A Discovery

Saturday was another slow-start day for me. I studied and lounged and drank coffee. Then I made a trip to a neighboring town to buy something off Facebook Market Place. Yes, it was exercise stuff. I know what you are thinking. You don't need anything else. Trust me, need has nothing to do with it.

The trip cut a big hole into the day so I did not go to the pool. I had planned to swim and to ride. BBB is next Saturday, and I have ridden by bicycle exactly once in July. I think once. Not enough.

I did, however, go to Plate City where I worked on pull and legs. For legs, I did something new. I performed a circuit of squats, stationary bicycle, and treamill. I went for four rounds, resting between rounds. It was a solid workout and one that sort of set my brain on fire with possibilities. Also, I played with some of the new equipment.

I think I learned something, something that might help me regain some of my lost running fitness. While running on the treadmill, I found that at even a slight incline, I can feel my gluteous maximus engage. That-- the lack of glute engagement-- is part of what is wrong with my running. So guess what? Yeah, maybe twice per week. We will see what we will see, but I have hope that my slow running times will become just a little bit less slow. Thank you, Jesus.

A Little Long Run

Friday I hung around the house way too long before going out for a little run. Luckily Blessedly we had a little bit of cloud cover, and it was not too hot. It was hot, but it was doable. I think it hit 92 before I got home.

I ran and walked 13.23 miles. Three miles were walking, and the rest-- 10.23 miles-- was running shuffling. For what I am training for, it is important to be able to walk and then resume running on tired legs. 

After that, I had little time or energy for anything else. I went to the bank, then I paid a bill, then I went to Brewer's Screen Printing to pick up three shirts. By the time I got home after all of that, it was time to get into the shower to get ready for my date with my bride.

Penny and I went to Hilltop for supper. I got and eighteen ounce steak. I was hungry, yeah. It was good, yeah. Thank you, Jesus, yeah.

Starting Slow and Thankful for It

It is Friday morning and instead of being out on the road running early this morning, I am in bed typing this blog post and drinking coffee. Life is good. This is what I call a slow-start day. I slept a little longer, ate breakfast a little slower, and now am in no hurry to get out the door. I will get out the door, but I'll do it when I feel like it, when the coffee pot is empty and the cats are happy. It will be hot by then. I'll deal with it.

Yesterday, I went to the pool and swam

  3,750 straight 1:11:35 (1:55)

  2 X 25 no breath 23, 23

  50 back 1:10

  total: 3,850 yards =3,518 meters

That's good swimming right there. I could swim the HOD fifteen seconds faster today than I did Saturday. I am stretching my shoulder lots and that has made all the difference.

At 6:00, I went to Plate City. Also, I bought some weed-eater string. My nephew showed me how to re-string the weed eater. I put some wire in it becuase I had no string. The wire didn't work. It broke off, immediately, even with the spool. Twice. Yesterday, I put the real string in it and went to town chopping down the jungle in the back. Our mower is being worked on.

Sigh.

I did push on the weights, and shuffled 1.22 miles on the treadmill. Between teaching, swimming, the weights, the weed eating, Pee Wee, and the running, I needed the sleep this morning. Thank you for it, Jesus.

Training Again

Wednesday I got cranked up with some old-fashioned training. I swam, ran, and lifted. Well, the running and lifting were together so I guess that makes two workouts not three. But I did stuff and I tried to do more stuff. I tried to weed-eat our backyard, but the wire I put in the weed eater (I didn't have real wead eater string) didn't work. I broke off at the spool almost instantly. Twice. 

Sigh.

I went by the pool after I stopped at the Center to see the ladies. I had a nice but short chat with them then did my practice. I swam

  1,100

  8 X 50 @ 57

  100 free/back by 25s

  8 X 50 @ 1:16

  100 freen/back by 25s

  4 X 25 no breath

  total: 2,200 yards = 2,010 meters

I crashed on the first set of 50s. I had not done them in a while and it showed. I needed to nail that set before HOD. If I can stay healthy, I will next year. My times on it were 45, 46, 46, 48, 50, 49, 50. Those are hand timed so really they are about two seconds faster, but still you can see that when I hit 48 seconds, it's time to call the set off. Fifty seconds is outrageous. By the way, the first two reps are at 55 and the next five are at 56. Why do I call it @ 57? Because I don't want to call it @ 55, 55, 56, 56, 56, 56, 56, 57. That's why.

With the greater rest, I held up better on the @ 1:16 set. I need to work these 50s a lot to build speed. The long interval for speed, the short interval for heart rate and lactate buffering. The long, staright swims like I did Tuesday for endurance and mitochondrial development.

I went to Plate City at 6:00 p.m. Since I missed my pull workout Tuesday, and Wednesday is leg day (night), I did both. Between sets of squats, I ran on the treadmill. I did squats, box jumps, and runs as a circuit and wound up with 1.6 miles of running to go with the 9.23 I had for the previous two days giving me 10.83 for the week.

I feel like I am training again. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Stong[er] Pool

The best I could. I did the best I could. And it wasn't too bad.

No, I did not rise early, and after work I had to run some errands. That took some time which cut into training. But I went to the pool with an attitude. Why the attitude? Some of the guys at the Heart O' Dixie gave me a little grief about my swim time. One asked me "What happened?" So I told him. Then he berrated me for making excuses. I didn't make excuses, I answered his question.

So that put a little animus in my mind, in my heart, in my belly. If my body will hold together, next year I will show them what happened. I swam

  3,600 straight in 1:10:41

That is not a huge swim, but it is longer than anything I have done in a bit. The point is, I had a little fire inside, some new motivation. Today I plan to do some type of intervals, but once a week I will most likely do a straight swim to build that base that is so important for top swimming.

My lawn mower was broken so I did a little waiting on my man to come by. When he did, he first worked on it there then decided to take it with him. That further cut into training time. I had a choice, at that point, to lift or run. I chose to run and went 3.12 miles. 

