"Take This Job"

I stayed in bed a long time Friday morning. Expecting a call from the Social Security Office at 10:00, I decided to lounge until after the call came in. The SS man called at exactly 10:00 a.m. I signed up for Medicare which is supposed to begin June 1, 2021. It's hard for me to believe I am this old. The good thing is, after June 1, it will be easier to say, "Take this job and shove it/ I ain't workin' here no more."

That is a line from an old Johnny Paycheck song if you don't remember. No, I don't plan on saying that. I still like my job and want to keep working. But it's nice to know that I am getting close to the time when I will not HAVE to work. I always heard that is a good feeling. I never could imagine that I would ever get there myself. But here I am.

After the phone call, I decided to dress for a run. The rain made things look kind of sketchy in that regard, but I dressed and made it out the door. I have that new rain jacket and the temp was almost 60. I shuffled along and made up the course as I went. Eventually, I went over the bridge, out Wade Road, and then to Money Road. I was home at the Hideout after 11.61 miles.

Those miles brought me up to thirty for the week. That makes three straight, and four of the last five, at thirty plus for me. In my world, that is big mileage. Today? Weights, most likely. Maybe some swimming. I think my running muscles need a rest.

No, I did not do anything else. When I got home, I took some nutrition, and took to bed. The day was pretty well shot anyway. It was mid-afternoon, and my energy was gone. It was a good day, one that will move me closer the Geezer Run fitness. Thank you, Jesus.

Play Toys

I played with my play toys Thursday afternoon. It was fun. It was real. It was real fun. 

Being tired from a long hard week, I did not even go to the pool. Since I already knew that John was out, I thought it would be a nice opportunity to streamline my day. Besides that, I worked late. We went virtual at MDCC last week because of the snow and ice. I did not, however, post an assignment for my Film class. I would never attempt that course online. We meet that one once per week for three hours. I asked them Tuesday to come back Thursday. They all did.

So I got off late, but when you take the pool time off, I was still early getting back home for a run. Then I went to bed and was very tempted to stay there. I was tired. By the way, I did some powerful sleeping Thursday night.

For the run, I went a little farther than I had planned at the first of the week. I had scoped out going 2.5 for each of my short days, but since it is supposed to rain all day Friday and that is my long day, I knew I would have trouble getting my miles in so I went a whopping 3.8. Then I played with the play toys.

First I pushed the sled. I added another thirty-five pound weight to the plate horn, but if that increased the resistance, I could not tell. The resistance is magnetic and the plates are added to keep the back wheels on the pavement while you push and the front wheels resists. I pushed the thing .1, turned around, and pushed back home. It hits the glutes really hard. That should be really helpful for my running. I think my glutes are basically asleep while I shuffle. When I focus on them, my stride length increases and my pace quickens. But unless I am concentrating on them, I lapse back into my old man shuffle.

After the sled, I pulled out the wheel barrel. I replaced one of the the thirty-fives with a forty-five. I pushed it the same distance I did the sled. It hits the traps most of all and that should help me on the Geezer Run because running all day with a pack on hits the traps hard.

I did not go back outside after playing with my new play toys. I was pretty much done for the day after I finished the workday, the running, and the push work. It was good. Thank you, Jesus.

It Is Here

It came in. The sled. I was on the porch waiting for the UPS man at 7:00 p.m. He did not get there until 7:30. But first, let me recount the rest of the training. 

I met John at the pool. Yes, he was late. I swam a mere 1,200 yards and tapped out. Being tired from the 9.35 miles I did Tuesday, I had little energy to swim long or hard so I did neither. 

At home, I went out for my shuffle both hoping I would and would not see the UPS truck. The tracking info online said the package was on the truck and out for delivery. I knew if I saw a UPS truck anywhere near the Hideout, that I would turn around and go home without finishing the roadwork. That did not happen, however, so I finished my scheduled 2.68 miles.

Back home again, I lounged some and listened for a truck. You can hear those trucks from a long way off. Not that they are loud, but their sound is distinctive. Finally, failing to hear a truck, I went to Plate City for some light leg work. I am taking my 20-rep squat set up by five pounds each week. I started with 50 pounds. Yesterday I did 65. That made me breathe a little harder. 

After lifting, I went outside and waited on the porch. Eventually, I became discouraged and went back in. After a few minutes indoors, I heard the truck. My sled had arrived. 

Pictures and descriptions will follow in latter posts. For now, let me just say that I put it together and pushed it up the street. This is going to be a huge help in getting me ready for the Great Geezer Run. Thank you, Jesus.

Falling Bench

I don't swim on Tuesdays because I work late and I run long. Yesterday, I went out Money Road determined to see if I could go out one hour and get back close enough to town that I was not afraid. Afraid? Yes, sometimes I get a little nervous when I am out there alone in the dark and the coyotes begin to howl. The closer I am to that bridge, the less it bothers me. I went for an hour and was just beginning to use my flashlight when I was in the straightaway leading to the bridge. So yes, I have time for a two hour run. I know I can run in town all night if I want, but sometimes zigging and zagging up and down town streets becomes wearying to me. I yearn for the open road.

I went 9.35 miles, not bad for a mid-week run. In a week or two, I might even start doubling up my lifting on Monday so that all I do Tuesday is run. But for now, I have enough time, energy, and daylight to do two workouts. At the gym, I did bench pressing, and my strength was way off. I did one set of two at 150 and failed after one on my next set. I was scheduled for four sets of two. I did notice last week that my strength was down a little, but this week it was like my power fell off a cliff.

Strangely, I did not get too upset over this. I have both read about and experienced this before. I am losing weight for the Great Geezer Run and when you lose weight, your bench press suffers and it suffers a lot. I am losing fat, but still, the bench goes down. Why? I can only assume that intramuscular fat aids the muscle in contracting due to the internal fullness it provides giving greater tension and even changing muscle fiber angles a bit.

