Update

Thursday: March 17th, swam 3,000.  Hooked up with some guys at Summit Middle school pool.  Very nice.

Friday: March 18th, a day I'll never forget. In AM did upper body workout, later in the day ran 8 miles.

Saturday:  Indianapolis, rode 20 miles.  Almost killed by Carmel driver in a round-a-bout.  They don't look for cyclist in those things. 

Sunday: Fort Wayne, Jorgenson Y, swam in a pool filled with kids, got hit by rubber ball twice - 1,500 yards

Monday: Bike 25 miles, nice ride. Saw a live skunk walking along the side of the road interestingly. Surprised is wasn't a rat.

Tuesday AM: weights.  Upper body.  After the workout, when I thought we were done, he said, "OK, now I want you to do as many push-ups as you can until you can't do them anymore". 

Bench Press

It's all I can do to type.  This morning was upper body day with my trainer.  The name of the place is Absolute Results.  I'm becoming a believer. 

Being the fish out of water that I am in a gym full of weights,  I was a bit trepidus when we approached the formidable looking bench press.  My former football player trainer smiled and said, "we're going to see what you're made of now".  This is week three, and there I was finally looking up at a cold iron bar and 45lb plates on each side.  The bar came down and only slightly crushed my chest before I heaved it back to starting position on rep one.  Repetition two was good, and three, actually all the way to ten.  I'm a good meat-head after all.

We did it all today.  As we approached the bench  for the final round he had me do some odd move at the end where you lower the bar to your chest as slowly as possible, then push it up fast. Repeat four times....then jump down on the ground and do as many push-ups as you can until complete fatigue.  I felt physically sick at that point, but it was kind of nice to finally collapse on the floor.  It was over.          

diversity in the water

I took the swimming diversity tour at the meet I swam in this weekend.  Did the 100's of each stroke.  I've always been impressed with swimmers that could do anything - and I tried to develop myself into an all around swimmer when I was in college.  I did well, better than I hoped. Placed in the overall first position in each stroke.  Managed to hold off a few twenty year olds' after all.  I think my strength training over the last few months has served me well in the water, particularly with fly.  

Fly - .59
Back - .58
Breast - 1.08
Free - 53.02  (almost a .52)

These times aren't so bad for a guy turning 40 this year I suppose,  but I see that I'm getting slower.  Like an old gray Labrador.   Master's swimming is great - it's no different than any level of swimming.  Everyone wants to win.  I was as nervous as ever prior to the first race; feeling as if I was expected to win, some remnant of long ago mental imagery. 

Yesterday I ran 6 miles.  This morning I rode 25 miles on my trainer.

From head to toe

well, not really.  My toes are fine.  But I'm sore every where else.  It's a good feeling to actually use your muscles.  I rode my trainer last night for 20 miles on squat jump tired legs.  I felt pretty good actually - did some big gear work out of saddle.  I can feel the last several days though when I shrug my shoulders.  Every time I hear the word shrug I think of Atlas Shrugged.  One of my old favorites. 

This weekend I'm planning to swim in a Masters swim meet, walk-on deal.  Probably hit all distance events - 400IM, 500FR, 200FR,  but I kind of want to slack up and just do the 100's.  Recovery time is so much faster.  We shall see.  And, I don't want to be beat by some 20 year old kid either (I say full of myself).  I know that day is coming...but not this Saturday hopefully.   I'll be depressed all weekend if I lose the 500 freestyle. 

Jump Squats - Burpies - Riding in the Rain

Monday PM: I had a good run.  Finally.  Monday night I hit the park, which has dried slightly, and did 5 miles - 3 miles of it were miles for time with 15 bootcamp style Burpies at the end of each mile, then rest, then repeat. I was spent running back home.  Burpies, or Daisy's as my wife prefers to call them are a good all around test of fitness. 

Tuesday AM: - trainer, upper body workout.  I told him I wanted to look like Brad Pitt in the movie Fight Club.    "You're going to need to start putting in some more time",  he said.  I was so sore at the end of the workout I couldn't put my arms above my head with 8lb weights.  Loved it. 

Tuesday PM:  it was warm enough to ride and I went for it - even though the skies looked a little rainy.  Sure enough at mile 10 it started to rain.  It was grey out, about 5:45pm, I'd forgotten to put my little blinking light on the back of my bike.  I was wearing all black, starting to feel stupid.  I turned and headed for home, and lived to write about it. 

Wed AM:  Trainer.  Leg workout.  We did this really fun thing called wide-leg squat jumps, then narrow-leg jumps, then lunges, then jumped up and down on a big wooden box two feet in the air, and then did it all again a few times and threw some other stuff in and now I can barely walk to the fax machine.  But really, how many faxes do you send these days? 

Robins and Cummings "In Just"

I ran this weekend, 6 miles on Saturday.  The world was like an E.E. Cummings poem.  It was mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful.  In my efforts to circumvent the flooded river I ran deep into the public golf course which looked deceptively dry in spots, until running in it.  The earth was like a sponge.  A cold deep sponge.  I trod along in the pursuit of health, rather enjoying the cold wet feet for a change. 

The fowl were quite happy as well and out in numbers.  Parts of the park were covered in new vast lakes only a few inches deep.  There were geese and mallards, and plump robins splashing about.  Come to think of it - I saw some type of hawk standing on the ground, fearlessly, with another flailing bird underneath it caught in the talons as I ran to the flooded park.  Who needs an iPod when you have action like this before your very eyes? It's a wild kingdom out there. I did not see anyone else at the park.  Just birds. 

Sunday I put in a good swim at Jorgenson.  Had my own lane so I did some butterfly.  My workout consisted of 200 free, 200 kick, 200 IM, 200 Back.  Then 4 x 50 kick Fly, then 4x25 all out of each stroke, better described as a 400 IM with 5-10 seconds rest between each length.  Not a lot of quantity, but super quality.  Heart rate was pushing 180 at completion.  There's nothing like high intensity interval work.  I felt sick for an hour.

Biceps

Things are about to change in my life:  I'm working on my biceps.  My relationship with my triceps has just grown so ordinary.  They're great during the finish phase of the freestyle in the pool, but biceps, biceps are the true demonstration of masculinity, aren't they?  I have a friend with Popeye biceps.  Mine have always been sort of soft and elongated, regardless the quantity of curls completed.  No more my friends. 

I hired a personal trainer. 

That's right.  I'll be drinking raw eggs soon.  Just mail ordered my first batch of anabolic steroids.  Soon I'll be talk'n kinda tuff and diff'rent, with grunts and high-pitched profanity mostly.  Within days likely to be cat-calling women on the street uncontrollably.  I really don't know where I'm headed.  But, I think where ever the destination my biceps are going to be stronger.  Balboa like. 

So, yeah, I'm real optimistic right now, and enthusiastic, after only my second workout.  The guy is good.  He doesn't seem to care about perceived pain - actually the things that hurt the most he kept taking me back to do them again, repeatedly.  That is exactly what I'm paying for:  pain.  None of this has anything to do with Ironman.  This may actually slow me down - don't know.

I ran yesterday (4 miles) and then rode my trainer at night...a speed set, 30 minutes.  Wednesday I swam.  Super quick workout at Jorgenson.  The pool was obnoxiously packed.  Lifted weights with the trainer on Tuesday and today.  Still - out of shape though.