Review, Preview

Last week was a pretty good training cycle, and I feel fit to press forward with a new zeal. I got out last year's training diary (although I could reread here, but the hard cope is concise) and began doing some comparisons. Actually, I have been doing that for several weeks. I try to learn from each year's buildup and last year I did some things well, and I also made some mistakes.

Some things I did well last year include hitting my biggest training week three weeks prior to the Challenge. That is how exercise physiologist say it should be done and it worked for me. In addition to that, I did the taper a little better last year as well as the pre-race meal (pizza).

One mistake I made, however, was to push too hard too early which gave me some pectoral issues that hindered training for several weeks. This year I hope to emulate the good and avoid the bad. Specifically, this is the week when last year I over swam and set myself up for problems. Last week, my long swim was 4.27 miles. Today I hope to get somewhere around 4.7 or maybe a full 5 but not the 10,000 meter swim of a year ago that was too much too soon.

Last week, I

walked 4.35 miles,
lifted weights once,
swam 14,354 meters,
and ran 20.81 miles. 

That running included the Viking Half Marathon. Last year I did only the 5K, fearing the longer half because of my fitness level, or lack thereof. On the running front, I am a little ahead of a year ago. On the weight front I am three to four pounds lighter, but I'm still a bit overweight. Concerning the weights I lift I, I am way stronger on the bench press that last year. Swimming wise, I have a few more meters done, but not as much quality. The lack of quality has to do with the shoulder I have been nursing, which, by the way, gets a little better each week.

The weather looks good out there today although the cold of the weekend has no doubt taken some warmth out of the pond water. Since I have a night class, I am going to eat lunch during my office time so I can leave town early and have time to swim, I hope, a straight two and a half hours, and have time to bathe and get back to work. The real build up begins now. I plan to swim 20,000 plus and run 20 plus miles. I call that a 20/20 week, and just like eyesight, it is good.