So I am lightening the weight and continuing. The Great Geezer Run will not require a good bench. It will require lots of endurance, legs, core, and even a little upper body. It will require determination and the ability to get comfortable being uncomfortable. That is the way I am headed. By the grace of God I will get there. Thank you, Jesus.

John on Time!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Monday saw us going back on campus at MDCC so the week started with some semblance of normalcy. One abnormal thing about it, however, was John was on time at the pool. WHAT!?!?!?!? Yeah, I was almost disappointed. He was even a few minutes early. Of course he made up for it afterwards by dillying and dallying and trying so see how long he could hold me up. That drives me coo coo. I swam

2,100 41:25

900 for time 15:18

350 medium paddles 6:24

50 back 1:10

total: 3,400 yards = 3,107 meters.

So yeah. Don't you love it or hate it when people say that. So yeah. Yeah. It was a good practice. Yeah.

Back home, I went out for my shuffle and did 2.65 miles. The streets were almost clear, but even after two straight days of temps above freezing and lots of sunshine, there were still some ice patches here and there. But things are vastly improved.

Since the street was pretty clear, I got the wheel barrel out, put some more weight on it, and went .17 miles. I am still waiting on my sled. It is supposed to be delivered today.

At the gym, I did pulls. I have swapped pull and push nights to prevent lower back strain from happening two days in a row. I warmed up with several sets  of reverse flys, then did the one-armed bent row for

12 X 55

  9 X 60

  8 X 65

  5 X 70

  3 X 75

  3 X 75

I finally used the biceps machine for biceps for the first time. When I received the machine and put it together, I found that I had some upper biceps tendon issues that prevented me from using it to curl. I have, however, been using it to do triceps work. Since I have been training around the biceps tendon for a couple of months now, I tried again last night and was able to curl. Yeeha. It felt good. It's going to make a difference. Thank you, Jesus.

2/15 - 2/21

Despite the difficulties, God blessed me with another good week of training for the Great Geezer Run for Diabetes. Monday I got out in the snow and ice and shuffled 2.34 miles. Not only that, but I made my way to the pool despite the poor condition of the roads. In the water, I did 3,299 meters. Because of the extreme cold, however, I skipped the gym.

Tuesday the weather was even colder. Nevertheless, I ran for 7.25 miles on the ice, then went to the pool for 1,690 meters. Afterwards, I sucked it up for a session at Plate City.

Wednesday, I was back sliding on the road for 6.24 miles. At the pool, I hit 3,107 meters. At the gym I hit the legs. Thursday I managed 4.37 miles of roadwork, 3,016 meters of pool work, and I don't know how many tons of weight work, but I did some.

Friday was the most treacherous day of all for running. The roads were so slick that I cut the run to a mere 1.34. At the pool, I was still in a cutting mood with only 2.010 meters. The gym did not happen because of time constraints.

Saturday, I went out Money Road and ran between the tall mounds of snow and ice. It was real. It was fun. It was not, however, real fun. Cars would come along and splash me with icy cold water. My feet got wet. The glare was so bright I could hardly see. Still and all I did 8.73 miles. Then I hit the gym like I was mad at it.

I finished the week with:

13,127 meters of swimming,

four sessions of lifting in the gym, and 

30.27 miles of running.

That is not bad training, and I am on track for the Great Geezer Run for Diabetes. Thank you Jesus.

Wool Socks

One thing swowmageddon 2021 has proved to me is that wool socks work. They really do maintain their ability to insulate even when wet. Once I read that cotton loses 90% of it's insulation ability when wet and wool keeps 90% of its when wet. Yesterday's run was a test of the Smartwool socks I bought at Conerly's a few months back.

I did not try to get out until about 2:00 p.m. The bright sun had the ice melting off roofs as early at 8:00 a.m. while the temp was still in the low 20s. But I knew the rutted streets would have frozen hard in the overnight 14 degree low and would be slick and dangerous. I waited until I was sure the ice would have softened some giving some footing.

The roads were better and worse at the same time. Where the traffic had made deep ruts in the ice, the space between was filled with cold water. Dodging cars, I hit puddles, deep soft snow, and all sorts of hazards as I did what I hoped to be my last ice run of the year, the decade, maybe my life. It has been since the late 1980s that I experienced anything like this.

My feet got wet, and I was thinking this might be another one-miler. But I kept sloshing onward and eventually made my way to Money Road. My wet feet were only cold for seconds. The wool fabric did its job. Then I forgot about calling the run short.

The vast ocean of ice off Money Road.

The ice show out Money Road was awesome and I had pavement between deep ruts of ice. Occasionally, the water would be puddled deep. That is always when cars passed. I would run off road as far as I would, but it would be like someone tossing a five gallon bucket of water my way. 

Fun.

I kept going for four plus miles out before I turned around. I got home with 8.73 miles. Nice run. The socks worked like a charm.

The inside wall of Plate City Gym.

At the gym, it was cold. But I really have not been minding the cold at all. I keep reminding myself of the oppressive heat that is coming our way. I remember how tough doing sets can be in 95 degree heat. I worked the bench press:

23 X 38

20 X 88

16 X 108

13 X 113

11 X 118

11 X 88 narrow grip

11 X 88 narrow grip

I then did some leg work, not a lot, but some. I did leg curls for four sets, one set of extensions, and then mostly running stuff. My focus from now until May will be for running performance and sports specific strength. I will get back to training for pure strength after the Geezer Run.

Also, I did some trap bar deadlifts, some calf work, and then I called it a night. It was dark, it was cold, and I was tired.

Roadwork was treacherous Friday morning. I went for my shuffle about 11:00 a.m., and the footing was the worst I had experienced all week. The snow and sleet were now ice, and the abundant sunshine had the ice wet. It was as slick as owl doo doo out there. I was only planning two or three miles. I made my way back to the Hideout in a little over one. Yeah, it was that bad. When I crossed Poplar, a glance north revealed a pickup truck in a ditch and a long string of cars stranded in the road. 

