Last Year, This Year

I feel like in some ways I have turned a corner. Emotionally I have gotten over the big disappointment of the school semester. Not only have I gotten over it, I have embraced it and I'm convinced my life will be different from now on in a positive way. Physically, although I can't run now, last year at this time I was on crutches. I also feel pretty good about my training which is still in its infancy. Normally January is a very tough time for me. I don't like cold weather, I don't have much access to swimmable water this month, and I don't have much patience. The Challenge is still a long way off, but now is the time to build the base.

I did not store away my 2014 training diary but have it with this year's so I can compare my preparation this time and last time. Yes, I know I have this blog as a permanent record. But it is quicker to flip a few pages and read the shorthand version. I hope to swim many more meters in the build up and avoid some of the pitfalls that got me a year ago. Overall, my 2014 preparation was a success. It worked. But I learned some things that I want to do differently this time.

Last year, I did a big 10,000 meter swim the first day Twin Rivers pumped their pool up, (April 1st) and that started some pectoral issues that irritated and slowed me the rest of the spring. This time I need a bigger base and an intermediary swim before going all the way to 10,000 meters. Then, I had done several three and four mile swims in the pond before jumping all the way to six.

I also think I have learned something about the way to eat the night before. In 2013, my son and I went to The Cow Pen the night before and had a large and delicious steak. We didn't plan it that way, but in the process of moving kayaks we wound up in that neighborhood late in the evening and we were hungry. So we stopped and my son picked up the tab. You know you are old when your son picks up the tab. The next morning I felt bloated, heavy, and sluggish. Last year, we went to a pizza house in Lake Village where I gorged on lots of sodium, fat, and carbohydrates. Not the best everyday food, but I think it was the perfect night before meal for an ultra-endurance event.

Besides the evening before meal, I am making considerable changes to my swim feedings. Last year, I tried to incorporate everything I ate in training. That was way too complicated and some of it just didn't work. This year, I plan to feed exclusively on ice-cream and have some other things on the boat in case I run into flavor fatigue, although I can't imagine that happening. Ice-cream is the food that goes down easiest and makes me feel good. It has everything I need to fuel my body. It hydrates, has all the electrolytes, and is loaded with calories containing copious amounts of protein, fat, and, carbohydrates. I used it exclusively during the Swim the Suck Ten-miler and swam my fastest time ever there shaving some nineteen minutes off my personal best. 

It is impossible to know how much difference the feeds made as opposed to the training, which I felt was very thorough that fall. But I felt good, never became week, and didn't even get close to being hungry. In fact, after swimming the ten miles, I had to force-feed myself after the race. They provided us with all sorts of food. I got a small plate and just assumed I would regain my appetite once I started eating. Didn't happen. I think that means that despite my enormous physical output, I was well-fed and my body didn't need anything else. Still not convinced? I have done some research of the Hebrew Scriptures and found the work "ice-cream" if you pick out one letter per chapter in the Book of Genesis and transliterate it into English. What more proof do you need?

This week, I have had some good weight training and two pretty nice swims. Monday I did 5,700 yards at DSU. Last night, I hit 6,250. Wednesday I went to the Endless Fool and swam thirty-three minutes. I rated that as 1,100 meters. Normally I would swim 1,800 to 2,000 during that amount of time. But in that thing, I have to swim very slow because the motor is worn out and the current is too pedestrian. Also, I plan to make a third trip per week to DSU starting in February. Last year, my truck was not in good repair so I just didn't drive over. This year, gas is cheaper and my truck is fine. A third swim at DSU will give me a huge fitness boost and should have me ready for some big yards when the ponds warm up enough to swim outdoors.

Today (Friday) I am gearing up to drive over to Grenada and talk to the T-shirt girl about the Chicot shirts for this year's Challenge. Last year they were good. This year they are going to be great. Selling T-shirts is how I personally raise the funds I donate to the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi. If you are reading this and think you may want a shirt, check out the event page on Facebook. As soon as the shirt is finalized, I will be posting photos there and maybe here also.