Friday was a good day. I was off work and alive. Any day I am off work and alive is a good one.
I was supposed to meet John at the pool at 6:45. I ran instead of driving the truck. He wasn't there when I shuffled up so I went ahead and started. I only swam 1,200 meters and got out. When I made the parking lot, I saw his car, but he wasn't in it. Connecting the dots, I found him in the little indoor pool.
"You were late," he said.
"Not so," I argued.
I shuffled home and got ready to leave. Penny and I had plans to go to Jackson for shopping and then supper with Charlie and Karen, the newlyweds who tied the knot at Centerville Baptist Church.
We had a nice leisurely drive to the city. I dropped Penny at her stores with two hours to do my shopping. My shopping consisted of trying to find a house out in the country from Brandon. I found some weights listed on Facebook Marketplace, and I went for them. I took the two hours to find the house, fill up the truck, and get back to Penny's store.
We did some more shopping making our last stop at Academy Sports. That is a store we both go in. I look at the exercise equipment, and Penny looks at the clothing. I sort of wanted to purchase some bands, but they were $39.00 for three with each one a different size. I really want pairs so I can use them for accommodating resistance on bench presses and squats using one of the same size on each side of the barbell. That meant buying two boxes and that jacked the price up to $78.00. I could not do it. I just could not. So I left with a couple of flashlights-- winter is coming, and I will be running in the dark-- and some gels. I am now running far enough, once a week, to need gels. Thank God for that.
We then drove to the reservoir and looked around awhile. We went to Old Trace Park, drove around some condos, then found the levee, and after that Shaggy's where we were to meet Charlie and Karen. Penny texted Karen after we parked at the restaurant, and they came on early. We had a great meal and some nice fellowship while sitting at an upstairs table with a stunning view of the water. Give Shaggy's a go if you are in the Jackson area.
We parted with hugs and smiles, our stomachs protruding farther than normal. We drove home satisfied from a long, enjoyable day. Thank you, Jesus.
Saturday, August 31, 2019
Friday, August 30, 2019
The Start of the Weekend
I love my job. For me, the weekend starts at 12:05 on Thursday.
Every. Blessed. Week.
How about that, Sheila? I wrote a different opening sentence.
I called John about 5:30 a.m. to wake him so we could swim together. He didn't answer. I rolled over and went back to sleep. I was that tired, and the weekend was about to start offering me more time to get the workouts in.
After work and after a nap, I took a shuffle. I cooled down from the shuffle then mowed the front lawn. The grass has grown more this year than any year I have been mowing, and that is about fifty or fifty-one years. Usually it has slowed enough by now that once a week is enough. Now once a week is not enough but that's all my lawn is getting and all it is going to get. I yearn for the time when I can go a week and a half and not choke my mower down.
So I cooled down for the second time and then went to Plate City where I did benches for the second time this week. That means I should be stronger on my next workout. I pressed
16 X 100
3 X 120 plus one chain
3 X 120 plus one chain
3 X 120 plus one chain
3 X 120 plus one chain
3 X 120 plus one chain
3 X 120 plus one chain
3 X 120 plus one chain
Decline bench press
10 X 100
Incline dumbbell bench press
6 X 35
Triceps push down
22 X 30
30 X 27.5
32 X 25
Swim Pull
26 X 30
That was a pretty decent effort. I went inside, consumed some protein, and took a bath. Swimming could wait until tomorrow.
Thank you, Jesus, for a good day.
Every. Blessed. Week.
How about that, Sheila? I wrote a different opening sentence.
I called John about 5:30 a.m. to wake him so we could swim together. He didn't answer. I rolled over and went back to sleep. I was that tired, and the weekend was about to start offering me more time to get the workouts in.
After work and after a nap, I took a shuffle. I cooled down from the shuffle then mowed the front lawn. The grass has grown more this year than any year I have been mowing, and that is about fifty or fifty-one years. Usually it has slowed enough by now that once a week is enough. Now once a week is not enough but that's all my lawn is getting and all it is going to get. I yearn for the time when I can go a week and a half and not choke my mower down.
So I cooled down for the second time and then went to Plate City where I did benches for the second time this week. That means I should be stronger on my next workout. I pressed
16 X 100
3 X 120 plus one chain
3 X 120 plus one chain
3 X 120 plus one chain
3 X 120 plus one chain
3 X 120 plus one chain
3 X 120 plus one chain
3 X 120 plus one chain
Decline bench press
10 X 100
Incline dumbbell bench press
6 X 35
Triceps push down
22 X 30
30 X 27.5
32 X 25
Swim Pull
26 X 30
That was a pretty decent effort. I went inside, consumed some protein, and took a bath. Swimming could wait until tomorrow.
Thank you, Jesus, for a good day.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Wacked Wednesday
I was supposed to meet John at the pool at 6:00 a.m., but when I went to move Penny's truck, which was blocking me in, it wouldn't crank. Super.
This happens from time to time. It happens so often that I keep an extension cord on the front porch. I hooked the cord up and got the battery charger out and set the thing to charging. Then I called John and told him I would not be at the pool. He was still at home apparently planning to be late. He is so full of surprises.
No swim in the morning means I did my first workout after I got home from school. I shuffled 2.66 miles on legs tired from the 12.27 the day before. After a little cool off, I hit Plate City for some leg work, mostly squats but I did other things as well such as drag the sled, hit the reverse hyper, and do some leg curls. Then I took nutrition and rested.
Wednesday is the day I do my swim coaching. The boys come in at 7:45. I hit them with swimming but no drills. They set a high mark of 750 yards, the most they have done under me. Brad comes in around 8:20. He used to come with his son, Jacob, but Jacob is gone off the Mississippi State. I swam with Brad. We worked a couple of drills and flip turns. Brad also did 750 yards.
So despite not getting up early, I still managed to do three workouts. None of them were really strenuous. In the water I put in 1,350 yards. But I am still making deposits in the endurance bank. Thank you, Jesus, for a productive day.
This happens from time to time. It happens so often that I keep an extension cord on the front porch. I hooked the cord up and got the battery charger out and set the thing to charging. Then I called John and told him I would not be at the pool. He was still at home apparently planning to be late. He is so full of surprises.
No swim in the morning means I did my first workout after I got home from school. I shuffled 2.66 miles on legs tired from the 12.27 the day before. After a little cool off, I hit Plate City for some leg work, mostly squats but I did other things as well such as drag the sled, hit the reverse hyper, and do some leg curls. Then I took nutrition and rested.
Wednesday is the day I do my swim coaching. The boys come in at 7:45. I hit them with swimming but no drills. They set a high mark of 750 yards, the most they have done under me. Brad comes in around 8:20. He used to come with his son, Jacob, but Jacob is gone off the Mississippi State. I swam with Brad. We worked a couple of drills and flip turns. Brad also did 750 yards.
So despite not getting up early, I still managed to do three workouts. None of them were really strenuous. In the water I put in 1,350 yards. But I am still making deposits in the endurance bank. Thank you, Jesus, for a productive day.
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
New Theory
I have a new theory. It's about why I am running so slow. Really, I keep getting slower and slower, and now I think I know why. It follows right in line with the current theory on fitness and fatigue.
Back in the day when I was reading articles in Runners World and other sources, I thought exercise physiology was solid science. According the everyone writing back then, fatigue was always related to oxygen. Run far enough, and eventually your heart and lungs fail to deliver enough of the stuff and lactic acid builds up poisoning the muscles and shutting you down.
After being off for eighteen years, I came back to endurance sports as a participant and a reader only to be shocked to learn that scientist did not understand fatigue at all. Lactic acid, I was now told, was not a poison at all, but in fact a fuel our muscles use to burn and produce energy. The lack of oxygen in fact is often not the cause of fatigue even if the cause was not clear.
Scientist are now postulating a new model called the Central Governor Theory. In this view, a segment of the brain, the central governor, monitors heart rate, body temperature, respiration, blood lactate levels, blood pressure, and blood sugar and shuts down muscle fibers accordingly producing fatigue and thus protecting us from killing ourselves or damaging ourselves via overexertion. What I just gave you is a thumbnail sketch of a complicated theory, but I buy it because it accounts for all the data which the old model failed to do.
How does that relate to your current pace, you ask? In my present thinking, my brain's central governor is keeping my pace very slow to prevent me from damaging my left knee. I was off for two years because of that knee, and I am no longer a young man. That itself is part of the reason but not all the reason I can now barely beat a walk. At my current pace, I am not damaging myself despite the fact that I am running up to eleven and twelve miles at a time. So maybe I should relax and be happy that I can run at all. I am indeed happy that after two years off I can run. But I still yearn to be able to knock off some quick miles. Will that come back? I guess my knee is the limiter.
Thank you, Jesus, that I can shuffle at any pace. And touch my knee, please, that I might shuffle at a faster pace. At least sometimes.
Back in the day when I was reading articles in Runners World and other sources, I thought exercise physiology was solid science. According the everyone writing back then, fatigue was always related to oxygen. Run far enough, and eventually your heart and lungs fail to deliver enough of the stuff and lactic acid builds up poisoning the muscles and shutting you down.
After being off for eighteen years, I came back to endurance sports as a participant and a reader only to be shocked to learn that scientist did not understand fatigue at all. Lactic acid, I was now told, was not a poison at all, but in fact a fuel our muscles use to burn and produce energy. The lack of oxygen in fact is often not the cause of fatigue even if the cause was not clear.
Scientist are now postulating a new model called the Central Governor Theory. In this view, a segment of the brain, the central governor, monitors heart rate, body temperature, respiration, blood lactate levels, blood pressure, and blood sugar and shuts down muscle fibers accordingly producing fatigue and thus protecting us from killing ourselves or damaging ourselves via overexertion. What I just gave you is a thumbnail sketch of a complicated theory, but I buy it because it accounts for all the data which the old model failed to do.
How does that relate to your current pace, you ask? In my present thinking, my brain's central governor is keeping my pace very slow to prevent me from damaging my left knee. I was off for two years because of that knee, and I am no longer a young man. That itself is part of the reason but not all the reason I can now barely beat a walk. At my current pace, I am not damaging myself despite the fact that I am running up to eleven and twelve miles at a time. So maybe I should relax and be happy that I can run at all. I am indeed happy that after two years off I can run. But I still yearn to be able to knock off some quick miles. Will that come back? I guess my knee is the limiter.
Thank you, Jesus, that I can shuffle at any pace. And touch my knee, please, that I might shuffle at a faster pace. At least sometimes.
