5/24 - 5/30

This is the week that started my training for the National Senior Olympics. The difference is not that great. My emphasis is now on the swim and my lifting has changed to try to enhance sports specific strength and anaerobic fitness of the swimming muscles. To make this slight shift, I began Monday with 2,300 yards of swimming. To that I added 5.36 miles of roadwork and a nice session of weights at Plate City.

Tuesday I did not run, but took an early morning bicycle ride with Jim Robbins and Billy Bowman. Then I swam 2,171 meters, divided between the two pools. I did not lift. Wednesday, however, I did lift, but not before I ran 6.03 miles and swam 3,300 yards.

Thursday I only shuffled 2.30 miles, did not lift due to the BBB video I got suckered into, and swam 3,350 yards. Friday I did it all. I swam 3,750 yards, ran 4.55 miles, and lifted those weights like I was mad at them. Saturday I continued with 2,550 yards in the water, 2.16 miles on the road, and several tons in the gym.

For the week, I

ran 21.32 miles, 

swam 16,107 meters, 

lifted weights four times, and 

cycled 28.87 miles.

Now I will track a new statistic, the number of miles run and the number of yards or meters swum since the Mississippi Senior Olympics. Since this is week one of my nationals training, the numbers listed above are the same as my new track. Next week, however, they will begin to diverge from one another.

Life is exciting now as my training has a new focus now. I am doing more than just going through the motions. I am trying not to be embarrassed in front of my wife. She, like John, thinks I am better than I am. I don't believe she understands the difference between the state level and the national level of competition. But her enthusiasm is infectious. Thank you for that, Jesus.

Double Whammy

I did not run far because my legs were tired. I shuffled 2.32 miles down on the trail with two pound hand weights in each hand. I am implementing that to develop more arm fitness for my nationals 200. Yeah, I do goofy stuff. Can't hurt and might help. 

At the pool, I did a straight swim going 3,350 yards in 1:02:12. You may wonder why I have not been doing sets lately. We are having to share the pool with Debbie, some of her assistants, and several kids being taught swim lessons. I am grateful that Debbie lets us swim anyway and we make it work. I do not feel, however, like I can bust it up and down the pool at top speed. The chance of a collision would be too great. At this time of year, all I primarily need conditioning anyway.

We, some of the local cyclists, were asked to show up in Money at 5:45 so Richard Beatty could shoot a commercial for BBB. I drove out due to a sense of duty, civic duty. Richard set up a tripod on the side of the road. What would you think about this? Seems obvious, right? You are going to ride back and forth in front of the camera so he could get some footage.

Everyone lined up and then took off to the races. I jumped on and wondered what the rush was about. Then I decided to let them go. I will jump back on when they turn around, I thought. I had already run, already swum, and had a squat session planned. My legs did not need any hard riding. They kept going and then turned onto McIntyre Road. What the heck? Surely he doesn't have cameras set up out there. Maybe he does so I kept pedaling. When I got onto McIntyre Road, I saw the group disappear around the curve in the road.

Then I heard a vehicle behind me. It was back there for a while. Slowly it passed and it was Richard filming GoPro out of the bed of the truck. What!?!?!?!?!? How come everybody knew the plan except me? I did not come out for a ride. I came out to help shoot a little footage. I would not have shown up had I known the plan. I will not show up next time even if I know the plan. I have been snafued by this bunch before. Life is too short.

I drove home, not too happily. Inside, I thought to rest a bit, but I was very tired and did not get back out of the house. Thanks, bike crew. You did a double whammy on me. Hold your breath until it happens again.

Thank the Lord anyway.

Wednesday

I suppose I will write about Wednesday's training. I missed Monday and Tuesday due to writing about Biloxi, the previous week, and the little piece yesterday on musings. 

I have fallen into my summer pattern of sleeping until 6:30 but staying in bed way too long. I blog, I pet cats, I study for Sunday, I dream, I look at social media. Then around 10:00 a.m., I get out of bed and go for a run. Yesterday after I finished shuffling 8.03 miles, I changed shoes and mowed the front yard. It is a pretty easy lawn to mow and I do not mind doing it. After that, it was time for lunch.

After lunch, I had a Zoom meeting. Sometimes I wish I had never heard of Zoom. But then, it is better than getting dressed and driving 25 miles one way to a meeting on what is supposed to be my day off. The Zoom was training on an electronic text I will allegedly be using next semester. I will be teaching two new courses in the fall. I have six classes on my fall schedule, all of them different. I will teach Beginning English, Intermediate English, English Composition I, English Composition II, World Lit I, and Film as Literature.