Thus I had a pretty good day but I did not get to lift. I hope to make up for that today. Thank you, Jesus, for the lawn mower man showing up and get me that lawn mower back soon. I'm about to lose my back yard.

What's Need Got to Do with It?

Monday began my post Heart O' Dixie training. Sort of. I did set my alarm and was up be 4:40 a.m. I was on the road by 5:00 running slowly and looking at all the birds out that early. The birds don't play around but go to work long before most people ever think of rolling out of bed.

I ran for 6.11 miles. They were slow miles, but it was nice to see the night turn into day while I was out. The temp, 77 degrees, felt good on the bare skin of my torso. Seventy seven, by the way, is warm for a nighttime low. One night not long ago, the low was 80. What!?!?!?!

After work, I went home, ate lunch, then headed to West Point, Mississippi to pick up some weights. No, I did not need anymore weights, but believe me, need has nothing to do with it. They were so cheap that they were a deal even after I paid for gas. Otherwise, I would not have made the trip.

I came home with 320 pounds worth. Six 45s and two 25s for less than .70 per pound. Earlier, the seller had advertised somes 10s, 5s, and 2.5s. But he had sold those before I left town. 

The weight-buying trip cost me a swim. I had the choice to swim or lift when I got home but not time for both. Since I dropped all upper-body lifting last week to freshen up for the HOD, I chose Plate City and our dog Pee Wee. He loves to hang out when I lift. I also started mowing the back which needed it really bad. The mower, however, broke down on me. Sigh. At least I have someone I can call.

7/18 - 7/24

OK, I'm back. After leaving my training diary at home yesterday, I was double-dog sure I brought it with me today. So let's take a look at what happened in my training world last week.

Monday, I did nothing. Huh? Yeah, I had forgotten that until just now when I opened the pages of this composition book and saw the word "Nothing" written beside Monday. No numbers confirmed that I made poor choices that day.

Tuesday, however, I ran 4.3 miles and swam 2,550 yards. I did not lift, because I laid off the whole week on the upper body because I was racing Saturday. Let those swim muscle rest was the idea.

Wednesda I did me leg thing at the gym which means I did sets of squats seperated by sessions on the treadmill. I ran 1.3 miles and hit the legs hard, like I was mad at them. In the pool. I sent for 2,000 yards.

Thursday, we met at the pool and were all-- Tyler, Vicki, and me-- almost killed by monster bugs. I survived long enought to swim 1,100 meters. Later in the day, I ran 6.05 miles.

Instead of going on bed rest, which would have been good, I went for a run Friday morning. I am trying to rebuild me weekly mileage for some big goals this winter and next spring. I shuffled 3.6 miles before Penny and I headed out for Noxapater.

Saturday, I swam about 300 meters warming up and then swam a hard 800 meters in the Heart O' Dixie Triathlon. Our team won the relay division for the second year in a row. When I got home, I ran 5.57 miles to finish out my 20-mile week.

For the week, I

  swam 5,258 meters,

  lifted weights one time, and

  ran 20.82 miles

Now I need to turn in some big run numbers AND get back on the bicyle. Since Quadrathon I think I have ridden once and next Saturday in Bike, Blues[,] & Bayous. Yikes. Help me, Lord.

Nothing

Here I am in class writing about nothing. I left my training diary at home. Monday is the day I normally write my weekly training review. Some of my numbers are in my phone. Some of them are not. I might could write it but since we are in class and are in the In-class writing mode, I am writing about nothing.

Sometimes nothing is a pretty good topic. Luke, in that famous movie says, "Sometimes nothing nuthin' is a real cool hand." Sometimes it's the only topic you have in a writing class. This is Comp I, by the way. I am attempting to get them in shape to do some High Intensity Interval Writing later in the semester. Writing about nothing is a good way to build basic writing fitness.

Nothing is not really something without a double negative. Got that? Yeah, me neither. I just made that up and if it makes any sense, don't tell me because you will hurt my feelings. I am not smart enough to know what it means, and I don't want to be reminded of that.

So I'm about written out on nothing with nothing to say. If I had something to say, I wouldn't be writing about nothing. But I'm writing about nothing because I'm not writing about something.

Augustine would say nothing is nothing. I know, but there would be real meaning behind that statment. It sounds like a tautology, but really it is not. For instance, he said that evil does not exist. That sounds like an outrageous statement, but he was speaking philosophically. Real philosophically. What that means is that evil is not a substance because if it existed then God had to create it. Even knowing that, however, the statement that evil does not exist is hard to swallow. Since evil is so prevelant in our world, to say it does not exist seems unsatisfactory. 

But nothing might exist. Seperation from God could at least be described as nothing. In that case, nothing could be a real thing. Or, it could be like darkness. Does darkness exist? It is here, but is it a thing? I think most thoughtfull people would say that darkness is simply an absence of light and hence does not exist. But we have it nonetheless.

Then again, seperation from God could be is hell, and hell is a real thing, a real place. Sigh. Writing about nothing has put a blister on my brain. I think I will stop writing on nothing because that is really something.

Me 'n John Going to Ball Games

I told you, a few posts ago, about what it was like a few years back when John and I did long swimming. Let me give you a glimpse of something else John and I did: go to Alabama football games.

The first thing I want to make you aware of was his driving. He always wanted to drive, and we went in his car. I am not exxagerating in the least when I say that he often hit 100 miles per hour. One Hundred miles per hour!!!

Bear in mind that I am not a fast driver myself. When I was young and foolish, I did not drive fast. It's just not a part of my personality. Bear in mind also that John was an old man who could check out at any moment. Not only that, but a deer could run out in front of the car, a tire could blow, someone could pull out in front of us. It's not safe for anyone, no matter how good of a driver, to cruise a Mississippi highway-- any highway-- at 100-miles per hour.

