Sleep. I am currently on a bad streak when it comes to sleep. This streak will continue tonight as I’m going out for Sushi after work with coworkers. I was taking something to help me sleep starting in August to about a week ago and I was having a lot better sleep. Without getting into all the details it’s not something I can take every night forever. So over the last week sleeping has been a struggle.

Today’s workout was a bit of a modification as I’m letting by biceps rest. After Boulder Rock Climbing I felt my left bicep felt strained so no Biceps today. My right hand when gripping is slightly sore still also. I’ll be skipping my last weekend of my membership to the Boulder Gym. I got a swim meet coming up and that’s more important.

My running today had longer bits or running which is what I need. I’ll keep this going through the weekend. Next week I taper before the meet. After the meet I’ll ram up running up to late November. Then taper / break before Senior Games. Then ramp back up until Rowdy Gaines and then post that it’s Half Marathon training.

OURA SLEEP SCORE– 59

3 hours and 53

GARMIN SLEEP SCORE – 41

3 hours and 5 minutes

THURSDAY

COMBO (Back & Some Legs)

STRENGTH (80-100%) – September 23rd – October 5th

1 hour and 10 minutes (Weights & Peloton Tread)

ZONE 1 – 17:29

ZONE 2 – 11:03

ZONE 3 – 02:21

ZONE 4 – 00:12

ZONE 5 – 00:00

5 min Easy Indoor Cycling

Seated Leg Extension

50 lbs x Reps 8 / 8 / 8 / 8

(Different Used Plate Loaded instead of Stack Machine / Different angle due to seat placement)

2 min rest between sets

(Last Time 145 x 6 / 7 / 6 / 6)

(Prior Time 140 x 8 / 8 / 8 / 8)

(Prior Time 135 x 8 / 8 / 7 / 7)

Cable Lat Pulldown (22”) at 165 lbs at 88.70% 1RM / PR x Reps 6 / 7 / 6 / 6 / 5

2 min rest between sets

(186 PR/1RM)

(Last Time 165 x 6 / 6 / 6 / 5 / 4)

(Prior Time 165 x 4 / 5 / 4 / 4 / 4)

(Prior Time 110 x 8 / 8 / 8 / 8 / 8)

Seated Cable Row at 154 lbs at 82.79% 1RM / PR x Reps 7 / 6 / 6 / 5

2 min rest between sets

(186 PR/1RM)

(Last Time 154 x 6 / 5 / 5 / 5)

(Prior Time 110 x 8 / 8 / 8 / 8)

(Prior Time 104 x 8 / 8 / 8 / 8)

Peloton 15 min Run

Peloton Pace Target – Level 4 out of 10

1 minute on my own

1 min Intro

3 min Moderate 4.5

40 sec Easy 3.5

6 min Moderate 4.5

40 sec Challenging 5.5

Cool Down

Shower, Eat Banana and Drive…

6:15am – 6:45am

TEACH 30 min INDOOR CYCLING

ZONE 1 – 3:58

ZONE 2 – 9:38

ZONE 3 – 12:57

ZONE 4 – 3:37

ZONE 5 – 00:00

THE LIFT AHEAD:

FRI – SWIM w/ Team

SAT – CHEST & Peloton App Walk+Run

SUN – Combo / Back & Peloton App Walk+Run

MON – SWIM w/ Team (Masters)

TUE – CHEST + TEACH 30 Min INDOOR CYCLE

WED – SWIM w/ Team

THU– COMBO + TEACH 30 Min INDOOR CYCLE

THE ROAD AHEAD:

Programming My Workouts for the next few months:

STRENGTH – September 23rd – October 5th

TAPER – October 7th & 9th

Swim meet on October 12th so not much TAPER.

STRENGTH – October 14th – October 19th

Announcer for Running of the Squares 5k October 18th

ENDURANCE – October 21st – October 30th

10K runDISNEY October 25th

Sanford Senior Games November 2nd

STRENGTH – November 4th- November 16th

ENDURANCE – November 18th – November 23rd

TAPER – November 25th – December 4th

Florida Senior Games either Dec 6 & 7 or Dec 13 & 14.

RUNNING MORE – Will be running more as I’m running a Half Marathon on March 1st.

Rowdy Gaines Masters Classic 17 January 30, 2026-February 1, 2026.