Tuesday
I was supposed to meet John at the pool at 6:00 a.m. I swam alone. I did
1,000
6 X 100 medium paddles
total: 1,600 long course meters
After work, I went to Plate City and did pulling. On the pull up, I did ten with no weight (four, three, and three) and four by one with fourteen pounds hanging from my neck. I felt stronger on that despite the fact that I only pulled once last week. On the Swim Pull, I did
24 X 30
18 X 34.4
13 X 37.4
12 X 40.5
10 X 42.9
I also did some T-bar rowing, lots of rotator cuff work, and some lat pull downs as a warm up and cool down to the pull ups.
Since I did not run long Monday, it was time to go long today. I left the house leaving it up to my legs and knee as to how far long was. I wound up doing 12.27 miles, my longest of the year, last year, and the year before, but still not as long as my longest swim of the year.
So it was a three-workout day, the kind of day I like and my body needs. Thank you, Jesus.
1,000
6 X 100 medium paddles
total: 1,600 long course meters
After work, I went to Plate City and did pulling. On the pull up, I did ten with no weight (four, three, and three) and four by one with fourteen pounds hanging from my neck. I felt stronger on that despite the fact that I only pulled once last week. On the Swim Pull, I did
24 X 30
18 X 34.4
13 X 37.4
12 X 40.5
10 X 42.9
I also did some T-bar rowing, lots of rotator cuff work, and some lat pull downs as a warm up and cool down to the pull ups.
Since I did not run long Monday, it was time to go long today. I left the house leaving it up to my legs and knee as to how far long was. I wound up doing 12.27 miles, my longest of the year, last year, and the year before, but still not as long as my longest swim of the year.
So it was a three-workout day, the kind of day I like and my body needs. Thank you, Jesus.
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Religion
Every so often I hear someone say, or I read on Facebook, that the genius speaking or writing doesn't believe in religion. They always add, however, that they are spiritual. It's as if they are superior to the rest of us. Today, I kid you not, today I read on Fakebook that religion ought to be banned. Imagine that, imagine living in a country that bans religion. What do you call that? What kind of government is that? Hang on and I'll tell you.
The countries that ban religion are communist dictatorships. Their citizens have little if any freedom. But despite their attempts to stamp out religion, the faith of Jesus Christ lives on even in those oppressive regimes. The irony here is that the people who make these calls consider themselves to be freedom fights, resisters, and they view our present administration as a form of Nazism. Who are the Nazi's here? Who are the ones who want to take away freedom? The blindness of much of contemporary America amazes me.
These are the people who go out into the streets and beat people who disagree with them. ANTIFA, will stomp you in the street if they even think you think a different way from them. And then they are defended by people who think their name means something. Because of their name, many people think what they are doing is right and they wholeheartedly support their violence. How smart do you have to be to see through this? Apparently you have to be a whole lot smarter than ANITIFA sympathizers.
You may think I am starting to ramble, but I am. I'm sitting in Comp I class and we, the class and I, are writing. Someone suggested the topic of religion, and I saw the post this morning about banning religion. Do people even think about the ramifications of what they say? Who wants to live in a society that oppresses personal freedom? Nevertheless, that is what a lot of people are calling for even now even in a land of liberty and opportunity.
While we are banning, why don't we ban stupidity? That, like the sentiment on religion, is a nice sounding idea, but an impractical, unworkable one. Who decides what and who is stupid? Hang on, and I'll tell you. The ones in power decide that everyone else is stupid. What do you do with the banned ones? You put them in a camp and slowly kill them by feeding them little and working them much. That could never happen, you say. It did happen. The Nazis did it murdering over six million people, and much of American today, while denouncing Naziism is as fascist as the original Nazis were.
Well, that is my rant for the day. It might be rambling, but I feel better. I got it off my chest. Now if I could just get it off my news feed on Facebook. Wait, I don't want to do that. I want to know who the crazies are so I can stay out of their way.
Have a good day. God bless you.
The countries that ban religion are communist dictatorships. Their citizens have little if any freedom. But despite their attempts to stamp out religion, the faith of Jesus Christ lives on even in those oppressive regimes. The irony here is that the people who make these calls consider themselves to be freedom fights, resisters, and they view our present administration as a form of Nazism. Who are the Nazi's here? Who are the ones who want to take away freedom? The blindness of much of contemporary America amazes me.
These are the people who go out into the streets and beat people who disagree with them. ANTIFA, will stomp you in the street if they even think you think a different way from them. And then they are defended by people who think their name means something. Because of their name, many people think what they are doing is right and they wholeheartedly support their violence. How smart do you have to be to see through this? Apparently you have to be a whole lot smarter than ANITIFA sympathizers.
You may think I am starting to ramble, but I am. I'm sitting in Comp I class and we, the class and I, are writing. Someone suggested the topic of religion, and I saw the post this morning about banning religion. Do people even think about the ramifications of what they say? Who wants to live in a society that oppresses personal freedom? Nevertheless, that is what a lot of people are calling for even now even in a land of liberty and opportunity.
While we are banning, why don't we ban stupidity? That, like the sentiment on religion, is a nice sounding idea, but an impractical, unworkable one. Who decides what and who is stupid? Hang on, and I'll tell you. The ones in power decide that everyone else is stupid. What do you do with the banned ones? You put them in a camp and slowly kill them by feeding them little and working them much. That could never happen, you say. It did happen. The Nazis did it murdering over six million people, and much of American today, while denouncing Naziism is as fascist as the original Nazis were.
Well, that is my rant for the day. It might be rambling, but I feel better. I got it off my chest. Now if I could just get it off my news feed on Facebook. Wait, I don't want to do that. I want to know who the crazies are so I can stay out of their way.
Have a good day. God bless you.
Start of the Week
I didn't get up. Early. To swim.
When I awoke, I heard the rain falling outside so I went back to sleep. It's not that I don't like swimming in the rain. That is great, but I didn't want to take the time to figure out if it was lightning or not.
I had lots of time in the afternoon. Somehow I managed to waste most of it. I went to Plate City at 4:30. It was push day. On the bench I pressed
13 X 100
4 X 120
5 X 140
3 X 150
2 X 156
missed 161
1 X 156
1 X 156
I only benched one time last week so I was not surprised that I missed at 161. From the past, I have learned that if I only do a lift one time in a week, at best I stay the same. Usually I get weaker.
I went up on the first set by one rep because thirteen is just a better warm up. I also went up on the 140 set because that weight has long been a bench mark for me. The more reps I can do at 140, the better I swim. I'm not sure if those two extra reps fatigued me or not. Probably not. But I thought I was strong enough for the 161. I'll get it next week.
I went inside, took protein, and got ready for my run. I shuffled 3.12 miles with one pickup. This pathetically slow pace is starting to irritate me.
So it wasn't a three workout day, but still a good one. Thank you, Jesus.
When I awoke, I heard the rain falling outside so I went back to sleep. It's not that I don't like swimming in the rain. That is great, but I didn't want to take the time to figure out if it was lightning or not.
I had lots of time in the afternoon. Somehow I managed to waste most of it. I went to Plate City at 4:30. It was push day. On the bench I pressed
13 X 100
4 X 120
5 X 140
3 X 150
2 X 156
missed 161
1 X 156
1 X 156
I only benched one time last week so I was not surprised that I missed at 161. From the past, I have learned that if I only do a lift one time in a week, at best I stay the same. Usually I get weaker.
I went up on the first set by one rep because thirteen is just a better warm up. I also went up on the 140 set because that weight has long been a bench mark for me. The more reps I can do at 140, the better I swim. I'm not sure if those two extra reps fatigued me or not. Probably not. But I thought I was strong enough for the 161. I'll get it next week.
I went inside, took protein, and got ready for my run. I shuffled 3.12 miles with one pickup. This pathetically slow pace is starting to irritate me.
So it wasn't a three workout day, but still a good one. Thank you, Jesus.
Monday, August 26, 2019
8/19 - 8/25
I wanted to bust it out big Monday, but we HAD to go to Over 60s and over eat Monday night. That pushed my long run back a day, closer to my Saturday race. Not good. All I did was swim 1,100 meters and shuffled 2.75 miles.
Tuesday was the big one. I still only hit 1,300 in the pool, but I lifted weights and ran 12.12 miles. Yeah.
Wednesday morning I slept in. Later, I shuffled 2.26 miles, lifted weights, and swam with Brad at our lesson time. I only did 1,325 meters (1,450 short course), but that is way better than a poke in the eye.
Thursday I hit 1,700 in the pool and spent the afternoon on the couch. Friday I swam 1,100 and spent the afternoon on the couch. Saturday I did the Dragon Fly Triathlon: .5 swim, 18-mile bike, and 4-mile run.
For the week, I
ran 21.13 miles,
lifted weights two times,
swam 8,025 meters, and
cycled 18 miles.
Not a bad week. I was disappointed in my performance at the Dragon Fly, but I had fun and that is why I went. Thank you, Jesus.
Tuesday was the big one. I still only hit 1,300 in the pool, but I lifted weights and ran 12.12 miles. Yeah.
Wednesday morning I slept in. Later, I shuffled 2.26 miles, lifted weights, and swam with Brad at our lesson time. I only did 1,325 meters (1,450 short course), but that is way better than a poke in the eye.
Thursday I hit 1,700 in the pool and spent the afternoon on the couch. Friday I swam 1,100 and spent the afternoon on the couch. Saturday I did the Dragon Fly Triathlon: .5 swim, 18-mile bike, and 4-mile run.
For the week, I
ran 21.13 miles,
lifted weights two times,
swam 8,025 meters, and
cycled 18 miles.
Not a bad week. I was disappointed in my performance at the Dragon Fly, but I had fun and that is why I went. Thank you, Jesus.
Sunday, August 25, 2019
The Dragon Fly Triathlon
I don't remember the last time I did Dragon Fly Triathlon, but it was at least five years ago. Maybe six. Or seven. Eight?
The race is a little shorter than the Heart O' Dixie: .5 mile swim, followed by eighteen miles on the bicycle, and capped off with a four-mile run of which about half of which is on a trail.
It's a neat race. The swim takes place in the lower lake at Sardis Reservoir. The "small" lake has everything one needs for a triathlon or a day of relaxing at the beach. Yes, it has several nice sand beaches surrounded by wooded areas dotted with picnic tables. Penny and I need to go back when I'm not racing.