When we got to the campus of the University of Alabama for the first time, it did not take us long to learn how to do a ball game there. Anywhere you can park, there is a bus stop nearby. Just get on the bus and don't have to say a thing or know a thing. You will be dropped at the school's quadrangle. From there, you can see the stadium a short walk away. And let me tell you about that quadrangle. There would be enough good-smelling, good-looking food to make you feel like and tempt you to become a beggar.

Once at the stadium, John liked to ask questions. Once we found which gate we were to go in, John would always keep asking people. I never understood that. When you know, you know. But John always kept asking where gate so and so was.

We always ate lunch somewhere near the stadium. There were all sorts of venders around selling hamburgers, chicken, barbecue and the like. We would find a spot on some grass and eat our pre-game meal. A huge Alabama bus would pull up, and the players would walk to the stadium while fans, twenty deep, would jostle for position to get a glimpse of the ballers up close and personal.

Then it was time to make our way to our seats which were always the cheap ones because that is all we could afford. We had to climb up those endzone seats that are as high as the largest mountains I have ever seen. On our first game there, we were two rows from the top which almost killed John to get there and almost scared me to death. Really. I am afraid of heights and when we got up there, I sat down and wrapped my elbows under the seat behing me. I felt like I would tumble down the seats like a fallen mountain climber. When the stadium filled up, I was no longer afraid because the people in front of me gave me a sense of safety. 

Another problem with being up that high was that you could not see the football. When the quarterback would drop back for a pass, you knew he as throwing the ball, but you could not see the ball. You were watching the recievers and trying to see it they looked like they caught something and were trying not to get tackled.

After the game, we then faced a long drive home. Bear in mind, I always had to preach the next day. John, I bet-- knowing him-- didn't drag out of bed until noon or later. But I did enjoy those trips, the games, the time with John. Last year, 2021, John wanted to go to the games, but I refused. I feared he would get COVID and die, and I would feel guilty the rest of my life. 

Now he is gone and I remember what my wife said to me one day. I was fussing about John. I was always fussing about John. "You're going to miss him one day," she told me. That day is now. I wish we could go to an Alabama game together one more time. But I know whose he is and where he is. I will see him again.

The 42nd Heart O' Dixie Triathlon

Saturday, July 23, 2022 was the 42nd Heart O' Dixie Triathlon, and for the second year in a row I joined with my cousin, Shay Darby, and a runner he recruited to field a relay team we hoped would have a chance of winning. Last year, we were the top group out of fifteen relay teams. It felt good to win something over there seeing I have been trying without success since 1980. Could we do it again?

The weekend started with Penny and me making our way to Noxapater, Mississippi to the home of Mary Darby, my only surviving aunt. We stayed with her and the stay was enjoyable indeed. My cousin, Paul Darby and his wife Leesa, came by and visited. That was nice. Also nice was the pulled pork they left which was put on the table for supper. I ate three sandwiches. Yum. 

We were at the lake at 5:30 a.m., not a moment too soon. I still only barely had time to warm up before trhe 6:30 a.m. start. The water was low and as a result the swim course was changed a bit. That meant wading in and out of the lake was more difficult than usual. To add to that, I was not in as good of shape as last year. I had shoulder flare ups several times. 

Once the race started, I felt the familiar panic. I always feel it: my heart rate goes through the roof, my breathing is labored and panicky, and my muscles feel weak and achy. Despite that, after a few minutes, I settled down, the panic left, and I got into a rythm. I passed a lot of swimmers and put what I had into it. When I climbed out, Shay met me and yelled, "This way, this way!" to make sure I got to the right spot at the transition area. He took the chip off my ankle and was gone in a flash. I love his competitive spirit.

Coming out of the water, looking for Shay.

Considering my training, I felt like my swim was OK. But compared to last year, it left a little to be desired. Last year, I clocked 13:36 for the half mile open-water swim. This year, I could only manage a 15:00. But I did my best.

Penny and I then hit the road to make our way to Transition 2 where we hoped to see Shay come in on the bicycle and Ben Carr go out on the run. Some jerk in a pickup truck, however, was holding up traffic. He was driving fifteen miles per hour and the cyclists were passing us and leaving us behind. We barely beat Shay to the transition area so we did get to see him come in. Ben Carr left like his tail was on fire. I don't know where Shay found this guy, but he is a runner.

The finish line of the Heart O' Dixie Triathlon

We made our way to the world-famous Neshoba County Fair and into the stands at the half-mile horse track to watch the miserable souls come in. I have been down there as an individual competitor maybe twenty times. I felt sorry for them and envious at the same time. Poor guys and gals. I observed when they came struggling by the finish line only to have another half mile around that red clay track to do without a trace of shade in sight.

Penny went out to shop, and when I saw Ben on the track I went down to the infield to watch him cross the line. We clocked a 2:23 and changed for what we thought was probably good enough to win. But you know what that baseball player said, "It ain't over till it's over."

We bit our fingernails and I chatted some with Brett Freeman who was there with his team. Micheal Boler, his runner, I found out, had suffered a full patellar tendon tear ten months ago and he ran those hilly seven miles. Not only that, but he must be 70 years old now. His pace was 9:02 per mile. I told him that he gets his Man Card punched for that. Finally all the relay teams were in and knew for sure that we had won.

 

The winning relay team: Ben Carr,
Zane Hodge, and Shay Darby.

When it was all over with, Penny and I drove back to Louisville with Vicki Jee in tow. She was there alone so we picked up her bicycle and took her back to the lake. Vicki was not happy with her performance, but I was and remain proud of her. She did the whole thing, and I respect anyone who crosses that line. I've done it. I know what it takes.

To sum up, I learned to just keep plugging along and always do your best. Several times while training, I felt like giving up. I had at least three shoulder flareups that reduced my training to baby stuff. I tried to train smarter not harder and to some extent that worked. Anway, we three did what we could and it was enough. Thank you, Jesus.

