2014 in Review

Overall 2014 was a good year, though it was one of loss. My wife and I have had a lot of struggle in our lives, but the last two have brought us something God has mercifully shielded us from for much of our earthly existence: sorrow. Over past year, and a little beyond, we suffered the loss of my dad, her mom, two beloved pets, and one of our old, faithful church members. Also, closing our church and the aftermath of that was a loss unlike anything either of us were familiar. Still, looking back, I call it a good time in our lives. Though we suffered losses, we also were blessed with much gain during the last twelve months.

We have gained some new friends. John and Patsy Misterfeld are people God has graciously placed in our lives. John is my main training partner at Twin Rivers. He is a bit old and arthritic, and while I swim, he treads water in the diving well. But John is serious about his training and mine, and he will stay in the pool as long as I am there. Sometimes he even goads me on to swim longer than I had prepared for. He has a genuine desire to see me succeed. Last fall, we did a four hour swim. He was there until the end. I told him that day that at some point in the future we would look back on these times as “the good old days.”  One thing I have lived long enough to learn is that every season in your life is in some way special. Embrace the present, cherish the past, and look forward to the future. Besides helping my swim training, John makes me pray. We start and end each session in prayer, and if I don’t pray enough, he will jump in and pray some more. I need that influence in my life right now.

We also reconnected with some old friends, Daniel and Mary Jane Collins. Daniel is a lot like that fellow me n Poot met in Carroll County in 1971. He is always pondering some deep intellectual problem. Every now and then he likes to play Socrates on my and lead me into some discussion he is prepared for and I am not. Happily he doesn’t do that too often. But he is a good influence on me. John makes me pray and train. Daniel makes me think.

Another plus for the year is the reemergence of my running. Starting in early 2009, I had four years of bad running. Four years. At my age, I don’t have too many years to lose. I gave up several times during those years because I could no longer bear the emotional turmoil of not being able to run anymore. But out of habit I just kept putting on my shoes and heading out the door. Last year I started coming around just in time to do myself in with my ill-fated attempt at the Great Noxapater Journey Run. This year, however, I am really getting back to the place where I can go out and have fun like when Buddy Bones and I do adventure marathons.  

We found a new church home. Our little church closed in May after twenty-three years of ministry there. Penny and I then set out on a quest to find a new place to worship. We found it the last place we looked. Obviously it would have been the last place we looked because why keep looking if you found it? The point I am not making well is that it was the last place on our list. I got my first teaching job that way. I made a list of twenty-three schools in the order, from one to twenty-three, that I wanted to work for them with one being my first choice. I either talked to or visited the first twenty-two and decided I did not want to work for number twenty-three. I wept, was despondent, and gave up hope of securing employment for the upcoming school year. Then, number twenty-three called me. To make a short story long, I went to work for number twenty-three and it was one of the most enjoyable years of my life. Centerville Baptist Church was like that. It was on our list but the very last one. We visited. We stayed. When a friend of mine recently inquired about the church I said, “They love Jesus and they like to eat. I can get along with that.”

God blessed us with other things in 2014:

• Our grandchildren gets better looking everyday.
• He gave us Baby Kitty.
• I am filled with hope and enthusiasm for the Chicot Challenge IV.
• We still have Momma.
• We still have Penny’s dad.
• We still have each other. Thirty-seven years and counting.

Week of 10/13-10/19

For a week following a big race, the last seven days were really nice. I only swam two times for a total of 7,300 meters, but the outdoor pool is still open and Ms Debbie says she is leaving up until November 1. Yehaa. John has dropped out of the swimming, but that is OK. We, John and I, start lifting weights today at Plate City Gym. Speaking of Plate City, sometime back I promised a blog post on it. I keep forgetting. With company coming, however, I will snap some photos and write a post on what I think is the best backyard gym in the country.

With the cooling weather and the open water season over, I plan on ramping up my running. I am getting the itch for the Mississippi Trail 50, since we have some unfinished business together, me and that race. A few years back, I registered for the 50-miler but had to tap out after only 33.4 due to going in injured. I did get credit for a 50K finish, but I want that belt buckle all 50-mile finishers get. All I have to do is pay an entry fee, train like an Olympian for several months, travel to south Mississippi, and run 50 miles. If I do all that, I can get a belt buckle. Sure beats shopping at Walmart.

As stated earlier, today I resume my weight training, the major goal of which is to prepare for next year's Beetsdown. I work yearound to defeat Randy Beets, and I am refusing to let his no-show at the Suck take the shine off my win. I did a little weight work last week just to get my body ready to go. Besides the weights, I hope to get in the water at least three times, run a lot, and eat better. I am still a bit overweight from my disastrous journey run of last December. But now I have some goals and I am as excited about training as I have ever been. Bad news for Randy Beets.

Return to Normalacy

With the Beetsdown campaign over and the Swim the Suck completed, life has started to return to normal.

Sort of.

There is still the little matter of a Big ASS investigation that is ongoing right now. I'm not worried about that, though, because I did not poison Randy Beets so how could anyone prove I did?

By normal, maybe what I really mean is the end of my open water season has come, and my yardage is dropping like the stock market. Furthermore, my yard grass is slowing its growth rate. That means my athletic focus is shifting back to running and weightlifting.

Monday was cool and rainy so I shuffled on the treadmill for 2.54. By the way, that is the only time I run on a treadmill-- when it is raining and too cool to get wet. If it is warm enough I will run in a downpour, but from here to next summer rain means at least some pretty cool wind it you are wet and partially disrobed.

