8/24 - 8/30

I got back into Chicot yardage last week but just barely. Monday I swam 2,400. Unless I get up super early, that's about all I can manage on Mondays and Wednesdays. In the afternoon, I shuffled 2.22 miles and then did a big squat workout at Plate City. I went for ten sets, but they were low reps sets.

Tuesday I did both push and pull at the gym. But before all of that, however, I swam for 4,100 meters, a pretty good practice. On the road, I hit 4.1 miles.

Wednesday I was back to a mere 2,100 meters in the pool. Since I doubled my upper body work Tuesday, I was off from the gym. For roadwork, I ran 4.68 miles. 

Thursday I hit the pool for 5,100 meters. After work, I did pull and my 5K Special with a squat set followed immediately by an interval run. The intervals were hard quarter miles followed by easy ones. I did 1.25 miles of quality running.

Friday I swam even farther with 6,300. Then I took the notion of going to Carroll County. I went to New Hope Church and ran three big hills from there. My total for the day was 7.3 miles. 

For the week, I

swam 20,000 meters,
lifted weights four times, and
ran 21.25 miles. 

Dealing with the Bear

Saturday presented me with a fatigue that I have rarely felt. The training and the strain of work combined to whip me pretty well. Plus my age is probably starting to be a factor.

I decided before the day even got here that I would not swim. Danny wanted to do breakfast. I think he forgot that I work now. Since I needed a big swim Friday, we set our morning meal up for Saturday. We went to Acey's and had a good meal and a good visit.

Back home, I napped and studied and worked some for MDCC. Running was out. The legs, as well as my whole system, needed rest. What I had planned was to lift.

Simon was working on the new fence/gate. He is doing a bang up job. When he finishes, we will be able to let Pee Wee off the chain for good so he can rule his backyard like the little king he is.

I did benches and lots of rotator cuff work. I thought about doing some strongman stuff, but I had wasps in my farmer's handles. On the bench, I pressed

15 X 100
11 X 120
  4 X 140
  4 X 140

You might notice one small change. Last week on my heavy day, I did 7 X 140. I have been reducing volume in the gym to give me a little more muscle energy for the pool. But intuitively it seemed right to do two smaller sets which yielded one more total rep at 140. I have long known that 140 pounds is for me a threshold weight. That is where I begin to get stronger. When I learned about percentages, that is percentages in relation to one-rep-maxes, I found that 140 was at the 80% mark. Cha ching. Eighty percent begins the strength building weight, the place power lifters live.

So it was a good day. Then fence gate is finished. Pee Wee is free. I am stronger. Chicot is closer. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

John Again

It's 5:54 a.m. and I am driving to the pool. My phone rings. It's John. Reluctantly I answer.

"Heeey!!!" he yells so loud I want to punch him in the throat, but he is not present.

"What?" I whisper.

"I just woke up. I'm about to leave for the pool. I'll be there."

We were supposed to meet at 6:00. I told you before how I once said to him that however long it takes to get somewhere is how early you should leave home. His response was to ask me how long it took him to get to the pool. I used to think he left home at the exact time he was scheduled to be somewhere. Now I think he gets out of bed the time we are supposed to swim.

I know how long it takes me to get anywhere I go to more than once per month. It takes me five minutes to get to the Greenwood Center. It takes me twenty-six minutes to get to Centerville. It takes me five minutes to get to Greenwood Animal Hospital. It takes me six minutes to get to the pool. John doesn't even know how long it takes him to get to the pool.

Little wonder he is always late. He does not own a watch. He was an only child, and that is how I look at him: as a child, an only child who is spoiled beyond tolerance.

Sorry, I just needed to vent. 

Do I feel better?

A little.

A Decent Day

No. He was not on time. He was not even there. 

I swam
5,100 straight in 2:01:50

Then I went to work. After work, I went to Plate City and did a pull workout. Simon was working on the gate. I am really going to have some safety from Randy Beets and some privacy from everyone when he finishes this. Pee Wee will also get his yard back. On the lat pull down, I pulled

30 X 50
25 X 65
13 X 80
11 X 83
10 X 85

In addition to that, I did some reverse flys and some rotator cuff work. 

After the upper body stuff, I did my 5K Special. I squatted 23 reps with 58 pounds and immediately went for an interval run. The intervals were 5 X .25 with an easy .25 between each rep. The total run was 2.95 miles.

So it was a pretty good training day. I longish swim, some quality lifting, and an intense run. What's not to like? Thank you, Jesus.

A Call for Prayer

I know this sounds like I am whining, but I am. School has been crazy this semester. Just now I am sitting in my World Literature class all alone. You never know what is going to happen. I am not fretting, however. I can use the break. I need the break.

We, I, are/am teaching everything both in person and online. I am teaching my entire load twice. With a course load of 21 hours (but getting paid for 18), I am in effect teaching 42 semester hours. The semester just started, and I am exhausted, overwhelmed, and a little hostile. 

Teaching online is not easy. If you think it is, give it a try. It is much more difficult than teaching face to face. I know my job, face to face. I don't know my job online. I am having to teach myself, learn by trail and error, and threaten to break things. It is time consuming, frustrating, and never ending. I did not sign up to teach online.

Yes, a couple of students showed up so I did not get a break. They, the students, can come and go at will. They can take a week off, a class off, a semester off. They can go online, come to class, or mix and match just like you do your pants and shirts. And I have to make sure it works for them. 

I am having nightmares keeping up with who is who, who is attending when abd where. Attendance is almost impossible. Attendance, by the way, is the most important thing we do. Unlike four-year schools, we get reimbursed from the state according to attendance. What used to take minutes, now takes hours. Hours. And that is not even teaching.

For every class, not matter if everyone attends in person or not, I have to put it all online. I am guessing that this is going to make it easier to fire us. I think that is what the new admin wants, to get rid of as many of us as possible. Once we get all our classes online, they could fire us, go online with our classes, and give everyone an A or B. Don't say it will never happen. Who could have made you believe that we could save the school, get a pay cut, and then have our work load more than doubled? It happened.