Yes, I did get out to go to the pool. By then the ice on most of the roads was slush. The temps never got about freezing, but the sunshine was working magic on the ice. I swam

2,050 

3 X 50 back

total: 2,200 yards = 2,010 meters.

At home, Penny suggested we pick something up for supper. Normally we dine out on Friday evening. I told her we had to order early because when all that water and all those ruts refreeze, the roads will be impassable. We ordered pork chops from the Crystal Grill. They were good, yeah. 

No, I did not lift. There was not time between my swim and picking up supper. After eating, everything related to Zane Hodge shut down, including CC my sweet cat. She had me pinned down the rest of the evening. Almost everyday, I thank God for that cat. She gives me lots of love. Thank you Jesus.

The snow training continued Thursday with a run out the gravel road. It was cold and cloudy out there. The footing was the worst it has been since our snow apocalypses hit. On the formerly gravel road, I found a good track so I went back and forth and forth and back on it. I finished with 4.37 miles.

At the pool, I thought about doing a straight swim and did go for 2,900 before I stopped. Within that, I did some pickups, some back stroke, and even a length of breast. Then I did a brick kick and topped it all off with some paddle work: 200 medium paddles and 200 large paddles. That added up to 3,300 yards which converts to 3,016 meters. 

Plate City was magical. Icicles decorated the edge of the top. The overcast sky in the fading sunlight made a strange backdrop to the huge tree limbs coming out of my neighbors yards. A flock of geese passed overhead, unseen but not unheard. A lighted window below a snow covered roof wisped me back to my boyhood, to an old image from an ancient Outdoor Life magazine. Pee Wee played while I lifted. He is a sweet boy, and between sets he would come warm my hands with his hound hide. All of this filled my soul while blood filled my latimus dorsi as I performed the lat pulldown for

28 X 50

15 X 65

15 X 67.5

15 X 70

10 X 70

Also I did revers flys, shrugs, seated rows, dumbbell curls, and stretching. I have not done curls in months. I am adding them for the Great Geezer Run for Diabetes. I know from experience that running as many hours per day as will be required will lead to fatigue even in the arms. Yes, it's true. A stronger muscle is a more durable muscle. So I have added the curl and the shrug onto what I was already doing to give me more fitness to achieve the challenge.

Life is good. Thank you, Jesus, for helping me stay productive during this trying time.

More Snow Training

I've been tearing it up during the snow lockdown. I went out again on the ice and shuffled 6.24 miles. The footing was a little worse than it was the day before. I don't know what today will bring, but according to the weather reports, Saturday holds the promise of some real running. In this ice, I have to tip around. It is like driving. You can't use too much power, you can't change directions quickly, and you can't go too fast. Any violation of that could get your butt busted in a hurry. I have fallen only once. Coming off the levee two days ago, I went down. No harm. Thank you, Jesus.

At the pool, I got to do the Meet practice I wanted to do the day before. I swam

2,000 38:05

The Meet

200 @ 4:00 (3:20)

100 @ 2:00 (1:37)

100 back @ 3:00 (2:07)

500 (8:44)

Then 500 medium paddles

total: 3,400 yards = 3,107 meters.

I was a little disappointed in the 500, but that is a lot of swimming in a short period of time. After the long 2,000 yard warmup, I did my whole swim meet in less than eighteen minutes. The meet will last over four hours. The 200 is one of the first events held. The 500 is literally the last event of the day. So anything I can do alone that compressed, I can do much faster in a meet with rest between events.

Notice that my ability to single space has once more disappeared. Lovely.

At Plate City, it was time for legs. After my max out a few weeks ago, I am taking a different tack for the leg stuff. I am now emphasizing higher reps and lower volume while my running mileage goes up. When the when the ice clears, I will resume the wheel barrel work. And when the sled comes in, I will use it a lot. On the squat, I warmed up with 30 ATG squats and then went to my twenty reps set at 60 pounds. I felt that one a bit. Then I did a set at 75 pounds, lots of leg curls and leg extensions, some calf work, tibial work, and hip flexor work.

It was a good day. The miles and the yardage are piling up, my weight is coming down, and I can't wait to run on solid footing without twenty pounds of clothing. I think I will go faster. Thank you, Jesus.

Snowmageddon

Tuesday was a solid day. Our snowmageddon continues. I went out for a run around 10:00 a.m. The temp was low 20s, and ice covered everything. The footing wasn't too bad, and I headed out the gravel road. I went out into the fields. I had done a little of that in the past, but now the snow and iced filled in all the dips and low spots and gave a firm footing. This opened up new running venues for me. While out there, I saw a beautiful hawk fly out of a tree. I also saw bird, rabbit, and even some bobcat tracks. I went 7.25 miles before returning to the Hideout.

At the pool, I had determined to do a long warmup and a new practice I have named "The Meet." I programed into my watch all the events that I signed up for in the 2020 Senior Olympics. That swim meet was cancelled, and this year's meet remains unannounced. If it comes off, however, I plan to do the 200 free, 100 free, 100 back, and 500 free in that order. The reason I am doing four events is they will only allow four events. So in my watch I programmed these off a 2:00 base except for the back which I did on 3:00. So I will do the entire swim meet like this:

200 free @ 4:00

100 free @ 2:00

100 back @ 3:00

500 free

If I can pull that off in decent times, I know I will be fit. (Notice that my ability to single space has returned). I did the long warmup -- 1,850 in 35:32. Then an entire family came in: husband, wife, and two small children. I do not feel comfortable swimming wide open and coming off the walls with a strong push with kids in the pool. I fear T-boning one of them. So I left after I finished the 1,850. Maybe today.

I did not do the gym thing Monday. I did, however, go to Plate City Tuesday. Yes, it was cold, and I had to do both push and pull. Then bench press went like this:

14 X 100

  7 X 120

  5 X 145

  2 X 150

  2 X 150

  2 X 150

  3 X 145

  7 X 130

I did reverse flys and one-armed bent rows for the pull. I also did two sets of the Swim pull and lots of torator ruff work.