Tuesday I went to Twin Rivers. The water was 75, but John has no will for cool water swimming this fall. Last year I couldn't keep him out of the pool, and we swam down into the 60s before Miss Debbie drained our concrete pond. Seems one of his doctors warned him about cold water swimming and now he just won't do it. I have never been to medical school, but I would bet the house that no physician in the country ever took a course or even had a single lecture on cold water swimming. In short, I am saying doctors weigh in on things they know nothing about. At least this one did. I warmed up with 1,000 and then swam 4 X 600 @ 13:10 on a new countdown pattern of 150/50. This was a nice set that I will use next year in my Beetsdown training. After the pool I ran 2.05 miles and did some light weightlifting, just trying to prepare my body for resuming strength work next week.

David Stroud

Wednesday was the MDCC 5K. I have missed this the last couple of times because of injuries. I recruited some of my students to make the trip from Greenwood to Moorhead. We met at the coliseum and Chief Manuel bused us out Macon Lake Road where he dumped us and we ran back to the flag pole. If I had not twisted my students' arms, I would have won, but instead I came in second behind David Stroud of my Monday/Wednesday Comp I class. My pace dipped from my last 10K tempo that had me a bit disturbed. I know, it was only a 5K, but typically there is only thirty seconds or fewer between 10K and 5K race pace. I averaged 8:10 and that made me feel like at least I am on the road back to better running. At my last 10K, I averaged 9:13 per mile and that had me so upset I had a long sit-down, self-bashing and loathing/planning session.

Thursday I was back in the Twin Rivers pool and the water had only dropped two degrees. I expected a more drastic plument since we had a forty-somthing night. Usually a fifty-something night will take two degrees away so I was expecting three or more. There is a huge differrence between 75 and 73. Seventy-three is still nice, but I can't stand around at all or I get cold quickly. After warming up with 1,200, I did 22 X 100 @ 2:00 and then 10 X 50 @ 1:00 with small paddles.

It is now Friday morning and I have a dog in the bed with me, but Luvie and Baby Kitty are attempting to destroy the house. If they get up here, the day may be lost. But what I am thinking now is a long adventure run in the hills. There is a road not too far from here that I haven't been on in years. Think I'll ride over and park the truck and see what I can find.

More Beetsdown Training

I am late posting the Beetsdown training for last week (9/15-9/21). It was a mixed bag as far as training goes. I ran little and swam a lot but in a strange way. There was not intensity in any of my pool session. I am not sure why it turned out that way. Maybe fatigue had me where I couldn't stomach the idea of busting it up and down the pool so I just swam. I always enjoy a long leisurely swim no matter how tired I am or am not.

John was out of pocket Monday and at Twin Rivers I just got in and started doing laps and did 9,000 meters straight before I tapped out to go to work. After night class, I ran 4.06 miles in the dark. I am still enjoying running in the dark. The streets are deserted, the tree frogs still sing, and occasionally I see a bat swoop down presumably chasing a bug.

Tuesday John was back and he wanted to go four hours. That sounded good to me so once again I just swam laps, no sets.. I went for 11,000 in 3:53 before I tapped out. John, who got in before me, also got out after me and finished with 4:40. I was so fatigued that I didn't even run that night.

Wednesday my right pec was sore. WHAT!?!?!? Remember all  that from last spring? I stopped after only 1,400. I didn't swim or run Thursday but by Friday I was feeling good and I swan 8,200 straight. Pec OK.

Saturday was the Oaks, which I wrote about in my last post. Besides the 10K, I walked back to meet my daughter and ran the final half mile with her. Then I did the kids Fun Run so I wound up with 7.55 miles for the day, but no running between Monday and Saturday. How smart is that?

For the week, I

ran 11.65 miles,
rode my bike to work four times (one half mile each way),
walked 2.88 miles, and
swam 29,600 meters.

All things considered, I am still on track to do some a major Beetsdown on Sir Randy come October 11. One possible issue: I have a new pilot. Forrest can't make the trip, and Justin Nunnery has graciously agreed to help me. I am sure Justin will do a fine job, and I am happy he has hopped on the bandwagon to help take down Randy Beets. Forrest, however, had accumulated some experience, and he really helped me defeat the tall guy last year. In the last race, I was getting worried when Forrest said, "Relax, Dad, you're gaining on him." Later he reported: "I will tell you when he feeds. Then sprint." Not only that, but he has seen me swim so much that he can recognize me in the mass of thrashing water that is the start of the Suck. He finds me fast while some swimmers go miles without their pilot. Justin did watch me swim 17-miles last June, so I hope that translates into early recognition.

Off the Cliff

Friday mornings are made for coffee drinking and blogging. That's why my sister had me pick up Ollie this morning. Life is tough.

This week's training has been like a yo-yo. That's not accurate. It has been more like a cliff. I scaled the walls then fell off the rock face. Monday started with me getting in alone and just swimming. John was out of pocket and I didn't feel up to my Beetsdown set with him gone. It really does help to have him there when I swim hard. He usually watches when I am putting the hammer down and that gives me that little extra humph I need to pull off tough sets.

So I just swam, up and down, down and up. I figured I would come up with a practice while I warmed up. After 2,000 meters I was still working on a workout scheme so I just kept swimming. Then I realized I could get more distance in if I just swam and didn’t have the down time between sets so I just kept swimming.