Pray for me, for us, the worn, worked, wobbly faculty of MDCC. 

How Long Does It Take?

I told John that when you are supposed to be somewhere at a certain time, you need to leave home before that time, like as long before as it takes you to get there. 

His response?

How long does it take me to get to the pool?

It happened. Also, John does not even own a watch.

I swam 2,100 straight because he was so late I did not want to stop and do intervals. Besides, I had to go to work at Moorhead and thus needed out of the pool by 6:00. That's about when John gets there.

I did my tour of duty. Then I met Simon at Home Front to get some lumber. He is going to build us a new gate to replace the chain link gate that Pee Wee goes over like it's a wonderful game. Poor pooch has had to be chained for several weeks now. When we get the gate built-- Simon is going to make it six feet high and double sided-- Pee Wee will be free to rule his backyard again.

By the way, if you are thinking of building anything out of treated wood, don't. Since we finished the fence, the price of treated wood had nearly tripled. I guess COVID has put trees under stress.

After that, I took a much needed nap. Then I went out for my evening run. Having done legs on Monday, and doubled up on push/pull Tuesday, I was gym free Wednesday. I shuffled for 4.68 miles. The cats and I rested the remainder of the night. Yes, I did open my Canvas and answer student questions before I went to bed. I am never off anymore.

Praise God anyway.

You're Eating What?!?!?

I am not making this up. A friend of mine, who will remain anonymous, recently remarked that he can't cook. His wife is in the hospital. "I am eating sandwiches and dog food," he told me.

I shot him a look to study his face to try to determine if he was lying, joking, or telling me the truth. My conclusion was that he was being honest with me. He is not much of a jokester and generally he's a straight shooter.

"What kind of dog food?" I asked.

"Sweet Sue. It makes my dog sick, but I like it. It tastes real good." 

Usually when I leave this guy's company, I am either pissed off, shaking my head in disbelief, or laughing hysterically. Guess which one this time. Yeah. By the time I got home, my abdominal muscles were already saying enough. I laughed so much so hard that I couldn't take it anymore.

My wife said he was pulling my leg. I think he was not. Either that or he wants someone to cook him something she suggested. That one I can believe, and maybe I should do something in that regard for him. If school will ever slow down, I will buy him some chicken. Or some dog food. His poor pooch is probably hungry.

No Double Lightning

No.

No what?

No what you were wondering.

I wasn't wondering.

Yes you were.

No I wasn't.

You were wondering if John was on time two days in a row.

No, I already guessed.

You guessed right. He was not, however, extremely late. Only thirty-five minutes tardy. I swam

1,800

15 X 100 @ 4:35

800 medium paddles

total: 4,100 meters.

I had to work registration late, so I went home in the afternoon and took a quick run before heading back to work. I shuffled 4.1 miles.

After work, I went to Plate City and did both push and pull. That means I am off Wednesday except for swimming and running. Thank you, Jesus.

1,900th Post

This is my 1,900th post on this blog. I wanted to write something special to commemorate the occasion.

 Something special

A Miracle

They happen. Miracles. Monday morning I experienced one. 

I was standing on the deck of the Twin Rivers outdoor pool at 5:02 a.m. A car turned off a side street from behind Greenwood Market Place onto Barton and headed my way. Ten out of nine cars turn the opposite direction.

Yes, it was John. I guess he was afraid he couldn't get in so he came on time for the fourth occurrence in six years. It was a bonafide miracle. 

I swam 

1,100
6 X 200 @ 4:35
100 small paddles
total: 2,400 meters

Workout number one, done.

For my second workout, I shuffled 2.22 miles, much of it on the Yazoo River Trail. After I finished that, I went to Plate City. 

Ordinarily I do bench pressing on Monday. But since I missed my leg workout Saturday, I rolled it over until Monday and did ten sets of squats, two sets of leg extensions, and two sets each of seated and standing calf raises. That was three. They were real, they were good, and they were real good. Thank you, Jesus.

8/17 - 8/23

It was a decent week but not a banner one. Monday I swam 1,300 meters before my first day of Fall 2020 classes. After a long day of work, I ran 4.05 miles and lifted weights.

Tuesday I had a little more time but still only managed 2,500 meters in the water. On the road I did 2.55 miles, and in the gym I did my pull workout. Wednesday, however, I did not get out of bed to swim. I was tired and thought sleeping in was a better use of my time. I did run the the afternoon for 4.47 miles.

Thursday I was roaring to get back into the water. I did 4,000 meters and still got to work early. In the afternoon, I lifted weights and shuffled a mere 1.2 miles.

Friday, I had to do some work, but I got to the pool as soon as possible and knocked out 6,800 meters, my longest long course swim of the year. Also, I lifted weights and ran 2.6 miles.

While I swam long Friday, I ran long Saturday. But before doing road work, however, I swam a short but intense 2,700 meters at Twin Rivers. When I left the house later in the day running, I let my legs dictate both the pace and the distance. I wound up going 14.33 miles, my longest run in about four years.

For the week, I 

lifted weights four times,
ran 29.2 miles, and 
swam 17,300 meters.

The 17,300 was not the 20,000 plus that I needed, but is got some quality swimming in and I had a longish swim in addition to that. The 29.2 on road was good. All in all, it was an acceptable week of training. Now I need to overdo that this week.

Thank you, Jesus, for a good cycle of Chicot training.

Saturday Long Run

John and I met at the pool around noon. I swam 

1,000
14 X 100 @ 2:30 (I was faster than the last time)
300 medium paddles
total: 2,700 meters.

I then went home and took a nap. Later, around 3:30, I went out for a shuffle.  The goal was to run at least six miles, preferably eight. I had a maybe goal of ten. I went out Wade and Money Roads and came home with 14.33 miles the most I have run in over four years.

The weather cooperated. Although I ran in the heat of the day, the high was 88. That is pretty warm, but light years from 93. The humidity was low and  by the time I finished, the sun was low and it actually felt cool to me. Praise God.

