The new year has started with a whimper instead of a bang and that's alright with me. I peaked at the very end/beginning of the year and am now in the de-loading phase with the weights and the recovery phase in the water. Hopefully I will peak in time for the Senior Olympics and Chicot Challenge in terms of strength, speed, and endurance. More about that in a later post.
This is the week that is super hard to train in because of my work schedule. Consequently, planning a downturn in training to coincide with my extra hours on the job has taken a huge amount of stress and fretting from me. Wise choice. It is now Thursday morning and I have swum once (nota bena: I have swum, never I have swam!!!!) and lifted weights once. Today I need to lift again and swim. That will be a bit busy. Although I don't plan to swim long or far, to work all day and do both while still trying to get will is a bit much. Last night Trevor and I benched. I did
12 X 100
7 X 135
7 X 135
7 X 135
Notice the fall off in strength. A couple of weeks ago I did 3 X 10 X 140. I also had confirmed during this workout that I need two full warm up sets. It didn't feel right going straight to 135 after the one set at 100. Then we did some inclines. I pressed
13 X 95
10 X 105
Later I did a set of dumbbell inclines (7 X 35) and some flys. The flys are something my shoulder doesn't like so I went very light. I think I need to make a commitment to doing them like I did with the flat bench and later the incline bench. The shoulder didn't like them at first either, but got better over time with the work.
Trevor is gungho over a strong man contest he has signed up for and is training really heavy. This is in Little Rock during the month of February. It should be a learning experience for us both although I will only spectate, cheer on Trevor, and try to support him. Thank you, Lord, for a good week thus far.
Thursday, January 10, 2019
Wednesday, January 9, 2019
Small Swim
After taking Monday off from all physical activity, I did swim Tuesday. However, I took it easy. Getting home from work, I took a nap and then went to the pool where I swam a slow 2,000 followed by 3 X 50 kicking with fins but no board. Then after resting, I swam an easy 200 with medium paddles. Total: 2,200 yards.
Wow. That's pretty light.
I'm proud of myself.
Temperance is not something I am normally very good at. For me, too much has never been enough. Candy, good food, average food, movies, exercise, cats, anything I like makes me want to just go on and on and on with it. To hold back that much makes me proud of myself. Maybe I am growing up. Or maybe I am just sick and tired of being sick and tired. I am certainly tired. I have been pretty sick. But I am getting better. Thank you, Jesus.
Wow. That's pretty light.
I'm proud of myself.
Temperance is not something I am normally very good at. For me, too much has never been enough. Candy, good food, average food, movies, exercise, cats, anything I like makes me want to just go on and on and on with it. To hold back that much makes me proud of myself. Maybe I am growing up. Or maybe I am just sick and tired of being sick and tired. I am certainly tired. I have been pretty sick. But I am getting better. Thank you, Jesus.
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Alabama?
An Alabama beatdown. Those are words I never thought would go together. Alabama does the beating down not receives it. At least that is how it has been going the past decade. But the football game last night, the National Championship between Alabama and Clemson was a nightmare. And social media, of course, made it worse.
People have the right to pull for whomever they chose for whatever reason they chose. I have been accused by family members of being an Alabama fan. That is not exactly true. I am a Mississippi State fan and an SEC chauvinist. That is the truth. Let me tell you why.
My dad raised me to be "a State fan" as we call ourselves here in Mississippi. That is ingrained so deeply within me that there is no breaking the bond. Believe me, I tried but failed to divorce myself from the program at the end of the Sherrill era. So to accuse me of being a bandwagon fan is to risk bodily injury from me. I am old enough to remember when we, not Vanderbilt, were the whipping boys of the SEC. I have pulled for more losers than winners. Faithfulness is the hallmark of a Mississippi State fan.
Dad also raised me to pull for those closest to you. Alabama is a neighboring state. In fact before Alabama was a state, it was part of the Mississippi Territory, the present state being created in 1817. Get in a automobile at my house and drive at a reasonable speed for two and a half hours on Highway 82 and you are in Alabama. Not only are they a state we share several hundred miles of border with, but my grandparents, Dad's mom and dad, both came to Mississippi from Alabama, Andalusia to be exact. And that is everything I know about Dad's side of the family. How long Hayward Hodge and Elsie Rogers were in Alabama, I have not a clue. Why they moved to Mississippi, I have not a clue. I only know they did. So we share a border, a conference, and family history with Alabama. We have no such connection with South Carolina.