After 3,000 I was doing the math and realized that if the kids came in at 4:00 I would be very close to my biggest swim of last week which was 7,200. So after 4,000 I just kept swimming.

For some reason, when I do a straight swim in the pool, everything seems to speed up after 4,000 so I just kept swimming. When I hit 5,000 I was still doing mental math and was hoping the kids would be a little late. Maybe they wouldn’t come at all, so I just kept swimming. When I hit 6,000 I tried to pick the pace up so I could break 7,000 before 4:00 but that didn’t work so I just kept swimming.

I hit 7,000 right around 4:00 with no kids in sight. I decided on 7,500 but when I got there I just kept swimming. Then I decided on 8,000 but when I got there, I just kept swimming. I was sure by then that the kids weren’t coming and neither was John, so I just kept swimming.

At 9,000 meters I did not just keep swimming but got out and went home. The swim was nice. The swim was long. The swim was nice and long. The kids were gone. Thank you God.

Comp I that night was very pleasant. Normally night classes are better than day classes. The students who sign up for night classes usually have jobs and families and are not there to play around. We are writing our second paper on diabetes. I rode my bike to school, further Beetsdown training. When I got home I went out for a Beetsdown run. Poor Randy, he can’t catch a break.

Tuesday John was back with a vengeance and said I had to beat yesterday. That's what he told me on the phone. When I got to the pool, he had already been in for thirty-minutes. I swam three hours and fifty-three minutes straight without nutrition or water. When I got out with 11,000 meters. John piddled around and got another ten minutes in. After I got home, we had to make a trip to the hospital in Grenada, so I didn't get to run.

Wednesday Johna and I met up at the pool and my right pec was pretty sore. I stopped after only 1,400 and after work I just couldn't make myself go out for a run.

Thursday I was headed out the door for the pool when my phone went off. I had to attend to some business and when I finally was able to make it to Twin Rivers, the sky had filled with dark clouds and lightning threatened to kill unwary swimmers. Disgusted, I went home and ate four Nutty Buddies, and three Oatmeal Cream Pies. Then I warmed up some sloppy joe mix and ate it like soup. All of that wasn't enough so I ate a sandwich and a loaded potato. Then I found the cookies my wife had hidden and I murdered a handful of them. Jeez Louise, I was grossing myself out, but not enough, so I ate some pecans and crackers and mayonnaise. I ran out of mayonnaise so I licked the spoon clean and finished off the crackers with half a jar of peanut butter. I hate myself. Did I mention all the candy I ate at work? Like I said earlier, I fell off the cliff. John and I are supposed to train today if I can waddle my fat butt out the door.

Decisions, Decisions

It's Friday morning, it's raining, and my coffee is hot. What do I usually do on Friday mornings when it rains? You guessed it: blog.

The week started slow Monday with John and me both being ill. Somewhere around 10:00 pm, however, I suddenly felt normal. Tuesday, not wanting to overdo things and relapse, I only swam at Twin Rivers.

1,200
4 X 500 1-3 with small paddles.
Total: 3,200.

By Wednesday I felt confident enough to run for 7.62 miles and lift some weights. The downside to that was I had little energy for the pool and only did

1,500
10 X 50 @ 1:15
10 X 150 @ 3:15 (8 with medium paddles and 2 with small paddles)
Total: 3,500 meters.

Thursday I worked in the yard and lifted more weights. Then

1,200
4 X 600 r 1:00 (400 with floating 25, 100 easy, 100 as 50 hard/50 easy)
The 600s felt challenging but good. I think that will be a good Swim the Suck set. My times were
1 - 11:25
2 - 11:19
3 - 11:24
4 - 11:42
I finished with 300 small paddles.
Total: 4,000 meters.

Now I'm in a conundrum about what to do today. The rain is pouring and I feel like a nap. Even the wild little tabby kitty is curled up asleep at my side. After my nap, I could go to DSU and swim there, but if it clears up this afternoon, John will want to swim. Maybe I should go to DSU and if it does clear up, double-dip. Also, I really need to run having done so only once this week. Decisions, decisions. I guess that's why God created coffee.

Up to Date

The last training update I did was several posts ago and went through Friday, June 27. Saturday, June 28, I worked in the yard and did a mini brick with a ten minute bike trainer ride and a 2.02 mile  run. I also did some upper body weight work in the back yard gym. For the week of 6/23 - 6/29, I

ran 15.14 miles,
swam 10,567 meters,
walked 4.4 miles, and
lifted weights one time.

The week of 6/30-7/5 was a good one training wise and otherwise. I have already written about trapping the kitty Monday. What I didn't tell you was that morning I went to the place to pick up one of Dad's live traps and while there I did a slow but steady 7.02 mile run. Then I was in the midst of swimming at Twin Rivers when I had to go home and try to calm Jeff down so he didn't go into cardiac arrest. Before leaving the pool, I swam,

1,500
6 X 50 @ 1:15
3 X 300 small paddles @ 6:30, 2nd 50 fast and first 25 of last 100 fast
Total: 2,700 meters.

Tuesday, I lifted weights, ran an easy 1.64 miles, and met John at Twin Rivers for a swim. I did


My friend, John Misterfeldt

1,600
10 X 50 @ 1:15
4 X 300 small paddles @ 6:30, 2nd 50 fast and first 25 of last 100 fast
2 X 150 medium paddles @ 3:15
600
Total: 4,200 meters.