One hope I have is to run some marathons this winter. Some of these 14ish runs now are necessary to build the kind of endurance I will need.

I had a big leg day scheduled, but after 14 plus that was a no no. I will try to do it Monday which will mean it is only postponed not cancelled. Thank you, Jesus.

A Good One

Friday morning saw me up at 6:00 a.m., working. I did my stuff and then begin my regiment of coffee drinking and cat petting. Originally I had planned on being in the water at 5:30. But I was too tired for that, plus I wanted as much of a slow-start day as I could get.

I had one advantage that would serve me well. The sky was overcast. That meant I did not have to worry about the sun. I take it pretty well, but as I advance in age, I am realizing that cooking in the sun really is not good for one's skin. Not only that, but sunscreen will only last in water about 90 minutes.

If I had started at 5:30, the sun's direct rays would have only hit me for about thirty minutes. But as it was, I started at 8:30 with the goal of swimming for around three hours. I began swimming on the west wall because I knew the women's water aerobics would be in at 9:00. We can coexist in the big pool and the west wall takes me totally out of their way.

So I had been swimming for exactly thirty minutes when they arrived. You can set your watch by these ladies. They were scheduled for one hour. For me, that was good because having company, any company, makes a long swim a little easier. That is one of the reasons I like the big boat for Chicot. Besides safety for me and comfort for the kayakers, having a few extra pairs of eyes on me makes me swim better.

It did Friday morning. I have been lamenting my slow long-course times. Those times picked up with the ladies being there for an hour. Actually, they stayed an extra five minutes. Not long after they left, Rose Bowman and another lady came in.

I tapped out after 2:24. That is only two minutes longer than my longest long-course swim of the year, but 1,200 meters farther. Huh? Yeah, I busted out 6,800 meters, a bit better than four miles. Maybe I should have kept going, but I had other things I wanted and needed to do.

The first other thing I did was eat lunch. Then I did some lounging. I contacted Taylor Buchanon about my broken phone. He came to the Hideout, picked up my phone, and loaned me a phone that would ring if someone called my number. I went back inside and about an hour later he called and said he was in my driveway with what looked like a new phone. He had replaced the badly broken screen and the almost worthless battery. It is like I have a new phone. Taylor is the man.

After that, I texted Barry Brewer then drove out to his business where we designed a new Chicot shirt. This one is simple with no art work on it. This one is also late, but it has been that kind of year.

I went home and took a short shuffle, 2.6 miles. I ran the river trail mostly. I finally figured that thing out and know my way around in there. In the past, every time I thought I knew it, something would confuse me. No, I never studied the map they have posted at the trail head. I'm a man. I just ran around in there. I think they think of it as four trails, going by the color markers they use. There is the yellow trail that is the basic one that runs the full length and is closest to Claiborne. There are two large trees down and blocking it so I have not run that full thing in months. Then there is the blue loop which is the one farthest west. There is also the red loop which goes to the river bank and is the farthest east. That makes three so you see, I am still confused.

I lifted at the new and improved Plate City Gym. It started raining while I was out there. That was the third time that I did not get rained out of a workout. It felt delightful while the air cooled, the winds blew, and the thunder roared.

Thank you, Jesus.

Back to Three

I got up Thursday, although I didn't want to, and swam at Twin Rivers. Since it was a Greenwood day, I had a little more time. A straight swim was what I thought would give me maximum yardage for my time so I went for 1:32:44 and got 4,000 meters. Not a bad start for the day.

After work and I went home, got in bed, and went to sleep. I was out for over two hours. Yeah, I am that worn down. Then I went to Plate City and did my abbreviated press workout. I benched

15 X 100
11 X 120
  7 X 140

Between sets, I mowed on the lawn and finished it. Amazingly, the grass is growing really slow right now. The nights have been unseasonable cool and it has not rained in over a week. The dirt at the hideout is different than the dirt on Monroe. It dries out very quickly. You can have a gully washer one day and need to water three days later.

After the weights and the lawn, I did a small shuffle of 1.2 miles. That was it. I went inside, bathed, and napped.

Why am I so tired? Training and work. The administration has put a lot more work on us to go along with our pay cut. Plus registration adds more hours and stress. I thought I finished that when I worked until 6:00 Tuesday only to be asked to work next Tuesday until 6:00. The women in our department are not working registration, so I am carrying the load for the department. Praise the Lord anyway.

New Semester

The first day of class in the COVID world was better than I anticipated. I did not know what to expect outside of confusion. Blessedly, there was not as much of that as I thought. My 8:00 o'clock class, World Literature I, was almost full. The next class, Comp I, was full. And my third Monday/Wednesday class, Comp II, was full.

Being in the classroom with students always makes me feel better. Somehow it washes away any apprehensions I have about the upcoming semester. I left filled with hope that this will be a breakthrough semester, that these students are going to follow instructions, are going to want to learn.

Then after class we got an email. A student took a picture of a teacher in front of his or her class without a mask on. She sent the pic to her mother who sent it to Dr. Jackson. So it begins.

Was it me? It could have been. I had my mask off a minute or two. Every other instructor I have talked to has said the same thing. It could have been any of us. This is the culture we live in that cares about one thing: trouble. Get someone in trouble. Get someone fired.

This issue appeared again the next morning. In my 8:00 o'clock class, we had one too many students. Everyone was insistent on getting into the classroom. I thought, someone is going to take a picture of someone getting too close. I became irritated and threatened the class with bodily harm if anyone took a picture. I bet someone did anyway. 

It's a dangerous time. You can do everything right and still be wrong. Being alive means you and I are wrong. Forget culture; think God. To God, we are all born sinners. That propensity to sin that joins us at birth becomes actual sin before we are very old. We need help because Satan is always taking pictures. The Bible calls him the accuser. Revelation 12:10 says that "Night and day he accuses the brethren." He takes pictures and shows them to God.

What to do? Threatening Satan with bodily harm does no good. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:10).