At least I get Film as Lit. That is the class that makes me want to get out of bed and go to work.

I met John at the pool at 3:30. He was on time for the ninth time in nine years. That brings his average up to being on time once per year. 

At the pool, I swam

2,600 46:46

400 medium paddles 6:53

6 X 50 large paddles

total: 3,300 yards = 3,016 meters

At home, I rested a bit and then went to Plate City for pull night. On the chest-supported TBar, I pulled

20 X 35

12 X 45

11 X 55

  8 X 65

  8 X 75

I also did three sets of Lenny rows, reverse flys, and chins with no weight, + 6, plus 7.5, and plus 10. Between sets, I mowed the back yard. I cut the high rack pulls short with only one set done. Sometimes I'm lazy like that.

So it was a day of three workouts, school work when I am supposed to be off, and lawn mowing. Thank you, Jesus., for a full life, for good health, and for interesting goals.

Musings on Meets and Goals

Finally, I feel like I am into my summer cycle. With the Geezer gone and the Senior Olympics past, I am now training for long-term goals. Maybe I should rephrase that. I am now training for A long-term goal: the National Senior Olympics. No, we haven't come to a firm decision yet, but my guess is yes. Yes, we will go, and I will be in the pool with some real swimmers. Not to be embarrassed there, I will have to get a lot faster. I may be pretty good on the state level, but the national level is a different thing. The sprints are out. I have no chance there. The backstroke is out. I am not that good at it. My best events are the 200 and the 500 free. Actually, I am thinking about focusing on the 200. Although the 500 is my best, the longer distance gives a better swimmer more time to put distance between himself and me. In the 200, I can only be beaten so badly.

I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that I am just trying to lower expectations. But the fact is, there are levels to any athletic competition, to any sport. Me thinking that I could go to Nationals now and be competitive is like a pretty good high school football player thinking he can jump to the NFL. It does not work like that. At that level, most of those guys and gals are former collegiate swimmers. I did not swim in college. I did not swim in high school. I did not swim in jr. high. In fact, I am an adult-onset swimmer. If I could compete against other adult-onset swimmers my age, I have no doubt that I could compete against not only the best in the nation but the best in the world also. 

I started this post with the plan to write about Monday's and Tuesday's training. But it has morphed into a reflection on the level jump between state and national competitions. I have done more than reflect over the past week. I opened a notebook and began to write plans and programs to get me there. I even calculated how many strokes I take in the 200 free. I take 168 total strokes or 84 strokes per hand. My lifting has already changed beginning this week. Exercise selection has changed, and numbers are now a huge part of what I am doing. Nuff said about that.

Back to my notebook. I wrote out a series of goals and some steps to achieve those goals. I will add to the notebook from time to time. And I will read the notebook from time to time. I always do that on big stuff. I had a notebook for the Geezer Run. One thing in my notebook was that I needed another year to train for it. I did not take the extra year, and as a result I had to switch to a bicycle to finish it. There are several reasons I decided to do the Geezer in 2021 instead of 2022. I won't go into those right now. The point I am making, however, is that there is something really powerful about thinking through an athletic goal and taking pen to paper and writing down the goal and the steps to get there. It gives purpose, structure, and motivation to training. Already I feel that motivation. What will I do today? How will it move me towards my goal?

Life is good with goals. Thank you, Jesus.

5/17 - 5/23

Monday I began to rebuild the run. I upped it all the way to 1.37 miles. Not only that, but I went to the pool and knocked out 3,000 yards. Tuesday I ran even farther with a whopping 2.02 in my training dairy. At the pool, I did 3,975 yards with the main set being 7 X 100 @ 1:53

Wednesday I decided on the outdoor one and did a short but intense practice in preparation for Saturday's swim meet. I swam 800 warmup and then 8 X 100 @ 2:27. That is the only thing I had programmed in my watch that would work. On the road, I went 2.22 miles.

Thursday was time to start tapering. All I did was an easy 1,000 and then two practice dive starts off the deck. I ran 3.27 miles, and lifted weights two times that day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon.

Friday was rest and travel to the coast for the meet. On the way, we stopped by the DFM office to drop off some more donations. We also did some shopping. Saturday was the big meet and I had fun. Penny even enjoyed it. I swam six races for a total of 1,000 yards of all out swimming. I won five of my six events and was a close second in the only one I did not win. 

