Weird Stuff

I've been out of the water a couple of days. It's weird. I don't know what's going on. Monday I swam at Twin Rivers but froze out in twenty minutes. Tuesday I went to the pond and had a lovely 5.35 mile swim in my wet suit. When I exited the water I was not tired, and I felt no ill effects from my longest swim of the short year. Wednesday morning, however, the weird stuff started.

I got out of bed on what many people call Hump Day, only to be greeted by some pain in my upper back. The discomfort was on the verge of groan producing. I poked around with my fingers and failed to find a sore spot. It seemed to be on the upper part of my scapula. At school, I checked out Buddy Bones and concluded that one of my rotator cuff muscles was protesting. That was my best self diagnosis.

I hoped it was a muscle because muscles heal quickly. A tendon, on the other hand, heals slowly, often gets worse, and could be the beginning of the end of my marathon swimming. Thursday brought more consternation. By then I could poke a spot-- to the upper right of the top of my left scapula. Did it move? I didn't know what to make of this. I still don't. Maybe I bumped into something and bruised myself, but my memory could produce nothing of the sort even after long and thorough searching. 

Right now I am drinking coffee and plotting my days work. No, the cats are not on the bed with me, and I am most displeased with that. They wouldn't leave the back porch because they are watching a large flock of birds on the patio through the big plate glass window that forms the southern boundary of their world. I am so jealous. But I got out of bed to no sign of my mystery phenomena. Am I well? Was it swim related? What is/was it? I am confused and my confidence is shaken, but since nothing hurts, I plan to go pond dipping. How far should I try for? Everything in my mind is in a tizzy.

Well, on the brighter side, the Chicot shirts are in. I'll post a pic later, but I have them and will be selling before the day is done. Not only that, but I have one sponsor in hand and another in the bush.

Buy shoes from Conerly's. I do.

Tough Tuesday

I busted out some major training Tuesday. It started with a 1.13 miles walk. That might sound like nothing, but walking is really good for two-beat kick conditioning. A bit after that, I ran 7.6 miles with some real speed work embedded into those miles. When I finished the running, I took some nutrition and began to pack up for a trip to the catfish pond. 

The goal was to get into the water by 3:00 pm. I was swimming by 3:15. Thankfully the days are long now and with no night class, I could stay a while without having to count the minutes. Although this time of year presents some problems in terms of outdoor pool swimming, the ponds are at that magical moment for swimming in a wet suit. My reading showed 67 at the end of my swim, and the pond had a range of maybe four degrees or more. Some streaks were a bit uncomfortably cold even in my suit. But overall, it felt great. I swam easy and just tried to be smooth and steady. 

Since I had swum 5.05 miles last Friday in 2:24, I hoped to top that by a little. I did a straight swim not stopping even for nutrition or water. I wondered how it would go after my run and limited calories after that. But I felt good and swam for 2:40 getting in 5.35 miles before I climbed out to go home. I felt refreshed in body, mind, and soul. The sun was sinking in the west bouncing beautiful light off the water. In the adjoining pond, some ducks swam around like they had no cares at all. I guess they don't. I thought, how is it that I am the only one around here who does this? This is the best swimming and the atmosphere is amazing. I pay no membership dues, have no parking problems, and never wait on a lane to swim in. I have 6,000 acres of ponds to chose from and miles and miles of lonely levees and gravel roads to run and walk. Why am I the only one? Randy Beets used to do this with me, but alas he has moved to North Carolina leaving it all to me.

Still Learning

I'm still learning about temperature. I went to Twin Rivers hoping and expecting to be able to swim at least two hours. I had the time. I had the opportunity. I had the fire in the belly. I had the recent exposure to cold water. I can do this, I thought confidently as I parked my truck and swaggered my way towards the pool.

The water was sixty-nine degrees. 

The air was sixty-eight degrees.

I tapped out in twenty minutes.

What happened?

