This Week In Training
Quality Journal: Jun 1-Jun 7, 2026
The Projection
All right team, we are back for another weekly training recap. This one is going to be a bit different.
Right now inside my fitness coaching community, The Temple, we are reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance as the guide to a 6 week learning cohort on becoming athletic artists and craftsmen.
The first challenge was to keep a ‘quality’ journal of the weeks’ exercise. That is to focus on the non-mechanical and measurable elements of training and bring out that quality in a post exercise reflection.
So today I want to bring you behind the scenes into how I’ve structure this week based on how I want to bring ‘quality’ into my training both in terms of enjoyment and progressing in performance and confidence heading into my next race.
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The Aim
In the book, there’s the ever present tension between the ‘feel’ and the ‘facts.’
The author, Pirsig, spells it our nicely in this short excerpt that I read this morning.
I believe that through the training you can indeed match them up.
My aim this week was to solidify a new pattern that will keep training fun but also aim me towards a great race in early September.
It’s all built backwards out of the Sacred Effort.
Long Run on Saturday Morning.
That means easy efforts on Sunday and Friday that will let me have a great long run.
Sunday is strecthcing and strength mobility.
Friday could be either a bike ride OR a strength workout that doesn’t target the legs, this is weather and schedule dependent.
For this structure to turn into a coherent week I need to figure out how often I want to touch each discipline. For this running based block that looks like 1 bike, 1 swim, and 3 runs a week.
So now it’s a plug and play for the rest of the days based off that Fri-Sun cadence.
Monday is a great swim day coming off the long run weekend.
Now that leaves Tuesday-Thursday for the mid week runs.
Tuesday is fast running day. Feels great coming off the long swim.
Wednesday is the flex day for biking and strength work.
Thursday then is the easy trail run day.
See how that all came together so nicely, based on a harmony of the feel and the facts.
Let’s see how I did.
The Execution
We had a great week. Rather than parse each workout, I simply want to talk about the feel of the week.
Each day rolled right into the other. The body felt good, mind sharp, spirit on fire.
The harmony of this plan is what I’m loving the most right now.
The entire weeks fits together effortlessly. Most important it’s a schedule that works for this season of life with business and family obligations.
Importantly, I’m now outside for almost all of my workouts. Swimming in the open air is a world of difference to swimming inside during the colder months.
It’s not hot enough to not need a thousand extra layers on cold bike rides. Same for trail and beach runs.
But the biggest sign this week was a great week? I want to run it back again in the same format again, and I have genuine enthusiasm to get right back into this pattern.
There were some good performances in there too, especially the running (the facts confirming the feel).
This is what it looks like to craft a week that hits all the right notes!
The Takeaway
For you, here’s where I think you can steal from my process.
Start With Feel
That’s the Sacred Effort or similar. Build your week around the main thing, the thing you want to do most, and then find the best place on your calendar to get it done. Don’t worry about anything other than maximum enjoyment.
Correct With Facts
Now you build around it. With the thing you love cemented on the calendar, you fill in the rest of the week to support and set you up to have a great session for that main session. That includes cross training, rest and recovery, and mini goals and targets throughout the week.
Make a Custom Fit
But it’s not just about the fitness, it’s about the harmony in your life. If you only have short windows during the week then work with it. If your weekends are tight with obligations then work with that. Do not allow fitness to disrupt the flow of your life, make it work.
If you can follow this from the outset, you’ll discover that your weeks begin to flow seamlessly into themselves. And that unlocks larger time blocks like months, seasons, and even years.
Building the foundation properly is what allows things to grow, scale, and progress sustainably over time.
I’ve been at this for over a dozen years and I’m still finding new ways to explore, play, progress, and stay in love with the process. The element of control, that it’s up to me, and that I get maximum freedom to make it happen are the foundational building blocks that keep me in the game.
Now you’ve got the blueprint too, so get to work and start having ALL THAT FUN in building something that works for you, just for you.
And if you need some guidance, direction, support, encouragement, and help in creating this structure for yourself, shoot me a message by replying to this or using the button below and let’s talk about coaching options to help get you into the game of creating a fitness routine that works best for your body, mind, and spirit.
Let’s keep winning together team!