Wednesday, I lifted weights and did a bike trainer/tredmill brick as 12:00 on the trainer and an easy 1.05 on the dreadmill. At the pool, I swam

1,700
6 X 50 @  1:15
8 X 100 @ 2:00
4 X 400 @ 8:15 small paddles with a floating 25 every 100
500 finger paddles
Total: 5,000.

I did it all over again Thursday with more weightlilfting, a 15:00 trainer ride, a 4.6 mile multi-paced run, and a refreshing 3,400 meters in the pool that went

1,800
11 X 100 @ 1:59
500 small paddles @ 10:30 as odd easy and even hard.

Since Friday was the 4th of July, things were different. We went to Carroll County, and my daughter and I got out at Browning Road and ran the 3.74 miles in. By the grace of God, I had a pretty good food day. I really have to get this weight off that I put on last January after the stress fracture. It is a matter of looks, athletic performance, and more importantly, health. I don't want to become a diabetic and with my genetics, I have to do things right.

Saturday, I lifted more weights after first hydrating with a quart of coffee. I did something I had never done before. To my surprise, shock really, I found that a single set of kettle bell swings left my legs trembling. Just one set. I think I have a new favorite exercise. I followed the weights with a 16:00 minute trainer ride and then an easy 3.64 mile shuffle. At Twin Rivers, I swam

1,000
12 X 100 @ 1:58
800 small paddles with the last 50 of evens hard
100 easy
Total: 3,100 meters.

Usually I just rest on Sunday, but Penny and I visited a new church (we think we may have found our home) and after a good nap, I called my old buddy Brian Waldrop. We rode to Money and back, my first road effort of the year. I flet it even though we didn't ride over fifteen miles per hour.

For the week, I

ran 20.02 miles
lifted weights four times
walked 3.89 miles
swam 18,400 meters, and
rode 43:00 on the trainer and 20.38 miles on the road.

It was a good week of training, a good week for the new cat, and a good week in our church visitation. I look forward to the next  seven days.

Winding Down

I finished last week with a couple of short swims Thursday and Friday. I rested Saturday and Sunday, and I mean I rested. Saturday, try as I may, I couldn't quite make myself go out and mow the lawn. Instead, I lounged around in bed the whole day. Sunday, after church, was more of the same. The heavy lifting is done, the fitness is settled, now it only remains to rest and get my mind right. Like Cool Hand Luke, "I gotta get my mind right."

Despite the most serious monsoon season in recent memory, God has continually provided windows of opportunity for me 'n John to swim. Typically it has been storming in the afternoon and quitting just before our scheduled pool time. Yehaa. Monday, John was sick, so I got to swim alone in a pretty good downpour. A strong line of thunderstorms moved through starting around 5:00 pm with lots of rain, wind, and lightning. At 6:00 it was still thundering, but that stopped a few minutes later while the rain continued. I waded in about a quarter till seven and felt the rain coming down, hitting my back while the pool caressed the rest of my tired body. I found it both physically and mentally refreshing. I only swam

2,100
1,000 kick with fins
100 easy with fins.

Then I went home to grade papers, another one of my chief pleasures in life. NOT.

WXVT (Greenville, Mississippi) called and they want me to come by the station Friday afternoon a little before 5:00. I don't know if they are going to do a live interview or tape it or how often it will air. My hope is that it will result not only in more donations for the DFM, but maybe someone will be inspired and become more physically active.

Tonight I plan to finish packing up my gear for the weekend. I am getting pretty excited and the weather forecast is looking better and better as the day approaches. Last night, WXVT was predicting a 20% chance of rain Saturday. That sounds good.

Me 'n John One More Time

I went back to Masters at DSU Tuesday night for the first time in weeks. If you want to know exactly how long, read all my posts backwards and you will eventually find out. The pool at Twin Rivers was closed for a private party, so I jumped at the chance to drive west, see my grandchildren, and swim with the crew. My granddaughter gave me a piece of candy and a big hug for my birthday. She is a sweet child and has always been giving and considerate of others.

It was neat to be back at practice and to see Cagri who gave me some advice on my taper. I told him what I've been swimming on my own: last week, 26,000; the week before, 35,000. He said I wasn't swimming enough to taper. Huh? I'm not a twenty-year old college swimmer. I'm a fifty-eight year old adult-onset swimmer. His advice was to keep the volume up but reduce the intensity. I thought a taper went the opposite direction: you reduced volume and upped intensity. Not according to Cagri, not for distance swimmers. I don't call  him the Mad Swimming Scientist for nothing. We did

1,600
4 X 100 breathing 3/5
6 X 150 as first 25 of each 50 all out
200 easy
Total: 3,100 meters.

Wednesday afternoon, I picked the pontoon up from Greenwood Nursery. Bert Fleming, the owner, asked me if I was ready for the swim and we chatted about that for a bit. His wife came in and said, "You know he's Allison's teacher," she motioned towards me. Then I connected the dots. Their daughter is in my Comp I class.

"She, they, are writing about diabetes and the Chicot Challenge now," I tried to add to the conversation.

"I know," Bert nodded. "She was just typing her paper back there on my computer."

"I was going to tell you to take $100 off that bill," his wife, Rhonda, chimed in.

"He already wrote the check. Just give him a $100," Bert said, and she did.

Wow! Another donation for the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi. I had just made my third mail off to them a few minutes before coming over for the boat. In all, I have sent them $625 and have now another $100 to give them. Not bad considering I haven't even done the swim yet. Last year I raised $1426. I hope to raise at least $1500 this year.

