, or 20,514 meters. I'll give the details tomorrow.

For the week, I

did no weightlifting or other forms of cross training,
ran 14.45 miles,
swam 28,714 meters.

That is my biggest swim week of the year. I was very tired and a bit sore Sunday. A long nap in the afternoon helped all of that out. Now I am looking forward to a short swim today.

That you, Jesus, for giving a good week and a great day on the lake.