The first four week of this training program were all pretty similar, so I figured I'd save you some boredom and condense weeks 3 and 4 into one blog post. Here's what it looked like on each day in week 3 and 4

Monday: off

Tuesday:
AM: Swim, about 1800 with a mainset of fartlek 100's, done in the long course pool at asphalt green.
PM: Easy bike, about 1 hour.

Wednesday:
PM: Run, about 40 mins with some fartlek bursts peppered in

Thursday:
PM: Brick, about one hour bike plus 20 min run.

Friday:
AM: bike, about an easy hour
PM: about 1800 swim at asphalt green, with a main set of 100's done as 25 hard, 25 easy.

Saturday:
AM: bike, about two hours
PM: run, about 30 mins

Sunday:
AM: swim, with a 1500 straight swim main set
PM: long run. About one hour.

So this was the general pattern of the last four weeks, with the volume slowly building from week 1 through 4. It was nice to get some consistency and some two-a-days back in my life. The next four weeks will have more speed work and intensity, which I am looking forward to. I'm just happy I'm uninjured!

Hello Birdfans! Training has been going great. I was really nervous going into this, as my last few attempts at getting back to running have left me with debilitating calf cramps. So far, no cramps! Here's what I've done...

Tuesday -
AM: 1800m longcourse swim at aquacrest. That 50m pool fits my giangantic body better than a 25 yard pool, where I feel like I'm doing a flipturn every two seconds. Main set was 6x100m on 1:45.
PM: 1 hour 10 min ride in Central Park, rode the fixie.

Wednesday -
PM: 35 min run around central park with 8x30s fartlek bursts. Felt great!

Thursday -
AM: 1 hour, 10 min ride around central park on the fixie.
PM: 40 min run. Felt great again!

Friday -
AM: 1 hour bike around central park. Done in the dark in the morning. This was stupid, I should have done the bike in the afternoon, as Friday turned out to be a bright, blue day.
PM: 1800 yard swim in the 25 yard asphalt green pool. Main set was 6x100 done as 25hard/25easy.

Saturday -
AM: BRICK IN THE SNOW! One of my funnest workouts ever! 1 hour ride around central park, followed by a 30 min run around central park. The roads in the park were completely snow covered, slippery. It was a blast riding the mountain bike, I even jumped off the road and biked around the central park bridle path, which was completely unplowed. NYC got about 4 inches of snow. Here's a bike pic, as proof.


Sunday - I actually did these workouts on Monday of the next week, but who's counting.
AM: Long run, 50 mins. Felt awesome! It was a little tough to wakeup and get out the door for this one, but I sucked it up and ran.
PM: 1800 yard swim, with a 1200 yard straight swim as the main set.


Quote of the Week:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
-Teddy Roosevelt