Stupid Is, Stupid Does

For the week of 12/29-1/4, I did some of the stupidest training imaginable. I started on Monday by attempting to swim in 110 degree water at the Greenwood Leflore Hospital Wellness Center's Endless Pool. I thought about writing a blog post titled "Endless Fool" because that is how I felt when I crawled out after only three and a half mintues, exhautsed and beet red. One of the nurses told me I was being cooked alive.

Tuesday the weather was good, so John and I lifted weights. Later I went out for a nice 8.08 multi-paced run. That made sense. Wednesday, we were to celebrate Brice Roberts' birthday, so I did a short adventure run on my less than fresh legs. I went out through the Industrial Park and ran a stretch of the Pelucia Creek Levee I had never been on. I ran 9.89 miles that day and did a lot of walking on lower limbs that were already tired from the day before.

Thursday, New Year's, was rainy, so I got on the treadmill for the first time in months. It's nice to have one to fall back on in times of bad weather, but that is almost the only time I use it. Despite not going anywhere, I stayed on for 5.33 miles. Since I did a hard run Tuesday and another hard run Wednesday, I should have gone much shorter and slower Thursday. But like my first sentence says, I did some stupid training.

Friday the weather was still bad so I went to Twin Rivers to lift weights. Like the running on the treadmill at home, I only come here to lift when the weather is really really bad. I not only did upper body, but I hammered my already tired legs on their leg press and extension machines. Later in the afternoon, however, the rain broke off so I went out for a little shuffle. I kept my stupid pattern up and shuffled for 7.02 miles on totally trashed legs.

Saturday was another day of rain, but late in the afternoon it lightened up enough that I went out back and worked out on my Swim Pull machine. Between each set of the swim pull, I took a run while holding two pound had weights in my hands. I ran 3.51 miles and did a total of 263 reps of the swim pull. I was soaked by the time I stopped but the temp was warm enough that it didn't matter. Although the run numbers were low, that workout sort of finished me off. I woke up Sunday morning with my legs screaming at me.

Sunday is almost always a day of physical rest for me. My legs were so sore and stiff when I got up that I have doubts about my ability to train tomorrow. It was a stupid mistake to run hard five straight days. Sometimes I amaze myself at what a knucklehead I can be. I did preach at Centerville Baptist Sunday morning, filling in for Brother Gary. I felt a little rusty as I haven't spoken much in several months now. But it was nice for me, and I hope for them also.

For the week, I

swam 3:30 (minutes)
ran 33.83 miles
lifted weights three times, and
walked 5.88 miles.

Those numbers aren't that high, but my arraingment of them was all off and my legs are telling my now how stupid I was.

This week marks the end of my vacation. It's been good but a little short. There are still some things on my list that I didn't get around to. Maybe later. We are supposed to have Masters practice Tuesday night and I can hardly wait for that. I feel like I may not even know how to swim now. It is time to begin Chicot training and I am ready to go. 

Endless Pool

The week of 12/15-12/21 was another mixed bag. I

ran-37.85 miles
lifted weights-three times
walked- 8.25 miles
swam- 0.

Dude! For the second time this year, I did no swimming, and I was not a happy camper. This resulted in severe anxiety, frustration, anger, and thoughts of violence. However, I got hooked up with the Endless Pool this week and did my first session. And my second. John came over Monday afternoon, and we lifted weights till I thought my arms were going to fall off. Or I did. I gave him forty minutes after he said he was on the way and started warming up. I had done seven sets of bench presses by the time he got there. Then it started raining. Poor John.

After he left, I duct taped my arms on and drove to the Greenwood Leflore Wellness Center where I swam for one hour and twenty one minutes. It was good and bad experience. Let me explain.

The pool is wide open right now. I talked with the director Monday morning and she told me that no one was using it right now because the heater is broken and the water temperature is down to 86. No one will use the pool because the water is down to 86. No one will use the pool because the water is 86 degrees. No one will use the pool because the water is 86. I swear that is what she told me.

I can do 86. Yes, that is way hot for most swimmers, and many swimmers could not be forced at gunpoint into 86 degree water. But I deal well with heat and 86 is within my range. So I went to give it a try. Not only is the heater out, but the motor is not working well either. It would only get the current up to four miles per hour. When attempting to push beyond that, the motor simply shut down.

Four miles per hour sounds fast enough. I swim at two or slower. But in that pool, I had to stroke unnaturally slow to keep from hitting the front wall. That’s not good but it’s better than a poke in the eye. I needed some water time in the worst way, and I got 1:21 after a hard weight session. When I left, I could tell I had done something.

I went back the Tuesday morning and John Cooke told me they are getting the motor replaced after the first of the year. That is good news. Surprisingly, the water temp was 90. That is really warm, but I can even do 90. In fact, I can swim hard at higher than that although I prefer cooler water. This time I swam 1:46, and although the tempo was necessarily slow, I still got in some work.

Now I feel a lot better, like I am not a danger to myself or others, and I am no longer stressed about DSU being closed. Not only that, but I look to the future with a lot more hope than I have in the past. January and February have been, for the past several years, months of growing anxiety. With my big swim drawing nearer and my only real water access being Delta State, having a shot at this Endless Pool means I can build a better base in January, February, and March. Last year, I went wild on April the 1^st swimming a 10K in a fish pond while wearing a wetsuit. That led to one of my very few swimming injuries that led to reduced training that led to a lot of stress that led to anxiety that led to scheduling the Challenge a week later than usual. I hope to do it all better this year.