Welcome to Hell

July went by way to fast, and that brings us to Hell.  you may know it as August, but I dread seeing that calendar catch on fire every year.  August is so hot down here that lots of things spontaneously combust. Here's what I did in July:

July 2013
Swim: 32,920 meters, 12 swims, 2 races
Bike: 538.5 miles, 18 days, 2 races
Run: 70.1 miles, 11 days, 2 races
Strength: 4 times
Yoga: 7 sessions

Considering that this month contained a few sprint triathlons and the start of the build phase in my training plan, this should be totally insane.  August will also be totally insane.  Actually August will be more insane because it's all build phase.  July only had one week of build phase, and I couldn't even run for the last 5 days.

Almost 33,000 meters in the pool may be a personal high.  I know I hit 28k a few months ago and I think that was a personal best.  33k is insane.  Beyond insane, it's more like sane-in.  I hit every swim, twice a week, around 3000 per practice.  Throw in 1500 in between those 2 sprint triathlons as well, and you get a nice high number.  Speaking of high numbers, 528 miles on the bike is pretty redonk as well. Hitting the bike 5 days a week when the long rides start to get long, and those bike miles add up fast.  Now that I'm not running for a week, August's bike miles are going to be insane too. The build phase is when the weekly bike mileage goes from around 100 to 120 miles a week all the way up around 200 miles per week.  I've got a century ride on tap Aug 10, and the other weekly long rides are at least going to take 80 miles. so the volume is going to be there, let's see if I can top those two numbers in August.

70 miles of running, on the other hand, is pretty pitiful. This foot thing really kept the mileage low, which is disappointing because I would usually rather be running.  At this point, it should be over 100 miles per month, and I should be logging 30 to 50 miles per week in the build phase.

Also, my weight is right on track. There have been several days in the 170's, not down to 175 target yet, but it's close.  Plenty of 178's showed up in July.  I know the build phase is going to take off the rest of those extra pounds.

Cast Iron Club update
The goal of the cast iron club is to cover 30 iron distances over training and racing this calendar year. As of July 31:
Swim: 35.78 iron distances - Done!
Bike: 22.21 iron distances - 872 miles to go, so I should hit this in late august or early September
Run: 17.37 marathons - 331 miles to go. 12 30 mile weeks should get me there, and after taking this week off from running I should hit this one right around Beach 2 Battleship race day.