For the week, I 

ran 8.98 miles,

swam 10,999 meters, and

lifted weights two times.

Thank you, Lord, for a really nice weekend at Biloxi.

5/10 - 5/16

I'm a little behind on my blogging. With the Great Geezer and the computer in the shop, a lot has been unrecorded. On Monday of this week, I finished the Geezer with a short 5.88 mile mountain bike ride. The following day, back home and hopefully back on a schedule, I went to the pool in a last ditch attempt to get ready for the Senior Olympic swim meet. I swam 3,000 yards and rested the remainder of the day.

Wednesday I swam 5,000 straight and lifted at Plate City. Thursday I swam 3,850 yards, and rested. Friday was another 3,300 yards, and then Saturday I swam3,600 and shuffled a little for the first time since the Geezer. I went a mere 1.05 miles, but I was back at it. Also, I lifted that day for my first three-workout day since my long adventure to Ridgeland.

For the week, I

swam 17,136 meters,

ran 1.05 miles, and

lifted weights three times.

It wasn't a lot, except in the pool, but it was a resuming of training. Thank  you, Jesus, that my injuries were short lived and I am back at it.

The Mississippi Senior Olympics 2021 Swim Meet

The 2021 edition of the Mississippi Senior Olympics swim meet was held Saturday May 22 in Biloxi. Because of COVID, the 2020 games, much to my chagrin, were cancelled. The way things usually work, every even year is a qualifying year for the national games which are held biennially on odd years. Because of the cancellations across the country, the original announcement was that those who qualified in 2018 would be eligible for the national games to be held in 2021. This irritated me because I had a good meet in 2019 and it also meant that I would have to wait two more years to get a shot at qualifying. Then the plan changed. The nationals were pushed back a year and 2021 became a qualifying year. Now I was back in the game.

The Biloxi Natatorium

So Penny and I loaded up and headed south Friday morning. Inwardly I was far from confident. But you know what I say about confidence, right? It's overrated. With the Geezer Run as this year's DFM fundraiser, I concentrated on it for the past few months. I swam, but there is only so much time and so much energy and I knew that if Geezer were to have any chance of success, I had to prioritize my running. So that is what I did. And the Geezer itself took five days, five days in which I did not swim a single stroke. That meant that I was not as swim fit as I have been in the past. Not only that, but I was signed up for two extra events: the 50 and 100 backstroke. I had never swum the backstroke competitively, and I am not quick at it at all. The reason I signed up for six events is they would not let me sign up for seven. Before this year, four was the limit. So I hopped at the opportunity to have more races.

We stopped by the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi office on our way down to the Coast to drop off some more funds we had collected. Then we went to some of Penny's stores so she could do some shopping. She had a good time, and when she had done her stores we headed back south.

Getting ready to warm up before the meet

We made it to Biloxi, found our motel, checked in, then went looking for a place to eat. We chose Snappers, which is on the beach, and it was a good pick. For an appetizer, we had fried green tomatoes, and I wanted to jump up on top of the table and scream and shout. They were that good, crazy good. Drive five hours to the coast to eat them. No joke. Penny ordered crab legs, which is one of her favorites. I chose fried oysters. My oysters were as big as large boiled eggs and there were so many of them that I barely got them all down. If you have ever dined with me, you know that I can put away some food. Penny spent a good thirty minutes eating her crab legs after I finished. I didn't mind. I always like watching her eat them because she enjoys them so much. It makes me happy to see her feast in pleasure.

The next morning, we did the continental breakfast thing and then headed to the Biloxi Natatorium. Check in time was 8:30 and we got there a little early. While we waiting on them to open the doors, we saw Vickie Jee in the parking lot. I know her from the Twin Rivers pool and had told her about the event. I had not bumped into her in a while so it was nice to see that she decided to come down and swim.

The meet was much bigger this year with more participants, more fanfare, and more bells and whistle. The scoreboard was operational as was electronic timing. At check in, we were given a nice bag that I will use in the future to carry my swimming supplies to the pool. I overheard more than one swimmer wonder out loud how they could make a profit on the meet. The entry fee is only $20 and the T-shirt, goody bag, medals, and lunch totaled way more than triple $20.