John told me if he was late to start without him. John is always late, so I got in and started a little before 6:00 pm. I had swum about twenty minutes when he showed up. There were a few kids in the pool and they would get in my way every now and then. I hate to confess, but I was most disturbed about that, and a little pissy in my mind. Maybe God used them because I did a lot of praying. After I left that night and thought about things, I realized I overreacted a little. A lot. They were just kids, and they were just having fun. When I was their age, I am sure I was no more conscientious than them. Probably I was worse.

I didn't feel very good from the start. My left shoulder was tight, and I was not swimming nearly as fast as Monday. Doubts about swimming 10,000 straight (the plan) weren't creeping into my mind. They were flooding in. I kept plugging away, however, concentrating on finishing a 1,000 at a time. I have found when I am doing something really long that the best way to think about it, for me at least, is to ponder how far I have come, not how far there is to go.

The first 1,000 was dreadful. After the second thousand, my shoulder started loosening up. That never happens in running. Not for me anyway. In running, things go from bad to worse, but with swimming things sometimes go from bad to not too bad. Things never got good, but I just kept cruising along. One thing I did notice that surprised and disturbed me was how fatigued my legs became. I have only a very light two-beat kick. But since I have not run in about three weeks, the lower limbs began to tire to an alarming extent. Wow! I didn't expect that. If 10,000 wears them out, what will 17 miles do? I have just a few days to walk, run, and cycle some to put a little endurance back into them.

Anyway, I did the 10,000 and as I got near the end, I tried motioning to John when I swam by him, holding up fingers to let him know how close I was. He either did not get it, or did not respond. Finally, I didn't flip on what would have been the last turn so I could yell out, "Last one." When I got back to the other end of the pool I decided to do one more. John hadn't moved. I did one final lap, two over 10,000 and then stopped. John still hadn't moved.

"Get a few more while I swim out," he yelled at me.

I appreciate his effort, but this time I didn't respond. You've heard the expression, "You can stick a fork in me"?

I  was done.

Now I am going to back off. I pushed it farther and closer to the event than ever before because Cagri gave me the green light to do so, and I was insecure about my fitness. I don't think I can put anything in the tank between now and then. Maybe I can do a little for my legs, but the swimming muscles are set. I will try to get fresh without de-training and thus swim a bit more next week than I did last year. Also, I am tired, not just my muscles but all of me. I want to go to bed and sleep a week. I plan to meet John at the pool tonight, but the volume will drop, and I will do some kick sets and easy stuff.

Why Not Another Two?

Friday, I told John after we waded into the pool at Twin Rivers Recreation Center that I was just going to start swimming and see how I felt. After the 8,300 on Thursday, I didn't expect much, but I felt really good and thanks to the big numbers on my Garmin 910XT, a quick peek now and then as I flip-turned revealed that I was swimming faster than the day before. To make a short story long, I swam 7,200 as

6,400 in 2:07:24
600 small paddles
200 easy.

That was an encouraging swim. A few weeks ago, I had outlawed for myself back-to-back long swims because of fear of re injuring my pectoral muscle. Fear dismantled.

Saturday, I went back alone with the same intention to just start swimming and see how I felt. I swam

6,700 in 2:12:25
8 X 50 @ 1:11
600 small paddles
Total: 7,700 meters.

That made not two but three substantial swims in a row, a pretty decent training block of 23,200 meters in three days.

For the week, I got 26,578 meters but no running or walking or weightlifting.

Monday came around leaving only twelve days before Christmas the Chicot Challenge. I actually wrote that, Christmas, I suppose as a Freudian slip. If that is true (Freudian slips), it must mean I am looking forward to my big swim. I am getting a bit giddy from time to time, though I am still somewhat insecure over my fitness. I have done the best I can under the conditions I had to work with. Anyway, I told John the same thing I told him last Friday, that I was just going to listen to my body. I listened for 8,500 meters straight in 2:48:51. It was late, dark, and we were the only ones left in the pool when I stopped.

"How many ya got?" he yelled at me from the deep end.

Did I tell you he is seventy-years old? Did I tell you that he can't raise his arms because his shoulders are so bad? His physician recommends he have both shoulders totally replaced. He has had both knees replaced but refuses to do the shoulders. He is a big guy who once bench pressed 500 pounds back in the day. Now he can't put his shirt on or off by himself. I help him with that. While I swim, he treads water in the deep end, sometimes for three and four hours. I can't imagine.

"Eighty-five," I hollered back.

"Why don't ya do a few more while I swim out."

I stretched a bit but didn't even drink water. No nutrition. If you have been paying attention, over the past few weeks I have been building up the initial swim. This, the thought was, to condition my muscles to burn fat more efficiently. I seems to have been working as my slow down has been progressively getting later and later into the set. I went almost three hours without even a drink of water and felt none the worse for wear.

I put my small paddles on and did an easy 300 while John did his reverse-heads-up breast stroke from the deep end towards the walk in ramp at the shallow end. After 300, he was still only half way back. Slower than usual, I thought.

"How many ya got?" he asked when I stopped.

"Three hundred more."

"Why don't ya do another two?"

Wow. So I did.

Swimming in the Rain

It's one of my favorite activities, but I rarely get to do it. In fact, I've only experienced it a few times and only briefly then. No, I am not talking about Sasquatch hunting or catching a bald eagle or watching a solar eclipse. I'm writing about singing swimming in the rain.