The 8:00 a.m. start is nice too. The HOD begins at 6:30 in a effort to get ahead of the heat. That helps a little. By late August, however, if you are not heat acclimated, you should turn in you Man Card. Seriously, turn it in.
It has a staggered swim start like the HOD. I was way in the back of the line having registered only the Monday of race week. Once in the water, I felt my old familiar glee at passing swimmers. I get a charge out of that. I didn't count them this time, but it must have been thirty swimmers I smoked in the water. Lately, my yardage and intensity have dropped due to the training blues. During the swim, the long head of my triceps muscle along with my rear deltoids and the tie in of my latimus dorsi were in pretty intense pain. All the while, I was not sucking air nor did my chest burn or my heat rate feel high. Yes, sometimes I can tell. That, I took it, was because I had lost some fitness in my swimming muscles while gaining some cardio vascular efficiency due to my increased running.
One has to run uphill through deep, loose sane about 100 meters to the transition area and cross the timing mat before one's swim officially ends. On the way, I pulled my Garmin from the back of my swim cap and was shocked to see 15:00 minutes and change!!!!!!! Dude!!!!! Later, when the results were posted on the internet, I saw from comparing my times to the guys in my age group, several of whom I had raced before, that I was about the same number of minutes ahead of them as I usually am. Thus no panic. These swim courses, even at the same event, are not the same length from year to year. This year's half mile at the Dragon Fly was really a half mile. Or more. Some years it might be .45 which is what the race director told us it was one year at the Heart O' Dixie.
On the bicycle it was the same ole same ole: a steady stream of cyclists coming around me like I am stopped on the side of the road. This time I didn't even sweat it. I did, however, wonder how long it would take before I was the last one on the course.
The bike leg is an out-and-back, pancake flat except for one big hill. When I got to the bottom of that hill, I heard someone yell an expletive. Then I heard it again and again. I looked up in time to see a racer coming down the hill about thirty miles per hour with his front wheel wobbling like it was about to explode into a hundred pieces. "Dude," I thought, "you need to be praying not cussing." I waited for the sound of his crash. I was going to go back and view the body. When I heard no racket after a few seconds, I determined to keep pedaling.
On the hill, a seventy-year-old man passed me. It happened. Good for him. On top of the hill, I saw something that gave me a great charge. Up ahead was a fat man on a mountain bike. I was gaining on him rapidly. I hope he is not must somebody out exercising, I prayed. I passed him and checked him out as I went around. Yes, there was a race number on the frame of his oversized cycle. For the first time in years, I passed someone on a bicycle during a triathlon.
After the big hill, the route goes about another mile, then turns around and we go back the way we came to the transition area. On the return trip, I got another one. Up ahead was a tall, thin, muscular, athletic-looking young black woman who could probably dunk a basketball, outrun me at every distance from 50 yards to a marathon, beat me in a power lifting match, and choke me out in an MMA fight. But despite all that, she had obviously never been given fifteen seconds of instruction on riding a mulit-speed bicycle. She was pedaling at what looked like a forty RPM cadence. As I passed I yelled, "Drop a gear and spin faster." She most likely did not for she would have passed me back if she had. I've learned the hard way that most people will not take unsolicited advice from a stranger.
The run started with the hope that I would reap the benefits of all the miles I have waddled through since the Heart O' Dixie. My running legs were slow in coming, but eventually I got down to a low 12:00. Unbelievable. The first mile split was 12:05, then the route goes off road onto a trail.
Immediately my pace took a hit. It got slower, then it slowed some more, and after that it tapered off, and eventually it got really slow. Trail running is hard. If you have never done it, you really don't know. Back when I used to wear a heart rate monitor, I remember that even getting onto grass around Greenwood, flat grass, my heart rate would instantly shoot up ten beats per minute. The footing is softer, changing the muscle contraction slightly. The path is up, the path is down, and the trail will caster and camber, and every single footfall is different. It's fun; I really enjoyed it, but it kicked my rear end pretty hard.
When I left the trail, the two mile spit I recorded on it took me a bit over thirty minutes. I was able to pick the pace up a little back on the one mile of flat asphalt that led to the finish, but still, it was a slow run.
Hey, I had fun. I got a good workout. I have another cool T-shirt and a nice finishers medal. But I am a little disappointed in my performance. Everything was slower, the swim, the bike, and the run. I'm thinking I might be a little overtrained, but what else is new? Penny enjoyed herself and I put some more work into the fitness bank. Maybe I can make some big withdrawals at the Oaks.
Thank you, Jesus for a good day.
The race is a little shorter than the Heart O' Dixie: .5 mile swim, followed by eighteen miles on the bicycle, and capped off with a four-mile run of which about half of which is on a trail.
 |
| The lower lake at Sardis. |
It's a neat race. The swim takes place in the lower lake at Sardis Reservoir. The "small" lake has everything one needs for a triathlon or a day of relaxing at the beach. Yes, it has several nice sand beaches surrounded by wooded areas dotted with picnic tables. Penny and I need to go back when I'm not racing.
The 8:00 a.m. start is nice too. The HOD begins at 6:30 in a effort to get ahead of the heat. That helps a little. By late August, however, if you are not heat acclimated, you should turn in you Man Card. Seriously, turn it in.
It has a staggered swim start like the HOD. I was way in the back of the line having registered only the Monday of race week. Once in the water, I felt my old familiar glee at passing swimmers. I get a charge out of that. I didn't count them this time, but it must have been thirty swimmers I smoked in the water. Lately, my yardage and intensity have dropped due to the training blues. During the swim, the long head of my triceps muscle along with my rear deltoids and the tie in of my latimus dorsi were in pretty intense pain. All the while, I was not sucking air nor did my chest burn or my heat rate feel high. Yes, sometimes I can tell. That, I took it, was because I had lost some fitness in my swimming muscles while gaining some cardio vascular efficiency due to my increased running.
One has to run uphill through deep, loose sane about 100 meters to the transition area and cross the timing mat before one's swim officially ends. On the way, I pulled my Garmin from the back of my swim cap and was shocked to see 15:00 minutes and change!!!!!!! Dude!!!!! Later, when the results were posted on the internet, I saw from comparing my times to the guys in my age group, several of whom I had raced before, that I was about the same number of minutes ahead of them as I usually am. Thus no panic. These swim courses, even at the same event, are not the same length from year to year. This year's half mile at the Dragon Fly was really a half mile. Or more. Some years it might be .45 which is what the race director told us it was one year at the Heart O' Dixie.
On the bicycle it was the same ole same ole: a steady stream of cyclists coming around me like I am stopped on the side of the road. This time I didn't even sweat it. I did, however, wonder how long it would take before I was the last one on the course.
The bike leg is an out-and-back, pancake flat except for one big hill. When I got to the bottom of that hill, I heard someone yell an expletive. Then I heard it again and again. I looked up in time to see a racer coming down the hill about thirty miles per hour with his front wheel wobbling like it was about to explode into a hundred pieces. "Dude," I thought, "you need to be praying not cussing." I waited for the sound of his crash. I was going to go back and view the body. When I heard no racket after a few seconds, I determined to keep pedaling.
On the hill, a seventy-year-old man passed me. It happened. Good for him. On top of the hill, I saw something that gave me a great charge. Up ahead was a fat man on a mountain bike. I was gaining on him rapidly. I hope he is not must somebody out exercising, I prayed. I passed him and checked him out as I went around. Yes, there was a race number on the frame of his oversized cycle. For the first time in years, I passed someone on a bicycle during a triathlon.
After the big hill, the route goes about another mile, then turns around and we go back the way we came to the transition area. On the return trip, I got another one. Up ahead was a tall, thin, muscular, athletic-looking young black woman who could probably dunk a basketball, outrun me at every distance from 50 yards to a marathon, beat me in a power lifting match, and choke me out in an MMA fight. But despite all that, she had obviously never been given fifteen seconds of instruction on riding a mulit-speed bicycle. She was pedaling at what looked like a forty RPM cadence. As I passed I yelled, "Drop a gear and spin faster." She most likely did not for she would have passed me back if she had. I've learned the hard way that most people will not take unsolicited advice from a stranger.
 |
| Coming in on the bicycle. |
The run started with the hope that I would reap the benefits of all the miles I have waddled through since the Heart O' Dixie. My running legs were slow in coming, but eventually I got down to a low 12:00. Unbelievable. The first mile split was 12:05, then the route goes off road onto a trail.
Immediately my pace took a hit. It got slower, then it slowed some more, and after that it tapered off, and eventually it got really slow. Trail running is hard. If you have never done it, you really don't know. Back when I used to wear a heart rate monitor, I remember that even getting onto grass around Greenwood, flat grass, my heart rate would instantly shoot up ten beats per minute. The footing is softer, changing the muscle contraction slightly. The path is up, the path is down, and the trail will caster and camber, and every single footfall is different. It's fun; I really enjoyed it, but it kicked my rear end pretty hard.
When I left the trail, the two mile spit I recorded on it took me a bit over thirty minutes. I was able to pick the pace up a little back on the one mile of flat asphalt that led to the finish, but still, it was a slow run.
Hey, I had fun. I got a good workout. I have another cool T-shirt and a nice finishers medal. But I am a little disappointed in my performance. Everything was slower, the swim, the bike, and the run. I'm thinking I might be a little overtrained, but what else is new? Penny enjoyed herself and I put some more work into the fitness bank. Maybe I can make some big withdrawals at the Oaks.
Thank you, Jesus for a good day.
Saturday, August 24, 2019
The Day Before
The day before what?
The day before the Dragon Fly Sprint Triathlon.
I started with a swim. Like usual, I wasn't feeling it, and I only did 1,000 followed by 2 X 50 with small paddles. That's it, 1,100 meters.
I spent the rest of the day on the couch getting up occasionally to do a bit of packing. I had intended to do some lifting, but somehow I had not the will although I did have the time. Taper, you know, taper. Plus, I was preoccupied with the Mueller investigation. Is my phone tapped? Will they call for an interview? Do they think they have something on my? What the heck, Beets should worry not me.
When 5:00 o'clock rolled around and Penny got off work, I was ready to go. We loaded and hit the road. I'll tell you what happened in the next post. Don't change channels, and praise Jesus.
The day before the Dragon Fly Sprint Triathlon.
I started with a swim. Like usual, I wasn't feeling it, and I only did 1,000 followed by 2 X 50 with small paddles. That's it, 1,100 meters.