My longsuffering wife, Penny

The meet started on time and in nothing flat I was on deck awaiting my first swim, the 200 free. This is one of my good events and when I saw someone I met at the last meet, John Eades, John asked my what my expectations were. "I came here to kick butt and eat candy bars," I told him, "and I'm all out of candy bars." He thought that was funny, and I was proud of my whit until I saw the guy who lined up to my left. Two years ago, my wife told me that the other men's bodies there did not look like mine. "They must only swim," she said referring to the fact that I also lift weights. But she did not see this man. He was thin but muscular and lean. Instantly I was frightened. I know you are not supposed to judge a cover by its book, but he looked like a college swimmer, and that intimidated me. I have some real competition here, I thought.

Swimming one of my four freestyle races

In no time, my scared heart was lined up on the deck ready to start. I did not go off the blocks because I do not trust my goggles to stay on from that height. The gun sounded and we were off. Buff dude was on my left. He went off the blocks and it took me one length to catch him, but after that, I passed him and added distance with each lap. I won and felt much better when that race was under my belt.

Next up for me was the 100 backstroke. This was a first for me, swimming this in a competition. I have no starting blocks back home to practice on and with this one they make you start in the water using the blocks. Anyway, the start went OK, but at the first turn, I counted my strokes under the flags, four strokes just like at Twin Rivers. I turned over and took the legal one freestyle stroke you are allowed, then the wall was too far away. On the other wall, it was too far away again. I barely touched the wall with my left foot narrowly missing a disqualification. All three turns were bad, and I never knew where anybody was. When the race was over, I climbed out and asked the official on deck if I won. "You were second," he told me.

Back in the stands, Penny told me that I was leading until the last turn. "He passed you on the last turn," she informed me, "and beat you by a foot." Wow. This is why real swimmers always call it a practice instead of a workout. I needed more practice on my backstroke turns. Attention to details. Why has it taken me so long to learn this?

My third event was the 50 freestyle. I am not a sprinter, and after seeing how much of an advantage that going off the blocks adds, I knew I had no chance in the 50 without the blocks. The 50 is too short to spot somebody two seconds or more. If my goggles come off, I reasoned, I only have one turn to make. So that is what I did. I swam hard, but buff dude was in the race and he finished. Later, however, when they announced the winners, my name was called for the gold in my age group. That meant buff dude was in a younger age group. They do that sometimes, have more than one group in a heat. So now I was two for three.

The 50 backstroke event gave me a rematch with the guy who beat me in the 100 back. Buff dude wasn't in this one so it was me and the other geezer. There were more people in the heat, but he was my competition. As I jumped into the pool and grabbed the starting block, I was telling myself, just one good turn, just one. That is all you have in the 50. The gun went off and I swam as hard as I could. The turn was better, but not great. At the finish, just like before, I had no clue who had won. I looked at the scoreboard. My name was in lane four. Beside my name was the number 1. A huge smile broke across my face. I looked over at my nemesis. He was not smiling. He did not look happy at all. 

Buff Dude was in the 100 free with me. But now I knew I did not have to beat him to win my group. And if the other geezers could not beat me in the 50, there was little chance they would in the 100 because the longer the swim the stronger I am. This time, however, I dove off the deck instead of the blocks because I did lose my goggles diving off the blocks in the 50. With three turns in the 100, it was not worth the two seconds. Buff Dude went off the blocks, but I still almost caught him in the first 25. After that, though, he pulled ahead by a few feet and I could not close. Still I beat the other old men in my bracket for my fourth gold to go with my one silver.

Next up and the last event of the day was the 500 free. There were so many swimmers this year, that in my heat, we had two women, one older man, and four men in my age group, seven swimmers in all. I went off the deck again and it took me 25 yards to catch the guy on my left who went off the blocks. I pulled ahead of him right after the first flip. From there on, I kept pulling away and lapped a guy two lanes over. I won pretty easily for my fifth gold.

It was a nice meet and a nice trip. Penny had a swell time and told me that over and over. We did have a relaxing drive, some nice shopping, a super meal, and I had a good swim meet. Penny told me she was proud of me. That always melts me on the inside and makes me tear up. Once more, I learned that confidence really is overrated. I did not expect to have success in the backstroke, but I got one gold and one silver in two races. Audacity. I had the audacity to try. Oh, and attention to details. That's important. I learned that also. 

I am now qualified for nationals in six events. Will we go? We have not yet decided. Nationals will be in Fort Lauderdale in May of 2022. If we do, I will not swim six races but two at the most.

Thank you, Jesus, for a wonderful weekend.

