Right Now, This Doesn't Sound Like Fun At All

Here's a typical training schedule for Justin Daerr, an age-group triathlete. In the 2004 Hawaii Ironman he was the first American amateur in only his third Ironman-distance race. See if you could hang with his program.

Throughout the triathlon season my training schedule is continually changing. During the early part of the year my coach, Joe Friel, and I focus more on strength training and skills. I still spend a fair amount of time on the road, on the trails and in the pool, but the overall intensity of the sessions is low. After a solid strength foundation has been established I begin to ramp up the volume of my training along with the intensity. During this Base period of training I am swimming, biking and running nearly twice as much as in the previous Prep period. Strength training is no longer the primary focus, but is instead put into a maintenance mode. Aerobic volume has now become the number one priority. The Base period of my training ended this year before I headed off to Boulder, Colo. on Memorial Day weekend. Throughout this summer I have been incorporating more challenging sessions that revolve around race-specific intensity. No week looks identical to the last, but the following weekly schedule is fairly close to what you might see me doing during the 2005 summer in Boulder.
Monday: Today is a longer aerobic day, but the intensity doesn't generally leave me feeling wiped. I start with a 4-5K session in the 50-meter pool followed by a 45-60 minute aerobic run. After eating and possibly napping I head out for a 3-4 hour ride in the Boulder flats.
Tuesday: This day's main goal is some faster running on the track. I do some sessions that involve much faster running than I would ever see in an Ironman, but it helps my overall run economy. I also swim 4-5K afterwards, but it usually involves some easier sets. I end this day with strength training.
Wednesday: My favorite day: 5K in the pool with some harder efforts, followed by a 5-6 hour ride in the mountains. Lots of climbing and plenty of beautiful scenery.
Thursday: Lighter day. Normal swimming, easy two-hour ride and an easy 45-60 minute run. Friday: I tend to do my longest swim and run of the week today: 5-6K in the pool with harder efforts and a two-hour run in the hills in the afternoon.
Saturday: Very, very little. The main purpose of today is to recover.
Sunday: A two-hour ride with 90 minutes of higher intensity riding followed by a 30 minute tempo run off the bike. In the afternoon I may do an easy swim before doing it all over again on Monday.

Amateur? When does he work?