STATS:
Swimming: 11,800yds in 4 sessions
Cycling: 275 mi in 4 sessions
Running: 30 mi in 5 sessions
Maintenance: 1 hr 45 mins
Total: 23.6 hrs
Ave Weight: 167 lbs

GOALS FOR LAST WEEK:
Last week was my first week back training.  My plan was to get in some good volume last week and keep the intensity really low.

* Get back into a routine.
* Try to start working out earlier in the morning.  I think the PM workouts are causing my sleep problems due to going to bed dehydrated.
* Three strength sessions.
* Swim 14K, Bike 280 mi, Run 36 mi

RECAP:
Overall the week was a success.  I got back to training and even though I shortened some swim sessions and missed a run session I feel good about the start to building my base back up again.  I kept the intensity very low in all three sports and by the end of the week I was still pretty sore and tired which I expected.  I had to show some humility on Saturday because there was a decent sized group and I let them go on all of the climbs because I had my HR cap in place.  I eventually lost contact but I'll be stronger in November for it.  Other than getting my volume back up the week was fairly uneventful on the training front.

Jen and I had our 9 year anniversary last Wednesday!  Unfortunately she caught the sickness that I had so wasn't feeling well.  Jen and I dated for 3 years before getting married so we've been together for a total of 12 years now.  In our society that is a long time!  We don't think of it that way though.  We expect to keep the flame lit by staying on top of our communication, honesty, integrity, problem solving, and good old human touch.

GOALS FOR NEXT WEEK:
This upcoming week is going to be a continuation of my previous week but it's going to end with some BIG bike riding in the mountains.  We've got a long weekend for Labor Day so we're heading up to Banner Elk to do "le tour de truth".  Watty and I are planning to ride our Loop of Truth course 3 days in a row.  Each day will be 100 miles with 19,000 ft of climbing hitting all of the toughest climbs in the area including Beech Mountain, Pinnacle Ridge, Back Side of Beech, Rominger, George's Gap, Back Side of George's Gap, Clarke's Creek, Shull's Mill, 6 mi Parkway Climb, and Hickory Nut Gap.  We're staying on top of Beech Mountain so we'll be leaving the toughest section for the end of the ride.

* Continue to be patient and keep everything under LT minus 15 bpm (150 bpm bike & 160 bpm run).
* Be more diligent with nutrition starting this week.  Need to drop 5-7 lbs by Clearwater in November.
* Three strength sessions.
* Swim 16K, Bike 320 mi, Run 36 mi

THOUGHTS:
I've gained about 5-6 lbs during my mid season break and while on the cruise.  This isn't really a bad thing because it will slow me down a bit while building my base but I've got to start paying more attention to what I'm eating and when I'm eating it so I can get back down to my preferred racing weight by the time Clearwater rolls around in November.  I'll write about how I go about doing this in a future post.  It mainly comes down to planning out my daily nutrition in coordination with my daily training sessions and shifting some of the ratios of macronutrients to subside my hunger while slowly cutting back on calories each day.  Planning the timing of my meals and snacks is also very important to ensure that I'm fueled up for each session to avoid bonking.  More to come on that subject at a later time.

I'm actually a little nervous for the mountains this weekend.  I haven't done "The Loop of Truth" when I wasn't in fairly decent shape.  It stings even when you are in great shape so I'm interested to see how my body handles THREE DAYS IN A ROW.  That will be 300 miles and 57K ft of climbing in 3 days.  Needless to say I will be riding very easy and Watty will most likely be waiting on me at the top of each climb.