So I made more lemonade out of the weather lemons that we have been dealt. It has been different and only slightly challenging. With the roads covered with ice, I have not done the wheel barrel thing since last Thursday. I want to get back to that because my traps will need to be strong for the Great Geezer Run for Diabetes. I did do some shrugs in the gym. But the wheel barrel works both the traps and conditioning at the same time so it is a superior exercise.

Also, I have a sled ordered. I have a couple of sleds already. But one is made of iron and the only place I have to push it is in the street. The one I ordered has internal magnetic resistance and sits on pneumatic tires so it will be quiet. I don't want to make enemies of my neighbors. My other sled is a tire with an I-hook in it. It has to be pulled. The new one will give me the ability to do unilateral work on the legs as well as add conditioning.

Thank you, Jesus, for a good and different day. My excitement for the run is growing. I find myself looking at Google maps every night and dreaming of the day. 

I have been thinking for years that our climate in Mississippi is getting colder. I know springs are colder and longer than they used to be. I have always hunted, fished, and run so weather has always been something I was aware of. I have even caught the local weather falsifying data. A few years back, we had five straight record lows for July. One was 48 degrees. I was so shocked by that that I literally walked around in a daze for a couple of weeks. 

Fast forward a few years and we had a 58 degree low in July which was announced as a record low for Mississippi for the month of July. I called the station to remind them of the precious record THEY reported and I experienced. They were not nice to me. I looked up the records and now the 48 degree night never officially happened.

I'm not sure why I went into all of that. Yes I am. It was the ice and the 16 degree weather I tried to run in yesterday. Gosh, this is cold for Alaska. I did enjoy my outing. The footing was a bit difficult at times. It was best where no one had driven.

The road less traveled

Eventually I found my way to the Yazoo River Trail where I enjoyed a winter wonderland. When I tried to get up the levee to make my way home, I got half way up and slid back down. I tried again walking sideways to wedge my feet into the snow gaining maximum traction. That failed also. Literally I had to get on hands and knees and crawl up. What an experience. 

What kid doesn't like to play in the snow?

When I got back to the street we now live on, one of my neighbors was mowing his lawn. Really, you can't make this stuff up.

Best time to mow is when is snows.

I went to the pool a bit later. There I swam

1,800 35:24

850 for time 14:41

400 medium paddles 7:37

100 back 2:20

200 for time 3:20

100 back 2:27

50 breast 1:06

100 medium paddles

10 fly (yeah, I bombed)

total: 3,610 yards = 3,299 meters

I wanted to lift, but at 16 degrees and falling, with ice over all my equipment, we the fatigue of an already full day, I tapped out and went inside for good. It was real. It was fun. But it was not real fun. Thank you, Jesus, for our changing climate. I do wish, however, that we really did have global warming instead of Mississippi cooling. 

2/8 - 2/14

It was a good week of training, the kind I needed for the next challenge the Great Geezer Run for Diabetes. Monday I ran 4.14 miles, swam 2,285 meters, and lifted weights. Tuesday I did 7.59 miles of roadwork and lifted more weights.

Wednesday I ran 3.07. In the pool, I hit it for 2,467 meters, and in the gym I moved more weight. Thursday I swam more, 2,559, ran more, 1.32 miles, and lifted more. Friday was the big run/walk of 23.82 miles.

Saturday I did not swim and I did not run because I had a slightly sore patellar tendon. I did lifted some weight to finish off the week.

For the week, I

swam 7,311 meters,

lifted weights five times, and

ran 34.62 miles.

That 34 miles is the kind of running I need to be able to make it to Ridgeland. Pray that I can stay healthy, please, and keep putting in the miles and moving the weight and losing the weight to be successful. Also pray for the weather during that time and for the fundraising. That last part was down some last year. I want to get it back up. I am hoping that the amount of suffering I am offering will have an impact.

A Hard Day in Bed

Sunday wore me down like a hound. I was shot like a coon dog that had run his prey all night long. I don't know what it is about staying in bed all day that is so exhausting, but I slept all night and then some. 

I got up at 6:06 to use the bathroom. That is the time I usually get up to go to work. I went back to bed. I went back to sleep. I went back to dreaming. I slept until 8:30. Let's recount what I did that produced such fatigue.

First, I stayed in bed all day Sunday. I got out of bed twice to peer out the window. I got out maybe four times to use the bathroom. Other than that, I never got up. We called church off due to the weather. My school closed campuses today and Tuesday due to the weather. My sermon was already finished. So second, I did not work on a sermon. Third, I did not grade papers. Fourth, I did not do anything. Nothing wore me out.

Does nothing wear you out? It sure does me? Let me know in the comments below, please. Have a good one. Stay inside if you can. Thank Jesus for a warm house.

Bouncing to Bed

All day. In bed. I was in bed. All day. Except for a short while when I got up, dressed, and went to Plate City. 

The thermometer read 28 degrees when I made it to the gym. That is the coldest I have worked out in the new and improved Plate City. It was OK. It was better than OK. It was great. 

I did not do a lot. Since I had a sore patellar tendon, I did no leg work. I only benched and worked shoulders some. I pressed

23 X 38

19 X 88

16 X 108

12 X 113

11 X 118

18 X 88 narrow grip

Dumbbell bench at 10 X 40. I did a whole bunch of lateral raises. The cold was enjoyable. Pee Wee was happy, and so was I. Thank you, Jesus.

Bouncing Far

His horn blew in my driveway at 9:02 Friday morning. Immediately I was out the door with all my stuff. Then Lolo Lubiani and I began our drive to the Minter City United Methodist Church. Just like two weeks ago, he would drop me off in front of the church, and I would ramble home.