I spent the rest of the day on the couch getting up occasionally to do a bit of packing. I had intended to do some lifting, but somehow I had not the will although I did have the time. Taper, you know, taper. Plus, I was preoccupied with the Mueller investigation. Is my phone tapped? Will they call for an interview? Do they think they have something on my? What the heck, Beets should worry not me.
When 5:00 o'clock rolled around and Penny got off work, I was ready to go. We loaded and hit the road. I'll tell you what happened in the next post. Don't change channels, and praise Jesus.
Friday, August 23, 2019
Mueller Investigation
Mueller Investigation Targets Big ASS
By Jay Unver
Reading from a prepared statement, Nomann said the reason for his repeated denials of this in the past is that he and his association were under a court order demanding silence. "That order has now been lifted and we not only can talk, but are encouraged to," Nomann added.
When asked what precipitated the investigation and what was its focus, Nomann could only speculate. "We have done no wrong, so I am not worried in the least. My guess is they want to know about Randy Beets height, his irregular reporting, and his dismal performances against Zane Hodge."
Reporters screamed questions in a frenzy on subjects from A to Z. Nomann kept repeating that he had no specifics and that their guesses were likely as good as his.
One question that popped up over and over was, "Is it the athletes or the organization that is being investigated?" Nomann could only say that it is certainly the organization and that it might extend to the athletes as well. "From what we understand, everything is under the special counsel's purview."
Some critics of Big ASS have long accused it of having a monopoly on non-mainstream endurance sports. Those critics have called Nomann's acquisition of the Association of Sports Shufflers, the Association of Sports Swimmers, and the Association of Sports Syclists as an un-American take over. Others have argued that the three associations willingly merged and elected Nomann as its commissioner.
"We don't know when this will end or when Mueller's report will come out. Until then, it's business as usual at Big ASS."
Finally, Thursday is Friday
I told one of my classes Thursday that they got Fridays off because of me. Really it's because of God. God blessed me with Fridays off, and they benefit also.
We worked last Friday, and I must have heard everyone at the Greenwood Center how good it was to be off this week. When someone steals a blessing of God, it is not a good thing, not an enjoyable thing.
I met John at the pool early Thursday morning, and I swam like I didn't want to be there. I am beginning to worry about myself. Swimming hasn't excited me for a while now. I did
1,000 in 25:10 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is so slow that it makes me think about going to the doctor and asking for some sort of tests. What's wrong with me? Then I swam
14 X 50 @ 1:21
A 1:21 interval used to mean it was a speed set. I swam that when I wanted to focus on quality, on getting faster. The long rest meant I could hit the next 50 hard. Now it is my go to lazy set. I swim it because I can leisurely make my way to the other pool and then hang out on the wall a long time, stall. I keep thinking that I am just going through a physical valley and it will pass. But I have been here since Chicot and the valley just keeps getting deeper, my swim times slower, and my desire to hit the water evaporates.
After work, I ran some errands I had not had time to run for a couple of weeks. Then back home, I turned on the TV and sat on the couch. I watched the Paul Finebaum Show. I channel surfed. I petted CC. I took a nap. What I did not do was run or lift weights.
I'm doing a mini taper for Saturday's Dragonfly Triathlon which I am doing for fun and for a workout. So why taper at all? I am tapering some because my body needs it. Maybe that's what's wrong with me in the pool. Maybe.
My running has also suffered. There has been no shortage of desire to run, but my pace gets slower and slower and slower. I tell myself it is not real, but who am I kidding? I remind myself of how I ran the Viking 5K and that that pace will come back when it counts. We might find out about that Saturday. We will certainly find out at the 300 Oaks. That is where it will count again. That is a race I want to do well in.
Praise the Lord anyway.
We worked last Friday, and I must have heard everyone at the Greenwood Center how good it was to be off this week. When someone steals a blessing of God, it is not a good thing, not an enjoyable thing.
I met John at the pool early Thursday morning, and I swam like I didn't want to be there. I am beginning to worry about myself. Swimming hasn't excited me for a while now. I did
1,000 in 25:10 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is so slow that it makes me think about going to the doctor and asking for some sort of tests. What's wrong with me? Then I swam
14 X 50 @ 1:21
A 1:21 interval used to mean it was a speed set. I swam that when I wanted to focus on quality, on getting faster. The long rest meant I could hit the next 50 hard. Now it is my go to lazy set. I swim it because I can leisurely make my way to the other pool and then hang out on the wall a long time, stall. I keep thinking that I am just going through a physical valley and it will pass. But I have been here since Chicot and the valley just keeps getting deeper, my swim times slower, and my desire to hit the water evaporates.
After work, I ran some errands I had not had time to run for a couple of weeks. Then back home, I turned on the TV and sat on the couch. I watched the Paul Finebaum Show. I channel surfed. I petted CC. I took a nap. What I did not do was run or lift weights.
I'm doing a mini taper for Saturday's Dragonfly Triathlon which I am doing for fun and for a workout. So why taper at all? I am tapering some because my body needs it. Maybe that's what's wrong with me in the pool. Maybe.
My running has also suffered. There has been no shortage of desire to run, but my pace gets slower and slower and slower. I tell myself it is not real, but who am I kidding? I remind myself of how I ran the Viking 5K and that that pace will come back when it counts. We might find out about that Saturday. We will certainly find out at the 300 Oaks. That is where it will count again. That is a race I want to do well in.
Praise the Lord anyway.
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Wednesday
John wanted me to call him since he missed Monday and Tuesday. I called at 5:30 a.m. He didn't answer so I rolled over and went back to sleep. The rest was much needed. That means I did my first workout after school; I took a short 2.26-mile shuffle.
After cooling off, I went to Plate City to do some pulling. I did T-bars, pullups, and leg work. On the pullups, I did a total of ten non-weighted and with thirteen pounds hanging around me neck I did four singles. I am getting stronger on this move. When I started back doing these after my arm fell off, I couldn't do one. I started with jump negatives, worked up to one, and now I can do four without weights and I am working the weight up on the weighted ones. Yeehaa. I also did a bunch of Swim Pulls, sled pulls, and squats. It was a solid workout.
I coach on Wednesday nights. The boys come in at 7:45. I am very proud of them because they have improved a lot. The men come in at 8:25. Jacob has gone back to Mississippi State leaving his dad, Brad. I swam with Brad so I would not totally miss a day of swimming. Brad has also improved much. We began work on flip turns. I only swam 1,450 but that is better than a poke in the eye.
All in all, it was a good day especially since I did not have to stay late for the first time since I started back to work. Thank you, Jesus.
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Tuesday
I was making laps a little before 6:00 a.m. I wish I needed no sleep. Then I would swim in the dark every day. Or night.
John didn't show up. What else is new? I swam
1,300
300 small paddles
100 medium paddles
total: 1,700 long course meters
I had to work until 4:00 p.m. and I needed to do a long run in order to get my miles in this week and do a mini-taper before Saturday's Dragon Fly Triathlon. So after work, I rushed home, changed clothes, and hit Plate City for bench presses and triceps work. I benched
12 X 100
5 X 120
4 X 140
3 X 150
2 X 155
1 X 160
1 X 160
These are new butt-Beets marks.
Then I went inside and began to prepare for my long run. It was pretty hot, about 92, when I left the house at 5:16. I shuffled 12.12 miles, but the pace was embarrassingly slow. Still, it was a good day with three solid workouts.
Thank you, Jesus.
John didn't show up. What else is new? I swam
1,300
300 small paddles
100 medium paddles
total: 1,700 long course meters
I had to work until 4:00 p.m. and I needed to do a long run in order to get my miles in this week and do a mini-taper before Saturday's Dragon Fly Triathlon. So after work, I rushed home, changed clothes, and hit Plate City for bench presses and triceps work. I benched
12 X 100
5 X 120
4 X 140
3 X 150
2 X 155
1 X 160
1 X 160
These are new butt-Beets marks.
Then I went inside and began to prepare for my long run. It was pretty hot, about 92, when I left the house at 5:16. I shuffled 12.12 miles, but the pace was embarrassingly slow. Still, it was a good day with three solid workouts.
Thank you, Jesus.
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Early Morning Swim
Darkness covered the water's surface like a blanket while moonlight danced eerily on the bottom. It was 5:52 a.m. and I was just beginning my swim at Twin Rivers Monday morning. John was nowhere in sight. No one was in sight. A strange ambiance was all that accompanied my as I began to stroke along in the dark.
I found it difficult to know where I was in the pool with no lane lines, no lane ropes, and no light. But slowly my proprioception improved while night transformed into morning. It's a lovely time, the early hours; I need to get up more often.
I swam 1,000 and I was needing to go the bathroom really bad. The restrooms inside are made for little people and I knew I couldn't use them. The last time I did, my knees hit the door and my elbows pressed the stall's side. The sign outside says Boy's and it means it.
I swam 2 X 50 and then had to leave. That was a shame because I felt like swimming unlike many a morning when I just want to go to sleep. So I finished with a malnourished 1,100 meters.
At work, we are in Late Registration. Why do we teach students to be late? I had to stay at work until 4:00 o'clock, and since it was the third Monday of the month, we had to go to Itta Bena to eat fish. Great. Just in time to keep me from losing weight.
I had just enough time to rush home, change clothes, and go for a short run before taking a bath, redressing, and going to get fat. There was no time for weights, no time for my long run.
Still, it was a good day. Thank you, Jesus.
I found it difficult to know where I was in the pool with no lane lines, no lane ropes, and no light. But slowly my proprioception improved while night transformed into morning. It's a lovely time, the early hours; I need to get up more often.
I swam 1,000 and I was needing to go the bathroom really bad. The restrooms inside are made for little people and I knew I couldn't use them. The last time I did, my knees hit the door and my elbows pressed the stall's side. The sign outside says Boy's and it means it.
I swam 2 X 50 and then had to leave. That was a shame because I felt like swimming unlike many a morning when I just want to go to sleep. So I finished with a malnourished 1,100 meters.
At work, we are in Late Registration. Why do we teach students to be late? I had to stay at work until 4:00 o'clock, and since it was the third Monday of the month, we had to go to Itta Bena to eat fish. Great. Just in time to keep me from losing weight.
I had just enough time to rush home, change clothes, and go for a short run before taking a bath, redressing, and going to get fat. There was no time for weights, no time for my long run.
Still, it was a good day. Thank you, Jesus.
Monday, August 19, 2019
First Day of School
I thought you went back to work last week.
I did, but that was registration and punishment.