Monsters

Tyler, Vicki, and I met at the pool Thursday morning. I had planned an easy 1,300 to taper for the HOD. Things didn't go very well. First, there were two of those monster bugs at the pool entrance. Luckily Blessedly, they were dead. Those things are very ugly, extremely wicked looking, and unbeleivably aggressive. They come after you, and I never knew why, but always assumed it was to try to kill you. 

To make things worse, I forgot my goggles. Who does that? (raises hand meekly). Vicki loaned me a pair of hers which were tight, foggy, and tinted. Tinted goggles a 5:45 means swimming blind. I made a lap and a half, and the goggles broke. The strap either broke or came loose. Now I was still swimming blind.

Since I couldn't find the wall, flip turns were out so at the end of every lap, I stopped to turn around. Then I swam all over the place. When I finally made a 1,000 (or was it 1,100?), we all stopped at the wall. That's when a living monster bug got after me. My screaming gave Tyler and Vicki a jolt and a fright. When I splashed half the water out of the pool, I got out to go home. 

Since we are racing Saturday, Vicki and I were done, but T was going to do some more swimming. Then the monster bug got after Vicki. She survived and got out of the pool. Next-- you guessed it-- the bug started swimming after Tyler. He climbed out of the pool and left with us.

They call it a Giant Water Bug. Look it up. Allegedly, they have a nasty, painful bite that injects venom into its victim. I know it might sound sissy, but these things scare the doo doo out of me, and when one comes after me I sound like a frighted little girl. 

A few years back, there was one in the Twin Rivers pool as big as a sparrow. It was the thing of nightmares. Once he came after me, and I splashed the pool water low and screamed myself hoarse. Another time, one was on the wall on the east side of the pool. I saw him come off the wall as I swam by and he came after me, behind me. I had to outswim him, which I did, but he pursued like a little Jack Russell Terrior wanting to bite my ankle. The problem then when I got to the other end of the pool was, I didn't know where he was. 

Back then, when the pool had the lane lines on the bottom, those things would sometimes hide in the black line where they were almost impossible to see. Then when you swam over, they would emerge to try to kill you. Maybe that is why I was a little faster then than now. It was great interval training, swimming for your life.

When it comes to monster bugs, I am not a manly man. Go ahead and throw rocks, but I want my momma. Save me, please.

Rematch with Self

Wednesday I climbed back into the water for a rematch with myself. Tuesday's swim left me in a bit of a daze, confused, concerned. This time, I swam

  1,200 24:10

  400 for time 6:39 (1:40)

  300 easy

  2 X 25 no breath

  50 back

  total: 2,000 yards

You might notice that the structure of this practice is a lot like yesterday's. In fact, it is identical. The structure that is. The distances, however, are whittled down a bit. I cut 200 off the warmup, and 300 off the fast swim, 50 off the recovery swim following the hard effort. The rest was the same. Hence, I cut 550 yards off Tuesday's practice while still maintaining a little bit of quality, some quality that I hope wil help tune me for the Heart O' Dixie Triathlon.

Back home, you know what I did. Yeah, I waited for some cooling. It did not cool much, however, but I went out there nonetheless. At 6:00 p.m., I visited Plate City and did legs and some treadmill running. I performed a circuit of squats, box jumps, and running which I went through four times and then added a little more. After that, it was time to cool.

So, I had a pretty good day. That is likely the only time I will lift this week since I am racing Saturday. Thank you, Jesus, for the opportunity to compete and have some fun.

Old, Fat, and Out of Shape

I opened the door. The good one. And I went inside. But what I found wasn't pretty.

I went to the little pool, and immediately I did not feel well. I felt old, fat, and out of shape. Nevertheless, I swam

  1,400 28:42

  700 for time 12:05

  350 easy

  2 X 25 no breath

  50 back

  total: 2,550 yards

My times were slow, very slow. On the 700, I went through the first 100 in 1:45 and the 500 in 8:45. Remember last week I swam the 500 enroute to a 650 for 8:05. What happened? Did missing one day wreck me? My average per 100 on the 700 was 1:44. Last week on the 650 it was 1:37. Big difference. Maybe that practice will juice me up some. The only good thing about that 700 was that I negitive split it. But does that even count when the pace is way slow? I will do one more with some quality and then radical taper for Saturday's Heart O' Dixie.

Back home, I waited for the temps to come down a bit before I hit the road. Once out there, I felt old, fat, and out of shape. Penny and I took a trip over the weekend. I missed training Monday. We ate fish Monday night. Why does this always happen before an important event?

Sigh.

I shuffled for 4.3 miles. It was dreadful the way I felt and the pace I ran. I had to pick it up once to pass a walker. No. Kidding. Actually twice, and I only barely passed them.

Sigh.

Anyway, I am where I am. I will swim to the best of my ability Saturday. Or at least I pray I will. Help me, Jesus.

Two Doors

Monday was the start of a new week and guess what I did? Nothing. Huh? Yeah, I had one of those days when I got home, climbed into bed and stayed there. I know, I know. I should be beaten, slapped about the head and face, pounded until repentant for my serious lapse of . . . of whatever I was lacking yesterday. 

I do that from time to time, get lazy, unproductive, like my worse self. Often I don't beat myself up too much about it because I know that I really need the rest. Not this time. I was tired, but I needed another tough day in the pool since I am racing Saturday.

Huh? A tough day the week of a race?

Yeah. With swimming, recovery is much faster than running or cycling or lifting. I can train hard the first two days of the week when I race Saturday and begin the taper on Wednesday. If I did that running, however, I would surely get beaten by the fat ladies.

But there you have it. I am a man, flawed and weak and inconsistent. We all have those tendencies. I guess what makes us successful and productive, besides the grace of God, is how often we overcome our baser natures. Today, once more, I will come face to face with two doors: the door of minimal effort, and the door of hard effort. Which one will I open? Stay tuned and see.