What to do is to turn to Jesus. He is the Great Eraser, the Great Deleter. He deletes the picture Satan takes, if we repent and ask for forgiveness. Do it today. Jesus is waiting.

Slim Day

The alarm went off a little after 5:00 a.m., but I did not get out of bed. I needed the rest. Besides, I was working in Moorhead that day and that left little time for swimming. After work, I went home, changed clothes, loaded the mower, and went to Monroe. I had not mowed the lawn there in two weeks. 

The weather here has been great the last week and a half. I barely sweated mowing the whole thing. It amazes me how people don't even recognize the weather they experience. I had just read on Facebook someone complaining about how high the humidity was. I had noticed for several days that it was low. But if you stay indoors all the time, you couldn't tell.

After mowing, I went out for some roadwork. Remember Tuesday I did both pull and legs so I was off from the gym. I shuffled an easy 4.47 miles and called it a day. That was not much training, but at least I am now finished working registration, and now I can begin to adjust to my new schedule.

Thank you, Jesus.

Testy

Since I work at the Greenwood Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I had more time in the pool. Not a lot more time, but I was able to warm up with 

1,300 and then go into my set of 200s for

5 X 200 @ 4:35. That was a good set. I went

3:59
3:59
3:59
3:45
3:51

Then I cooled down with an easy 100 with small paddles. The total practice was 2,500 meters.

At work, things went pretty well. There was one hiccup. One of my classes filled up. Due to social distancing guidelines, we have limited seating. This has put everything in disarray. Some students come one day, some students come another, and some don't come at all. One student was insistent on coming in after I told him to come back Wednesday. 

Other students started moving desks around to make room and keep distance. This made me nervous, and I became a bit testy because a student on the Moorhead campus took a picture of a teacher with his or her mask off (and it could have been me), and the picture wound up with Dr. Jackson. I thought this was a recipe for another picture of someone too close to someone else so I threatened the class with bodily harm if anyone took a photo. I ordered all phones out of sight, and surprisingly the class complied.

After work-- I had to work until 6:00 p.m-- I did some weights and another edition of my 5K Special. 
On the weights, I did regular barbell rows as

15 X 55
16 X 55
15 X 60
20 X 60

Also I did three sets of reverse flys and some rotator cuff work.

The version of the 5K Special I did was 22 reps of squats at 57.5 pounds followed immediately by 

.4 fast
.35 easy
.4 fast
.35 easy
.4 fast
.65 easy
total: 2.55 miles with 1.2 miles of fast running.

Thank God that I am through with registration. That is what my boss told me, that if I work late Tuesday, I will be done. Now maybe I can adjust to my actual schedule. Thank you, Jesus.

Slow Start

Since I teach in Moorhead on Mondays and Wednesdays, my time in the pool was truncated. Not only that, but John did not call Sunday night which I knew meant he was not coming. He doesn't trust me to be where I say I am going to be when I say I am going to be there despite the fact that for the past six years, I have always been there and on time.

What else is new?

I swam 1,300 straight and then got out to go home and get ready for work. I taught three classes, then worked registration until 4:00. When I got home, I took a nap before I could muster the energy to hit Plate City. It was my shortened bench day. I pressed

19 X 102
14 X 112
12 X 117

I also did cable raises and some other stuff including a set of triceps push downs: 27 X 30.

After that it was time for a run. I took an easy 4.05-mile shuffle. It did not take long to notice that the humidity was much lower than it has been. While the temperature was 90 degrees, the feeling was like fall, like October. I decided in Needed to watch the local weather at 10:00 and see what is going on. The weather person said the dew point was 69. Most people call a dew point of 65 and over "oppressive." However, when the dew point drops below 70 here, we think the seasons have changed for the better, that we have gone from summer to fall. I luxuriated in the dryer air.

So I got three workouts in, all of them truncated, but three short ones are better than a poke in the eye any day of the week. Thank you, Jesus.

8/10 - 8/16

This last training cycle was a disappointing week. I did not hit my goal of 20,000 meters in the water, and my running total was down, partly by design. Even the lifting took a hit because of Hades Week. It went like this.

Monday, I got in a good swim, going to the pool early and stroking for 5,600 straight meters. We had our convocation online starting at 10:00 and that gave me some time for the only day of the week. Also, I shuffled 3.43 miles and lifted weights.

Tuesday being back at work hit full force. I still managed to swim 3,200 meters since I did not have to drive to Moorhead. After work, I did my longish run of the week with an 8.08 mile effort. I did not lift, however, having done both push and pull Monday.

Wednesday I had to work in Moorhead so my swim was cut to 1,800 meters. For lifting and running, I did another version of my 5K Special, a 21 rep squat set followed immediately by an interval run  that included 2 X a half mile fast.

Thursday the swimming was a mere 2,100 meters, the running down to 3.19 miles, and the lifting an  abbreviated bench press session. 

Friday morning, I was too tired for the pool. When I got off work, however, the sleep in enabled me to lift some weights and take a 3.24 mile shuffle. Saturday, I trimmed it down to 1.32 miles of road work and a pretty big leg session at Plate City.

For the week, I

ran 21.47 miles,
lifted weights four times, and 
swam 12,700 meters.

That is not enough swimming to get me in the shape I need for Chicot. Maybe I can still pull it out. Help me, Jesus.

Saturday

Penny and I had not been to Jackson since February. Or was it January? We went Saturday. I had planned to get up and lift. I did not do it. Cats and coffee took over.

When we got to the big town, I noticed that Play It Again Sports was still closed. I hate that. After dropping Penny at her stores, I made my way to Academy Sports in Madison. I wanted to purchase some weight collars. But I did not find any. Not only did I not find any collars, I did not find a single weight plate. Not. A. One. Usually, they have a vast supply. COVID has even impacted that. With gyms closed, all the exercise equipment has been bought up.

I was, however, able to purchase some Gu and a new handheld hydration device. The Gu was much needed and something I cannot buy in Greenwood unless I do it online. 