 

Me with my medals

The Great Geezer Run

If you are wondering where I have been, my computer was in the hospital for surgery. That and I was on the road for five days. Parts had to be ordered and they had to make it to Greenwood. Then the parts had to be replaced on the laptop. Oh how I missed her. But that it not why you are here is it? You want to know about the Geezer. That makes two of us. I have been wanting to write about it so here we go.

I left the house at 5:40 a.m. on the morning of Thursday May 6. The darkness had not yet fully fled before the rising sun, but the birds were already up, cheering me on as soon as I stepped outside our door. I was gone before Penny even got out of bed. The temperature was 54. I wore a long sleeve shirt over my event T-shirt to give me some protection against the cold.

As I had strategized, I walked the first two miles to let my legs get solidly into that fat burning metabolism. At exactly two miles, I began to shuffle. I was on Bowie Lane at this point, and I approached a brother who was walking from the opposite direction. I suppose he had seen the article on me in the Commonwealth because when he drew close, his face erupted into a smile and he said, "You're doing it." I was doing it. After months of training, planning, and dreaming, the event had begun.

I crossed Highway 82 onto Humphrey Highway (Highway 430) and then I felt like I was on the journey. Only eight miles out one of my former students, Elizabeth Bailey, met me on the side of the road with Gatorade and a bag of Snickers. That is when I knew it was going to be a good day. 

When I got on top of the hill (no, I did not run that monster), I used the restroom at Acy's and was back on the road as quickly as I could get back outside. The traffic was heavy with gravel trucks roaring up and down 430. But I could hear those behemoths long before they arrived so I never felt threatened by them. 

I was 12.5 miles in when George and Gloria Hathcock made their first appearance. They were on their way to Greenwood for Gloria to swim at Twin Rivers. They pulled to the side of the road, dug out my bag, and dropped the tailgate. I was able to change shoes, get some Gatorade, and leave my long sleeve shirt. Within minutes I was back on the road.

I made it to Blackhawk, then across Highway 17, and onto 430 where it really leaves the civilized world. Out here a few miles, George and Gloria showed back up on their way home from the pool. They brought me lunch: a hamburger, fries, and a milk shake. I rested in the back seat of their truck until they left me to the road. 

After they had been gone a few minutes, I realized that I had left my phone in the back floorboard of their truck. Would they find it? I knew what they would do if they did. I calculated the time for them to drive to Durant and turn around. Sure enough, a white pickup topped the hill ahead of me coming my way about the time I thought they would be back. It was them.

In the meantime, a stranger had stopped and asked me if I had enough fluid. Before I could answer, he said, "I'll go get you some." He drove off and came back a few minutes later with four bottle of cold water in a plastic bag that he handed to me out his driver's window. I walked and drank one bottle. I refilled my handheld, then drank another bottle. Finally, I finished the fourth bottle and had my hands free again. I found a garbage can on the side of the road to put the empties in.

It was about this time that Sriram Nallani, the math teacher at the Greenwood Center, showed up. He brought Gatorade, some energy bars, and a smile. I was reduced to walking at this point and he got out of his car and walked with me. Then Penny showed up and my day was over. I had covered 33.66 miles, I was tired, I was sore, I was limping. We drove back to Hilltop where Penny secured supper for her dad and me. She drove me back to his house where I spent the night.

I can say with 100% honesty that I cannot remember ever having a better night's sleep. I woke up at 5:20 feeling ready to go. Then I stood up. Well, my left foot was sore and achy, but I had energy, and I wanted the road. After breakfast, Ellis drove me to the cemetery on 430 right outside of Vaiden where Penny had picked me up the afternoon before. I crawled out of the truck.

"Are you going to be able to make it?" Ellis asked.

"It doesn't look good," was all of the positivity I could muster.

He left and I began a slow, limping walk towards town. It was cold, my legs were stiff, my feet sore, and my left foot hurt. But I had energy and my leg muscles, despite their stiffness, felt like they had juice, but a glance at my GPS watched revealed that I was walking at 23 minutes per miles. Wow!

Slowly I made my way to town, and eventually to Highway 51. On my trek down 51, my foot started feeling better and eventually my pace dropped to below 20 minutes per mile. I even thought for a bit that maybe I could run. But alas, my right tibia began to pain sharply. Having had three stress fractures, I knew what was happening to me.

I began to question God. He had done so many things to give me success to this point so why could I not finish? I didn't make sense. Then the inner voice said, "Finish on a bicycle." OK, I can do that. When Gloria and George showed up to bring my lunch, Gloria could tell I had something on my mind.

