Road to Huntsman: 51 Days Out — Breaststroke Intensive, With an Adjustment

Today marks 51 days until my first event at the 2026 Huntsman World Senior Games, and day two of my Breaststroke Intensive week provided an immediate reminder of why a training plan needs to remain a plan rather than become an absolute requirement.

I entered the pool with exactly 2,500 meters programmed, including 1,600 meters of breaststroke. I completed the full 2,500 meters, but I did not complete the workout exactly as written.

During the breaststroke work I began feeling some discomfort in the upper portion of my right thigh. Rather than continue forcing the planned breaststroke volume and potentially make it worse, I substituted freestyle for some of the planned breaststroke.

The result was still a complete 2,500-meter training session, but with a considerably different stroke distribution: 1,200 meters breaststroke and 1,300 meters freestyle.

August 17 Workout Summary

Metric	Result
Total Distance	2,500 m
Breaststroke	1,200 m
Freestyle	1,300 m
Moving Time	41:32
Rest Time	11:25
Total Session Time	52:57
Average Moving Pace	1:40 /100 m
TrainingPeaks sTSS	62
TrainingPeaks IF	0.96
Average Heart Rate	124 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate	152 bpm

Planned vs. Actual Workout

The most obvious difference between the planned and completed workout was the stroke distribution.

Stroke	Planned	Actual	Difference
Breaststroke	1,600 m	1,200 m	-400 m
Freestyle	900 m	1,300 m	+400 m
Total	2,500 m	2,500 m	0 m

The chart tells the story pretty clearly. I didn’t shorten the workout. Instead, I exchanged 400 meters of planned breaststroke for 400 meters of freestyle.

What I Actually Swam

Set	Actual Stroke	Distance	Moving Time
1	Freestyle	200 m	3:04.42
2	Breaststroke	100 m	1:47.94
3	Breaststroke	300 m	5:14.53
4	Freestyle	400 m	6:12.15
5	Breaststroke	200 m	3:39.65
6	Freestyle	200 m	3:03.79
7	150 BR / 50 FR	200 m	3:40.73
8	Freestyle	200 m	3:09.56
9	150 BR / 150 FR	300 m	4:44.97
10	Breaststroke	100 m	1:49.09
11	Breaststroke	200 m	3:31.27
12	Freestyle	100 m	1:33.85

The Clock Wasn’t Today’s Priority

This was originally supposed to be a controlled technique and aerobic breaststroke day. Once the thigh discomfort appeared, hitting every prescribed breaststroke interval became much less important than completing useful training without deliberately aggravating something.

That makes today’s results somewhat different from the workouts I normally use for benchmarking.

I still completed the required 2,500 meters. The workout still produced 62 sTSS. And the overall moving pace was approximately 1:40 per 100 meters. But today’s most useful result wasn’t a particular split.

It was recognizing when to change the plan.

Current Huntsman Benchmarks

Event	My Best Training	2025 Silver	2025 Bronze	2025 4th
1500M Freestyle	24:21.26	23:39.43	25:04.75	25:06.88
800M Freestyle	12:40.25	12:16.56	12:32.85	12:56.76
200M Breaststroke	3:31.71	3:38.74	3:39.92	4:00.27
100M Breaststroke	1:42.55	1:28.57	1:32.97	1:37.95

A Question About the 100M Breaststroke

There is another question beginning to emerge from this breaststroke-intensive week, and it may ultimately affect what I swim at Huntsman.

My 200-meter breaststroke training best of 3:31.71 compares very favorably with the 2025 results. My 100-meter best of 1:42.55 does not.

That difference may be telling me something about the type of swimmer I am.

I have never considered myself a sprinter. As this training cycle has progressed, my strongest results have increasingly come from the longer events. The 1500 freestyle has developed into one of my strongest events relative to last year’s Huntsman results. The 200 breaststroke also compares well. The 800 freestyle is competitive with last year’s field.

The 100 breaststroke remains different.

That doesn’t mean I’m scratching the event. Not yet.

There is still value in swimming a race simply for the experience, even when I know going into it that a placing is unlikely. The 100 could provide another opportunity to race, experience the competition environment and learn something useful.

But there is also a legitimate question about whether training energy is better concentrated on the events that increasingly appear to match my strengths.

I’ll Decide After Saturday

I’m not going to make that decision based on today’s workout—or on one uncomfortable thigh.

The rest of this week should provide much better information.

I may modify Tuesday’s workout depending on how the thigh feels. Wednesday remains primarily aerobic and technical. Thursday is intended to provide another look at the 100-meter breaststroke. Friday is a complete rest day.

Then Saturday’s 2,500-meter workout includes both breaststroke benchmark work and an 800-meter freestyle.

After that workout, I should have enough information from the entire week to make a more informed decision.

The question won’t simply be whether I can swim the 100 breaststroke.

It will be whether continuing to emphasize the 100 is the best use of the remaining training time—or whether my results are telling me to lean harder into the 200 breaststroke, 800 freestyle and 1500 freestyle.

51 Days to Go

Today’s workout wasn’t what was written on the schedule, but it may have been exactly the workout I needed to swim.

I completed all 2,500 meters. I reduced the breaststroke load when something didn’t feel right. I substituted freestyle rather than simply ending the workout, and I still completed a productive training session.

There are 51 days remaining, and protecting the ability to train tomorrow is more important than being able to say I followed today’s workout perfectly.

Today’s headline: The plan called for 1,600 meters of breaststroke, but right-thigh discomfort changed the workout. I still completed the full 2,500 meters by shifting 400 meters from breaststroke to freestyle. With 51 days remaining, this week is becoming about more than improving breaststroke—it may also help determine which events deserve the greatest emphasis in the final stretch toward Huntsman.