Of course he asked the typical question so I am going to answer it here for the eightieth time. There are a whole bunch of reasons I do this type of thing. The simplest explanation I have is when I was in the first grade, my mom dropped me off after school at Rob White's house. She said, "I will be back to pick you up in an hour."

An hour!!! 

I had a whole hour!!! 

That feeling of joy and freedom, especially freedom, was overwhelming, and it is what I have been trying to recapture ever since. I get a taste of it now and then when I do really long stuff, when I don't have any pressing responsibilities, when no one is waiting on me. I get a taste of it when I do ten-mile swims. I get a taste of it when I do 100-mile bicycle rides. I get a taste of it when I do twenty-mile runs. I got a happy meal Friday when I went 23.82 miles in the bitter cold, the blowing wind, and under the cloudy skies.

Two weeks ago it was cold. Friday it was really cold, and as I shuffled off into my journey my mind pondered the paradox of me getting farther from and closer to home at the same time. The runs starts with a one mile jaunt north. That is so hard on my mind to know I am running away from home while trying to get there. At the same time, I am covering distance that will eventually get me back to the Hideout.

The road east

After my one-mile jaunt north, I turned east and crossed a bridge by an old gin and found the wind to be not as bad when it was coming in from my side. When I made it to Money Road, I had the wind to my back. Last time I did this, I began with a run two/walk one schedule. This time I started with run two and a half/walk nine tenths. I was worried about the nine tenths. As cold as it was, I feared I might not be able to walk that far without freezing out. But I could. I did, however, lengthen each run. I went from two and a half, to two point six, then two point nine and then over three miles at a time. I finished with 18.5 miles of running, over five miles of walking, and some really sore feet.

I didn't even stop at my office in
downtown Money.

Penny was home and somewhere along the way she texted my and asked if I was OK. "Do you want me to come get you?" Yes, it was a temptation. But I shuffled on and finished in six hours and something minutes. I have the time written down in my training diary. The diary sits on a shelf twelve feet away. Yes, I run for twenty miles, but I am too lazy to get up and retrieve my diary. Sue me.

Praise God for a good journey run. I enjoyed it. For a little while I felt free. Thank you, Jesus.

Bouncing Ahead

This week mirrors the week before the River. I plan on running from Minter City and having a big mileage cycle. That week, I did not run on Thursday. I don't remember why I did not, but this time around, I knew even a very short run would put me up a little in the mileage total. I shuffled 1.32 miles and now have a small lead over two weeks ago.

By the way, you may wonder if doing the 23.77 one week before the River had any impact on my poor performance last Saturday. I don't wonder. I know it did. I knew going in that that was no way to taper. But I planned on training through anyway. I did my longest run in four years one week before the race and then maxed my squat the Tuesday of race week. I knew that was not good programing for the short term, but I was thinking long term. Still, I expected to run better than I did. Much better.

Now I wonder if my legs will fail me out there today. The high is supposed to only reach 39. That means I have to keep moving or I can get myself into real trouble. I guess that is why God created cell phones on the eighth day.

Before I did roadwork Thursday, I went to the pool where I swam

1,650 31:31

800 for time 13:19

200 medium paddles 3:47

3 X 50 back

25 breast/25 free :56

total: 2,800 yards = 2,559 meters.

You might notice that this practice resembles Wednesday's. Then I swam 1,500/750. Thursday was 1,650/800. The long warmup plus a longish swim for time is both an endurance builder and a stamina set. That's the kind of training I like to do. It fits my body and my mindset.

Well, I went to the pool, then did a very short run. Yes, the gym, despite the cold, was next. It was pull day. Since I plan the big run Friday, I did not do the landmine rows because they put a lot of strain on the low back and the whole posterior chain. I'll need that coming from Minter City. So after warming up with reverse flys, I did one-armed bent rows for

8 X 55

7 X 60

6 X 65

4 X 70

3 X 75

Then it was time for lat pull downs:

27 X 50

21 X 60

18 X 65

17 X 67.5

I added one set of the Swim Pull. I had not done this in a long time. I don't know why I have not. It is THE primary builder for sports specific strength in the water.

So I had a good day. Now I need to start getting ready for my epic journey run. Thank you, Jesus.

Bouncing Forward

Wednesday was another nice one for me. John didn't show up at the pool, but I swam

1,500 29:16

750 for time 12:42

100 medium paddles 1:52

5 X 50 back

100 medium paddles 1:54

total: 2,700 yards = 2,467 meters.

After the swim, I did 3.07 miles of roadwork. The legs were pretty flat from Tuesday's longish run. When I finished the run, I added another five pounds to the wheel barrel and pushed it .16 miles. 

Then it was time for Plate City. Since I maxed out a week ago, I am restarting my leg work. This cycle will focus on endurance and unilateral work to aid me in the Great Geezer Run for Diabetes. One of my good friends asked me yesterday what I am training for. "You change with every blog," he told me. Sorry if I confuse you. There are always short-term goals, like the upcoming Viking Half, but the big goal for now is the run to Ridgeland. Everything I do from here on will be to aide me in accomplishing that. 

I did 20 X 55 on the squat. That might not sound like much, but I plan to add five or ten pounds per week until the 20-rep squat set becomes a lung-busting, lactic acid dumping set that will translate into 5K to 100-mile running performances. Also, eventually, I will reduce the leg work to once per week as the road mileage rises. Everything is about getting ready for this year's fundraising run.

Thank you, Jesus.  

More Bounce

Since Tuesday is my long day at work, I do not even attempt to swim. I did, however, go out for what counts for a long run during the week. I hit the road for 7.59 miles and I pushed the tempo just a little bit. It was still very slow, but faster than what has become my normal pace.

I then hit the wheel barrel. I added a mere five pounds but I extended the push to .14 of a mile. My traps felt it big time. This should help me a lot for the run to Ridgeland because I will be wearing a pack for ten hours a day and my back and traps will take a lot of strain doing that. Today, I will do more.