After I did my shopping, I went to Friendship Park and shuffled 1.32 miles. Then I went back to Penny's stores and waited for her to finish. When she came out, I took her to another store, and then we went to Cracker Barrel for supper.

It was still pretty early when we got home, about 5:30. I took a nap and then went to Plate City. I did legs, eight sets of squats, a set of leg presses, and even some shoulder work. Saturday was a good day. Thank you, Jesus.

Friday

When the alarm went off, I decided in the bathroom that I did not have it for the day. I called John and told him I was out. Four straight days of getting up early, swimming, going to work, running, and lifting had left me exhausted. Plus I still had to work despite it being a Friday.

I did lift after work. I did pulls with 

22 X 50
21 X 65
15 X 76.2
13 X 78.5
10 X 80

on the lat pull down. As a warmup, I did a set of one-armed bent rows. In addition to that, I did some facepulls and rotator cuff work.

Then I went for a short and easy run. I did 3.24 miles, took a shower, dressed, and Penny and I went out to eat for the first time since March. It was nice. We went to the new seafood restaurant by Greenwood Market Place. Penny really enjoyed it. It makes me happy to see her delight in a meal.

Two out of three is not bad, especially at the end of Hades Week. Thank you, Jesus.

300th Post

This is my 300th post of the year. To commemorate this milestone, I thought I would write something special.

Something special.

Bugs Killed

For anyone who has never done it, working from 8:30 until 4:00 is tough, real tough. Yeah, I know. Poor baby.

I swam 2,100 straight meters. John was not late. He didn't show at all for the second time this week. The good news is, I think we have the pool cleaned out of those dinosaur bugs. Dinosaur bugs? Yeah, those huge things with pinchers big enough to slice you finger off. I killed two Tuesday and threw two more out but those got away. While I was on deck, I notice four smushed ones. Then I killed another one Wednesday, and John went on the hunt and found and killed one more.

Those things are ugly, creepy, and aggressive. At least I can out swim them. How do I know? Because one came after me and tried to catch me and I beat him to the other end of the pool. I saw him on the bottom coming my way and when he got close he started swimming towards me. I put it in high gear and looked back to see the gap growing between us. Nice to know.

After working all day, I had to take a nap before going out for workouts two and three. Workout two was a Plate City abbreviated bench session. I pressed

14 X 100
10 X 120
  6 X 140

I did a few facepulls and some rotator cuff work before heading out for number three.

Number three was a gentle run of 3.19 miles. It was about 6:30 by the time I did this, and I was amazed at how cool it is that time of day. Compared to running in the late morning or early afternoon, it was like fall or early winter.

So I got another three during Hades week. Thank you, Jesus.

Free to Good Home

A Mississippi Kite circled above, 200 feet over the pool and 200 feet below the wispy early morning clouds. Sparrows gathered in the ramp at the water's edge to feast on the buffet of floating bugs. Just another day in paradise. John was there already, only thirty-five minutes late. I had sum 700 and stopped to fire up my other Garmin for a set of 100s so John would race me. He declined, so I just did some more easy swimming. Another 600 was followed by 500 with small paddles. I wasn't feeling it so I tapped out after that mere 1,800 meters.

Then I had to drive to Moorhead to work for the day. And I actually did work, producing and printing copies of four syllabi, publishing seven courses in Canvas, and printing roles for all my classes. Not only that, but I had to come up with a seating arrangement for social distancing, and send messages to students to either show up for class Monday or wait until Wednesday. Social distancing is going to mean a rotation of who can show up when. What? Yeah. And the ones who can't show up, I have to teach online. In short, I have to teach all my classes in person and online with the students free to come to class or not. And I get to do it all for a pay cut. Yes, I am very excited to start the new semester.

I finally did get to go home. On the way, I stopped at Walmart and found out that we all had to go in and out of one door, all the other entrances being shutdown. I guess with COVID, they want to concentrate all the germs in one place. I swear, everyday I live, I find myself more at odds with this world. If it weren't for bad sense, we'd have no sense at all.

A TV.

Huh?

I bought a TV. Mine had taken to turning itself on and off, mostly off. If you want a mildly used TV and has a mind of its own, it is free to a good home.

So I went home and got the new TV unpacked, plugged, and playing. Then I did another iteration of my 5K Special: a set of high rep squats followed immediately by some fast(er) running. After squatting 21 reps at 56 pounds, I then hit a hard .5, followed by .4 easy, then another hard .5 followed by an easy shuffle home for a total of 2.21 miles. The halfs were 9:40 and 9:50 respectively. I was pleased with that. The effort felt a little easier than it did the first time I did this, a week ago, doing the fast running as a timed mile.

The hope is that if I can keep this up, along with decent volume, and losing a little weight, by the time the spring races roll around, I will be ready to rock some good times. That is the hope, that the spring races come back, and that I rock some good times. 

Thank you, Jesus, for a full and productive day.

No Show

John did not show Tuesday morning. I swam

1,700
13 X 100 @ 2:28
200
total: 3,200 meters

After that, I had to work all day. I made one schedule. Give me a cookie.

I waited until 5:30 p.m. to run. It was still hot, but it cooled as I ran and the sun went down. Since I have a half marathon coming up on the 22nd, I thought this would be a good time for one last longish run. My mileage went down last week and will more this week. I hit 8.08 before I tapped out for the day.

No, I did not lift. Remember, I did the whole upper body Monday because I knew that a job and getting in three workouts was a tall order.

So Tuesday is down. The week is well underway and so is my training. Thank you, Jesus.

Back to Work

Monday was a decent day considering I had to go back to work. I started with a swim, beginning strokes before 6:00 a.m. I did a straight swim of 5,600 meters. This frustrated John because he wanted to race me, him running and me swimming. The swim took 2:15:37.

Then it was work, computers meetings. After I finally finished all of that, I took a short, easy run of 3.43 miles. It was hot, but I am taking heat pretty well. My pace is slow, but I am as acclimated as ever.

Because this is Hades week (the first week back always is), I did the full upper body instead of my usual push pull. That means I dropped some assistance moves. I even cut the bench press to three sets. The move has been towards less volume in the gym as I ramp up the yardage in the pool.