"What?" she asked.

"I need a ride to Greenwood to get my bicycle. I can't continue on foot."

"That's nothing. Get in."

Once in the backseat of the truck, she began to pass food to me over her shoulder. These people are the best.

At home, I showered and took a nap. Then I got my bicycle out and ready for the next day. The following morning, Penny drove me to the southside of West where I unloaded and resumed my journey south. I made 33 miles that day, and it was fun. The Hathcocks picked me up at Sharpsburg AME church and took me back to Durant. I bathed, they fed me, and I went to bed early.

The angels called the Hathcocks dropped my off Sunday morning at Sharpsburg church, and I began to pedal towards Canton. Somewhere along the way my phone rang. It was Anthony Howard of WJTV. He wanted an interview. Eventually he found me on the southside of Canton and took me back to the square for the interview. He shots lots of footage then took me back where he found me. I even saw him twice after that. Both times he was set up on the side of the highway shooting me. Wow. 

The traffic got bad when I began to approach Madison. Penny and our daughter Andrea showed up and stopped. At this point, my butt was in critical condition. Remember, I trained to run not ride this. I was tired. My legs were shot. The traffic was dangerous and irritating. I was a right moody geezer and got a little snappy with Penny.

"I just want to make it to the sidewalks in Madison," I told them. "This is going to take a while."

"It doesn't matter," Penny reassured me.

"OK. Meet me there."

"Want us to follow you?"

"No. It will back up traffic too much."

So they drove away, and I pedaled away. Up ahead was a large hill. The last one, I thought. But when I topped it, there was another mile-long bottom and another big hill beyond that. This went on forever. I must be in Hell, I thought. I want out; I want off this bicycle. Despite lots of low gears and two badly limping legs, I had to get off and push the bicycle up a couple of those grades.

Finally the road opened up into a four lane. Not only that, but there was a suicide lane in the middle. As I approached the widened highway, I knew I was almost done and now there would be plenty of room for me and the cars. When I made it to the four lane, I rode in the gutter. Still, however, the cars crowded me. But not long after, I saw my daughter standing on the side of the road. There it is, the finish. The finish for the day at least.

The first thing I did was to apologize to both Andrea and Penny for being snappy. "You didn't do anything, Dad," Andrea graciously responded. She is sweet like that. 

We loaded the bicycle and headed out. I wanted to measure the remaining distance to the DFM and make sure Andrea and Penny knew how to get there. It was only 5.88 miles to their office. Yes, I could have done that on Day Four, but when I switched to the bicycle, I decided to keep the original schedule. They were expecting me on Monday. I would get there Monday.

We spent the rest of the day with me chauffeuring the ladies around Jackson to some of Penny's favorite stores. They shopped, I took naps in the truck. Then we tried to go to supper at Longhorn's in Madison, but the wait time was two hours. TWO HOURS!?!?!?

We went to Cracker Barrell instead. Yes, I bought candy. Then we went back to Canton where we had a room for the night. When I got into the bathtub, I was horrified. Me feet were grotesquely swollen and my legs were so big that I could barely bend enough to get into the tub. This frightened me because I had never been like this in my whole life. Never. I know swollen feet is a sign of heart failure. Out of the tub, I took my pulse. It was in the mid 50s which either meant my heart was strong or I was dying. Then I remembered that I had not cramped a single time on this trek. I was supplementing with Endurolytes (an electrolyte pill) the whole way. So I concluded that my sodium was most likely high, and I was retaining fluid. 

The next morning after one of those motel continental breakfasts, we packed up, checked out, and headed back to Madison. The plan was to arrive at the DFM around 11:00 a.m. I wanted to be as close to that as possible because I knew they would be waiting and possibly some press might be present. I calculated that I could do a slow pedal and make it in forty-five minutes so the plan was to start at 10:15 from the parking lot of the O'Reilly where we stopped the day before. We got there at 10:05. Since I am no good at standing around, I texted Irena McClain and told her I would be ten minutes early. 

On the bicycle, I found that all that climbing I did the day before was paying off because I bet I did not pedal more than thirty percent of the time from O'Reilly to the DFM. When I got to the head of the multi-use trail, I stopped and used up the ten minutes in their restroom facilities. When I approached 800 Avery Blvd, I saw Bethany Theilman on the side of the road holding a sign. Then I noticed a woman who looked a lot like my sister to my right taking pictures. Turning into the parking lot, I saw my sister-in-law, Rebecca Hodge, which meant the woman who looked like my sister was my sister, Carol. All the DFM people were there. WLBT was there. Of course Penny and Andrea were there. And George and Gloria Hathcock were there also. 