I knew right away I was in trouble. Body parts started going numb almost instantly. At sixty-nine, I should have been able to swim at least an hour. I lasted longer than that last week at 68. The only difference I could figure is that there was no sunshine and although the water and air temps were in the right range, with no sunshine to aid in my body's warmth, I started down the road to hypothermia almost instantly. Who knew? Come to think of it, I should have. Think about how many times you have been outdoors on a cool spring day and you are perfectly comfortable until a cloud covers the sun and instantly your body feels the cold?

So I only swam 1,000 meters, but that left me with time to do some other things before my night class. I spun for 26:00 on the bike trainer and then ran 3.65 on the treadmill. Since it was storming, really storming by then, I took advantage of my indoor equipment. I don't run on the treadmill often, but it's nice to have one when the weather is bad.

Chicot Verses 5

I find myself still in need of Chicot verses. After a good training cycle last week, I am much more relaxed than I was. But I still get uptight and I hope I haven't let my lesson of walking alone go to waste. Today's Bible selection is an obvious one: Philippians 4:13. Before I give the verse, however, let me share a little tip I find handy when flipping through God's Word looking for some of those small epistles. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians can be a little confusing, the order I mean. A little mnemonic device I picked up along the is, Go eat pop corn. That gives the order, so as soon as you find one, you know which way to turn to find the one you are looking for. Go = Galatians,  eat = Ephesians, etc. So here is the verse:

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

The basic meaning is obvious, and surely it is apparent why this verse is on the lips and pens of so many believers. This passage does have a context and at the risk of sounding ridiculous, the context is the Bible. This doesn't mean I can do anything one could name "by Him who strengthens me," but rather I can do anything He wills. For instance, I could not become the most accomplished serial killer of all time by claiming this truth. The context of the Bible rules that out. But whatever God leads me to do, I can do it because He gives the strength. There, however, is the rub. Is the Chicot Challenge God's will for my life? It is easy to think so when the planning and training is running along smoothly. But every March when weather and pool closings and interruptions seem to conspire against me to make the swim an impossibility, I wrestle with this very issue, God's will. Right now, I believe. I believe God has set me on this path, and that He will help me accomplish this goal. If He is for me who or what can be against me? 

Admittedly, almost all ultra-marathon events, the Chicot Challenge included, are laced with self-centeredness. I want desperately to do this as part of my goal-setting personality and to enjoy the fulfillment of something I have to dream about, plan over, and train for over a long period of time in order to pull off. I get a charge out of that. But there is more to it than that. This swim does raise money for a good cause, a health charity that touches lives right here where I and my family and neighbors live. Another aim is to raise awareness of the disease. Yes, I know people know diabetes is in our world. It seems to me, however, that many people are not aware of the risks they themselves face nor are they aware of their ability to reduce those risks by implementing some not so radical changes in their behaviors. 

Furthermore, I hope this series of swims sets an example on a couple of fronts. I like to think my son's recent fund-raising run for the same charity, the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi, was in part inspired by my example. I like to think that, although I am well aware that his civic consciousness is infinitely higher than mine and for that I can take no credit. I also like to think that if I do this swim long enough, going farther every year as I get older, that some people will be inspired to become more physically active, even late in life, and that they will see ageing not as an inevitable sentence to the couch, to obesity, to bad health. 

I like to think.

4/4 - 4/10

I missed several intended postings last week. In one way that is a good thing because it means I was busy, busy swimming and running. Overall it was a pretty good training week, one that helped me relax a whole lot. I posted about Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Thursday I hit Twin Rivers for my second outdoor pool swim of the year. I didn't take a reading, but the water felt no warmer, maybe even a bit cooler. I was, however, able to swim 3,300 without anything going numb. Besides the swim, I ran and did a small amount of bike riding.