You would think I have ample opportunity. You would be wrong. Though we do have aboundant rain here in the sunny South, our rain is most often associated with a phenomena that frightens me. Although friends have disputed this to my face, I am not a chance taker. At least not when it comes to my life. A thunderstorm by definition contains lightning and lightning by nature causes shock, bodily harm, even death. I don't like those three. Hence, opportunities to swim in the rain without risking one's life are a bit more rare than a good steak in this part of the country. Pun intended.

Gertrude Ederle, one of my heroes, loved the rain. In fact it was her favorite weather and swimming was her favorite activity and swimming in the rain was her most favoritest of all activities. Oh shut up, I like most favoritest.

Well, rain is not my favorite weather but I do enjoy it sometimes, and I do like swimming in it. During Chicot Challenge I, a cloud blew up about the time I was swimming under the causeway heading south towards Lake Village. I emerged from under the bridge into a flat lake being peppered with rain, and I found the experience delicious. The problem was, it didn't last very long.

Oddly, almost the same thing happened on Chicot Challenge II but the circumstances were a bit different. This time we were headed north and just about the time we were approaching the causeway, a big dark cloud came up. One difference was there was plenty of lightning and wind, so we took shelter under the bridge while we waiting for the storm to pass. When the lightning ceased, we decided to turn around and once again, I swam south from the causeway in a flat lake being pulverized by rain. I luxuriated in that for the short time it lasted.

The monsoon has stricken Mississippi this crucial week. I say crucial because two weeks is the minimum I need for a taper and the minimum that training can still affect fitness on D Day, which is June 14. My plan was to swim short and easy Monday, go crazy in the pool Tuesday, take it easy on Wednesday and Thursday, and go wild at the pond on Friday. Two long swims and some easy stuff.

Monday went off as planned with me swimming 2,300 meters. But the monsoon kept John and me out of the pool Tuesday, and a pool party at Twin Rivers kept us out Wednesday. Feeling desperate, I went to the pond Wednesday and did a very short .67 miles. The sky was terrible looking and I hate to admit it, but that impacted me in the worst way. There was no lightning that I saw, but alone in the dark water felt kind of creepy with that ominous-looking sky above. OK, I'm a sissy, but I just couldn't get comfortable in the water, so I left after only one lap.

John and I met Thursday afternoon at Twin Rivers a little before 6:00. It was raining, but the lightning had ceased a few minutes before. When we approached the pool, I was jealous to see Brent Bailey swimming in a full downpour. Lucky Dude, I want some of that. We got in and immediately the rain slackened but didn't stop. I wanted the heavy rain. I swam

6,000 straight in 2:03.05
20 X 50 @ 1:12
1,000 small paddles
300 easy
Total: 8,300 meters.

Now, what to do Friday? It is wet on the pond levees and with the dark sky I am afraid the weaker side of me will again take control and I'll get out far too early. Most likely I will go the the pool after 6:00. Usually that is not possible on a Friday as it is date night with my wife. But thanks be to a party she is attending without me, I am free to swim as long as I like. I think I will.

Looking Up

Things are looking up as far as the Chicot Challenge goes. The article that ran on the front page of Sunday's Greenwood Commonwealth is already paying off. For the last two days I have received checks in the mail made payable to the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi. Anyone reading this who would like to donate, can do so in several ways:

  1. Go online to www.msdiabetes.org and give in honor of the Chicot Challenge

  2. Mail a check made payable to the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi to me at
      Zane Hodge
      333 West Monroe Ave
      Greenwood, MS 38930

  3. Mail the check straight to them at
      Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi
      800 Avery Blvd, Suite 100
      Ridgeland, MS 39157

The DFM is a quality organization that helps people in the State of Mississippi. For every dollar donated to them, a mere eleven percent is used in overhead expenses and 100% of the funds stay here where we have some of the highest diabetic rates in the world. If a child is diagnosed with diabetes in a Mississippi hospital, the DFM shows up with free supplies and information. I like to call thenm the first responders. They have a camp each year, Camp Kandu, for diabetic children. They work with health care officials, civic clubs, schools, and other organizations in providing education on diabetes. Last year they gave away five diabetic alert dogs to Mississippi residents.

My concern with this disease stems from my mother's experience with it. Basically, it destroyed her health. She never abused her body in any way but was just a little overweight, a bit sedentary, and had a genetic predisposition to the condition. I would provide some details on her health problems, but I'm not sure she really wants everyone knowing her business. Let me just say she now has a terminal illness brought on by "a little sugar" as people around here call it. "A little sugar" sounds pretty innocuous. Diabetes is anything but. It is a heinous disease that works silently and steadily, like termites, in eating away at one's health. By the time one realizes how bad this disease is, it is too late. I call it a gateway disease because it is a fast track to several other conditions that kill or seriously downgrade one's quality of life. These conditions include heart disease, kidney disease, liver disease, blindness, amputations, and many more. There is nothing sweet about "a little sugar."

The good news is diabetes can be lived with successfully. One must, however, respect the condition, and do the right things. Diet of course is paramount, and it seems as if the typical American approach to food is tailor made to lead us into the valley of the shadow diabetes. We eat too much of everything, and we eat way too much of the wrong things, ie., high glycemic foods. High glycemic foods are those that raise blood sugar rapidly causing a strong insulin reaction and hence storing of excess calories (as fat) and lowering of blood sugar which results in hunger which results in eating which results in . . . . Well, I hope you get the picture. When you think high glycemic, think processed foods, that are easy tasty, fast. Not all easy, tasty, fast is bad but much of it is. Some specific examples are just about anything you take out of a wrapper. What's that you say? A candy bar, a Twinkie, an Oatmeal Cream Pie. I'm making myself hungry just writing about it. Yes, Britny Wiggins, I know you have seen me eat a candy bar. Okay, several candy bars. But I don't always eat them, and I when I do I don't give up and throw my standards and  goals away.

