This Week in Training – Week 5: Everything Hurts, but It’s Fine…
IMWI 2026: The Long Crawl to the Base Phase
(Still in the pre-pre-base phase. It’s a process.)
Everything hurts. My wrist (though that’s from playing guitar), my back, the back of my knee – all raising their little hands to remind me I’m not twenty anymore. Will I do anything about it? No. But I’ll definitely mention it here.
Swim 🏊
- Workouts: 2
- Total Distance: 3,525 yards
- Total Time: 1 hour 13 minutes
- Notes: One of the swims was IM-heavy. No, I’m not about to whip out butterfly during a triathlon, but it breaks up the monotony and hits different muscles. Felt good to mix things up.
Bike 🚴
- Workouts: 0
- Total Distance: 0
- Notes: Still zero. But I promise it’s coming this week. (I think.)
Run 🏃
- Workouts: 3
- Total Distance: 11.30 miles
- Total Time: 1 hour 51 minutes
- Notes: Solid runs. Still moving well despite the aches. Paces holding steady, energy decent, morale surprisingly high.
Strength/Other 💪
- Workouts: Some
- Notes: Push-ups and sit-ups again. The wrist makes that tricky, but I’m doing what I can. Every rep feels like character development.
Reflections ✍️
Everything hurts, but it’s the good kind of hurt (mostly). The training load feels sustainable even if my joints occasionally vote no. Despite the aches, I’m feeling positive — building this pre-pre-base nicely. It’s slow progress, but progress all the same.
Goals for Next Week 🎯
- Actually get on the bike. For real this time.
- Keep swim volume consistent.
- Baby the wrist, but don’t skip strength entirely.
- Continue crawling toward the mythical “base phase.”