At Plate City, I benched

14 X 100

  7 X 120

  5 X 145

  4 X 145

  2 X 150

  2 X 150

  7 X 120 narrow grip

I also did dips and two sets of triceps pushdowns. Thank you, Jesus, for a good day.

2/1 - 2/7

It was a pretty good training week despite me having the bad half Saturday. Monday, I swam 1,185 meters. Yeah, I was slacking. I shuffled 3.05 miles and lifted weights. Tuesdays I don't even try to swim. Instead, I did 3.31 miles of roadwork and maxed my squat. I normally do leg work on Wednesday and Saturday, but I wanted to be fresh for the River Half Saturday, so I rolled the squatting back to Tuesday.

Wednesday, I swam 1,690 meters, ran a short 2.7 miles, and lifted more weights. Thursday, I only swam 1.690 meters. Due to social obligations, I was not able to fit in a run or a lifting session. Friday, however, I swam 2,285 meters and lifted more weights. 

Saturday, of course, was the Mississippi River Half Marathon. Already I have written about my lousy performance. That is OK because I have been pushing it a little since then. The Viking Half is coming up, and I plan to redeem myself then.

For the week, I

swam 6,853 meters,

ran 22.25 miles, and

lifted weights five times. 

Thank you, Jesus.

Sorry about all the space at the bottom. I was unable to fix that.

Bouncing Back

I determined that my shameful performance Saturday at the Mississippi River Marathon and Half will be my motivation for my comeback, my return, my redemption. I will turn my 3:20 half into a 3:15 half at the Viking or bust. OK, the real goal is sub 3:00. 

Monday after work, I went to the pool. John was late, of course. I swam

100 (Stopped to talk to Robert about the new backstroke flags. Yes, we have new ones and they are both pretty and nice.)

1,350 25:31

4 X 50 back (Thank you, Lord!)

4 X 50 breast/free @ 1:53 (That looks easy on paper, but for me is tough.)

4 X 50 @ 1:16

250 medium paddles

total: 2,500 yards = 2,285 meters.

I took a shuffle, my first since the Great Humiliation. I did 4.14 miles in a slow pace, but I forced myself to go just a bit faster than I normally do. When I finished the run, I played with my newest toy. Last week, I ordered and received a plate loadable wheel barrel from Titan Fitness. I put it together Friday night, but the River plus the rain plus Sunday has kept me from playing with it until Monday afternoon. 

I put two thirty-five pound plates on it and pushed it .1 of a mile. I liked it. My traps were feeling it at the end. The plan is to use it daily until I settle on a good workout weight then I will put it into the rotation for once or twice per week. 

When I finished that, I went inside and talked with my bride for awhile. Then I went to Plate City and hit the weights. Since everything got thrown out of order last week, I did pulls instead of pushes. My last push session was Saturday. That left only one day between so I did pulls having two days between. On the landmine row, I pulled

21 X 35

14 X 57

10 X 67

9 X 77

8 X 32

I one-arm rowed

5 X 60

4 X 65

3 X 70

2 X 75

I did other stuff: lat pull downs, the reverse fly, and the constant corator tuff stuff. All in all, it was a solid day of training. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to playing with the wheel barrel again today. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thank you, Jesus.

The Alabama Rustic Camper

 

The Mississippi River Half Marathon

I went to bed wondering why my co-worker, Katie Jones, was not doing the River, as we call it. When my alarm went off at 4:20 a.m. Saturday, I said to myself, That's why. 

As planned, I got on the road by 5:00 with the radio and a cup of McDonald's coffee to keep me company on my solo journey to the port city. I made it, got parked, and picked up my packet. Then I made my way to the busses. In this race, a point-to-point, they bus the contestants to the starting line. We run to the finish. En route to load on a bus, I found a row of porta-johns and utilized one. Keep a count of this. Then only thing that went in my mouth that morning was a bowl of cereal and that one cup of coffee. Small. Small coffee.

On the bus, no one talked. This was in sharp contrast to last year when the whole bus was buzzing with chatter. Why? COVID? Politics? Personality? Go figure. To make a short story long, we started our half at 8:00 a.m., and I knew right away it was not going to be a strong run for me. I did not, however, expect what I got: embarrassment, humiliation, shock. I hit a new low in running, one that has me reeling today.

The sign at the Cow Pen Restaurant.
It's going to take a whole roll of
duct tape to fix that. 

Back to the porta-john theme. I used one after we arrived at the starting area at 7:05. I used it again at 7:40. On the run, I had to use it at miles two, four, seven, and ten. Huh? Dude, where did all that come from. I wore a hydration pack, but only drank sparingly.

The real story, however, was in my performance. I started slow and tapered off each mile getting more and more pedestrian. I passed walkers at the first half mile. Why do they always start up front? One of them, an old man, passed me back at 5.3 miles. That hurt. Bad. When he pulled up beside me, I said to myself, It ain't happening. But it happened, and it did not take long. As he passed me and began to pull away, something in my soul gasped and died.

The picture is so small that it's hard
to tell, but that is a fat lady ahead
of me. This is on Highway 82
 headed north.

At mile six, the fat lady caught me. I told her she was disrespecting her elders. She slowed to a walk and chatted with me awhile. She walked while I "ran." After a few minutes, she said, "I'll see you later," and ran away. Later, another walker caught and passed me. Then at mile nine, the first marathoner passed. Last year, the lead marathoner caught me at mile twelve, and he was the only one.

The first marathoner was a female. A woman walking nearby jerked out her phone, called someone, and reported that a woman was winning the long race. "She was smoking," the lady added. The guy running next to me looked my way and quipped, "She was smoking." He was referring to her looks, I think. She was the closest thing to naked I have ever seen anyone in public that was not on a beach or at a pool. She wore a sports bra, and a bottom that I can only describe as an undersized Speedo, made of spandex I'm guessing. I was wearing tights, three layers on top underneath my hoodie, and toboggan, and gloves.

