How We Got Here
Athletic Background
Competitive swimming through childhood at the club level with consistent training. Stopped in grade 8 after a difficult period and didn’t return to structured athletics until grade 11. Came back through running: unstructured, purely aerobic, building from 2 km walk/runs to consistent daily mileage. Simultaneously began calisthenics-based strength training (pull-ups, dips, push-ups), eventually transitioning to a full gym program. Three years of consistent upper-body training with minimal lower-body work, a structural imbalance that would become a limiting factor later.
The swim background matters. The movement patterns and water comfort are still there, which is why the aquathlon swim leg is less of a concern than the run.
Race History
Three years of consistent running and lifting. Raced the Toronto half marathon twice (spring), the fall half once, then a full marathon the following spring. Concurrently built cycling volume with century rides and a 220 km race.
First triathlon was a sprint distance in Milton. Then Muskoka Ironman 70.3: 1.9 km swim, 90 km bike, 21.1 km run. Finished, but performance was limited by lack of periodized training and no race-specific preparation.
The takeaway from multisport was clear: endurance performance scales with consistency and structured training, not talent. That realization shifted my approach from volume accumulation to deliberate physiological development.
Training Evolution
Post-Muskoka, I moved to structured periodization. Key physiological data points:
- Max HR: ~204 BPM
- VO2max: Naturally high (genetic), but undertrained relative to ceiling
- Limiter: Connective tissue tolerance. Three years of upper-body-dominant training left tendons and fascia underprepared for high-impact running volume.
The last eight months have been structured mesocycles addressing specific physiological gaps:
- Run zones calibrated to pace and HR, with formal recalibration every 4 weeks
- Plyometrics for ground contact time and reactive force production
- Single-leg machine work for connective tissue adaptation (leg press over free-weight to control proprioceptive demand on untrained structures)
- Slow eccentric hamstring curls for fascicle length and tendon stiffness, the primary prophylactic against hamstring strain during the swim-to-run transition
- Dead bugs as a breathing intervention. Calisthenics background created a Valsalva-adjacent bracing pattern that restricts diaphragmatic excursion at high intensities. Dead bugs retrain the diaphragm under anti-extension demand.
- 2:2 respiratory cadence enforced on all tempo and threshold work as a pacing governor
- Pre-session carb protocol on a caloric deficit. Glycogen-depleted VO2max work at 196-197 BPM triggered nausea from respiratory acidosis. 30-50g fast carbs 60 min pre-session resolved it.
Every protocol exists because something failed and had to be fixed. Shoulder RC injury eliminated barbell pressing. Nausea at near-max HR indicated ventilatory capacity lagging behind cardiac output. Tendon pain at 25+ km/week revealed connective tissue two training ages behind aerobic fitness.
Current Goal
Training for Team Canada Age Group Aquathlon (M20-24), targeting the 2027 World Championships in Edmonton. Race format: 2.5K run, 1K swim, 2.5K run. R1 target pace: 3:15/km. R2 target pace: 4:05/km.
Training alongside a full UofT course load and a full-time engineering position at Mozilla (Firefox). Sessions are evenings, split between a condo gym and Hart House. The schedule is constrained but consistent.
What follows is the week-by-week training log.