Monday Morning

Like most people, I find Mondays a bit intimidating. As I was walking into the pool this morning at 6:45, I found myself trying to avoid thinking of my upcoming week. My training schedule is already set, and I know the next six weeks will be some of the hardest and longest training weeks in my career. So what does my schedule look like?

I am writing this blog at 1:30 Monday afternoon. Already this morning, I swam 4 miles, fenced the 2004 Olympic champion, ran 9 miles on hills, had an interview with a Denver magazine, and tried to sort out some problems with travel arrangements to the Olympics. Fortunately, I have a two hour break before getting in for my second swim of the day, to be shortly followed by a calisthenics session. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are all pretty much the same and I find it hard just to make it through the day on Wednesdays and Fridays.

This week, I have 57 miles of running and 24 miles of swimming broken up into 8 swims and 6 runs. On top of that, I am fencing with the Russian Olympic Pentathlon Team 3 times, doing 3 calisthenics sessions, and working on strengthening my shoulder for shooting. I also have 3 hours of massage (not the nice health spa massage, but more on that in a subsequent blog), 2 doctor appointments, a meeting with my agent, a VIP tour of the Olympic Training Center for some sponsors, and several other administrative meetings.

The next six weeks are going to be long and tough. What is keeping me going is the realization that the Olympics are just around the corner and I only have a short time to complete my training before we leave. It truly is amazing what you can tolerate when there is a goal and a reward right in front of you. So I’ll make it though these next six weeks if only because every morning when I wake up sore and tired, I am thinking about my Olympic competition on August 21st.