Fitness & Training
Swimming, endurance, strength and the ongoing challenge
of becoming a better athlete.
Fitness has become an increasingly important part of my life.
What began as simply becoming more active has grown into
structured training built around swimming, endurance,
strength and measurable goals. This section brings together
that training, what I have learned along the way, and the
challenges I continue to work toward.
Current Goal
OCTOBER 2026
Huntsman World Senior Games
Training to compete in swimming at the
2026 Huntsman World Senior Games.
The Senior Games have given my training a specific
destination. Instead of simply accumulating distance,
workouts can be measured against actual race events,
times and performance goals.
Current preparation includes freestyle and breaststroke
training, endurance work, race-specific sets and
supporting strength and conditioning.
Explore Fitness & Training
My training crosses several disciplines, but most of it falls into these four areas.
Swimming
Swimming is the foundation of my current training. Workouts range from longer endurance swims to race-specific freestyle and breaststroke sets.
Training increasingly focuses on measurable performance: pace, distance, efficiency, technique and the ability to maintain speed as fatigue increases.
Swimming & Training Posts →Senior Games
My current competitive goal is swimming at the Huntsman World Senior Games in October 2026.
Follow the training, performance comparisons, race goals and progress toward competition.
Senior Games →Running & Cardio
Swimming may be the primary focus, but cardiovascular training extends beyond the pool.
Running, treadmill workouts, walking, hiking, rowing and other endurance activities provide variety while supporting overall conditioning.
Fitness Posts →Strength & Conditioning
Strength training supports the endurance work rather than replacing it, with particular attention to the core, shoulders and muscle groups involved in swimming.
The objective is practical strength that supports performance, durability and continued training.
Training Posts →
The Training Journey
Training is rarely a straight line. Workouts improve,
goals change, unexpected challenges appear and sometimes
the most useful information comes from figuring out why
something did not work as expected.
I use technology extensively to understand that process.
Garmin and other fitness data provide ways to examine
pace, distance, heart rate, recovery and training load.
Those numbers are useful, but they are tools rather than
the goal.
The real objective is continued improvement: becoming
stronger, maintaining endurance, improving swimming
technique and finding out what is possible with
consistent training.
How I Train
Different types of training contribute to the same
overall goal.
Endurance
Longer swims and cardiovascular workouts build the
ability to sustain effort over time and provide the
foundation for the shorter, faster work.
Speed & Race Pace
Interval training provides a way to work on speed
while measuring whether target race pace can be
maintained across repeated efforts.
Technique
Especially in swimming, working harder is not always
the same as moving faster. Stroke technique, turns,
starts and efficiency can produce improvements that
conditioning alone cannot.
Recovery
Training only works when there is enough recovery
to adapt to it. Rest days, easier sessions and
monitoring accumulated fatigue are part of the
training plan rather than time away from it.
Training With Data
One of the areas where my interests in fitness and
technology overlap is workout analysis.
GPS watches, fitness sensors and workout files make it
possible to look beyond the simple question of how far
or how long I trained. Pace, splits, stroke information,
heart rate, recovery and trends across multiple workouts
can provide a much better picture of progress.
I use that information to compare workouts, identify
areas that need improvement and adjust training toward
specific goals rather than relying entirely on how a
single workout felt.
Recent Fitness Posts
Recent training, workouts, progress and other
fitness-related posts.
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September 23, 2026 – Breaststroke Speed During the Taper and 14 Days to Huntsman
The gradual taper continued today with another small reduction in swimming volume. After 2,600 meters on Monday and 2,400 meters yesterday, today’s workout came down to 2,200 meters. The reduced distance was intentional, but reducing volume doesn’t mean eliminating quality. Today’s workout provided a good example of what I want from the taper: less total…
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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,…
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September 19, 2026 – A New 800 Freestyle Best and 18 Days to Huntsman
Today I finally got the distance workout I was looking for. After yesterday’s swim was cut short because the pool was ridiculously warm, I went to a different VASA Fitness location today. The difference was immediate. The water temperature was almost perfect, and I was able to put together a full 3,000-meter workout. More importantly,…
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September 18, 2026 – When the Pool Is Too Warm and 19 Days to Huntsman
Today’s workout ended considerably earlier than I intended, but not because I was tired from the previous two days of swimming. The pool was ridiculously warm. I had planned to get some distance work in, but the water temperature made sustained swimming increasingly uncomfortable and, more importantly, inappropriate for the kind of workout I wanted…
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September 17, 2026 – Building Back-to-Back and 20 Days to Huntsman
Yesterday answered the first question after eight medically restricted days without training: could I get back into the pool and still swim reasonably well? Today’s question was a little different: how would I respond to doing it again the next day? The answer was encouraging. I swam another 2,600 meters in 42:52, almost duplicating yesterday’s…
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September 16, 2026 – Back in the Pool and 21 Days to Huntsman
After eight consecutive days without training, today I finally returned to the pool. September 8 through September 15 were medically restricted days with no workouts. That wasn’t planned recovery and it wasn’t a normal break in the training schedule. Training simply had to stop for a while. More importantly, I now have my doctor’s clearance…