Sam aims to get the jump on his brother when it comes to training and thus has begun his training early; with 4 weeks already under his belt. Ryan, with a chronic fear of cardio exercise, is adopting an altogether different approach. No-one is quite sure when Ryan will first dip into the pool, put some running shoes on or pedal on a bike but there's a consensus that it will be as late as he can manage.
We caught up with Sam to get an overview of his training for that first week:
"Day 1: consisted of 10 lengths in the pool (200m), a lot harder that I initially thought it was going to be. Don't think it's going to be quite as easy as anticipated but at least I'm ahead of Ryan!
Day 2: 20 lengths in the pool (400m), I think the first day was me getting use to actually swimming as today felt a lot nicer and an easier swim. I managed 10 lengths of Front Crawl and 5 lengths of Breast stroke. Confidence is returning! In a classic Tuesday move I also voluntarily (not at all voluntarily) led a 45min Spin class, so I'm feeling most confident on the bike.
Day 3: First time swimming 600m. As with previous attempts everything felt even easier hence I pushed myself further. Took me 25mins which I though was pretty good until I looked at what the pros do the full distance within! I'm not gonna share that with you though - far too embarrassing for me! This time I managed 15 lengths of Front Crawl and 15 lengths of Breast Stroke.
Day 4: Second 600m swim of the week. Despite not pushing myself further it still felt like a more fluid swim, so I'm feeling pretty good. I am, admittedly, still absolutely blowing by the end but completed in a quicker time of 20mins!
Day 5: Third day of 600m, this time doing a 10 lengths of Front Crawl followed by 10 lengths of Back Stroke cycle which again showed me that I was being an absolute wet wipe on the first day. Didn't shave any time off of my 20mins this time but I certainly felt better at the end!
Day 6: Exactly the same as Day 5, unfortunate that I didn't get below 20 minutes but I'm feeling more confident at the end of the first week (especially when I look at Ryan's non-existent training)!
Day 7:
First day of rest and it was well-deserved in my mind! With all this swim training alongside my regular gym training my body is more than ready to hibernate for the day!"
Looking at Sam's training record for just the first week we wonder if Ryan is shaking in his boots just a little? Do you think Sam's intensive, early training will hand him victory? Or will Ryan's strategy of cardio-reluctance prove him the victor?