Punishment?
Yeah, they make us sit in our offices much longer than we used to because we had the audacity to ask to advise students in our offices. Imagine that.
So what is new besides punishment?
Today we started classes.
So how was that?
The beginning of a semester is always a mix of excitement and stress. I like having a new start with each year or semester. Getting to start over is nice. Getting to attempt to do a better job is a blessing. Getting to meet new people is a joy. However, I am experiencing severe stress because three classes have not made and administrators are wanting schedules that don't yet exist. They want my class schedule and office hours now, and I do to but I don't have that yet and will not until at least the first of next week when all the classes have met and made or not.
The three classes that have not made is a new record for me. That puts me under the gun. I am thinking I will try to bride some students to change sections because the school does not add my total number of students and see if I am profitable. They look at each class and if it does not have the requisite number of students, they poor kids get thrown out on their ear, and I don't get paid.
Lovely.
It's always this way. Besides that, I am looking for a book that I can't find and from which I need to make a gazillion copies. Then there is the extra burden of working until 4:00 o'clock today and tomorrow. Tough. That puts my training program under strain for two more day. I need to run long today, but I have to work late then Penny and I are attending another eating. Great, just in time to get fat. Other than that, things are going swimmingly. See what I did there? I know this sounds like I'm complaining, but I am. Sometimes I feel the need to vent a little bit. Thanks for listening, or reading, depending on which version you received.
I did, but that was registration and punishment.
Punishment?
Yeah, they make us sit in our offices much longer than we used to because we had the audacity to ask to advise students in our offices. Imagine that.
So what is new besides punishment?
Today we started classes.
So how was that?
The beginning of a semester is always a mix of excitement and stress. I like having a new start with each year or semester. Getting to start over is nice. Getting to attempt to do a better job is a blessing. Getting to meet new people is a joy. However, I am experiencing severe stress because three classes have not made and administrators are wanting schedules that don't yet exist. They want my class schedule and office hours now, and I do to but I don't have that yet and will not until at least the first of next week when all the classes have met and made or not.
The three classes that have not made is a new record for me. That puts me under the gun. I am thinking I will try to bride some students to change sections because the school does not add my total number of students and see if I am profitable. They look at each class and if it does not have the requisite number of students, they poor kids get thrown out on their ear, and I don't get paid.
Lovely.
It's always this way. Besides that, I am looking for a book that I can't find and from which I need to make a gazillion copies. Then there is the extra burden of working until 4:00 o'clock today and tomorrow. Tough. That puts my training program under strain for two more day. I need to run long today, but I have to work late then Penny and I are attending another eating. Great, just in time to get fat. Other than that, things are going swimmingly. See what I did there? I know this sounds like I'm complaining, but I am. Sometimes I feel the need to vent a little bit. Thanks for listening, or reading, depending on which version you received.
8/12 - 8/18
It was a really good week for training, but having to work from 8:00 to 5:00 everyday made me have to fight like a madman for everything I did. Monday I swam 2,300 meters, and ran 11.65 miles. Tuesday I swam 2,800 meters, lifted weights, and ran 2.61 miles.
Wednesday I swam 1,096 meters, lifted weights, and ran 2.32 miles. Thursday I hit 2,100 in the pool, 7.3 on the road, and the weights hard at Plate City. Friday I continued with 1,100 in the water, nothing on the road, and a lot at the gym.
Saturday was the training day of training days. I started with 3,000 at Twin Rivers followed by a solid weight session at the gym. Later I cycled 13.36 miles, ran another 1.51, and then hit Plate City again. It was a five-workout day.
For the week, I
swam 12,396 meters,
cycled 13.36 miles,
lifted weights five times, and
ran 25.39 miles.
Thank you, Jesus, for good health and enough energy.
Wednesday I swam 1,096 meters, lifted weights, and ran 2.32 miles. Thursday I hit 2,100 in the pool, 7.3 on the road, and the weights hard at Plate City. Friday I continued with 1,100 in the water, nothing on the road, and a lot at the gym.
Saturday was the training day of training days. I started with 3,000 at Twin Rivers followed by a solid weight session at the gym. Later I cycled 13.36 miles, ran another 1.51, and then hit Plate City again. It was a five-workout day.
For the week, I
swam 12,396 meters,
cycled 13.36 miles,
lifted weights five times, and
ran 25.39 miles.
Thank you, Jesus, for good health and enough energy.
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Five to Thrive
No way.
Yes way.
You did not do five workouts in one day.
Did to. Let me tell you about it.
First, John and I swam in the outdoor pool at Twin Rivers, and for only the second time in as many weeks, I felt like hitting it hard. I swam
1,500 33:12
4 X 50 fast, best in 44.46
300 for time 5:20.96
300 small paddles
6 X 100 medium paddles r:12
total: 3,000 long course meters
Then I went home and after studying awhile, I went to Plate City and mostly worked on pulling moves, the pullup and the Swim Pull. I am now doing my weighted pullups with 12.5 pounds.
After that, I ate lunch and lounged a long time before driving to Money with my bicycle. Workout number three was a mere 13.36 miles of cycling. At home, I chatted briefly with Penny before going for a short run and workout number four. I shuffled 1.51 miles to give myself my highest weekly total running since my comeback.
I went back to Plate City after the run for my fifth workout. I did some neck work, but I majored on the reverse hpyer doing five sets. I also did leg curls and tire jumps to finish off a really good week. So that was a swim, a bicycle ride, a run, and two weight sessions at the gym. Life is good. Thank you, Jesus.
Yes way.
You did not do five workouts in one day.
Did to. Let me tell you about it.
First, John and I swam in the outdoor pool at Twin Rivers, and for only the second time in as many weeks, I felt like hitting it hard. I swam
1,500 33:12
4 X 50 fast, best in 44.46
300 for time 5:20.96
300 small paddles
6 X 100 medium paddles r:12
total: 3,000 long course meters
Then I went home and after studying awhile, I went to Plate City and mostly worked on pulling moves, the pullup and the Swim Pull. I am now doing my weighted pullups with 12.5 pounds.
After that, I ate lunch and lounged a long time before driving to Money with my bicycle. Workout number three was a mere 13.36 miles of cycling. At home, I chatted briefly with Penny before going for a short run and workout number four. I shuffled 1.51 miles to give myself my highest weekly total running since my comeback.
I went back to Plate City after the run for my fifth workout. I did some neck work, but I majored on the reverse hpyer doing five sets. I also did leg curls and tire jumps to finish off a really good week. So that was a swim, a bicycle ride, a run, and two weight sessions at the gym. Life is good. Thank you, Jesus.
Saturday, August 17, 2019
More Records
More Records
by Jay Unver
(Lehrton, MS) Zane Hodge continues to bury Randy Beets in a pile of Big ASS world records. I followed him to the pool Thursday and Friday mornings without seeing any attempts. But he alerted me Friday afternoon that Saturday might bring some fresh charges at setting new marks. It did.
"I've been running a lot," Hodge explained. "And working a lot this week. That has been sapping a lot of energy from the pool. But after being off the road for over two years, I can't say no to my impulse to run."
Friday, Hodge took a rare easy day with no running whatsoever and only a very short dip in the pool. The slowdown had its effect and Saturday morning rolled around with Hodge ready to throw down in the water.
Hodge opened his session with a 1,500 meter swim. Although he could have presented that as a record, since almost all the Big ASS records for both long and short course are open, Hodge declined. "I will only present an honest attempt to swim my best," he explained to me. "That was a warmup and a training set."
Then Hodge swam 4 X 50 for time. His fastest, 44.46 is a new Big ASS best. "That's not very good," he mumbled appearing to be disappointed. "But I will break it on another day." Hodge then turned his attention a 300. "That distance is open and it will give me a good training stimulus to swim that far hard today."
So Hodge was off while I observed and timed. His breathing was labored when he touched the wall 5:20.96 later. Hodge now owns the Big ASS world long course meters swimming time trial records in
50
100
150
200
250
300
Beets, who claims to have challenges to swimming long course because of his local pool's regulations, holds no records, not even at short course.
Fifth Day Back at Work
Friday finally came and with it everyone at the Greenwood Center bore their cross with dignity and grace. Except me, of course. I squirm under a Friday workday. God gave me Fridays off so when someone takes it from me, I view it as a demonic attack. I swam with John before work, but I was not feeling it and tapped at only 1,100 meters. Then to work.
Penny was getting off early and wanted to go eat as soon as I got off so I knew if I were to do anymore training, it would have to happen at lunch. That gave me a choice between running and lifting. I chose lifting, giving my legs a break and my swimming muscles the dryland work they need. I did benches like
15 X 100
3 X 120
3 X 120
3 X 120
3 X 120
3 X 120
3 X 120
1 X 120 paused
All the 3 Xs were speed work. On the triceps pushdown, I did
25 X 30
27 X 27.5
28 X 25
I did not get nearly as hot as I did running at lunch like I did Wednesday. That day I sweated for fifty minutes after the exercise ended. Friday, I was dry when I went back to work.
So I had a light day but got some work in nonetheless. Next Friday I plan to have some fun. Thank you, Jesus.
Penny was getting off early and wanted to go eat as soon as I got off so I knew if I were to do anymore training, it would have to happen at lunch. That gave me a choice between running and lifting. I chose lifting, giving my legs a break and my swimming muscles the dryland work they need. I did benches like
15 X 100
3 X 120
3 X 120
3 X 120
3 X 120
3 X 120
3 X 120
1 X 120 paused
All the 3 Xs were speed work. On the triceps pushdown, I did
25 X 30
27 X 27.5
28 X 25
I did not get nearly as hot as I did running at lunch like I did Wednesday. That day I sweated for fifty minutes after the exercise ended. Friday, I was dry when I went back to work.
So I had a light day but got some work in nonetheless. Next Friday I plan to have some fun. Thank you, Jesus.
Friday, August 16, 2019
New Records
Zane Hodge has been as busy as a bee establishing new records in both the pool and at the gym. Meanwhile, Randy Beets has been as silent as a stone after the single brag he made early this week on social media, boasting of a banner training day.
"I've tried to fish the sissy out. Maybe he just doesn't want to compete anymore. Heck, he can't compete. I guess that's the problem," a disgusted Hodge muttered after setting his latest Big ASS world record.
Last Tuesday, Hodge set three pool time trial records in the 200 (3:34.28), 150 (2:38.69), and 100 (1:41.61) long course meters. Beets failed to attempt a go at these marks.