Besides diet, exercise is one of the strongest preventives to developing diabetes if you don't have it, or controlling it if you do. Exercise relieves stress, burns excess calories, stimulates the cardio vascular system, protects against muscle loss (one pound of muscle burns 100 calories a day doing NOTHING), and makes the muscle cells more sensitive to INSULIN. Insulin sensitivity, or the lack thereof, is a huge factor in developing Type 2 Diabetes.

One of the things I hope people notice as I do this challenge each year is that as I get older I am doing more not less. In the first Chicot Challenge, I swam 13.94 miles. I was 56 years old. For Chicot Challenge II, I swam 16 miles. This year I hope to swim 17. As I have grown older, I have more training and more experience with what my body is capable of. I am able to do more not less. The point is that the average couch tomato who begins exercising now can achieve amazing things in the future if he or she sticks with it and makes a commitment to his health.

My confidence is coming back and it was really boosted by two pool sessions this week. My old buddy, John Misterfeld, has been a real help to me. He prays for me and he stays with me as long as I want. Swimming for several hours can get a bit lonely and dreary when it gets dark and I am the only one in the pool. John, who has bad shoulders, treads water in the deep end as long as I want to stay. It really does help to have someone else there.

Monday I swam
  3,300
  16 X 50 @ 1:13
  1,300 small paddles
  4 X 250 ending each 100 with a hard 25
  800 easy
  Total: 7,200 meters.

Tuesday I took it easy with
  3,400
  100 hard
  100 easy
  50 easy
  Total: 3,650

Wednesday I was back to serious business. John and I crawled into the pool about 6:15 pm and out again at around 9:20. Thank God for John, my healed pectoral muscle, and a long-suffering wife. I did
  3,500
  16 X 50 @ 1:13
  1,500 small paddles
  4 X 300 @ 6:30 with the first 25 of each 100 fast
  400 easy
  Total: 7,400 meters.

Please give to the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi. Please educate yourself on this disease. And please take care of your health.

That's How I See It

I spoke too soon. About the perpetual beating of Beets' hinder parts. With the pool being open all winter, I thought my swimming fitness would soar over the top. What I had forgotten is that though I have a more convenient access to the water, I'm still a cold water sissy and can't stay in long enough now to get a real workout.

Tuesday I ran 3.1 miles and went to Twin Rivers. The water was 66 degrees, and I only lasted 1,600 meter before I couldn't take it anymore. Wednesday I didn't do anything physical. My knee was sore, I was tired, and I had a night class. Besides that, my cool water partner, Big John Misterfeld, canceled on me. So I got to thinking about Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, our selection for the evening, and I would up re-watching the movie not once but twice. That's right, I watched the film two times that afternoon, went to class and we watched there, then I went home and re-watched the ending. That's three full viewings and one partial for the day.

I got it!

Finally, I got it!

I have long been fascinated by this piece of cinema, and it is the only one I am showing this semester that I don't hold the analytical key to. But on my drive home from class Wednesday night, a light bulb went off in my head.

It's a love story.

If you have ever watched this movie, you no doubt think I am seriously misguided, but I'm not. It's a love story. George and Martha fight like enraged MMA combatants. They fight verbally. They fight physically. They fight drunkenly. She flirts with another man, belittles George (skillfully, brutally, constantly), and even commits adultery on him all in one inebriated night. He dishes out to her in return. In one scene, he pulls a rifle on her; in another he begins to strangle her and has to be physically restrained by another man. They fight in a parking lot. She almost runs him over with a car.

It's a love story. That's all I'm going to say about that for now. If you want to know more, you will have to meet me for coffee, and we can discuss it.

Thursday, Big John and I met up at the pool. This was the first time he had been in the water in about a week, and the temps had fallen a lot. I thought, he's not going to be able to handle this. The water was 65. I had to get out after only 1,600. He got out because I did. Geez, anybody can beat me at this. I guess I really am a cold water sissy.

We were back Friday. The air was 56, the water 64. I wore a rash guard and a pair of socks, but I only managed 2,000 before I crawled out because I was losing my right leg. Really, it was going away on me. Oddly, my hands were still good. Last year, it was always the hands that went away. But the water is still 60-something. It seems that at 60 and below, the water is a different animal. It is. My body reacts differently. I'm also beginning to think that a pool is more difficult to swim cold that open water. The reason being that the walls cause a cessation (however momentarily) of stroking, hence heat production, and the push off the wall blasts one with a tremendous flow of water over the body. Moving water takes heat away very efficiently. Think of your car engine. If the water quits circulating from the radiator through the engine block, what happens? But flowing water pulls heat out of the engine so that you can drive and drive and drive. When you flip and come off the wall, you are going as fast as you ever will in water under your own power. Heat goes away.

Those are my thoughts on it. I am still very inexperienced at this stuff so my views may change, but that's how I see Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and cold water swimming, pool vs open water. I'll be getting back in the water next week. I will also be discussing the movie with my class. Can't wait.

Shakin' But Not Bakin'

I thought I was doing well, I really did. I swam 19,000 meters last week all of it outdoors in progressively cooler water. I thought, I'm kicking butt compared to a year ago. Then I looked in my 2012 training diary. This week a year ago I swam 19,000 and one swim was in 60 degree water for 1.13 miles. DO WHAT!?!