It was all really touching, and we stood around and chatted for a long time. The weather was pleasant. I was interviewed by WLBT and again by WJTV. Andrea handed Irena the envelope of cash and checks that we brought with us. I did not witness it, but Penny told me that Irena was surprised when she looked into the envelope. Online and what I had already mailed in totaled $1,900. The envelope had $3,840 which in itself is a pretty good year for my fundraising efforts. We have another envelope now that Penny and I will drop off on our way to the coast for the Mississippi Senior Olympics swim meet.

When we finally left, we-- Andrea, Penny, Carol, and Rebecca-- went to Mama Hamil's for lunch. It was good, yeah. Then we drove home. The whole thing was a nice experience. Like most of life, I learned that you have to be flexible. When my ambulating abilities failed, God helped me to see another way to finish. I also learned afresh and anew that you always need more help than you think you do. God provided that needed help in George and Gloria Hathcock. This would not have happened without them. Thank you Jesus for such a wonderful experience. And God bless all of you who prayed, gave, and helped.

For pictures see my Facebook album The Great Geezer Run.

Back

I got my computer back from the hospital. That was tough. Last night, I began drafting a writeup of the Great Geezer Run. Probably I will finish that in a day or two. Right now, I wanted to write something to completion so I picked up where I am. 

To answer the obvious question, yes.

Huh?

Yes.

What?

You want to know if I have recovered from the Great Geezer. The blisters have healed, my left foot no longer hurts, and the right tibia is OK. I limped for two days after the pain went away (PTSD?) but now I am even shuffling a little with no bad symptoms. Yesterday, I ran 2.02 miles and went to the pool for my last big practice before Saturday. 

What happens Saturday?

The Mississippi State Senior Olympics swim meet takes place in Biloxi. Last year it was cancelled due to COVID. This year the meet is back, and they are allowing competitors to do six events. I am signed up for six: the 50, 100, 200, and 500 free, and the 50 and 100 back. In the pool, I swam

2,100 40:35

brick kick

325 medium paddles 5:45

25 back

brick kick

325 medium paddles 5:46

5 X 50 back

7 X 100 @ 1:53 (this was the money set that I might repeat today)

300 25/25 free/back

total: 3,975 yards = 3,633 meters.

I should have lifted when I got home from the pool, but I was seized by laziness.

Sigh. 

Maybe today.

Thank you, Jesus, for safety and help on the Great Geezer, and thank you for a speedy recovery. Thank you for a good day.

Geezer's Eve

It is Geezer's Eve and it is not nerves so much that I am feeling as apprehension. Am I fit enough? I keep asking myself that over and over. The fact is I do not know the answer to the question. My taper has been extreme due to a small injury I suffered in training. Was it too much? Experience has taught me that when an endurance event goes bad, ten times out of nine, there was something done wrong during the taper. OK, I just talked myself back into being nervous again. 

I slept in. Then I got up and drank coffee from a new mug given me by Sheila Mitchell for Teacher Appreciation Week. Sheila is sweet like that. My wife brought me breakfast in bed. She is sweet like that. 

I did some school work and have some more of that to do. Then I will begin to get things together. I will pull out my shorts, shirts, and everything I plan to take on the run. I also need to pack up an overnight bag to take to the place where I will spend the first night. I need to pack another bag to put in my wife's truck for night four. I have already delivered my overnight bag for nights two and three.

After I pack, I need to do a little shopping. I need more sunscreen, more Five Hour Energies, and more something (I hope I remember). Next, I plan to do some stretching, some cutting a quarter of an inch off of shoe laces, some pacing the floor, maybe some napping. Some napping would be nice.

Really there is nothing to be done about fitness now. The hay is in the barn, so to speak. Or it is not. My confidence gauge is on empty, but I learned years ago that confidence is overrated. I made that statement once when speaking to a civic club, and the room erupted in laughter. But it is no joke. Audacity is what an endurance athlete needs. I have that, maybe too much of it. No ultra athlete taps out easily. I will open the door in the morning, God willing, and leave. I have that audacity. What will happen five hours later? two days later? four days later? Somewhere along the way, I will begin to question myself, to ask myself why I am doing this? It's predictable. I also know that whatever I suffer along the way will not compare to the satisfaction of finishing. I think there is a sermon in there somewhere. You preach it. 