I counted the marathoners as they passes: thirty five. Thirty five!!! I finished the half in 3:20:13 for a 15:14 average pace per mile. No, I did not walk any of it although several walkers passed me. It was tough. I felt like I entered the underworld. Is there a path back? The only consolation I can take from this is that I am still out there. Thank you, Jesus, for that. Am I still too stubborn to quit? Only time will tell.

Friday

The goal was to sleep in, but goals don't always come to pass. Although I could not sleep in due to waking early and staying that way, I was able to lounge in. You know the drill: cats, coffee, taking easy, and lots of YouTube videos. 

I did do something I have been thinking about for weeks. I cleaned, re-arraigned, and improved Plate City Gym. I put in the new stall matts, moved the landmine rowing station, and tidied things up. While I was doing that, I did a major pull session, going five sets on the landmine, three sets on the lat pull down, and four sets on the one-armed bent row.

After lunch, I went to the pool and swam

2,400

brick kick

100 medium paddles

(can you spell lazy?)

total: 2,400 yards = 2,285 meters.

From then on the day was about rest. Saturday, remember, is the Mississippi River Half Marathon. Thank you, Jesus, for a real race.

Power Rack and Clean Up

Plate City is still improving. Subscribe to my YouTube channel and be somebody!

Glorious Thursday

Thursday was glorious like it always is. It's our Friday at MDCC. Not only that, but I work in town and I am off pretty early. The weekend starts at 1:20 on Thursday afternoon. What's not to like? 

I ran some errands. I paid the taxes on the Hideout. Ouch! Then I filed for homestead exemption. After thirty minutes or more in that office, I left with a hand full of paperwork that has my name wrong. Ten out of nine people cannot spell H-O-D-G-E after I spell if for them and remind them that is only five letters. Life would be much easier if I got my last name legally changed, but that would dishonor my dad, and I can't do that.

I made it to the pool. John did not call. If he does not call, he is not going to swim. That makes two days in a row. When he does call, it ticks me because he thinks I am like he is. He does not believe I will show up if he does not hear me say it that day. And he always makes a big deal about what time. That does more than tick me. That enrages me because he is always late. We have swum together two to six times per week for the last eight and a half years. Do the math. He has been on time four times. Four times. And when he was on time, he always makes it up by being an hour or an hour and a half late the next time if he comes at all.

I swam

1,350

300 medium paddles

200 large paddles

total: 1,850 yards = 1,690 meters.

You may have noticed that the swimming has been on the downturn lately. Several reasons for that. One, without swimming Chicot this year, some of the urgency is gone. Two, without a date for the State Senior Olympics so far, all of the urgency is gone. Three, my focus is on running right now because that is what I plan to do in May for the DFM fundraiser. So I am swimming, but I'm doing it in an uninspired fashion. Mo and Joe have left town. I don't know when or if they are coming back. They meet up with me when I do roadwork, but at the pool, they are like John: gone without a word.

Speaking of running, I did not do any of that Thursday. Penny and I never eat out on Thursday night. But Junior said something about us going out the weekend. He mentioned Friday or Thursday. I told him Thursday would be better because Penny buys groceries this Friday. So we met at Hilltop. I had the big steak. It was good, yeah.

We met at 6:00 so I did not run nor did I lift weights. That is OK. With two days off the legs, they should be fresh for Saturday's half marathon at Greenville. Thank you, Jesus, that work is good again, training (swimming excepted) is in full stride, and Penny is happy.

Swim Day

I got back in the water Wednesday and that was nice. Not only that, but I saw an old swim mate from the DSU Masters crew, Tabatha Whitten, who is now a member of Twin Rivers. She lives in Sumner and things have changed at DSU since Ronnie Mayers retired and our coach Cagri moved away. With Ronnie, we had our run of the place, and with Cagri we had top-notch coaching. I still hear his voice and sometimes even feel his disapproval when I train alone: 

   "Faster. Faster. Faster." 

   "Don't breathe off the wall." 

   "Only breath every ninth stroke." 

   "Kick, kick, kick." 

   "Every third 50 fast."

You never get away from your coaches.       

We swam

1,000 20:18

brick kick

4 X 50

200 medium paddles, multi paced 3:26

150 medium paddles, multi paced 2:35

300 small paddles 5:42

total: 1,850 yards = 1,690 meters.

When I got home, I changed clothes and went for a run. I stopped after 2.7 miles. I felt pretty decent for having maxed the squat the night before. In fact, the residual fatigue was a little less than a normal workout where the volume is much higher.

At Plate City, I petted Pee Wee, enjoyed the dark, and pushed some weight. It was bench night on a Wednesday for the first time. I pressed

15 X 100

  7 X 120

  5 X 145

  5 X 145

  5 X 145

  2 X 150

  6 X 120 narrow grip

Then I did 12 dips and three sets on the triceps machine. All in all, it was a good day and night. Thank you, Jesus.

No Swim Day

Tuesday is my no-swim day. I teach my film class that day so I am late getting off work. Trying to get in three workouts is more stress than I want so I dropped the swim at the beginning of this semester. After work, I had to run a few errands so I was later than normal getting on the road. I went out the gravel for 3.31 miles. 

I decided then to do the leg thing. Normally my lifting routine is push/pull/legs. This week it has been pull/legs/ and tonight will be push. I started the week with pull because I missed that at the end of last week. Now I have decided to max out on the squat, and I wanted to get that done early in the week since I am doing a half marathon Saturday. So doing the max on Tuesday should give me time to recover and be a bit fresh for Saturday.

On the squat, I did

6 X 45

2 X 95

1 X 115

1 X 125

1 X 145 tied PR

1 X 155 new PR

I know 155 is not much for a squat. That is, however, 25 pounds below my bench press. Most people squat much more than they bench. Not me. You don't have to go back far to find when my PR was 120. Since I have made a commitment to the move, my PR has gone to 135, then 145, and now 155. I was tempted to try 160 last night, but thought I should leave well enough alone. 

