HOD 2022

Yeah, I'm already thinking about it. And training. I have some big plans to drop my swim. Yes, I think I can go faster. I have been sub 13 there, and I want to return to that performance level. I really did not train the swim that hard until the last six weeks because of the Great Geezer Run. Since then, the focus has been on swimming and dryland, i.e. Plate City Gym for swim strength.

Also, I missed doing the whole thing. Just to finish the HOD is an accomplishment and a quality workout that puts fitness and health in the bank. Maybe next year I can be a part of a team and also do the entire race.

Monday morning, Penny's truck did not crank so my morning swim was out. I took a run and went 7.3 miles. Then I went to the little pool after lunch and did a bunch of sets. I swam a long warmup and a 500 for time and a 400 for time. Also, I worked the backstroke with a straight 400. Add to that some paddle work, and I wound up with 6,100 yards or 5,575 meters. That is not a bad way to start preparing for the next Lake Tiak O'Khata swim.

Yes, I went to Plate City and did the push variety of my upper body workout. I benched 

  12 X 45

  6 X 65

  4 X 100

  2 X 125

  1 X 150

  2 X 150

  3 X 150

  4 X 150

  4 X 150

In addition, I did lateral raises and seated dips. All in all, that was one solid day of running, swimming, and lifting.

Tuesday, I intended to ride my bicycle in the afternoon. Bikes, Blues[,] & Bayous is coming up, and I have been on my bike exactly four times the whole year. First, however, I went to the pool, in the morning, to the outdoor long course pool. I did not feel like swimming but I slogged through 4,100 meters.

It was crazy hot but I went out anyway for a 1.51 miles. I had to do some walking. The dew point was 78, the temp 95, and the heat index around 111. I mowed the front lawn and waited for the second of two packages to be delivered. The first had arrived Monday. These two packages mark the next major upgrade of Plate City and it is one I am counting on to put me over the top in my swimming. I have such a high expectation for this that I am debating on even sharing it here. 

Really? 

Yes, really. 

Not too many people read my blog. But it is out there and available for anyone in the world. I don't want other swimmers whom I will compete against to know my secrets. Up until now, I have had no secrets. Every practice and every set has been meticulously posted here. I did not post my sets this week, not to hide anything, but out of laziness. These practices had so many sets and were so unorganized that I did not go through the effort to decipher the data in my watch and transcribe that to print. Anyone could read and duplicate, emulate, or adjust.

At the gym, I did my pull workout. Between sets, I was working on the machine, the part that came in Monday. When I finished lifting, the heat had whipped me down so that I went inside and took a shower. The UPS man did not arrive until I was out of the shower. I wasn't about to get back out in that heat. I would finish the machine the next day.

So, in two days, I have swum 9,675 meters, run 8.81 miles, and lifted weights twice. Not a bad start. Now I have 353 more days to prepare. By the grace of God, I will be ready.