So day one is down and I pulled off three reasonable workouts. Thank you, Jesus.

8/3 - 8/9

By the grace of God, I had a solid cycle of training, hitting another 20/20 week. Monday I swam 4,100 meters, ran 3.59 miles, and lifted weights. Tuesday, I swam 2,300, shuffled 8.2, and lifted more weights.

Wednesday, I hit a hard 5,300 in the pool. In addition to that, I did 2.22 miles or road work, and did more lifting. Thursday I was stroking at Twin Rivers for 3,500, roadworking for 4.06, and enjoying Plate City for another lifting session.

Friday I only swam 3,100. But then I drove to Hill View Baptist Church and ran the big hill. Nice training. Yes, I lifted. And Saturday, I swam, only 2,200, but I was in the water finishing my 20,000 meters. Then I lifted, but I did not run, having already finished my 20 miles on the road.

So it was a good week. I

swam 20,500 meters,
ran 24.16 miles, and
lifted six times.

That is good training, the kind it takes to beat Randy Beets and finish the Chicot Challenge. Thank you, Jesus. 

About Right

"Your buddy's not gunna make it," Jimmy said looking at his watch.

"He'll be here. You heard him carry on so about what time," I said because Jimmy was on deck when John and I discussed what time to meet. "He wanted to know what time I would be here so he could be late," I added with no exaggeration.

Jimmy works for Twin Rivers. He was scooping bugs off the pool while I changed watches getting ready to do my 100s. I had already warmed up with 19 minutes of swimming after starting eight minutes late. I had done four of the 100s before John showed up. About right.

I swam

800
12 X 100 @ 2:29
200 small paddles
total: 2,200 meters

I don't always swim on Saturday morning. But when I do, John is always late.

Running was off the agenda, I having already put in a good week. Lifting was not off the agenda. I only had legs to do. I did ten sets of squats but the volume was low, the reps ranging from five to one. I also did calf raises, leg extensions, and revers hypers. That capped off a solid week of training. I'll give you the wrap up tomorrow.

Thank you, Jesus.

Solid Friday

Quality. I have been needing it and avoiding it at the same time. I did not avoid Friday morning, but did my first real set of long course 100s in about two years. I have done some short course 100s, but I have avoided long course anything with a tough send off. Too much pain. I did six @ 2:30. Yes, that is slow. My favorite set used to be 20 @ 2:00. Now I can't make that interval. I'll get back there. Just wait.

John, after being an hour late, was racing me again. Good for him. He is having fun. I swam

1,700 41:18
10 X 100 @ 2:30
400 medium paddles 8:13
total: 3,100.

I went home and got ready to leave. The idea came to me to run the big hill, that monster on Humphrey Highway. I did what I call the lollipop loop, 6.09 miles. 

After that, I took it easy most of the day. Then I hit Plate City about 5:30 for a pull workout. After a warm up set of 17 X 40 on the one-armed row, I switched to the lat pull down for

27 X 50
21 X 65
15 X 76.2
13 X 77.7
10 X 79.2

I did some other stuff, but that was the bulk of it. Thank you, Jesus, for a full day

Happy John

When I breathed to my left, I could see him smiling. He was happy, having a good time, and that made me feel good. 

John had found himself a new form of exercise: running in the pool.  Then he took to hanging out at the line on the bottom. There is a line running across the Twin Rivers pool at 25 meters. John would wait for me there and as I swam by he would race me to the other end. Am I evil because I never let him win?

I swam 

600
250
650
4 X 200 @ 4:35
  4:05
  3:52
  3:50
  3:54
300 
2 X 150
300 small paddles
100 medium paddles
200 easy
total: 3,500

I took an easy run in the late morning. This is a bit of a drop back week, but I still want to get a modicum of distance in. I went 4.04 miles before I tapped out.

At Plate City, bench pressing was on the agenda. I did

13 X 100
9 X 120
6 X 140

Notice the reduction in volume. I am saving energy and muscle damage for the water now. I have to. Chicot is approaching like a freight train in the night. I did some other stuff, face pulls, cable raises, and neck extensions. Then I was through and resting for the next day.

Thank you, Jesus.

5K Special

I did not talk to John. He was eleven minutes late getting to the pool and then it took him another eleven minutes to get in. That's John. I did a straight swim of 5,300 meters. Not bad, but slow, very slow. It took me 2:12:53.

At the Hideout, I hatched a plot, a plan, something new. I would do all my lifting and running before lunch and be done for the day. Since it was leg day and I usually go heavy on Saturday, I thought about a high-rep set of squats immediately followed by a mile run for time. Then, of course, I would run another easy mile home to cool down.

So I hit a 20 rep set-- I am ashamed to tell the weight. I am even ashamed to tell the time for the mile run, but I am: 9:57. What!?!?!? Yeah, that was all I could do. I have gotten really slow. But since my knee is feeling better, and I have honored my commitment to leg work, maybe I can start cranking out some interval running and get my times down.

I got back to the Hideout with 2.22 total miles. Then I did some more leg work, light stuff. I did calf raises, standing and seated, and lunges. That was it. I was done, through, finished.

I call my little workout, the squat/timed mile, a 5K Special. That is because it should transfer well into 5K performance. The lactic acid produced by the squats followed by the above threshold pace running should produce the ability to work with acid and it should raise the Vo2 max, not to mention the neuro-muscular effect of the faster running. If I can do this workout once a week for a few months, maybe I will get back to to real slow instead of just real, real, real, old-man slow.

Not a bad day. It was good work but not exhausting. Thank you, Jesus.

Chicot News

The Chicot Challenge is still on for September 26 beginning at approximately 8:00 a.m. We plan to leave from Lake Chicot State Park boat ramp and go to downtown Lake Village and back. This will be a stage swim, from the state park to the swim area at Lake Village. There I will exit the water for maybe thirty minutes. Then I will swim back.

