Back to training. Wednesday I went to the pool in the afternoon. I've been kind of lazy and sleeping a little late in the morning. Vicki showed up and we did some sets. I can't remember everything we swam because it bounced around a lot. I know we did two fast 50s, some no-breath 25s, and some dive 25s.
Dive 25s?
Yeah. That's where we do a dive start and swim 25 yards as fast as we can. It's good training for a swim meet.
But don't you start off blocks in a swim meet?
In the geezer meets we do, you can start off the blocks, off the deck, or even off the wall in the water. I have settled on starting off the deck. Yes, off the blocks is faster. It also raises the chances of your goggles coming off by about 700%. Off the deck is faster than in the water on the wall, so that is the route I have been going.
Is there any advantage to practicing that?
Yes. Last year I lost a race I could have won because I went too deep on my dive off the deck at the start. Going deep is good if you have a strong underwater kick. If you have no underwater kick like me, it's not good. While I was coming up, I saw the guy on my left on top of the water, swimming, and ahead of me. In a 50 yard race, I did not have time to close the distance.
Since I had done some swimming before Vicki got there, I finished with 2,475 yards. Not bad. Back home, I went to the City and shuffled a little on the treadmill. I did not lift because Wednesday is leg day, and my legs were still not feeling too well after the marathon.
Thursday, Vicki and I planned to meet at the pool. I went in a little early because I like long warmups. I/we swam
600 before she got there
50 while she was getting ready
550 for her warmup
10 X50 @ WIFLE This was the main set of our practice, and it pushed us both.
100 easy
4 X 25 no breath
2 X 25 dive 25
4 X 25 DPS (distance per stroke)
200 cool down
total: 2,250 yards
So that makes four days in a row for me and two days in a row with some quality. It is difficult to do much quality swimming alone. At least it is for me. It looks like Vicki and I are going to team up to help each other get in competition shape. Thank you, Jesus.
Back home, it was getting late. I needed to go to Plate City, and I needed to run. Usually when faced with this conundrum, I go to the City and mix some treadmill work in with my gym work. This time, however, I opted to go out on the road for the first time since the marathon. Out onto the dark roads I went, and I shuffled 4.24 miles. An odd thing happened. My legs did not feel good. Then around mile 2.5, it was like they woke up. Not that they then felt good, but they felt way better. Praise God. Now I know I can start running again.
As you can see, running and swimming compete with each other and they both compete with the gym. That is my perennial problem: I try to do too much. That is one of the reasons I stopped hunting (besides the fact that I don't want to shoot anything anymore). When I sold my boat, I grieved a few days before I realized that it was one fewer thing I had to try to fit into an already too busy schedule. Concerning exercise, the bicycle has been squeezed mostly out. Last summer, Tyler rescued me by insisting we ride some several times a week. But I see no answer to my current delimna other than to retire from work, and I am not ready to do that.
So I continue to fail at being the best I can be in two sports. When I think it over, I kind of like my problem. My name is Zane Hodge, and I am an exerholic. Accept me the way I am, or I will run away or swim away from you. Deal with it. I have.
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