September 21, 2026 – 2,000 Meters Continuous and 16 Days to Huntsman

After taking Sunday completely off, I returned to the pool today without a complicated training objective. My plan for this week remains simple: work around a busy schedule, listen to how I feel in the water, and avoid turning swimming into another source of stress.

Today’s workout fit that approach well. I swam 2,600 meters, with the centerpiece being a continuous 2,000-meter freestyle. It wasn’t intended as a 1500-meter time trial or another attempt at my 800-meter best. Instead, it gave me a long, uninterrupted aerobic swim while maintaining the endurance I will need for both freestyle events at Huntsman.

Today’s Workout

Total Distance	2,600 m
Duration	43:07
Average Pace	1:40/100 m
Normalized Pace	1:39/100 m
Training Stress	65 sTSS
Intensity Factor	0.96
Average Heart Rate	127 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate	162 bpm

The Main Set: 2,000 m Continuous Freestyle

The main endurance work was a continuous 2,000-meter freestyle completed in 33:09.61, an average pace of approximately 1:39.48 per 100 meters.

Segment	Time	Pace/100 m
0–400 m	6:27.65	1:36.91
400–800 m	6:37.02	1:39.26
800–1200 m	6:34.87	1:38.72
1200–1600 m	6:41.50	1:40.38
1600–2000 m	6:48.57	1:42.14
2,000 m Total	33:09.61	1:39.48

There was some slowing over the final 800 meters, but this was also a swim considerably longer than either of my recent race-distance efforts. I wasn’t trying to hold 800-meter race pace for 2,000 meters. The objective was continuous endurance, and averaging essentially my calculated CSS pace for the full distance made this a productive aerobic session.

A 1500 Inside the 2000

FORM puts my first 1,500 meters today at approximately 24:40.33. That’s slower than my current 24:04.84 training best, but the comparison needs context. The 24:04 was a dedicated 1,500-meter effort. Today I continued another 500 meters without stopping.

For that reason, today’s 1,500 split doesn’t replace or challenge the 24:04.84 benchmark. It is better viewed as evidence that I can continue working around the pace required for the 1500 while extending the swim well beyond race distance.

Huntsman Freestyle Benchmarks

800 m Freestyle

Benchmark	Time	Difference
2025 Silver	12:16.56	+18.56
2025 Bronze	12:32.85	+2.27
My Training Best	12:35.12	Current
2025 4th	12:56.76	21.64 faster

Friday’s 12:35.12 remains my current 800-meter training benchmark. Today’s longer swim wasn’t intended to change it.

1500 m Freestyle

Benchmark	Time	Difference
2025 Silver	23:39.43	+25.41
My Training Best	24:04.84	Current
2025 Bronze	25:04.75	59.91 faster
2025 4th	25:06.88	62.04 faster

Four Days Back, Then a Rest Day

The last several days have given me a much better picture of where my swimming stands after eight medically restricted days out of the pool. I returned on September 16 and swam four consecutive days through September 19. That stretch culminated in a new 800-meter training best of 12:35.12.

September 20 was a complete rest day. Today’s 2,600 meters therefore started a new training week with considerably more recovery than I had during the four-day return block.

Date	Training	Distance
Sep. 16	Return Swim #1	2,650 m
Sep. 17	Return Swim #2	2,600 m
Sep. 18	Pool heat limited	1,600 m
Sep. 19	800 m training best	3,000 m
Sep. 20	Rest	—
Sep. 21	2,000 m continuous FR	2,600 m

TrainingPeaks

TrainingPeaks currently has my Fitness at 60, Fatigue at 51, and Form at +12. I’m continuing to watch those numbers, but I’m not going to structure the next week around trying to achieve a particular CTL or Form value.

The more important information right now is coming from the pool. I have been able to reproduce my breaststroke speed, set a new 800-meter freestyle training best, and now complete a continuous 2,000-meter freestyle at about 1:39.5 per 100 meters. Those are useful indications that the eight days away from training did not erase the conditioning built over the summer.

16 Days to Huntsman

I am entered in four events at the Huntsman World Senior Games: the 100-meter breaststroke, 200-meter breaststroke, 800-meter freestyle, and 1500-meter freestyle. The 200 breaststroke, 800 freestyle, and 1500 freestyle remain my primary training focus, while I will also compete in the 100 breaststroke.

Date	Event
October 7	200 m Breaststroke
October 8	100 m Breaststroke
October 8	800 m Freestyle
October 9	1500 m Freestyle

The Plan From Here

This coming week is going to be busy outside of the pool, so I’m deliberately keeping the swimming flexible. I don’t want training to become another source of stress simply because the competition is getting closer.

Between now and the end of September, I intend to swim each of my four Huntsman race distances at least once: 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, 800 freestyle, and 1500 freestyle. They don’t all need to be maximum-effort time trials. The objective is to touch each race distance before moving into the final days before Huntsman.

Beyond that, I’m going to continue taking the week by ear. If I feel good and have time, I’ll swim. If time is limited, a shorter purposeful workout is enough. And if life outside the pool needs the time, taking another rest day isn’t going to undo the work already completed.

Today’s Takeaway

Today’s 2,000-meter continuous freestyle wasn’t about setting another personal best. It was about getting back into the water after a rest day and maintaining the endurance needed for the 800 and 1500 without forcing the workout.

With 16 days remaining until my first Huntsman race, the objective is becoming less about building more fitness and more about preserving what I’ve already built while arriving in St. George rested and ready to race.