And after you finish the preaching, pray. Yes, put me on the list. You know my concerns. I have published them here more than once. Pray for the weather, my health, my safety, and ultimately my success. I would tell you about the status of the fundraising. You can see online how much has been raised there. The DFM has a record of the checks I have already mailed in. I will be carrying a few checks with me. I want that to be a surprise to the good folks at the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi.

Thank you, Jesus. Watch over me on this journey and give me success. May the fundraising continue. May the awareness be a real. May people take steps to improve their health. It's really not that hard. Amen.

Long Day at Work

Monday was a long long day at work. I gave three exams and graded papers until I felt like hurling breakfast. Then I went home and did my last run, a simple run/walk of 3.35 miles of shuffling and 2.something of walking. I don't know if I am fit or not. 

I lifted weights. 

Tuesday was a little easier. I only gave four exams, but the classes were smaller. That makes a big difference. I left school and went home and got ready for the pool. I did some light swimming that involved brick kicks and one underwater swim the length of the pool. For some reason, John has been asking me over and over if I could swim the pool's length underwater. Duh! The brick kick involves going the length without a breath. Isn't that the same thing? So I did it. The only difficulty was staying underwater. I am very buoyant. About half way down, my buttocks started breaking the surface. I had to fight to stay under.

At home, I lifted. Then I went inside and lounged the rest of the evening.

4/26 - 5/2

This was another taper week, but more taper than I wanted. The silver lining is that the patellar tendon is much better. Monday, I did not run. I swam for 1,873 meters and lifted weights. Tuesday I ran a miserly 1.5 miles and swam 4,800 yards straight, my longest swim in a pretty long while, maybe a year.

Wednesday I shuffled 2.73 miles, and swam 2,225 yards. My writing got so sloppy in my training diary that I cannot be sure if I lifted or not. I have things circled and arrows pointing here and there. Who knows?

Thursday I swam 1,400 yards and walked 3.1 miles trying to be easy on the legs without losing too much fitness. Friday I did my last bit of longish roadwork: 9.02 miles. Also, I swam 2,225 yards and mowed both lawns.

Saturday, we had the Greenwood Mentoring Group Prayer Breakfast. After that, I lifted weights in the morning and I also lifted weights in the afternoon. Some of that lifting was squats for a fair amount of volume and intensity. I should be able to recover from that in time for the Great Geezer.

For the week, I

lifted weights four times (I think)

did some walking (How much?)

swam 11,628 meters, and

ran 13.25 miles.

That is awfully light on the running. Only time can tell if it is too light. Thank you, Jesus, for the upcoming adventure of the Great Geezer Run. Thank you for all of the donations, and bless each one who gave.

Furious Friday

Friday was a flurry of flying here and there doing stuff and trying to train. I made six trips to TKB's Repair, but I wound up getting my phone patched up and my computer fixed also. Yeeha.

I did manage to go out for a nine-mile run, my last longish run before the Great Geezer. I am getting antsy, but I always do, with the decrease in activity, some of it self imposed, some of it sore imposed. By sore imposed, I mean I have had some body parts hurting. Just what I need before beginning a 107-mile run. To add to my worries, I have gained some weight. I usually do when I start a taper. Huraah.

A reporter from the Commonwealth came by during lunch to interview me about the Geezer. I hate that I did not have the T-shirt to show him, but I told him about the six-year old artist I commissioned for the design. I hope he mentions her in the article. I asked him to do that.

After the nine-mile run, after a funeral, after an interview, after six trips to Taylor's, I met John at the pool. I swam

1,400 26:58

brick kick

350 medium paddles 6:18

50 back

5 X 50 large paddles

200 small paddles

total: 2,250 yards = 2,056 meters.

After that, we had another Zoom rehearsal for the Prayer Breakfast. Finally I was both visible and hearable. Yehaa.

When the Zoom was done, I went outside and lifted. It was pull night. On the new T-bar, I pulled

16 X 35

15 X 45

12 X 55

10 X 65

8 X 67.5

6 X 67.5 narrow grip

Also I did some revers flys, some chins, some one-armed bent rows, and some biceps work. Then Penny got home with some groceries. I unloaded groceries and Penny went to China Blossom to pick us up supper. I then took a shower and went to bed. I watched TV while I dozed in and out of consciousness. It was a full day. It was a good day. It was a day to praise the Lord.