2025 Volume Update--7 weeks in.

 OK, we are 7 weeks into 2025 and here is a summary of my training volume to date as compared to 2024:

So, swimming down 32%.  Roughly even with 2024 for the bike and Run/Walk up 23% and PT/Weights up 7%.  The net of all of this is an increase of 7% in total training time through the first 7 weeks.  My average so far in 2025 is 28:25 in average weekly training time--just over 4 hours/day.

Several things worth noting:

1. We did a dry January and went to Canyon Ranch in Tucson doer 8 days in January so this contributes used to a hot start.  Lots of focus on nutrition and sleep so I feel pretty good absorbing this volume so far.

2. I've had a lot of trouble with my surgically repaired right shoulder.  Going back to October of last year I've had a lot of discomfort.  It seemed to get progressively worse as I began my weight training cycle and finally I had to back off from that--especially bench press and curls.  The pain kept getting worse down the stretch last year and it really began to affect my sleep.  I wasn't swimming much over the last couple of months in 2024 as I normally take a break.  However, when I tried to start up again in 2025 I had a great deal of problems swimming.

3. I saw my ortho and began a weekly PT session as it was determined that I had pretty bad bursitis and bicep tendon impingement.  This was probably due to a number of things including the long-term impact of my shoulder separation surgery on the side, the volume of swimming I was pursuing each year, muscle imbalances from both swimming and my weight training, and some poor posture.  The PT was very painful and I added about 20 minutes of shoulder exercises per day which in part is why my PT/Weight volume is relatively high.  The PT helped and I was slowly making progress on my swim when I began to suffer a setback and backed off this past week.  The net of it is I'm back to the ortho this week and will probably get a cortisone injection and will go back to PT program.  My condition, which I gather is rather common, seems to be pretty chronic right now and it certainly throws my swimming/triathlon plans into a bit of uncertainty.  Fixing this is obviously a big priority for me right now.

4. On the plus side I have some exciting news (which I'll share shortly) which is now causing me to ramp by Run/Walk.  I'm probably pivoting to a more Run/Walk centric approach in 2025, which is ironic given my knee replacement.  I'm feeling very goos on my feet and have started running again and I feel pretty good so far.  I'll probably target a 5k in March or April to kick off my racing season.

Onwards and upwards!