Friday I went to the pond and swam 5.05 miles in 2:26:24 for an average pace of 28:58. That was wet suit aided. I never skin swim that quick. The water temp had fallen from Monday to 65. Saturday I ran, and lifted weights. The bench work was

18 X 100
10 X 120
4 X 140
4 X 145
4 X 145
4 X 145
4 X 145
5 X 140
6 X 135

Sunday, I went out Wade Road on my mountain bike and alternated between riding and running while pushing the bike. I did a total of 6.15 on the bike and 2.1 on foot. For the week, I

swam 22,295 meters,
walked 5.29 miles,
ran 30.69 miles,
mountain biked 12.69 miles,
pedaled 23:00 on the bike trainer, and 
lifted weights two times.

Wild Wednesday

Wednesdays are one of the highlights of my week. The other is Friday date night with my wife. But Wednesdays, during this semester at least, are a long but happy and satisfying day. I teach three classes in the morning, keep some office time, then go home to eat and see what I can get done on the exercise front. This particular Wednesday I decided to go to Twin Rivers for my first swim of the year there. They just pumped up the pool so it is cold, dirty, and not ready for swimming. But I frequent catfish ponds so getting in that dirty pool is like taking a bath for me.

I carried my wet suit with me but decided after I got there to go skins. The water was 68 degrees which is just about my lower limit. It felt great after the initial shock of pushing off the wall. I swam 2,100 straight, and stopped because I had a lot to do to get ready for class. I was getting a bit cold and experienced some after drop when I got to the house. After going home and changing into my work clothes, I went to Mom's and administered her afternoon meds and made sure she had something to eat. Then it was back to school.

Usually, I go in at 5:30 on Wednesdays but I was there by 5:00 because I needed to capture some screen shots for discussing Unforgiven, the movie we watched last week. Film as Literature is my all-time favorite course to teach, and right now I have the best class I've ever had. That makes going to work a real joy. I leave school for the final time on Wednesdays at almost 9:00 pm. Since I have to get a swim in during the afternoon, I now am forced to run after my night class. Wednesday is also one of the nights I stay with Mom. So it is off to Mom's, more meds, change clothes, and out the door for a run in the dark. I shuffled 3.6 miles, did some walking, then gave Mom her shot. After that I changed clothes again, and settled in for a little mindless TV.

Now I am in a quandary about what to do today. I can go to Twin Rivers and save a lot of driving, but I am limited to how long I can stay in and swim because of the cold water. I could go to DSU and get 4,000 or more meters, but I have to drive for two hours to do it. I could even go to the pond and swim in my suit and stay in as long as I want. I only need one more long swim this week, around 7,000 meters or more. I like to do my really long stuff on Fridays and Mark Blackwood tells me that he has that lake pumped up that he has been telling me about for years. It is large enough to water ski and I can swim it if I can get up with him to let me in. Choices, choices. I'll let you know how it goes.

Torrid Tuesday

I ran before I ate lunch to make sure I at least got that much done. Seven plus miles with two solid miles of sub 5K race pace scattered in made for what should be a nice 5K/10K training effect. I will find out soon when we have our school run which for some unknown, unfathomable, unguessable reason Chief Manuel will not let us know when it is going to be. 

I drove to Skene where I saw my grandchildren, hung out with Smu, and fell asleep on the couch. Then I drove to DSU without the usual pressure to get every meter possible. I had a pretty good swim Monday and beside that the ponds are getting right, Twin Rivers is pumped up, the the possibilities seem endless. The total for me was

1,100 warm up

Set one
50
100
150
200  
150
100
50 all these with small paddles and rest :20

Set two
12 X 50 @ 1:30 as three sets of four holding pace in each set and declined sets 1-3. I averaged :49 for the first set. :47 for the second set; and :43 for the third set (I did two at :42).

1,100 cool down

total: 3,600 meters.

I am at the very moment trying to determine what I am going to do this afternoon. Pond or pool. If the pool were warm enough, I would certainly hit it. I may do so anyway just to see how long I can last. I can wear a wet suit in the pool, but for some reason I don't understand, I rather not. I'll let you know how it goes.