Dad also taught me to pull for your own. He told me over and over, "If a man won't pull for his own, there ain't much to him." That is why it was so distressing for me to see family members crowing on Facebook about Alabama's defeat. Why pull for another conference and another state farther away from us? Dad didn't go for that kind of thing, and it would have disturbed him greatly as it does me.
I understand Alabama fatigue. I get it. I don't understand conference disloyalty. I don't get it. I've seen it in my students. Whenever I try to talk football with most of my students, I find out they are Notre Dame fans, or they pull for Michigan or Ohio State or USC or Oregon. They hate the SEC. Where does this come from? I think I know, but I refuse to say publicly what I am sure is going on in their hearts.
Anyway, crow away. I hope it gives you a good day. But I also hope your children, and family can count on you. And when I look at the society I am planted in, that is exactly what I see the opposite of. I see kids who can't count on parents, husbands and wives who can't count on each other, employers who can't count on their workers and vica versa. That is why it matters. That is why Dad told me over and over, "If a man won't pull for his own, there ain't much too him." I see it now. He was right.
People have the right to pull for whomever they chose for whatever reason they chose. I have been accused by family members of being an Alabama fan. That is not exactly true. I am a Mississippi State fan and an SEC chauvinist. That is the truth. Let me tell you why.
My dad raised me to be "a State fan" as we call ourselves here in Mississippi. That is ingrained so deeply within me that there is no breaking the bond. Believe me, I tried but failed to divorce myself from the program at the end of the Sherrill era. So to accuse me of being a bandwagon fan is to risk bodily injury from me. I am old enough to remember when we, not Vanderbilt, were the whipping boys of the SEC. I have pulled for more losers than winners. Faithfulness is the hallmark of a Mississippi State fan.
Dad also raised me to pull for those closest to you. Alabama is a neighboring state. In fact before Alabama was a state, it was part of the Mississippi Territory, the present state being created in 1817. Get in a automobile at my house and drive at a reasonable speed for two and a half hours on Highway 82 and you are in Alabama. Not only are they a state we share several hundred miles of border with, but my grandparents, Dad's mom and dad, both came to Mississippi from Alabama, Andalusia to be exact. And that is everything I know about Dad's side of the family. How long Hayward Hodge and Elsie Rogers were in Alabama, I have not a clue. Why they moved to Mississippi, I have not a clue. I only know they did. So we share a border, a conference, and family history with Alabama. We have no such connection with South Carolina.
Dad also taught me to pull for your own. He told me over and over, "If a man won't pull for his own, there ain't much to him." That is why it was so distressing for me to see family members crowing on Facebook about Alabama's defeat. Why pull for another conference and another state farther away from us? Dad didn't go for that kind of thing, and it would have disturbed him greatly as it does me.
I understand Alabama fatigue. I get it. I don't understand conference disloyalty. I don't get it. I've seen it in my students. Whenever I try to talk football with most of my students, I find out they are Notre Dame fans, or they pull for Michigan or Ohio State or USC or Oregon. They hate the SEC. Where does this come from? I think I know, but I refuse to say publicly what I am sure is going on in their hearts.
Anyway, crow away. I hope it gives you a good day. But I also hope your children, and family can count on you. And when I look at the society I am planted in, that is exactly what I see the opposite of. I see kids who can't count on parents, husbands and wives who can't count on each other, employers who can't count on their workers and vica versa. That is why it matters. That is why Dad told me over and over, "If a man won't pull for his own, there ain't much too him." I see it now. He was right.
Monday, January 7, 2019
Slow Start
I hit the ground with a skid Monday as we had a meeting at work to prepare for a new semester. I felt a lot better so much so that I seriously thought about going to the pool when we got out much earlier than I had anticipated. However, wisdom told me to go home and rest. Besides, for the first time in about a week, I was hungry. Hungry! I have been eating and I never threw up, but with fever you never really enjoy eating and my stomach was unsettled all day Sunday.
