7/11 - 7/17

For the week before the Heart O' Dixie, I poured it on as much as I could. Monday, I went to Twin Rivers with my sister, Helen, and swam 2,000 meters before I gave up. The pool is crowded in the morning. Later, I lifted some weights, spun for 33:00 minutes on the bike trainer, and went out for a 10.08 mile run. Good day.

Tuesday I swam 2,500, lifted more weights, trainer rode for 21:00 minutes, and ran 3.03 miles. I have taken to splitting my lifting routine. In the past, I did upper and lower body. Now I split the upper body. This gives me the chance to work all the muscles more thoroughly. Formerly, certain muscles got shorted because I always put them at the end of the session and fatigue would cause those parts to get less than the others. Now I do bench press, swim pull, and upper back one day, and shoulders, biceps, and traps on a separate day. It was the biceps and traps and shoulders that were either getting skipped or being hit lightly. I am anxious to see how this new routine is going to pay off. If feels good. My hope is I will look better and perform better at next year's Chicot.

Wednesday, I swam 

1,800
8 X 100 @ 2:15
400 small paddles

for 3,000 meters. I also biked 36:00 minutes and ran 3.25 miles.

Thursday, I swam

2,000
1,000 countdown with small paddles
6 X 50 @ 1:15 with medium paddles
for 3,300 meters. I then biked 30:00 minutes and ran 7.1 miles.

Friday, I was going out the back gate to head for the pool when Bear busted out and sat down at my truck door begging to go riding. So I adjusted my plans and took him to the cabin. We ran to the bottom of Steen Hill and back for 8.55 miles. That's pretty good for me to do an eight miler the day after a seven miler.

Saturday, I lifted more weights, and went for a run. Penny asked me when I headed out the door how long I would be. I told her anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours depending on how my legs felt. Despite back-to-back longish runs, they felt amazingly good, and I ran 8.56 miles with some fast intervals thrown in.

Sunday, I lifted weights and did an easy 31:00 minutes on the bike trainer. All in all, it was a solid week. I

swan 10,800 meters,
ran 40.57 miles.
lifted weights four times,
biked 2:31, and 
walked 6.9 miles.

Now for the triathlon this Saturday. In my new age group, I have a chance at placing, something I rarely do in a tri.