My week in a nutshell:

Too much of this:

Not enough of this:

I fell off the "no sweets" wagon around my birthday.  Fell HARD.  Face first into donuts and cake.  And I have just now finally come up for air!  This past week was a doozy; lots of indulging, not so much training.  

In the past week I have completed the following workouts:

2 30 minute swims (with intervals and technique drills)

1 4 mile tempo run

1 full-body strength session

1 speed-interval bike trainer ride

1 40 mile outdoor ride + 20 minute transition run

Here is what is missing from that training week:

2 swims (one long)

2 strength sessions

1 interval run

2 bike trainer rides (one hill simulation)

Some quick math tells me I completed almost 50% of my training!  But the numbers don't even tell the whole story.  I went 10 whole days without a swim!  And the combination of more junk food and less training has naturally led to a few pounds of flab finding their way back home.  (Home is my body; specifically my mid-section, in case that was not clear.)

A few months ago a disappointing training week like that would have scared the crap out of me.  Fortunately, I now have enough consistent training under my (too-tight) belt that a bad week doesn't necessarily mean disaster.  It represents a lost opportunity for progress, sure, but not necessarily actual regression.  The good news is that although the quantity of my workouts was truly pathetic, the quality was fantastic.  Both of my recent tempo runs have been great, which is a huge relief after I found myself seeming to go slower and slower during "marathon training."  I got in my long ride and transition run, which is probably the single most important workout of any given week.

At the beginning of this new training week I don't feel any more fit, but I don't feel any less fit, so now I can just keep moving forward.