7/11 - 7/17

I got my twenty miles in again and had a decent week in the pool, but the lifting was low and the cycling was non-existant. Monday, I swam 3,700 yards and ran 5.65 miles.  Tuesday I hit the pool for 2,850 yards and the road for 7.15 miles.

Wednesday I swam a mere 2,250 yards and the running was down to 2.66 miles. Still no lifting. I worked every morning and had registration Wednesday afternoon.

Thursday, Tyler and I met at the big pool before work. He had to leave early so we swam a short 1,500 long course meters. After work, I shuffled 1.32 miles on the treadmill at Plate City between sets of full body lifting. Yeah, I finally made it to the gym.

Friday, Penny and I went to Arkansas. We spent the night in Little Rock and I ran the streets around our motel for2.02 miles. Saturday morning, I hit the motel's fitness center for some treadmill running and made it 2.03 miles before I tapped out for breakfast.

For the week, I

ran 20.79 miles,

lifted weights one time, and

swam 9.541 meters

Sigh. Well, I guess that's better than a poke in the eye. Thank you, Jesus, for that much. Up next: the Heart O' Dixie Triathlon. I am on a team and will do the swimming. This week: some tough swimming Monday and Tuesday, then a radical taper to be fresh for the Saturday morning half mile of pain.

Out

If you've been wondering where I have been the past two days, the answer is "out." The wife and I took a little road trip to Little Rock so I was knocked out of posting and some training for Friday and Saturday. We had a nice trip, and I did run Friday night in the neighborhood of our motel. Saturday morning, however, I opted to use our facilitie's fitness room for a treadmill run and some dumbbell work.

When we got home Saturday, I had time to do something else, and I thought about Plate City. But I did not have the will. Tired, I took a nap and studied some for Sunday. Maybe I can hit it hard next week. Maybe.

Almost like a Regular Job

No, I didn't get to the weightroom. I worked in the morning, then had to work registration at Greenwood in the afternoon. Our VP let us go at 5:00 p.m. so it was almost like working a regular job. Since I am priortizing the swim this week to get ready for the Heart O' Dixie Triathlon, I went to the pool first thing after I was finally free. I swam

  1,200 23:44

  10 X 50 @ :57

  4 X 25 no breath 22, 21, 23, 22

  150 back 3:26

  total: 2,250 yards 

Then I went out for a short shuffle, short because I did 5.65 and 7.15 over the past two days. My legs were feeling it so I only went 2.62, and then it was time to go in for the night. 

Training this week has not been what I wanted. Penny and I are going out of town Friday so I have been trying to cram in my running. I will have to run tonight, run Friday morning, and run Saturday morning to get my requisite miles in.

Maybe Tomorrow

Tuesday was another pretty good training day. I worked, got home, and ate lunch. Then I went to the pool and did some quality for the first time in several weeks. How did that happen? It happened through training and completing Quadrathon, laziness, and general fatigue. Not only that, but I have had some mild shoulder issues. Anyway, I swam

  1,050 20:59 (2:00)

  650 for time 10:33 (1:37)

  1,050 20:35 (1:58)

  2 X 25 no breath 22, 22

  50 back 1:11

  total: 2,850 yards

Monday's mostly straight swim was to re-establish my fitness base. Tuesday, the 650 was for the Heart O' Dixie Triathlon. I felt my lack of conditioning a bit. Around 400 my rear deltoid muscles and my upper lats and triceps began to hurt. Fine, that was just what I needed. I glanced at my watch off the wall after 500. I was at 8:05 which for me, swimming alone, is a pretty good time. That let me know that my fitness is not too bad. I should be able to swim in the 14 minute range at the HOD. 

I then went home and rested a bit and waited for it to get later so I could run. I went out at 6:07. That was the hottest time of the day. Yeah, the temps went from 95 at 5:00 p.m. to 96 at 6:00. Huh? It happened.

I shuffled for 7.15 miles. Not fast. Not pretty. But pretty steady. By the time I had been out there for forty minutes, the temps didn't feel too bad. The shadows are long that time of day and the sun, when it does hit you, is not like a heater anymore. 

I still did not get to lift. There are only so many hours in the day and only so much energy. This is beginning to irritate me. I need the gym.

Myabe today. Scratch that. I have to work registration in Greenwood from 3:00 unitl 6:00. !!!! Maybe tomorrow. Thank you, Jesus, for hope.

Comp I

 

A Solid Two

I determined not to set an alarm. but to get up if I woke up and workout if I felt like it. I woke up, but I did not feel like it so I lay in bed and rested. Then I got up and went to work. 

I left a little early from work because a bunch of my second class studenta (pun intended) had heart stress tests at 11:00. They are mostly football players and have to pass a physical before they can put on pads. 

In town, I dropped my computer cord by TBK Repairs to get it fixed and then went by the Greenwood Center to deliver a book. After that, it was home for lunch with my bride and our cats.

I went to the pool early and swam 

3,600 !:10:23 (1:57

2 X 25 no breath  22, 22

50 back 1:10

total: 3,700 yards = 3,381 meters

That was a good practice. It didn't have any quality, but since my volume has been so low, I thought I needed to revisit my fitness base. The Heart O' Dixie is coming up, and I have this week to get in shape.

I did something I had not done it a while. I ran at 6:00 p.m. It is about two degrees cooler then and the shadows are pretty long. Streets that are normally 60% shade are by then 100% shade. Yehaa. I shuffled for 5.65 miles so I had a fairly solid day, just no lifting. How to work it all in? Praise God I am still in the game. I'll try again today to do it all.

7/4 - 7/10

I had another solid running week, but I did not ride at all and my swimming was a little down. Monday was the 4th of July so I attempted to run to Hillbilly Heaven. I didn't make it, but I ran seven miles and walked 4.55. That wasn't a bad way to start the week. Of course I didn't do anything else but eat.

