One month down, nine to go!

As I start week 5 of my training, I thought that this might be a good time for a quick bit of reflection on my progress to date. It has been an interesting period of adjustment. It is stating to feel normal to train nearly every day. In fact, it feels odd not to. Today is my rest day and I feel at a bit of a loss. I have made significant progress with my swimming. Previously, I was only swiming up to 200 m at a time however, yesterday I swam for 45 minutes in open water without too much effort. It seems like all those hours in the pool are making a difference. Curiously, I have not lost much weight. I was a little disapointed by this but I have toned up somewhat, and I guess that I developed more muscle and have less body fat than when I started. Raj has commented that I have much bigger shoulders and pecks.
Our training load will build up significantly over the next few weeks. We are on a 4-week cycle where we build up our training volume over three weeks and then have an "easy" week. Things step up noticably at the start of the next cycle (this week!).
I have also made my first fundraising goal of $1000. Thanks to those of you who contributed! I still need to raise another $6500 so please sponsor me if you can.