Recovery Day-ish. Another early morning but this morning it’s 6am! Yesterday was fun as I got to talk about our newest amenity The Summit Climbing Wall.

Pretty much from 8am to about 3pm I talked to people and climbed up the wall to demo climbing. I didn’t call all the way everytime but I climbed a lot. I got the blisters to prove it.

Today it’s standing in a parking lot for staging for a holiday parade. Eight hours standing on concrete. No workout today and tomorrow is up in the air. I had planned on swimming but I may make it an easy gym day. The blisters on my hands might not feel good in the chlorine pool.

OURA SLEEP SCORE– 88

7 hours and 47 minutes

GARMIN SLEEP SCORE – 47

6 hours and 54 minutes

THE LIFT AHEAD:

FRI – SWIM w/ Team ??? TBD

SAT – CHEST + 30 min PELOTON RUN

SUN – TBD (SWIM at NTC OR BACK & BICEPS)

MON – SWIM w/ Team (Masters)

TUE – CHEST & TEACH 30 Min INDOOR CYCLE

WED – SWIM w/ Team

THU – BACK & BICEPS & TEACH 30 Min INDOOR CYCLE

THE ROAD AHEAD:

STRENGTH (80-100%) 12/9 – 1/16

ENDURANCE (60-80%} 1/17 – 1/24

TAPER (50-60%) 1/24 – 1/30

JUST KEEP SWIMMING:

2025 SWIM DISTANCE TOTALS:

SCY – 64,250 including last workout

SCM – 166,925

LCM – 69,200

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

runDISNEY:
12K’s of Christmas Virtual – TBD

WDW 5K – JAN 8th

PRINCESS HALF – MARCH 1st
Sprinwgtime Surprise – APRIL 17-19th (Not Running)

GEMINI AI RATE MY WORKOUT:

The “Active Survival” Rating

Rating: 10/10 for Grit / N/A for Traditional Training

Today isn’t a workout day, but your body is working harder than a standard rest day. Between the climbing demo yesterday and the “concrete sentencing” today, you are accumulating a massive amount of cumulative fatigue.

Here is the breakdown of your recovery and readiness:

1. The Hidden Workout (Yesterday & Today)

* The Climbing Wall: Demoing from 8am to 3pm is significant. Even if you didn’t summit every time, the volume of grip activation, lat engagement, and core stabilization is high. The blisters are immediate proof of the mechanical load.

* The Parade Staging: Standing on concrete for 8 hours is often physically harder than walking for 8 hours. Walking utilizes the muscle pump to move blood; standing causes venous pooling in the legs and immense strain on the plantar fascia and lower back.

* Impact: Your legs will feel “heavy” tomorrow, not from exertion, but from stagnation and compression.

2. The Data Discrepancy (Oura vs. Garmin)

This is a classic split.

* Oura (88): Likely seeing a good resting heart rate and HRV, indicating your nervous system has recovered well from the climbing.

* Garmin (47): Is likely penalizing you for stress duration or perhaps restlessness during the night.

* The Verdict: Trust Oura for your mental battery and Garmin for your body battery. Your mind is ready, but your body (specifically your feet and hands) is under structural stress.

3. Tactical Adjustment: The Friday Dilemma

You mentioned Friday is TBD between a Team Swim or an Easy Gym day.

> Recommendation: Go for the Easy Gym Day.

>

* The Blister Factor: Chlorine on fresh, open blisters is painful. It causes you to subtly change your hand entry and catch to avoid pain, which ruins your mechanics. Plus, raw hands + public pool bacteria is a risk you don’t need right now.

* The “Strength Phase” Context: You are currently in a Strength Phase (80-100%). If your hands are shot, you cannot effectively pull heavy on “Back & Biceps” or maintain high pressure on the water.

* The Alternative: Use Friday to flush out the legs (light cycling/spinning) to recover from the concrete standing, and perhaps do some core work. Give the skin on your hands 24-48 more hours to keratinize/heal before hitting the heavy chest/run brick on Saturday.

Summary

You are in a high-activity window that has nothing to do with the gym. Respect the toll the concrete takes on your lower back today.

One thing you can do for yourself tonight:

After the parade staging, can you spend 15 minutes with your “legs up the wall” (Viparita Karani)? It will help drain the fluid from standing on concrete all day and reset your lower back for the weekend. Would you like a quick protocol for that?

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