Tuesday I followed my long trek up with a short one of 1.7 miles and 1,000 yards in the pool. I do not remember why I failed to lift, but I did. Not. Lift.

Wednesday, however, I finally hit the gym as well as the road. On the road, I did 1.39 miles and in the gym, I worked everything, push, pull, and legs.

Thursday I only swam and then only 1,700 meters. Friday I did another long one going 14.55 of which 9.15 was running. And Saturday was another short run, 1.68 miles, full body weights in the heat, and 1,100 yards in the pool.

For the week, I

swam 3,710 meters,

rode zero miles (but I did spin 8:15 on the stationary)

walked 9.95 miles, and

lifted weights two times

I guess you can see that the swimming was way down and the lifting frequency took a hit also. Maybe I can pull it all up this week. Thank you, Jesus, that I am still trying to get it done.

118

Saturday has come and gone and with it another week. I slept in a bit and then did the slow start thing: coffee, study, blogging, breakfast. I did not go outdoors until almost noon when I took a short 1.68-mile run. It was already pretty hot. I checked my phone when I got home and the dew point was 80. What!?!!?!?!? That is high as I remember it ever being. I am sure it has been that high before, but I don't remember it. By the time the day was over, the temperature had hit 98 and with that dew point, the heat index was 118.

Yeah, I got out in that. Why let the birds have all the fun? Plate City at least offered me some shelter from the sun. And the big fan was a necessity, like necessity to keep from dying. Literally. Since my week has been so crazy, I did push, pull, and legs. Oh yeah, full body in 118. That plus mowing the back yard and moving some concrete blocks. When it was over, I was one tired dude.

Heck no, I didn't stop there. Did you really think I would? Yes, I went to the pool, but I had little left to give the water. I swam

200 (the stopped to change some adjustments on my watch)

900 (the stopped because I am no good like that)

total: 1,100 yards

I was as done as a burnt steak and went home to crash for the rest of the night. Another really hot day survived thrived. Thank you, Jesus.

Friday Adventure Run

I pondered long and hard about where to run Friday. Since I have some long-term goals that involve some really long running, I am beginning to work on my endurance. That's a little bit of a problem this time of year. It's hot, very hot, and running long is troublesome. For years I have said that winter is our reward for running through the summer. When winter comes, a little bit of fluid goes a long way and one can run and run and run.

I can remember a time when shade never entered my mind. I ran through the summer of 1980, a year so hot that cars would stop and watch me run, the people inside with their mouths open in amazement. I wondered then what all the fuss was about. Now I know. But those days are long gone. 

In my mind, I had mapped out a route that involved Grand Blvd, East Adams, and East Monroe. That is as much shade as you can find in Greenwood and still move. But I was also thinking of a run out Humphrey Highway and off on a side road. I wanted to find a way to get on the Pelucia Creek levee (the north side), east of the highway.

After scourering Google Maps for hours, I found one. At least the map showed one. But I have learned to be suspicious of maps, especially Google Maps. First, the old Mississippi State Road Maps had several significant innacuracies. When I was in my bicycle riding craze phase, I spend many a Friday trying to find roads that did not exist. And on Google Maps, I long ago learned that every turnrow that every existed is on there. Some turnrows are permanent and some are not. Even the ones that are not are on Google Maps. I have learned that one the hard way.

The route I found on my computer stemmed from a road that peels off Humphrey Highway to the east and winds through the county and alledgedly goes up the side of the levee and mile or two off the highway. Why was this something I am interested in? Right off the highway, the north levee has a gate and some threatening verbage on some signs. I have run the other side, and the levee on the west side of the highway, I have run both sides. I want to run the north levee from the highway to the Carroll County hills.

Running through this copse was a delight.

So I decided to scrap my shade plans and do an adventure run out there looking for a way to the levee that skirts the gates and threats. To attempt to deal with the heat, I left running from the Hideout at 6:37 a.m. It was much cooler then, but of course it heated up. I made my way through town, across Highway 82, and out Humphrey Highway. Then I hit made the turn onto County Road 166, commonly known as Mitchel Road. I had been on that road once, about forty-plus years ago. Charlie Turner and I once went hunting somewhere out there.

A road peeling off to the side.
Where does that go?

The road is chip seal for about a mile or two, then turns gravel and slowly loses its rocks. I saw some pretty sights: ditches, wildflowers, a deer, woods, crops, and space. The sense of space that I sometimes get when adventure running rural delta can be amazing. Eventually, the gravel road became a lightly travelled turnrow that ended in a soybean field. I could not even see the levee. I did see a row of trees a hundred meters or more beyond where the turnrow ended. There was a gate on the row which experience has taught me probably followed a ditch. Should I walk through the field over that and cross the gate?

This is where the road ended.

Since I was already tresspassing, I decided that walking across and field and crossing a gate was more tresspassing than most landowners would tolerate. I turned in defeat and headed back the way I came. I was miles and miles without an square inch of shade. By then it was very hot.

I saw an amazing number of wildflowers.

Slowly I shuffled back towards the highway eventually finding a patch of shade. I stopped, took my cap off, and stood there panting for a while. Back on the highway, I had a bit over a mile to 82 and then onto Bowie Lane. At that point, I wasn't having fun anymore and just wanted to be home. Finally I got there. I had survived another day of trying to run long in the summer. I had covered 14.55 miles, 9.15 of which were running. The rest were spent walking in an attempt to control my body temperature which is not easy to do when the dew point is 77.

A scenic overlook along my Friday frolic. You 
can pull off here and gaze into the ditch
three feet below. I heard that someone
once took a picture of a turtle from
the overlook. Amazing.