I did not do much else. I added some leg extensions, leg curls, and some corator tuff stuff, as usual. So the volume was low but the intensity high. This should not hit my legs too hard, but I will only know after the fact. Last year during the week (the week of the Mississippi River Marathon), I did no leg work and ran only once. For three days I had some kidney stone issues. 

This time, however, I want more miles. My time will probably be slower because I am a year older and ten pounds heavier. The weight is the main thing. But my goal is training not time. I need miles to prepare for the Great Geezer Run for Diabetes. That is my current name for the fundraising run I plan in early May. If you have a suggestion for a name for the run, leave it in the comments below. Thank you. And thank Jesus for good health, motivation, and worthy goals.

New Plans

I have new plans for this year's Challenge. I think I already wrote about that. I write so much, it's hard for me to remember. I am sure that I wrote about the quadrathon, a new sport I created to stand in for this year's Chicot Challenge. What I might not have told you is that the quadrathon was plan B. Plan A was something different, and Plan A is what I now propose. 

Plan A is to run from the Hideout in Greenwood, Mississippi to the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi's office in Ridgeland, Mississippi. A plan of this sort is always a gamble because the training load has to be high and the injury rate low. In fact, any injury at this time will derail the whole thing in a moment. I did not get injured this winter, but I was slowed a bit and that caused me to search for Plan B. But the stage run to Ridgeland is the thing that grabs my imagination and shakes it like a fiest dog shaking a squirrel.

I am back to Plan A because that's what I really want to do, and my training is starting to come around. Last week, I hit my yearly mileage high of 32 miles with one really long run/hike. In addition, Plate City Gym is a huge bonus giving me access to superb weight training, and even the logistical problems of a run this long have me excited. Speaking of the logistics, I think I have the major problems ironed out. At least I have a plan.

Right now, the plan is to leave the house on Friday afternoon on May the 7th. Why in the afternoon? The reason for that is that I might have to work that morning. If our graduation is virtual this year (at this point I don't know), I will leave in the early morning. I hope to make it to Acy's and as far down Highway 430 as possible the first day. My wife will pick me up and take me back to her dad's to spend the night. She will drop me back where she picked me up on day one.

Day two has to get me to Vaiden. I can rent a room there. For day three, the plan is to make it to West where I have a friend who has graciously agreed to house me for the night. Day four should see me in Durant where I can rent a room. And by day six, I need to make it to Pickens. At Pickens, there is no where for me to stay. So I will need someone to pick me up and take me to a motel in Canton. Day seven should take me into Clinton where I can rent the same room for another night. I should finish on the eighth day in Ridgeland. 

That is a lot of days. Maybe I can shave one or two off. If our graduation this year is virtual, I will try to make it to West on day two. Thus I will have a little wiggle room if I get overly sore and need to sleep in a day and stay off my feet. 

Well, that is the dream and the plan. If you pray, please do that. Pray for my health, my training, and my fundraising. Thank you. Thank you, Jesus.

New Things

Monday started with some new things. One new thing is some stall matts that I have been waiting on for months now. I bought one at Tractor Supply about a year ago and have had some more on my list since then. However, they have been out of stock there for months on end. COVID they say. Well, I picked up two of them on my way home from Moorhead Monday after work. 

I plan to use these to build a small station for the treadmill. I will lay the matts and cover them with a sheet of plywood. That will give a little reduction in shock as I shuffle in the gym and out of the rain. No, I do not run on the dreadmill often. But it is nice to have the option. Sometimes the cold and rain combined is more than I am willing to deal with on the open road.

Another new thing is I put together the plate tree I picked up Saturday at Dick's in Madison. That helped me get some more plates off the floor. I am trying to get the gym organized and that is an ongoing job. I have leaves to clear, the running station to fix, and some things to move around. 

I think I am going to move the landmine to the strongman section outside of the covering. That will give me more room on the slab and maybe things will look a little better. That will mean I can't do that move if it is cold and raining, but I still have dumbbells and the lat pull down and the cords to work with. When the weather is good, I will hit the rows.

I did swim, but only 1,300 yards. I did run, but only 3.05 miles. I did lift, but only a lot. Since I missed my last two session the past week, I did pull instead of pushes. I hit the back for seven sets of reverse flys, five sets of the landmine row, and three sets of lat pull downs.

So it was a pretty good day. I enjoyed work, and lifted hard. Thank you, Jesus.

1/25 - 1/31

The final week of January was a solid one as far as running goes. Monday I swam 3,107 meters, and ran 4.5 miles. Not only that, but I lifted pretty heavily at the gym. Tuesday was another good day running. I hit Money Road for 7.35 miles to give myself a good start on some decent numbers. The days are a bit longer now and will be more so each week; thus I plan to go farther and farther out Money Road. After the run, I hit the gym hard again. 

Wednesday I swam a mere 1,736 meters. Since it was leg day at the gym, I only shuffled 2.6 miles then I hit the squats like I was competing with Randy Beets. Thursday I swam 2,879 meters. This is when I discovered that my back stroke flags were gone. I did not run that day. I don't remember why. Maybe I was too upset over the flags. Whatever the reason, it helped me be fresh for Friday.

Friday was a real journey-run-sort-of-training day. Lolo Lubiani dropped me off at the Minter City United Methodist Church, and I ambulated home. I did not lift that day because the 23.77 miles pretty much gave me all I wanted.

Saturday, Penny and I went to Jackson. We traveled Highway 51 which is the route I plan to take if I run to Ridgeland. I shared my plans with her, and she was not adverse to the idea. Since my legs are feeling better, I am leaning that way. Maybe I have not told you what "that way" is. Later, in another post. I promise. 

For the week, I

swam 7,722 meters,

lifted weights four times, and 

ran 32.24 miles.

Thank you, Jesus, for a good week.