Why the change in route from last year? Well, the uncertainty over the pontoon boat that we got the last two years from the state park caused me to rethink everything. My mind went back to Chicot I in 2012 when we did the swim with just two kayaks. The route was from the park, to the swim area in Lake Village, and back. So we are going back to the beginnings. At least that is the current plan. 

I have been knocked down so many times this time around, that I have been tempted to quit. With all the cancellations of races, my training motivation has sagged. In addition to that, my wife and I are trying to move after forty-two years in one house. This has been both time consuming and distracting. Then there was the uncertainty with the pontoon. On top of that, Gerald recently tried to reserve a room in Lake Village for the 25th only to discover that the motels there are closed. And to pile on to all of that, I recently I found out that I will have to work five straight Fridays starting next week. I have always relied on my Fridays off to do my big training. You have to do more than swim a few thousand meters a day to complete a swim as long as Chicot. At least once a week, you have to swim long, really long. 

That last one almost did me in. I am still trying to fight the fight, but I really don't know if I can pull it off or not. I decided that I will do what I can to get in my best shape under the circumstances and maybe my crew will have to pull me from the water or maybe I will quit at Lake Village. I hate to talk like that or even think like that, but 2020 has shown me that I am in control of almost nothing.

If you are a praying person, please pray for me. My outlook is not so good right now. Help me, Jesus.

John

I don't talk bad about all my friends. Just John.

We were supposed to meet at the pool at 6:00 a.m. Of course he wasn't there. I swam for a little over an hour and got out. I know I should not have let it affect me, but it did, and I tapped out early. When John is there, it is easier to stay in the pool and swim.

After I got home, ate breakfast, and began drinking coffee, I noticed that I had a missed call. It was John. "I'm on my way," he said. The call was made three minutes ago.

Twenty minutes later, I had another missed call and voice mail. "I'm at the pool. Where are you?"

That did not even irritate me. I just shook my head as I often do. Another twenty minutes passed and I got a call from Hal Williams, John's cousin. He was in Jackson. Debbie, the director of Twin Rivers, had called him. Something was wrong with John. Could I check it out?

I left immediately. 

When I arrived at Twin Rivers and walked across the parking lot, I saw John in the pool. He is easy to spot. He wears a hunter orange cap so I can keep up with him while I swim laps. Inside, I asked for Debbie. When the lady behind the counter found out who I was, she motioned me back and told me the story. John was acting strange. He was complaining that he couldn't see. They thought something was wrong.

Thanking her, I went to the pool deck where John was attempting to climb the ramp out. "Zane," he said when he saw me, "I can't see."

I helped him out of the pool and to his car. "Get in. I'll drive you home."

"How will you get back?"

"I'll run."

So I got John home, inside, and I left shuffling. I did not go straight, but added distance, some of it on the river trail, and wound up with 8.2 miles. 

What a morning.

Late in the afternoon, I went to Monroe and moved a couple of things. Then Pee Wee and I hit the gym. It was pull day. On the Lenny rows, I did

20 X 105
18 X 115
17 X 125
15 X 135
  8 X 140

I did other stuff. I was tired. I went inside. I hung out with the cat. It 
was a good day.

Thank you, Jesus.

John Is Back

John was twenty-three minutes late. I know that is an old line, but you haven't read it in awhile. John has been out for a variety of reasons the latest of which was the installation of a pace maker. He was cleared Friday to swim. He pressed and pressed and pressed to get me to swim Saturday, but I refused. We were supposed to meet at 6:00 a.m. Monday morning. I was 1,000 meters into my practice before he showed up. Some things never change.

I went 4,100 straight before I tapped out. I stopped because I felt a twinge in one of my pectoral muscles. That is sort of like a runner feeling it in a calf. Is it all about to shut down? It's amazing how much chaos a little muscle twinge can throw into the mind of an endurance athlete.

As bad as I hate getting up early, it is nice to have something major done before breakfast. I went home and drank coffee, petted cats, and updated this blog. Then it was time for roadwork. I only did 3.59 miles, much of it on the Yazoo River Trail. The Hideout gives me easy access to the trail which I am growing very fond of. It is shady, soft underfoot, and scenic. What's not to like?

I went to Monroe in the afternoon, then went back to the Hideout to rest and lift weights. Since it was bench day, the mental instability created by a mild feeling in my chest was still shouting in my ears. I pressed

17 X 102
14 X 107
13 X 112
12 X 117

I did not feel the pec in a negative way at all. I did two sets of Viking press and three sets of face pulls. My muscles were smoked after the swim and that. A good day. Thank you, Jesus.

Another Drive to Centerville

It is the highlight of my week, the fifteen-mile drive to our little church in Carroll County. We see things along the way. Some of the visual stimuli we receive include birds, rabbits, deer, sheep, birds, snakes, squirrels, and butterflies. 

Over three years ago, we were crossing a small bridge on a gravel road in the delta when Penny yelled out that she saw an alligator. Since then, every single week we stop on the bridge and look. For. Three. Years. Every. Single. Week.

Penny thought I didn't believe she saw a gator. I did. I had already heard of the gator that lived in that ditch. Anyway, she would comment from time to time that she really did see one. Then Sunday, we stopped as usual. "Do you see anything?" she asked. 

"Yes, there he is," I shouted as I reached for my phone only to discover I had left the phone at home. "Your phone," I said excitedly. "Give me your phone," I pleaded. 

She did. It took me a few seconds to get a shot as the gator was making his way under the roadway. So I got a picture, a piece of one.

This was all I got.

Besides the alligator, we saw the sheep. And butterflies. We saw lots of yellow butterflies. It is a lovely drive to a lovely little church that is attended by lovely people. Come visit us sometimes. Centerville Baptist. Airport Road.

Thank you, Jesus.

7/27 - 8/2

Finally, I hit the big numbers in the pool, the numbers I need to get in shape to swim Chicot. Monday I ran 4.41 miles, lifted weights, and after 5:30 I swam 5,100 straight in the long course pool. That got the week started right.