Next week, Penny and I plan to be on the road gong on a mini trip. But the Friday after that will find me somewhere trying to run long. I might have to do the shade route, however, because these heat indexes of 110 plus are getting really old. It's not 1980, but I'm not 24 anymore either. Heck, I'm 66 but too stuborn to quit. Praise God. Sometimes stubborness is a good thing.

Can you see the deer back there? Its belly
was above the thirty-inch beans.

I Thought a Lot

Tyler and I met at the pool early Thursday, 5:45 to be exact. We warmed up with 1,200. I didn't feel anything, nothing bad that is. I confessed to T that I was too lazy to do the countown set which I had thought we would do. What we did was 4 X 100 pretty hard. I then cooled down with an easy 100. T did 400 to close his practice out with an even 2,000 while I only had 1,700.

I made it to class on time, taught my two classes, and left for home in a high gear. Home, I got in bed, napped, took it easy. I thought about mowing the lawn. I thought about taking a bicycle ride. I thought about running. I thought about going to Plate City. I guess you can see, I did a lot of thinking. A nice air-conditioned house, a soft bed, and a little time is just right for thinking.

Praise God for an active thought life.

Full Day

Wednesday was a big day. I got up a little early and went to Plate City for both a push and a pull workout. Monday was the fourth and that messed things up a bit. Tuesday I went back to work plus I needed to mow the lawn. I ran and swam but something had to go. What went was the gym. Wednesday morning I worked out while Pee Wee hung out with me. It was nice and I had time to shower, take some nutrition, and make it to work on time.

At work, I had a full day. Not only did I teach two classes, one of which is almost twenty students, but we had registration from 1:00 until 4:00. For some reason, that always stresses me. We got overwhelmed with students (and that is a good thing) and as usual, every student I attempted to help had some kind of issue above my pay grade. When it was over, I drove home a tired man. 

Tyler texted about swimming. My legs were due, and I knew I did not have the energy for both. I opted to lift and Tyler and I scheduled a swim for Thursday morning. At Plate City, I hit my squats and did some shuffling on the treadmill. When it was over, I was really tired, ate my supper in silence, and went to bed. Thank you, Jesus, for a full and productive day. 

New Normal

Tuesday I started my new normal for the rest of the summer. I went to the main campus for two classes: Comp I and Beginning English. I actually enjoyed my morning and was back home by around 12:30. Since I needed to mow the lawn, I missed my gym work. After the mowing, I ran in the 111 degree heat index, but it was only for 1.7 miles.

I went to the pool. Vicki was in the big one, but I saw kids out there, and I don't mix well with kids when I am trying to train so I went into the little pool. My big plans to bust out a hard practice did not materialize because my shoulder flared up again. I swam

2 X 25

450

600 25/25 free/back

total: 1,100 yards

That was not much volume and no quality at all, but I ran a little and swam a little and a little is always a lot better than nothing. I enjoyed my students, and am glad I decided to take the classes. Thank you, Jesus.

4th of July

My plan was to start running about 9:00 a.m. on July the 4th. Somehow I lazied around the house until 10:00. I'm getting pretty good at that. By then it was already pretty hot. I left on foot headed for Hillbilly Heaven and shuffled along until I hit four miles. I was a little bit out Humphrey Highway by then. Slowing to a walk, I attempted, unsuccessfully, to lower my body temperature. I walked a mile and then ran another one. 

It was then that I checked the weather on my phone. The temperature was only 89, but the dew point was 78. Dude, a 78 dew points is crazy high, hurting high, dangerously high. I was beginning to experience the fact that my hear rate was not going down too much when I walked. It would hit 170 while running and drop to 152 while walking. Huh? Yeah, that is one of the things a high dew point will do to you. Your body just can't cool itself and the heart beats ever harder and faster in an attempt to pump blood to the surface where sweat evaporation can pull away body heat. Only with a high dew point, the sweat does not evaporate.

Instead of going up the big paved hill, I turned on the old Browning Road to cut some distance. I was beginning to understand that getting there was going to be a chore. Penny texted me when I was about nine and a half miles in and asked it I was OK. I said yes, but that was only partly true. I desperatelywanted to make it, but by the time I hit the gravel hill, I knew I was in trouble. I stopped in a little patch of shade half way up the steep climb and tried to cool down some. That's when I sent a text asking for her to dispatch her brother Hank to come pick me up.

You can probably tell that I was about done. 
I was sitting in a patch of
shade trying not to die.

Hank found me  and he even had his air conditioner on high. I was not ashamed. It's better to get a ride than to die. Live to run again another day. Thank you, Jesus.

6/27 - 7/3

It was a pretty good week, I think. Sometimes it is only after I write this post that I am fully able to comprehend if my training week was sufficient or insufficient. Huh? Yeah, often I think I tore it up but when I look at the final numbers, I am less than impressed.

Monday I got started right with a 20.14 mile bicycle ride. That day also saw me lifted some weights, do a short run of 1.29 miles, and swim 1,650 yards. Four workouts in one day is a strong day even if the workouts are a little slim.

Tuesday I swam 2,100 yards and did my Wade Road Loop of 7.26 miles. That day was a little light in the pool and totally minus the gym, but who can argue against 7.26 miles of road work? Wait a minute. I did lift so it was a pretty strong day.

Wednesday, Vicki and I rode longish going for 32.48 miles. That's real riding right there, I don't care who you are. I did legs at Plate City along with some treadmill for 1.11 miles. I even made it to the pool wheree I swam 1,200 long course meters.

For the fourth day of the week, I lifted some weights and met Tyler at the big pool. We swam 2,000 meters with some quality.

Friday I did my fun adventure run shuffling 9.01 miles and walking 2.02 miles. I had fun, spent some time on my feet and got the inspiration for several more runs out that way.

I closed the week out with some upper body lifting as well as some leg work at Plate City. Also, I ran a mere 1.52 miles.