This Monday Hodge was at it again, busting out a new record swim for 250 meters (4:31.36).
In addition to these marks, Hodge's Senior Olympic times have been ratified as competition records. A competition record is one done in a meet or a match race with another swimmer. Last April 6, Hodge won gold and set marks for four short course yards distances, all of them freestyle:
50 - 34:52
100 - 1:15.33
200 - 2:44.09
500 - 7:08.89
Tuesday the 13th, Hodge had Association witnesses for some new bench press records for both a single and a double. He hit 150 for a double and 155 for a single. These are now Big ASS world records.
"These records should fall as soon as I bench heavy again, next week," Hodge pronounced confidently. "Poor Beets. I need a competitor. Right now, all the short course time trial marks are open. All he has to do is go swim something and he can have a record until I get a chance to go break it. But I guess he is too lazy to have his brief moment of glory. Too bad."
"I've tried to fish the sissy out. Maybe he just doesn't want to compete anymore. Heck, he can't compete. I guess that's the problem," a disgusted Hodge muttered after setting his latest Big ASS world record.
Last Tuesday, Hodge set three pool time trial records in the 200 (3:34.28), 150 (2:38.69), and 100 (1:41.61) long course meters. Beets failed to attempt a go at these marks.
This Monday Hodge was at it again, busting out a new record swim for 250 meters (4:31.36).
In addition to these marks, Hodge's Senior Olympic times have been ratified as competition records. A competition record is one done in a meet or a match race with another swimmer. Last April 6, Hodge won gold and set marks for four short course yards distances, all of them freestyle:
50 - 34:52
100 - 1:15.33
200 - 2:44.09
500 - 7:08.89
Tuesday the 13th, Hodge had Association witnesses for some new bench press records for both a single and a double. He hit 150 for a double and 155 for a single. These are now Big ASS world records.
"These records should fall as soon as I bench heavy again, next week," Hodge pronounced confidently. "Poor Beets. I need a competitor. Right now, all the short course time trial marks are open. All he has to do is go swim something and he can have a record until I get a chance to go break it. But I guess he is too lazy to have his brief moment of glory. Too bad."
Fourth Day Back at Work
It makes me wonder how I ever did it. But I once wore a young man's shoes. Now, the week before classes start when we have to work every day from 8:00 until 5:00, I am dying from exhaustion. Yeah, yeah, I know, cry you a river. I just might.
I was supposed to meet John at the pool at 6:00 a.m. Of course he was late. I swam
1,000
12 X 50 medium paddles @ 1:21
2 X 100 small paddles
2 X 100 large paddles
100 small paddles
total: 2,100 long course meters
After work, I waited a little while for the sun to sink a little lower in the horizon. I can take the heat now and a 6:30 sun. So that's what I did, I went out the front door with my running shoes on at 6:30 making it up as I went. I wanted to run at least four mile maybe six depending on how the legs felt. They didn't feel great, but they felt good enough for me to shuffle 7.3 miles. That takes me up to 23.8 for the week.
This running,I think I know, is why I have been struggling in the pool. I have somewhat adjusted to getting up every morning, but when I get in the water, I don't want to do anything. The inner drive is just not there. The reason for that is running is sapping my energy and drive thus I have had a lot of bad swims lately. I know, I know, any swim is a good swim. But some swims are more gooder than others. I miss the more gooder swims.
All in all, it was a good day. Thank you, Jesus.
I was supposed to meet John at the pool at 6:00 a.m. Of course he was late. I swam
1,000
12 X 50 medium paddles @ 1:21
2 X 100 small paddles
2 X 100 large paddles
100 small paddles
total: 2,100 long course meters
After work, I waited a little while for the sun to sink a little lower in the horizon. I can take the heat now and a 6:30 sun. So that's what I did, I went out the front door with my running shoes on at 6:30 making it up as I went. I wanted to run at least four mile maybe six depending on how the legs felt. They didn't feel great, but they felt good enough for me to shuffle 7.3 miles. That takes me up to 23.8 for the week.
This running,
All in all, it was a good day. Thank you, Jesus.
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Third Day Back at Work
This working 8:00 to 5:00 is tough. I am worn out and have little time for training. However, I managed to not get up Wednesday morning to swim. John called, said it was lightning, said he was out and gong back to bed. I went back to sleep.
At noon I went out for a run on tired legs. I shuffled 2.32 miles and sweated for 50 minutes afterwards.
After work, I hit Plate City for some leg work and some upper body pulling. On the pullup, I did three sets of three and then three singles with eleven pounds around my neck. I have never done weighted pullups until recently, and there is no doubt that they are making me stronger on that move. Of course, I am losing a little adipose tissue at the same time so that helps some. I'm coming back on that move, a move I used to do lots of reps on. I never was able to knock off a bunch of reps without stopping, but I would do lots of sets. I am headed back that way, and I am headed for unbroken reps also.
I did my coaching at the little pool starting at 7:45 p.m., and since I had not swum, I dipped after my last swimmers left. I only did 1,200 yards, but that is better than a poke in the eye.
Now I face another long day, full of heat, and packed with activities. How will I handle things? And I have to work Friday so no big numbers there because Penny wants to go out to eat at 5:00 o'clock. So I can only workout before work and at lunch.
Sigh.
Thank you, Jesus.
At noon I went out for a run on tired legs. I shuffled 2.32 miles and sweated for 50 minutes afterwards.
After work, I hit Plate City for some leg work and some upper body pulling. On the pullup, I did three sets of three and then three singles with eleven pounds around my neck. I have never done weighted pullups until recently, and there is no doubt that they are making me stronger on that move. Of course, I am losing a little adipose tissue at the same time so that helps some. I'm coming back on that move, a move I used to do lots of reps on. I never was able to knock off a bunch of reps without stopping, but I would do lots of sets. I am headed back that way, and I am headed for unbroken reps also.
I did my coaching at the little pool starting at 7:45 p.m., and since I had not swum, I dipped after my last swimmers left. I only did 1,200 yards, but that is better than a poke in the eye.
Now I face another long day, full of heat, and packed with activities. How will I handle things? And I have to work Friday so no big numbers there because Penny wants to go out to eat at 5:00 o'clock. So I can only workout before work and at lunch.
Sigh.
Thank you, Jesus.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Second Day Back at Work
I was supposed to meet John at the pool at 6:00 a.m. He was late. I swam 2,800 straight in an embarrassingly slow 1:08:17 which is 2:25 per 100 meters. I can remember reading about coaches working with people who swam that pace and feeling sorry for the swimmers.
I had to work from 8:00 until 5:00 so I had to do everything else late in the day. First I lifted doing a bench session of
flat barbell bench
11 X 95
6 X 120
4 X 140
2 X 150
2 X 150
1 X 155
incline dumbbell bench press
10 X 40
decline barbell bench press
12 X 100
triceps push down
46 X 20
That was a pretty decent session even though it was 96 degrees out. I am about as heat acclimated right now as I have ever been. Then I went inside and waited for a carpenter to come by and look at some work we need done. He didn't show up so I took my run in the dark. I went a super slow 2.61 miles.
Thank you, Jesus, and please help us find a carpenter.
I had to work from 8:00 until 5:00 so I had to do everything else late in the day. First I lifted doing a bench session of
flat barbell bench
11 X 95
6 X 120
4 X 140
2 X 150
2 X 150
1 X 155
incline dumbbell bench press
10 X 40
decline barbell bench press
12 X 100
triceps push down
46 X 20
That was a pretty decent session even though it was 96 degrees out. I am about as heat acclimated right now as I have ever been. Then I went inside and waited for a carpenter to come by and look at some work we need done. He didn't show up so I took my run in the dark. I went a super slow 2.61 miles.
Thank you, Jesus, and please help us find a carpenter.
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Back to Work
Bittersweet.
My reaction to going back to work.
In one way I am ready. In another, I needed just one more week off. Or two. Three.
Since I had to be in Moorhead at 9:00 a.m., I met John at the pool at 6:00. Ouch. I'm not a morning person, but I knew I could do Monday because I get lots of rest on Sunday. On the Lord's day, my wife and I go to church, I preach, we go out to eat, and then we go home and nap for the rest of the day.
I swam
1,300
6 X 50 small paddles @ 1:16
250 for time 4:31.36 (1:48)
400 small paddles
total: 2,300 long course meters
Then I went to work. We met our new president, Dr. Tyrone Jackson. I like him and my sense is that he will be good for our school. Of course we had the obligatory plethora of meetings, and some of the were actually good.
After work, it was a choice between running and lifting. I waited until 5:50 to go out the front door, and it was still 97 degrees with a heat index of 113 that late. As slow as I am, it got dark on me for the first time this year. I was amazed at how much better it felt when the sun got low. I did 11.65 miles in 3:08:37. Yeah, that slow. But I did it; I got my long run in for the week, and I did it on the hottest day of the year.
So I started back to work and got in two workouts. Not bad. I'm happy. Thank you, Jesus.
My reaction to going back to work.
In one way I am ready. In another, I needed just one more week off. Or two. Three.
Since I had to be in Moorhead at 9:00 a.m., I met John at the pool at 6:00. Ouch. I'm not a morning person, but I knew I could do Monday because I get lots of rest on Sunday. On the Lord's day, my wife and I go to church, I preach, we go out to eat, and then we go home and nap for the rest of the day.
I swam
1,300
6 X 50 small paddles @ 1:16
250 for time 4:31.36 (1:48)
400 small paddles
total: 2,300 long course meters
Then I went to work. We met our new president, Dr. Tyrone Jackson. I like him and my sense is that he will be good for our school. Of course we had the obligatory plethora of meetings, and some of the were actually good.
After work, it was a choice between running and lifting. I waited until 5:50 to go out the front door, and it was still 97 degrees with a heat index of 113 that late. As slow as I am, it got dark on me for the first time this year. I was amazed at how much better it felt when the sun got low. I did 11.65 miles in 3:08:37. Yeah, that slow. But I did it; I got my long run in for the week, and I did it on the hottest day of the year.
So I started back to work and got in two workouts. Not bad. I'm happy. Thank you, Jesus.
Monday, August 12, 2019
11/5 - 11/11
My last week of summer vacation was a big training sequence. It was not the biggest or most swimming or cycling or running I've ever done, but when you add up all the workouts, this was my biggest training block in two and a half years or more.
Monday I swam 2,200 meters in the morning and ran 3.15 miles after that. Then in the afternoon, I lifted weighs and later in the day, Forrest and I rode 19 miles out there in the Money area.