Tuesday, I shuffled 3.62 miles, lifted some big butt weights, and swam 4,200 meters. Wednesday I did the long run, 14.26 miles. I did not lift, but I did swim 1,400 meters.

Thursday, I jogged 3.61 miles, did big-time lifting with a new PR in the deadlift, and swam 5,200 meters. Then Friday, I determined to wrap up my running and swimming for the week and thus leave Saturday open for lifting and other stuff. I shuffled 5.24 and swam 4,135 meters in the short course pool.

Saturday I hit the weights hard doing both legs and pull. I set a new record on the Yoke squat with a 238 pound lift. Then Penny and I went to Monroe to move some stuff.

For the week, I 

lifted weights four times,
ran 31.14 miles for a year's high, and
swam 20,035 meters.

Those are good numbers right there, I don't care what Randy Beets says.

Thank you, Jesus.

The Vaccine We Really Need

With all the hoopla about COVID-19, I have become extremely disturbed over the lack of interest, focus, and study on the real pandemic that has swept America and threatens to send us all to an early grave. The disease I am speaking of has affected two thirds of adult Americans. Let that sink in, two thirds of American adults and a whole bunch of younger people have this condition.

One shocking thing is that I think I caught it years ago, but I have never been diagnosed. I have battled for years with no help from the medical community. In the words of one recently outraged citizen, "The medical community continues to treat obesity like it is a choice rather than the disease that it is."

That is so true. Think about it, outside of a few sumo wrestlers and power lifters, who chooses to be fat? In case that is over your head, the answer is no one, no one chooses to be fat. 

My personal physician always weighs me in when I make a visit to his office, but he has never offered any advice or drugs or treatment on combating my borderline obesity. Can't he see I caught it? Isn't there a blood test that reveals it? Don't you have certain pathogens in your body if you have been exposed?

I think I was exposed at a family cookout. My sister was there and she has obesity. My fat uncle was there and he had obesity before he died. If not there, a trip to Walmart is enough to infect anybody. Then there was school. We had to sit by fat kids, eat with fat kids, go to recess with fat kids. If you played football, the linemen were always fat kids. I have never heard of anyone being quarantined because of obesity. Have you? Why not?  

Maybe health care officials think that we will develop herd immunity like they hope we will with COVID. But instead of herd immunity, we are becoming hog fat. Our approach must change.

Don't think this disease is not dangerous because it is. It leads to a plethora of other diseases like heart disease, kidney disease, strokes, cancer, and liver disease. Not only that, but the joints are affected and can be worn out because of obesity. Obesity is a beast that we must kill for the survival of the human race.

Too much time has already been wasted. I am calling for medical research to focus on fat and develop a vaccine that will prevent us from becoming humongous. Don't worry about COVID or the regular flue or the other things that kill people every year. Think how nice life will be when we don't have to say no to that extra bowl of ice-cream, or that second chicken or second watermelon or second pie. That's the life I want. Give me that life or I die.

Big

With big yards and big miles already in the bank, all I had planned for Saturday was big weights at Plate City. Of course I slept in. Yes, the coffee was good, the cats affectionate. I studied for Sunday. It was not until late in the morning that I went outside. I started with my pull work. On the lat pull down, I did

26 X 50
21 X 61.2
15 X 71.2
13 X 76.2
9 X 79.75

I also did reverse flys and big time leg work. I did regular squats and then set new Association of Sports Strongmen world record in the Yoke squat with a 238 pound lift. What do you think about that? Randy Beets.

I did one set of farmer's walks and was loading the implements for another when I got stung by a wasp. They live inside my handles. Poor Pee Wee got hit too.

I did some other stuff, but that pretty much covers it. It was nice not to be rushed and overly fatigued from running and swimming.

Penny and I went to Monroe and hauled a little bit of stuff. I moved the weed eater over and trimmed the backyard. Then we called it a day. It was a nice one and the weather was amazing for August the oneth. I do not ever remember it being cool on the first day of August. Although July is our hottest month, my anecdotal experience tells me that the first two weeks of August are normally the worst of all the year. The forecast for the next few days is for highs in the mid 80s. WHAT?!?!?!?! Yeah, unbelievable.

Thank you, Jesus.

Big Day for Big Week

This week I continued my quest for 20,000 meters of swimming and a big run cycle at the same time. Finally, I was successfu, and I still have Saturday left. 

I started the day with a run. First, I did the math to find out exactly what I needed to hit 31 miles. That would be a weekly record for the year. But even though I left the house with that as a goal, I knew that my legs would determine if I needed Saturday to finish or not. You can't just force yourself through runs over and over and stay healthy or non over-trained. Believe me, over-training is real. If you push your body too hard, you wind up in a recovery ditch that takes weeks to get out of. I have been there, and it aint' fun.

My legs felt OK, not great, but decent. I went over the new bridge and down River Road to the hospital track, around it, and over the highway bridge. I was able to mentally map out the rest of my run by triangulating the distance to Monroe and the distance from Monroe to the Hideout, and how far I needed to add to get what I wanted. I finished with 5.24 miles giving me 31.14 for the week. I am not running Saturday.

After running, I mowed the front lawn at the Hideout. Then I ate lunch with my bride. I took a nap with the cats and headed to the pool while it was still early. Instead of waiting until after 5:30 for the big pool, I decided to get it done and try the little pool for the first time in weeks. When I swam it last, I had a coughing spell that cut my practice short. Not so this time. I swam

1,400 28:39
brick kick (first one in months -- it hurt)
625 12:50
500 TT 8:19
800 small paddles 15:55
6 X 50 @ 1:16
400 medium paddles
500 free/back 10:30
total: 4,525 yards = 4,135 meters.

That did it, that gave me 20,035 meters for the week, my first 20K swim week since early spring. This might have even been a record for total training, but I'd have to flip training diaries for an hour or so to confirm or disprove that so I will just call it a PR, a 20/30 week. For years, a 20/20 week has been the gold standard for building fitness. Now I have hit a new high.

Thank you, Jesus.