August 25, 2026 – Shoulder Recovery Day and a Return to Dryland Training

Today was intentionally not a swimming day.

During yesterday’s 2,500-meter swim I began developing discomfort in my right upper arm and shoulder. That is not normally the side that gives me problems, and the discomfort became noticeable enough that I substituted breaststroke for portions of the planned freestyle work.

That occurred at the end of three consecutive swimming days totaling 8,600 meters and 213 sTSS. Rather than immediately returning to the pool today, I decided the more productive choice was to give my shoulder a complete break from swimming and substitute a dryland aerobic workout.

August 25 Dryland Workout

Metric	Result
Activity	Running / Treadmill
Distance	3.79 miles / 6.10 km
Duration	39:14
Average Pace	10:21/mile
Average Heart Rate	Approximately 139 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate	156 bpm
Calories	621 kcal

This wasn’t intended to be a complete rest day. The objective was to maintain an aerobic training stimulus while eliminating the repetitive upper-body loading associated with freestyle and breaststroke.

Mile-by-Mile Results

Segment	Time	Average HR	Maximum HR
Mile 1	10:20.8	133 bpm	156 bpm
Mile 2	9:17.2	150 bpm	156 bpm
Mile 3	9:31.4	149 bpm	153 bpm
Final 0.79 mile	10:04.6	124 bpm	141 bpm

The workout had a clear progression. The first mile served as the easier opening portion at 10:20.8. Miles two and three became the primary aerobic work at 9:17.2 and 9:31.4, with average heart rates of 150 and 149 bpm.

The final 0.79 mile was considerably easier, with an average heart rate of only 124 bpm. That gave the workout a natural warm-down rather than ending immediately after the harder middle portion.

Why I Stayed Out of the Pool

Yesterday’s workout was successful from a performance standpoint, but it also provided a warning that I don’t want to ignore.

Date	Workout	Distance	sTSS
August 22	Swim	3,000 m	72
August 23	Swim	3,100 m	78
August 24	Swim	2,500 m	63
3-Day Total	Swimming	8,600 m	213
August 25	Dryland / Run	3.79 mi / 6.10 km	—

That three-day swimming block included both breaststroke race-pace work and my new 24:04.84 1500-meter freestyle training best. By Monday, the cumulative workload was beginning to show itself through new right shoulder and upper-arm discomfort.

I had been considering the possibility that I was getting dangerously close to doing too much training. I can’t conclude from a few workouts that I am actually overtrained, but I don’t need to reach that point before making an adjustment.

Today’s dryland session allowed me to continue working aerobically while removing swimming from the equation for at least one day.

Current Huntsman Benchmarks

Nothing about today’s recovery session changes my current race benchmarks or the direction of the Huntsman training plan.

Event	Training Best	2025 Silver	2025 Bronze	2025 4th	Current Target	Difference
1500 FR	24:04.84	23:39.43	25:04.75	25:06.88	Silver	+25.41 sec
800 FR	12:40.25	12:16.56	12:32.85	12:56.76	Bronze	+7.40 sec
200 BR	3:27.54	3:38.74	3:39.92	4:00.27	Silver	-11.20 sec
100 BR	~1:42	1:28.57	1:32.97	1:37.95	4th	~+4.05 sec

The priority events remain the 1500 freestyle, 800 freestyle and 200 breaststroke. I will probably still swim the 100 breaststroke, but I am not designing the remaining training program around it.

August Training Ledger

Because today was a dryland day, my August swimming total remains at 55,100 meters. The running workout is included in the training ledger but does not count toward the swimming total.

Date	Training	Swim Distance	August Swim Total
August 2	Swim	5,000 m	5,000 m
August 3	Swim	2,500 m	7,500 m
August 4	Swim	2,500 m	10,000 m
August 5	Swim	2,500 m	12,500 m
August 6	Swim	3,000 m	15,500 m
August 7	No Swim	—	15,500 m
August 8	No Swim	—	15,500 m
August 9	Swim	6,000 m	21,500 m
August 10	Swim	2,500 m	24,000 m
August 11	Swim	2,500 m	26,500 m
August 12	Swim	2,500 m	29,000 m
August 13	Swim	2,500 m	31,500 m
August 14	Run / Dryland	—	31,500 m
August 15	Swim	2,500 m	34,000 m
August 16	Swim	2,500 m	36,500 m
August 17	Swim	2,500 m	39,000 m
August 18	Swim	2,500 m	41,500 m
August 19	Swim	2,500 m	44,000 m
August 20	Swim	2,500 m	46,500 m
August 21	Rest	—	46,500 m
August 22	Swim	3,000 m	49,500 m
August 23	Swim	3,100 m	52,600 m
August 24	Swim	2,500 m	55,100 m
August 25	Run / Shoulder Recovery	—	55,100 m

The 75,000-Yard Goal Takes a Back Seat

At 55,100 meters, I have completed approximately 60,258 yards of swimming during August. That leaves approximately 13,480 meters to reach my original 75,000-yard monthly goal.

Mathematically, the goal is still possible. But I have decided that I am not going to chase it at the expense of recovery.

The 75,000-yard target was designed to motivate consistency. It was never supposed to become more important than staying healthy enough to train for Huntsman.

Tomorrow Is a Morning Decision

I am deliberately not scheduling Wednesday’s swim yet.

I will see how the right shoulder and upper arm feel tomorrow morning. If the shoulder has settled down, I can decide whether returning to the pool makes sense and what kind of workout is appropriate. If it is still bothering me, another day away from swimming may be the better training decision.

There is no race on August 31. The race that matters is in October.

Today’s Takeaway

Today’s 3.79-mile dryland workout accomplished what I wanted from it. I still received a meaningful aerobic stimulus, particularly during the 9:17 and 9:31 middle miles, while giving my shoulder a complete day away from swimming.

Sometimes the most useful training decision isn’t adding another interval or another 2,500 meters. Sometimes it is recognizing when the accumulated work is beginning to catch up and changing the plan before a warning becomes an injury.

Tomorrow morning I’ll decide whether it is time to get back into the pool or whether recovery needs another day.