21/22

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about a 20/20 week. What's that? A 20/20 week is a training cycle where I swim 20,000 meters and run 20 miles in the same week.  Back in the day, that was my gold standard for total-body aerobic fitness. Now that I am Zane the aged, it is a more difficult goal. I hit it much more infrequently than when I wore a younger man's running shoes. Last week, however, I one upped the 20/20 with a 21/22. Yeah, it was a Randy Beets shaming, world beating round of training. It went like this.

Monday I started things off right with 4,500 meters in the big pool. I added to that a 3.23 mile run and a few tons of weights lifted at the gym. Tuesday I swam another 4,500 meters, lifted a bunch more weight, and shuffled 3.57 miles. I wondered what Randy was doing. Probably eating pizza.

Wednesday the fatigue was catching up with me. The swim was only 4,100 meters, the roadwork slipped to 3.4, and the weight training was only some light leg work. But I was still in the hunt for a big one, a big week, a trophy on the wall, so to speak.

Thursday I swam 4,200. The weight training was solid, and although the shuffling was only 3.37 miles, I had an ace up my sleeve. Friday I swam in the little pool for a mere 1,650 yards. The run was only 2.06 miles, and the weight lifting never happened. But a check of my sleeve revealed that the ace was still there.

Saturday morning found me back in the little pool. This time I hit it for 3,050 yards bringing my week's total to 21,595 meters. That was my biggest total of the year. I lifted a lot, but I did not run. I waited patiently to play my ace.

My ace? It was a rare Sunday run. I know that running on the Lord's day is a staple for a lot of people. For me, not so much. It is truly a rest day and I normally nap all afternoon. But this time Sunday and the Fourth of July were on the same day. Our little church closed for the day so I slept in and then ran and walked to Hillbilly Heaven.

Oddly, it was not terribly hot. Since my running fitness has slipped of late, I had to add in a lot of walking to get there. I shuffled 7.3 miles and walked the rest of the 14.2 mile total from the Hideout to the hill top. Then I ate and napped and enjoyed the day doing nothing. In the words of Luke, "Sometimes nothing is a pretty cool hand."

For the week, I

swam - 21,595 meters,

ran - 22.93 miles,

lifted weights - five times,

cycled - none, but I thought about it,

ate - a lot,

napped - some,

hung out with cats - hours.

So there you have it in outline form. This is the kind of training that caused Randy Beets to leave the Mississippi Delta and to and sojourn in a strange land.  Sometimes I even feel sorry for the big guy. But that never lasts long. Thank you Jesus.