Tuesday I swan 3,200 meters, and shuffled 8.21 miles. I had planned on going longer on the run, but the temp was 93 and the dew point was crazy high. I also lifted some weights, doing a pull workout as opposed to Monday's push session.
Wednesday I swan 1,400 meters, ran 2.71 miles, and lifted weights. I also coached to two groups of swimmers. I am enjoying that more than ever.
Thursday it was 2,100 in the water, 2.28 on the road, and weights in the back yard.
Friday I swam another 2,100 meters, ran another 5.22 miles, and lifted more weights.
Saturday was truly easy. I shuffled a mild 1.58 miles and did some light lifting.
For the week, I
ran 23.15 miles,
swam 11,000 meters,
lifted weights six times, and
cycled 19 miles on the bicycle.
That's good training right there; I don't care who you are.
Thank you, Jesus, for a good week of exercise.
Monday I swam 2,200 meters in the morning and ran 3.15 miles after that. Then in the afternoon, I lifted weighs and later in the day, Forrest and I rode 19 miles out there in the Money area.
Tuesday I swan 3,200 meters, and shuffled 8.21 miles. I had planned on going longer on the run, but the temp was 93 and the dew point was crazy high. I also lifted some weights, doing a pull workout as opposed to Monday's push session.
Wednesday I swan 1,400 meters, ran 2.71 miles, and lifted weights. I also coached to two groups of swimmers. I am enjoying that more than ever.
Thursday it was 2,100 in the water, 2.28 on the road, and weights in the back yard.
Friday I swam another 2,100 meters, ran another 5.22 miles, and lifted more weights.
Saturday was truly easy. I shuffled a mild 1.58 miles and did some light lifting.
For the week, I
ran 23.15 miles,
swam 11,000 meters,
lifted weights six times, and
cycled 19 miles on the bicycle.
That's good training right there; I don't care who you are.
Thank you, Jesus, for a good week of exercise.
Sunday, August 11, 2019
New Equipment (Rev Hyper)
My apologies for the sideways video. I shot it with a cell phone and loaded it onto YouTube. Formerly we were able to turn videos, but they are always changing things and not necessarily for the better. If a video can be rotated on YouTube now, I am not smart enough to figure it out.
Plate City has seen a plethora of upgrades over the past year. It has gone from a good gym to a great gym. It is no doubt the best backyard gym in the world. The newest addition is a reverse hyper machine. I purchased it from Titan, and it promptly came with no instructions. I unpacked, scratched my head, and figured a couple of things out. Then I consulted photographs on the internet and that helped with a couple of more parts. Then I texted the company and asked for help. Within a day they sent me a link to instructions. Yeehaa.
By the third day, I used the machine for the first time. I took two reps, hear that? two reps for me to feel my gluteous maximus muscles working. My glutes, as the body part is often called, are nearly nonexistent on my underdeveloped body, and I have never been able to get the sore unless a feel hard on my butt. That all changed with the reverse hyper machine.
This piece of equipment is designed to decompress the spine, and develop flexibility and strength in the hamstrings, the glutes, and the low back muscles. The machine works well. What do I think it will do for me?
I think it should make me a better runner, have a sounder body, and it may impact my swimming a little bit. As far as the swimming goes, having a tight torso is part of maintaining good body position in the water. Concerning a sound body, a healthy back is pretty much needed for continued mobility and a happy life as one becomes aged. And for the running part, the posterior chain, all those muscles mentioned above, are the prime movers in walking, running, and jumping. So to have these muscles stronger and more conditioned cannot do anything but help my pitiful running.
Only time will tell if the machine is worth my investment in it. But thus far I am using the equipment, enjoying it, and expect to reap some benefits from it. I do not mind spending money for toys that I can use to exercise. I had rather spend it on equipment than on medicine, and by the grace of God, I am on no medicine at all. That is maybe rare for someone my age.
Thank you, Jesus.
Saturday
John and I were supposed to meet at the pool at 8:00 a.m. He called about 7:00 and said he was too tired to have a go. I was glad. Being tired myself after a banner week of training, I was ready to take it easy. I drank coffee, studied for Sunday's sermon, and did not miss the swimming at all.
Forrest and I were supposed to ride, but he backed out also. I was not sorry. I went out for a short, slow run. I did 1.58 miles, just enough to shake the legs out a little. Without going back over all my records, this might have been my first six days of running in one week in at least two and a half years. Maybe the frequency will help me out.
Later, I went to Plate City. Like the running, I did not want much, just a bit. I did some rotator cuff work, a single set of squats, and some reverse hyper stuff. Then I went inside and took it easy the rest of the day.
Thank you, Jesus.
Forrest and I were supposed to ride, but he backed out also. I was not sorry. I went out for a short, slow run. I did 1.58 miles, just enough to shake the legs out a little. Without going back over all my records, this might have been my first six days of running in one week in at least two and a half years. Maybe the frequency will help me out.
Later, I went to Plate City. Like the running, I did not want much, just a bit. I did some rotator cuff work, a single set of squats, and some reverse hyper stuff. Then I went inside and took it easy the rest of the day.
Thank you, Jesus.
Saturday, August 10, 2019
Follows Three
Some week. Maybe it's desperation. I start back to work Monday. I feel like the summer began yesterday, and I am just now hitting my stride. Metaphorically hitting my stride, on the road it's a mere shuffle.
Friday started with a swim where I stroked
1,200 27:43 (2:06)
5 X 100 @ 2:15 swim, sp, mp, lp, mp
400 small paddles
total: 2,100 long course meters
I shuffled 5.22 miles with some multi pacing. The pickups were slow but less slow than the pedestrian pace I have settled into of late. I have not done any "fast" running in several weeks because I pulled a hamstring a few months back and it irritated me for months. Faster running bothered it so I stopped runner quicker. The hammy is just now getting well although I sill don't trust it.
When I went to Plate City, it was with a little bit of dread. I have always liked the heat, but after swimming, running, lifting, and yard mowing in it for the past three months, I am mentally and physically exhausted with the heat. In the past, I have felt this way usually beginning in August. People usually think of August as the hottest month. Technically it is not: July is. But if other people are like me, they are worn down by the heat by August, and the first two weeks of the eight month usually are the most brutal of the year and 2019 has been no exception. In short, I am ready for some cooler weather. At the gym, I did back work including pullups. I can now do three straight, and the weighted ones are up to ten pounds.
So it was another three-workout day. Thank you, Jesus.
Friday started with a swim where I stroked
1,200 27:43 (2:06)
5 X 100 @ 2:15 swim, sp, mp, lp, mp
400 small paddles
total: 2,100 long course meters
I shuffled 5.22 miles with some multi pacing. The pickups were slow but less slow than the pedestrian pace I have settled into of late. I have not done any "fast" running in several weeks because I pulled a hamstring a few months back and it irritated me for months. Faster running bothered it so I stopped runner quicker. The hammy is just now getting well although I sill don't trust it.
When I went to Plate City, it was with a little bit of dread. I have always liked the heat, but after swimming, running, lifting, and yard mowing in it for the past three months, I am mentally and physically exhausted with the heat. In the past, I have felt this way usually beginning in August. People usually think of August as the hottest month. Technically it is not: July is. But if other people are like me, they are worn down by the heat by August, and the first two weeks of the eight month usually are the most brutal of the year and 2019 has been no exception. In short, I am ready for some cooler weather. At the gym, I did back work including pullups. I can now do three straight, and the weighted ones are up to ten pounds.
So it was another three-workout day. Thank you, Jesus.
Friday, August 9, 2019
New Marks
New Marks
By Jay Unver
The time trial records will be stand alone marks because a solo swim is always slower than a race with another competitor in the pool. Nomann's hope is to fish Beets out of his obscure inactivity and get the two enemies to have ongoing duels in the pool even though they live hundreds of miles apart. Hodge set three marks Tuesday as he raced only the clock on hand but Beets in mind in a long course pool with no lane lines on the bottom and no lane ropes on top. He swam
200 3:34.28
150 2:38.69
100 1:41.61
These are now Big ASS world records which Hodge challenges Beets to best.
"Go for it, tall guy. But do it quickly because they won't stand long. I'll break them all soon."
Hodge hopes to set more marks later this week or early next week.
Three Follows Three Follows Three
This has been a really big training week. Thursday I did another three workouts. First there was the swim. I did
1,100
10 X 50 medium paddles @ 1:21
500 small paddles
total: 2,100 long course meters
Next up was a run, but my legs were feeling the weight work from the day before so I only did 2.28 pitifully slow miles. But, I don't believe in junk miles. I think there is no such thing. For me, any miles are good miles.
I waited until almost 6:00 p.m. to hit Plate City because of the heat and high humidity. The dew point was 77. You feel that kind of moisture in the air. I think I soaked three shirts. I hit the bench for some speed work doing
5 X 100
3 X 100 plus chain
3 X 100 plus chain
3 X 100 plus chain
3 X 100 plus chain
3 X 100 plus chain
3 X 100 plus chain
4 X 100 plus chain
3 X 100 plus chain
These were all done with the Swiss bar. Then I did dumbbell bench presses on the incline for
10 X 35
5 X 40
Decline bench
11 X 100
OP
4 X 25
4 X 30
Tri pushdown
45 X 20
I also did a bunch of rotator cuff work and some yard mowing.
It was a good day. Thank you, Jesus.
1,100
10 X 50 medium paddles @ 1:21
500 small paddles
total: 2,100 long course meters
Next up was a run, but my legs were feeling the weight work from the day before so I only did 2.28 pitifully slow miles. But, I don't believe in junk miles. I think there is no such thing. For me, any miles are good miles.
I waited until almost 6:00 p.m. to hit Plate City because of the heat and high humidity. The dew point was 77. You feel that kind of moisture in the air. I think I soaked three shirts. I hit the bench for some speed work doing
5 X 100
3 X 100 plus chain
3 X 100 plus chain
3 X 100 plus chain
3 X 100 plus chain
3 X 100 plus chain
3 X 100 plus chain
4 X 100 plus chain
3 X 100 plus chain
These were all done with the Swiss bar. Then I did dumbbell bench presses on the incline for
10 X 35
5 X 40
Decline bench
11 X 100
OP
4 X 25
4 X 30
Tri pushdown
45 X 20
I also did a bunch of rotator cuff work and some yard mowing.
It was a good day. Thank you, Jesus.