Today, Monday, after my 2.6 mile shuffle, I went to Twin Rivers. Big John and I had planned to meet, but he had to cancel, so I was all alone. The water was 67.5, the sky was overcast, but the air temp was warm, around 70. Although I did swim and it didn't take me minutes to get started, I was never comfortable and only managed 2,100 meters before I crawled out. I was cold the whole time, felt every variation in the water temperature, and even noticed that the top three inches were warmer than the deeper water. I had never experienced that before in a pool although it is common in the fish ponds. I didn't get the shakes until I went home and was there for a few minutes. Odd how that works. They weren't bad, but still to real cold water swimmers 67 is pretty warm. Not for me.

I wonder if I will ever be able to just handle it the way so many people do. On the bright side, if I will/can develop the ability, this is the year to do it because I have an outdoor long course pool not a mile from my house that is scheduled to stay open all winter. I hate to admit it, but this cold water stuff is one area where Randal Beets gets the best of me. He is "the man" when it comes to ice swimming or any swimming below indoor pool temps. Around here anyway. Not only can he endure colder water and endure it longer, he has always beaten me back to the truck when we swam a pond last winter. Not this year. By golly, if I have to get up every morning and go soak in the pool, so be it. Randy Beets cannot win. He just can't. It ain't right for AquaMan to lose to Spongeboy. Good must prevail in the end. If it does not, people lose hope, the earth is off kilter, the universe is not right. I can't let that happen. It's beneath the dignity of a superhero.

Beets' Butt Is Forever Beaten Now

The water was 72 at Twin Rivers again Thursday when Big John and I met up there. But it was sunny and the air temp was a nice 71. I swam

1,200
10 X 250 @ 5:00
100 easy
600 medium paddles
400 pull, small paddle right hand only
Total: 4,800 meters.

By the time John and I were getting out, Brent Baily had come, swum, and was getting out also. He said to me, "You know MS Debbie is keeping the pool up this year?"

My response was, "For how long?" Usually they drain it about this time. Last year, I drove up on a sunny, warm October day only to find half the water gone and the other half going.

His answer was, "All winter."

WHAT!?!?!?!?!

Are you kidding me? I thought I was going to launch into orbit. Dude, Beets' butt is forever beat now.

Getting ready for a cool dip.

She had told me earlier that she was keeping the pool up this year, but in my mind that meant 'up a little longer.' I never dreamed she would leave it up all winter. I thought we would be lucky to have the whole month of October. Ideas have been exploding in my brain since I received the news.

Friday I decided it was time to go back to the fish farm for some wall-less swimming. The water there was 69.5 and the well was dumping 65 degree fresh water into the still not fully filled pond.

I got in, alone, and made one lap and kept swimming. However, this time when I got to the far end, I turned around and headed back up the side I had just swum down. One side was colder that the other, and I just didn't feel like freezing. It has always amazed me at how much the temp varies in a twenty-acre pond. I made 2.16 miles in 1:06 before I crawled out. I didn't go into the shakes afterwards although I was cold for a long time.

A Whimper and a Bang

If Monday was a bang and a whimper, Tuesday was a whimper and a bang. The air conditioning went out at our house Monday night so we had a pretty restless evening leaving not only me and my wife exhausted, but the dog and cat also. The air man was supposed to call me at 1:00 Tuesday afternoon, but this ain't my first rodeo. I put on my fuel belt, stuck my phone into the pocket, and headed out the door determined to stay near just in case he called. I did a lot of short laps around the neighborhood listening for the phone to ring. It never did. We set a record high temperature, I set a record bad run, and I tapped out at a wimpy, slow 4.6 miles.

My wife came home at five to a cranky dog, a lazy cat, and hot house. Her husband wasn't in too good of a mood either. She normally goes to exercise class on Tuesday night and although I wanted to swim, I offered to stay home and wait on the air man if she wanted to make her workout. She said she was too tired to go after a night of no sleep so I went to the pool.

There is an old man, John Misterfeld, who usually gets there the same time I do. He doesn't swim but goes to the deep end and treads water for up to two hours at a time! (I'm not sure I could do that). He was a Mississippi State offensive lineman back in the day who has had both knees replaced. Last week, I never saw him, and I didn't realize how accustomed I had grown to his presence. I became terrible worried, tracked his phone number down, and gave him a call to see it he was OK. Anyway, he was there last night, which made me happy. When he is present, I swim longer than I do when he was not there. Normally I'm the only one in the pool except for him. Just having him there makes me feel not so alone.

I swam

2,600
4 X 50 @ 1:15
400 medium paddles
4 X 50 @ 1:15
500 small paddles
4 X 50 @ 1:15
600 finger paddles
4 X 50 @ 1:15
700 swim
6 X 100 pull with small paddles @ 2:00
Total: 6,200 meters.

Not a bad day at the pool thanks in part to John Misterfeld who said he would make me get out first. I did. And really not a bad day when you consider how pathetically I ran the same afternoon. I've got a good start on a monster swim week. Randy Beets and I are supposed to train Saturday, and we are planning a huge swim. I am going to pack the tent up and everything. We are going to focus on swimming, saving any running for afterwards.

For the week, I have already swum 11,500 meters. Yeehaa!

The air man is supposed to come to day. Do you think I am waiting all afternoon when the pool is wide open? Not a chance.