Being hungry let me know I was indeed getting well. So I ate, and took a nap on the couch. Then I put my big socks on and went to bed. I turned on the SEC Network first so I could get all the commentary and buildup to the big game. CC took a nap with me. She is sweet like that. Now I am doing a little work, getting syllabi ready in preparation for next week when we have students in the classroom. Life is good. Maybe I'll swim tomorrow. Thank you, Lord.
Being hungry let me know I was indeed getting well. So I ate, and took a nap on the couch. Then I put my big socks on and went to bed. I turned on the SEC Network first so I could get all the commentary and buildup to the big game. CC took a nap with me. She is sweet like that. Now I am doing a little work, getting syllabi ready in preparation for next week when we have students in the classroom. Life is good. Maybe I'll swim tomorrow. Thank you, Lord.
12/31 - 1/6
If my running were going as well as the swimming, you could color me Mr Fit. But it is not so you can color me Mr. Swim. Last week I swam
Monday - 3,700 scys
Tuesday - 2,250 scys
Wednesday - 2,700
Thursday = 6,850
Friday - 3,600
Saturday - 4,100
Total: 21,201 meters. I always convert to meters for weekly totals.
I only lifted weights two times. So, it was a really good swim week and a down one for the weights although I did PR for the one rep bench press and the ten rep bench press. Now I am coming off an illness and starting back to work. Consequently, this may be a down week, but that is OK. Praise God for what He has allowed me to do.
Monday - 3,700 scys
Tuesday - 2,250 scys
Wednesday - 2,700
Thursday = 6,850
Friday - 3,600
Saturday - 4,100
Total: 21,201 meters. I always convert to meters for weekly totals.
I only lifted weights two times. So, it was a really good swim week and a down one for the weights although I did PR for the one rep bench press and the ten rep bench press. Now I am coming off an illness and starting back to work. Consequently, this may be a down week, but that is OK. Praise God for what He has allowed me to do.
Sunday, January 6, 2019
Sunday Afternoon
I am in bed on Sunday afternoon where I have been all day. I, we, missed church. We have both been under the weather for a few days. In fact, Penny missed last Sunday because of illness. I started coughing a few days ago and progressively grew worse. Then yesterday I overdid things a bit. The day went like this.
I drove to the pool and swam
2,000 37:10 (1:50)
Then I swam my drop set which I am renaming The Man Maker. It goes like this: 400, 300, 200, 100 for time all on a base of 2:00 per 100. Each time I have done the set, I have added to it and taken some time off the early reps. Saturday, it went like
400 @ 7:50 in 6:19 (1:34)
300 @ 5:54 in 4:40 (1:33)
200 @ 3:57 in 3:06 (1:33)
150 @ 3:00 in 2:19 (1:32)
100 @ 2:00 in 1:31
100 @ 2:00 in 1:32
100 @ 2:00 in 1:33
50 @ 1:00 in :44
50 @ 1:00 in :45
50 @ 1:00 in :47
total for The Man Maker = 1,500 yards all at 1:34 per 100 or faster
Then for a cool down, I swam and easy 600 with small paddles.
total practice was 4,100 yards.
Observations. I love this set; I hate this set. Sometimes you do something and you just get a feeling from it, feedback from your body. This set gives me that. The 400 - 200 are difficult. Starting with the 150 and down, it becomes a heart rate set as the lactic acid begins to build faster than my body can clear it. In short, this swim is a stamina workout. When you build stamina, you build everything. You build speed, strength, and endurance. The only problem is it's a butt kicker.
The next time I do this one, I will take some more time off the early reps, and add another 100. There is where the real fitness is going to come, repeating those 100s after the swimming muscles are fatigued and the lactic acid is building faster than my body can clear it.
Also to be noted is the fact that everything was slower than the last time I did the practice last Saturday. And if you look at the numbers, you will notice a slow down at the end. The three 100s slowed as did the 50s. That did not surprise me nor upset me because I am sure my blood count was and still is a little out of wack due to being ill. Monday I set a PR in the 500 so I know I am fit.
Now that I am ill and beginning school next week, I know my training will take a dive. That is OK too. I was worried a few weeks back that I might be peeking too soon the Senior Olympics. Now, I will rebuild after next week both in the pool and at Plate City. I don't really know how to train for a pool swim and the Chicot Challenge at the same time. How to taper for a pool swim a couple of weeks before the big all-day Chicot? I'll figure it out. Or maybe I won't. At least I won't get bored.