TBD

Will figure out a training program for December thru March that will keep my swimming up, weight training in a longer Endurance Phase while I gear up my running. Yikes

JUST KEEP SWIMMING:

3rd Annual SWAGtoberfest Meet October 12th

500 Free

50 Fly

100 IM

100 Flyp

100 Back

-Sanford Senior Games – Nov 2nd

100 Fly

100 IM

50 Fly

100 Back

-Florida Senior Games – TBD DEC Temple Terrace

– Rowdy Gaines Masters Classic 17 January 30, 2026-February 1, 2026.

TBD

– T.V. Senior Games April 18 & 19, 2026

TBD

2025 SWIM DISTANCE TOTALS:

SCY- 50,500

SCM – 140,375 * including Wednesday AM

LCM – 56,000

runDISNEY:

Wine & Dine 10K – OCT 25th

12K’s of Christmas Virtual – TBD

WDW 5K – JAN 8th

PRINCESS HALF – MARCH 1st

Springtime Surprise – APRIL 17-19th (Not Running)

GEMINI AI RATE MY WORKOUT:

That is a seriously rough stretch of sleep! With an OURA Sleep Score of 59 and a Garmin Sleep Score of 41 based on barely 4 hours of sleep, it’s completely understandable that you’re feeling the effects. It’s smart of you to prioritize your recovery and upcoming swim meet.

Workout & Training Analysis

Considering the severe lack of sleep and the bicep/hand soreness, this was an excellent, measured, and intelligent workout. You made necessary modifications and still hit your required training zones.

Workout Rating: 9/10

Here’s a breakdown of why:

Smart Modifications

* Skipping Biceps: A strained bicep and a sore gripping hand (likely from bouldering) are clear signals. Skipping bicep exercises entirely was the perfect call. You protected the injury and shifted focus to non-competing muscle groups, ensuring continued progress without setbacks.

* Leg Extension Adjustment: It looks like you had to move to a different type of machine (plate-loaded instead of stack). While the absolute weight is much lower (50 lbs vs 145 lbs), focusing on getting the reps (4×8) and adjusting to the new machine/angle is a good way to maintain training stimulus. Given your current state, maintaining is key.

* Back Focus: Your back work—Cable Lat Pulldown and Seated Cable Row—shows a solid effort. You maintained intensity near your 1RM (around 83-89%) and kept your reps high for the conditions. This is impressive performance on minimal sleep.

Cardio & Running Progression

* Strength/Cardio Split: You managed a 1 hour and 10 minute weight session that included a solid 30 minutes of high-zone cardio work on the Peloton Tread (Zones 1-3 total around 31 minutes).

* Targeted Running: You noted the need for “longer bits of running” and executed this in the 15 min run with two 6-minute “Moderate” blocks. This is precisely the kind of structure you need to build up your running endurance ahead of the Half Marathon training.

* Teaching: Teaching the 30 min INDOOR CYCLING class, which saw significant time in Zones 3 and 4, is excellent active recovery and supplemental cardio for a day focused on back strength.

Sleep and Recovery Strategy

The fact that you pushed through a good session despite the abysmal sleep is a testament to your discipline, but it’s unsustainable.

Your immediate focus should be:

* Enjoy the Sushi: You earned it.

* Emphasize Sleep Hygiene: Tonight is a throwaway, but starting tomorrow night, you need to treat sleep like your most important training session. No phone/screens an hour before bed, cool dark room, etc.

* Prioritize the Swim Meet: Your decision to skip the last weekend of bouldering to taper for the meet is correct. The meet is the immediate goal; the other training is secondary right now.

The Road Ahead

Your long-term plan is ambitious, with multiple events across swimming and running:

* October: Immediate taper for the swim meet, followed by a strength block and the 10K runDISNEY. This month is all about managing the transition from strength to speed/race specificity.

* November-December: The plan correctly shifts to an Endurance focus leading into the Senior Games, followed by a sensible taper/break before the next set of meets. This ensures you maintain your cardiovascular base while protecting yourself from burnout.

* Post-Rowdy Gaines (Feb 2026): Your plan to transition to Half Marathon training is well-timed. That race is \sim 4 weeks after the swim meet, giving you a focused window for run-specific training without losing your swim conditioning.

This is a very busy, but well-structured, \sim 5-month plan that cycles between Strength, Endurance, and Taper phases, respecting the demands of both swimming and running. The challenge will be managing the high volume of events—your recovery and nutrition will be critical to sustaining this intensity.

How are you planning to incorporate more dedicated recovery time into your schedule, especially with the tough sleep streak?

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