For the week, I

cycled - 52.62 miles,

swam - 6,627 meters,

Skiergged - 8:05 minutes,

lifted weights - five times, and 

ran - 20.19 miles

That is a solid week, my first twenty miler in that past seven. When you add the cycling and the leg work at the gym, that's a lot of volume. The swimming was a little short, but I was having a shoulder flareup. I did not quit, but I cut back a lot, and I think I am now over it. Praise God. Next week, This week, I start back to work.

The End of the Week

I slept late. Besides drinking coffee, I did little of value. Sometimes, however, a little rest is of great value. Late morning saw me dragging out in my new Hokas for a short shuffle to finish out my first twenty-mile week in six or seven. Yeah, somehow I got sidetracked on the running, but I'm back on the road again.

Besides running, I intended to swim. Never making it to the pool, I did make it to Plate City where I did a pull and leg workout. Since I ran over nine miles Friday, I did a low volume workout for the legs. It was, however, not without some intensity pushing the low rep sets up to within twelve pounds of my personal record.

Although I am not a fan of maxing out often, I felt so good when doing deadlifts that I went ahead and got myself a new world record at 273 pounds up from my 272 of the Crazy Man Quadrathon only a month ago. Those micro plates are coming in handy.

Thus I finished up a strong week which I will write about tomorrow. Praise God.

Friday Frolic

Friday morning I went out to have some fun. I had been looking at Google Maps, one of my favorite pastimes, and realized there was an area nearby that I had not explored. The area you ask? Between Highway 7 and Viking Road (formerly known as Medart Road) is a place of which I have little knowledge. Why not take a run out there? After all, Viking is building a new road through that area. I'll go see it.

I left our driveway at 8:55 a.m. and shuffled over the bridge, onto Market Street, and out Grenada Blvd. I had run that before. Then I crossed the highway and ran out Grenada Blvd Extended. I had done that before. But when I came to the end of GBE and crossed Highway 7, I entered the new Viking Road. I had not done that before.

One of two breaks that crosses the new road.

Immediately I was struck by the sense of adventure, of seeing something, someplace I had never been, seen. The road is wide and although paved, has a wild feel to it seeing there is nothing but nature out there.

The new road going off into the wild

I shuffled along in the heat. The dew point was 73. I didn't check the heat index, but it must have been 104 or more. Not seeing a single automobile, person, or house out there was nice. For one thing, it meant I could take a pee with ease anytime I wanted.

Basically, there are a few tupelo gum breaks out there, some cutover timber, a little farm land (soybeans), woods, a sea of lilly pads, and two gravel roads that look like they are rarely travelled. Can you spell A N O T H E R R U N? 

After five miles, I decided to walk one. I am going to start mixing some walking in to lengthen my long runs and build time on the feet. I have some goals that involve some really long stuff. I walked a mile which brought me on top of the new overpass. Overpass? Yeah, the road goes over the City of New Orleans railroad track and then dumps onto Viking Road.

On Viking Road, I learned something valuable if you ever run out there. The road has rocks glued to the tarmac with tar. Huh? Yeah. Usually if you kick a rock in the road while running, the rock goes scooting up ahead of you. On this road, if you kick a rock, you have to have some good hip flexors to keep from face planting on the pavement.

After making my way back over the bidge, I hit the Yazoo River Trail to get a chance to pee and experience some shade.

The Yazoo River Trail Note how the river 
coming out of its banks has silted up
around the bench and the base of
the tree.

I walked a half mile on the trail before resuming a soft shuffle. The run was interrupted, however, when I almost stepped on a snake. The snake peed at me. I am not making that up. He shot pee in my direction that went about thirty inches into the air.

Sorry for the not so good picture, but your
phone is always ready to take a
photograph until it's something
you really want to get.

After the trail, I went out Hades Road where I walked another half mile and went home on another half mile of shuffling. The whole time I was running, however, my mind was on the new-to-me area. I kept thinking of scenes like this.

Another Tupelo Gum break. You can't really
see it, but there is a small lake back there.

And this.

Belive me, this photo does not do justice to
the amazing beauty of these lily
pad blooms.

I am going back out there soon, maybe next Friday. A couple of gravel roads out there have been singing to me like the sirens of old. Thank you, Jesus, for a nice experience and the idea that there are a couple of more experiences out there. Life is good.

Morning Swim and Running Adventures

For the first time this year, for the first time ever, Tyler and I met at Twin Rivers at 6:00 a.m. John and I used to swim in the mornings a lot. I had forgotten how peaceful things are the pool that time of day. The only people we saw wee birds and, and they didn't get in our way. 

We had a simple practice: two sets, a 1,000 meter warmup, and a 1,000 meter countdown set. I swam the warmup in 21:10, a little quick for me because T was pushing it. On the countdown set, I swam 20:50. Since that set ended with 125 meters easy, I figured that was an adequate cool down. That was it, 2,000 meters with some quality and not a hint of shoulder pain. Yehaa.

I did a few more books, moving some out of the backseat of my truck and getting them placed. Then I went to Plate City where I did a push workout, some Skiergging, and a one-mile walk on the treadmill. A one-mile walk. Yeah, I plan to build that up a bit over time. I hit the legs really hard on Wednesday and plan to run long on most Fridays, so Thursday is going to be easy-on-the-legs day. 

So it was a good day, two solid workouts and some lower-body recovery. Not only that, but it rained and we needed that rain. Last week, I irrigated the front yard and was about to start on the back. The front needed it again, but the back was dying. The rain was a God send. Now I will not have to irrigate for a few weeks at least. 

Now I feel free, free to strap on my pack and hit the road and that is exactly what I plan to do. There is a road not too far from the Hideout and I plan to run it today. I feel a touch of adventure in my belly. That is incredible that I can still find places to run around here that I have never set foot on. Last night as I was lying in bed, I was thinking of two more running adventures that I can take from my front door. Life is good. Thank you, Jesus.