Thursday, August 8, 2019
What Follows Three?
Two usually follows three, but not this time. This week has been different, extreme. Well, not extreme, but I have been training hard. Monday I did four workouts, Tuesday three, and Wednesday?
I started with a swim. It went like this:
1,000
8 X 50 medium paddles @ 1:16
total: 1,400 long course meters
I decided to run before it got too hot. Earlier in the week, the forecast had been for a high temperature of 96 for Wednesday. The last time I checked, however, that had been adjusted downward to 93. That's still pretty hot so I shuffled an unpleasant 2.71 miles before lunch.
In the afternoon, I went to Plate City to finish putting together the new machine and to work out. I'll tell you about the new equipment in another post. It's a dandy. I worked legs, not hard, but I got hot, had to sit a lot, and my heart rate was going crazy. I suffered out there. I thought, I have been working out in the heat all summer. Now I am dying. I went inside and checked my phone. It was 95 degrees. Not wonder. Those two degrees are huge especially when the humidity is above fifty percent.
So what follows three? This week, three follows three. What a training cycle. I woke up this morning the lightest I have been in about three years. Thank you, Jesus.
I started with a swim. It went like this:
1,000
8 X 50 medium paddles @ 1:16
total: 1,400 long course meters
I decided to run before it got too hot. Earlier in the week, the forecast had been for a high temperature of 96 for Wednesday. The last time I checked, however, that had been adjusted downward to 93. That's still pretty hot so I shuffled an unpleasant 2.71 miles before lunch.
In the afternoon, I went to Plate City to finish putting together the new machine and to work out. I'll tell you about the new equipment in another post. It's a dandy. I worked legs, not hard, but I got hot, had to sit a lot, and my heart rate was going crazy. I suffered out there. I thought, I have been working out in the heat all summer. Now I am dying. I went inside and checked my phone. It was 95 degrees. Not wonder. Those two degrees are huge especially when the humidity is above fifty percent.
So what follows three? This week, three follows three. What a training cycle. I woke up this morning the lightest I have been in about three years. Thank you, Jesus.
Wednesday, August 7, 2019
What Follows Four?
Normally two follows three, but what follows four?
I'm speaking of my workouts. Although it is not a necessity, a three-workout day for me has always been followed by a two-workout day. Monday I did four workouts. What comes on Tuesday?
What came was three sessions of exercise, all of them enjoyable. Well, mostly so. The day started at the pool where John was a no show. I stroked
2,100 47:36 (2:15)
200 for time 3:34.28 (1:46)
300 easy with small paddles
150 for time 2:38.69 (1:45)
250 easy with 200 small paddles
100 for time 1:41.61
100 medium paddles
total: 3,200 long course meters
As strange as it may sound, that is my longest practice since the Chicot Challenge. Boom.
Workout number two was a pull session at Plate City where between sets I was putting together a new piece of equipment. I was as excited as a kid at Christmas. I will tell about the new stuff later.
Workout three was a run in the heat. It hit 93, and I think that is as hot as I have run in this summer. Last week, I did my long run out Money Road where there is no shade. But it was 86, hot, but doable. At 93 I could not run miles and miles in the sun so I zagged and zigged around neighborhood streets shuffling from shade to shade, and I stayed alive but far from cool. I did 8.21 before I tapped out. That was all I wanted in that kind of heat.
So there you have it, three solid workouts following a record setting four-workout day. Thank you, Jesus.
I'm speaking of my workouts. Although it is not a necessity, a three-workout day for me has always been followed by a two-workout day. Monday I did four workouts. What comes on Tuesday?
What came was three sessions of exercise, all of them enjoyable. Well, mostly so. The day started at the pool where John was a no show. I stroked
2,100 47:36 (2:15)
200 for time 3:34.28 (1:46)
300 easy with small paddles
150 for time 2:38.69 (1:45)
250 easy with 200 small paddles
100 for time 1:41.61
100 medium paddles
total: 3,200 long course meters
As strange as it may sound, that is my longest practice since the Chicot Challenge. Boom.
Workout number two was a pull session at Plate City where between sets I was putting together a new piece of equipment. I was as excited as a kid at Christmas. I will tell about the new stuff later.
Workout three was a run in the heat. It hit 93, and I think that is as hot as I have run in this summer. Last week, I did my long run out Money Road where there is no shade. But it was 86, hot, but doable. At 93 I could not run miles and miles in the sun so I zagged and zigged around neighborhood streets shuffling from shade to shade, and I stayed alive but far from cool. I did 8.21 before I tapped out. That was all I wanted in that kind of heat.
So there you have it, three solid workouts following a record setting four-workout day. Thank you, Jesus.
Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Can Anybody Hear?
Since only about twenty to thirty people will read this, I doubt the post will impact anyone. But maybe it will. If you do read this, please consider what I say if it applies to you.
Likely you have heard about the cyclist killed at the recent Bikes, Blues[,] & Bayous. Already I have heard extreme negative reactions to the Commonwealth stating what appears to be the cause of this tragedy. Some were angry at the implications of fault. With the finding of fault, however, there is the chance to learn, and when it concerns life and death, learning is pretty important. Here is the thing, people need to know, and some people need to change some of their behaviors. Like most, or maybe unlike most, I was willing to jump to the conclusion that the driver was to blame. As a cyclist, I know how badly we are hated out there. That baffles me but as the saying goes, it is what it is. When I learned that it appeared the bicycle rider did not heed the warnings of the highway patrolman, possible because his earbuds impaired his hearing, a couple of things ran through my mind.
One thing that ran through my mind was my continual bafflement at people who practice riding, walking, and running while listening to music. Doing it on a treadmill presents no issue, but on the open road is another matter. It's a free country, and if that is what you want to do, you should be able to do it. However, the obvious dangers of this slap me in the face every time I see it. Honestly, if I could not hear, I would not run, walk, or ride a bicycle unless it were not on a closed course. For me, my ears are my primary safety system even above my eyes. I hear almost all cars before I see them and that includes the ones coming from ahead of me. Often while running, I am looking down, sometimes out of necessity since we have some bad roads in Greenwood. I hear a car, I look up, and I always asses how the driver is motoring. Sometimes it's obvious I need to get off the road.
Another thing that ran through my mind was an experience I had four years ago. I was running Highway 430 about a half a mile north of the big hill. I was headed south, and like I was supposed to be, I was facing the traffic. I heard an automobile approaching from behind. I was running the white line on the other side of the road. I don't know what it was about the way that vehicle sounded, but it was different. I stepped onto the shoulder and instantly a small, older model pickup truck passed right where I had just been. He must have been going eighty miles per hour. I was stunned, startled, and angered. If I had not moved, likely I would have been hit, and there would have been no surviving that.
Amazingly the driver of that truck stopped at Acey's Store on top of the hill. I am not a hot head or a fighter, but I was still in a rage and wanted to go inside and jump the driver. I walked back and forth on the shoulder of the road outside. It was like I had a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. What I kept thinking was what the devil kept saying was, "He might kill the next runner." That was a pretty persuasive line. On the other shoulder, I had just enough wisdom or restraint, or grace to know that you can't go around beating people up even if they deserve it. Besides that, I probably would have got whipped anyway, banned from the store, and thrown in jail which could have led to all sorts of problems like me losing my job.
Back to the issue. If you are a runner or rider or walker, don't trust car drivers to care about you life or drive safely. Pray before you leave the house, and take care of yourself. Don't exercise musically impaired. Listen to music in your home, in your car, in the grocery store even, anywhere but when you are vulnerable on public roads and need your ears. If you can't bear to do the sport without the music, it seems you don't like the sport very much. Maybe you should find another.
Likely you have heard about the cyclist killed at the recent Bikes, Blues[,] & Bayous. Already I have heard extreme negative reactions to the Commonwealth stating what appears to be the cause of this tragedy. Some were angry at the implications of fault. With the finding of fault, however, there is the chance to learn, and when it concerns life and death, learning is pretty important. Here is the thing, people need to know, and some people need to change some of their behaviors. Like most, or maybe unlike most, I was willing to jump to the conclusion that the driver was to blame. As a cyclist, I know how badly we are hated out there. That baffles me but as the saying goes, it is what it is. When I learned that it appeared the bicycle rider did not heed the warnings of the highway patrolman, possible because his earbuds impaired his hearing, a couple of things ran through my mind.
One thing that ran through my mind was my continual bafflement at people who practice riding, walking, and running while listening to music. Doing it on a treadmill presents no issue, but on the open road is another matter. It's a free country, and if that is what you want to do, you should be able to do it. However, the obvious dangers of this slap me in the face every time I see it. Honestly, if I could not hear, I would not run, walk, or ride a bicycle unless it were not on a closed course. For me, my ears are my primary safety system even above my eyes. I hear almost all cars before I see them and that includes the ones coming from ahead of me. Often while running, I am looking down, sometimes out of necessity since we have some bad roads in Greenwood. I hear a car, I look up, and I always asses how the driver is motoring. Sometimes it's obvious I need to get off the road.
Another thing that ran through my mind was an experience I had four years ago. I was running Highway 430 about a half a mile north of the big hill. I was headed south, and like I was supposed to be, I was facing the traffic. I heard an automobile approaching from behind. I was running the white line on the other side of the road. I don't know what it was about the way that vehicle sounded, but it was different. I stepped onto the shoulder and instantly a small, older model pickup truck passed right where I had just been. He must have been going eighty miles per hour. I was stunned, startled, and angered. If I had not moved, likely I would have been hit, and there would have been no surviving that.
Amazingly the driver of that truck stopped at Acey's Store on top of the hill. I am not a hot head or a fighter, but I was still in a rage and wanted to go inside and jump the driver. I walked back and forth on the shoulder of the road outside. It was like I had a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. What I kept thinking was what the devil kept saying was, "He might kill the next runner." That was a pretty persuasive line. On the other shoulder, I had just enough wisdom or restraint, or grace to know that you can't go around beating people up even if they deserve it. Besides that, I probably would have got whipped anyway, banned from the store, and thrown in jail which could have led to all sorts of problems like me losing my job.
Back to the issue. If you are a runner or rider or walker, don't trust car drivers to care about you life or drive safely. Pray before you leave the house, and take care of yourself. Don't exercise musically impaired. Listen to music in your home, in your car, in the grocery store even, anywhere but when you are vulnerable on public roads and need your ears. If you can't bear to do the sport without the music, it seems you don't like the sport very much. Maybe you should find another.
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