So I did the butt kicking swim and then met Trevor at Plate City. I think that was the coup de grace. I didn't hit the weights hard because I did not feel good. When I got back inside, it was all down hill from there. I coughed all night, had fever, and felt like I was about to die. Now, at 3:20 pm, I am feeling better but far from well. Maybe I will pull through yet. Thank you, Jesus
I drove to the pool and swam
2,000 37:10 (1:50)
Then I swam my drop set which I am renaming The Man Maker. It goes like this: 400, 300, 200, 100 for time all on a base of 2:00 per 100. Each time I have done the set, I have added to it and taken some time off the early reps. Saturday, it went like
400 @ 7:50 in 6:19 (1:34)
300 @ 5:54 in 4:40 (1:33)
200 @ 3:57 in 3:06 (1:33)
150 @ 3:00 in 2:19 (1:32)
100 @ 2:00 in 1:31
100 @ 2:00 in 1:32
100 @ 2:00 in 1:33
50 @ 1:00 in :44
50 @ 1:00 in :45
50 @ 1:00 in :47
total for The Man Maker = 1,500 yards all at 1:34 per 100 or faster
Then for a cool down, I swam and easy 600 with small paddles.
total practice was 4,100 yards.
Observations. I love this set; I hate this set. Sometimes you do something and you just get a feeling from it, feedback from your body. This set gives me that. The 400 - 200 are difficult. Starting with the 150 and down, it becomes a heart rate set as the lactic acid begins to build faster than my body can clear it. In short, this swim is a stamina workout. When you build stamina, you build everything. You build speed, strength, and endurance. The only problem is it's a butt kicker.
The next time I do this one, I will take some more time off the early reps, and add another 100. There is where the real fitness is going to come, repeating those 100s after the swimming muscles are fatigued and the lactic acid is building faster than my body can clear it.
Also to be noted is the fact that everything was slower than the last time I did the practice last Saturday. And if you look at the numbers, you will notice a slow down at the end. The three 100s slowed as did the 50s. That did not surprise me nor upset me because I am sure my blood count was and still is a little out of wack due to being ill. Monday I set a PR in the 500 so I know I am fit.
Now that I am ill and beginning school next week, I know my training will take a dive. That is OK too. I was worried a few weeks back that I might be peeking too soon the Senior Olympics. Now, I will rebuild after next week both in the pool and at Plate City. I don't really know how to train for a pool swim and the Chicot Challenge at the same time. How to taper for a pool swim a couple of weeks before the big all-day Chicot? I'll figure it out. Or maybe I won't. At least I won't get bored.
So I did the butt kicking swim and then met Trevor at Plate City. I think that was the coup de grace. I didn't hit the weights hard because I did not feel good. When I got back inside, it was all down hill from there. I coughed all night, had fever, and felt like I was about to die. Now, at 3:20 pm, I am feeling better but far from well. Maybe I will pull through yet. Thank you, Jesus
Saturday, January 5, 2019
One More Time
Friday is my long swim day for obvious reasons: I'm off work. But being off for the Christmas holidays has seen me swim long on Thursday three weeks in a row. I haven't planned it that way, but when Thursday rolled around each week, that is where my thoughts and desires were. I went to the pool about 10:15 and swam
5,300 1:34:42 (1:46)
3 X 100 @ 2:05
50 easy
100 small paddles
3 X 50 @1:12 medium paddles
2 X 75 @ 1:35
550
150
total: 6,850 yards +6,260 meters.
You may have noticed all the little sets at the end. A sure sign of a tired swimmer trying to just get the distance done. I've been under the weather this week, and I didn't have it.
Praise God for a good day. I went home and spent the rest of the day and night in bed.
5,300 1:34:42 (1:46)
3 X 100 @ 2:05
50 easy
100 small paddles
3 X 50 @1:12 medium paddles
2 X 75 @ 1:35
550
150
total: 6,850 yards +6,260 meters.
You may have noticed all the little sets at the end. A sure sign of a tired swimmer trying to just get the distance done. I've been under the weather this week, and I didn't have it.
Praise God for a good day. I went home and spent the rest of the day and night in bed.
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