Sunday, July 26, 2009

Well...

I haven't done much training since The Wet Dog.  I made it to masters this past Wed and tried to go for a long ride on Saturday (tried being the key word), but that's about it.  The group ride was going to leave from Lakeshore and head out towards Trussville then out to Leeds and back around to Lakeshore.  The whole trip was just under 50 miles.  The pace was a bit faster than what I could manage that morning.  I ended up dropping out of the pack and heading back to the car around 7 or 8 miles into the trip. I got in a pretty solid 15 mile ride but regret not digging in and riding the 50 miles.
Yesterday the re-aired the Ironman National Championships in Kona.  Wow.  The focus and desire that these athletes have is amazing.  The main focus was on the contenders, but the showed a bunch of age groupers as well.  Watching the show helped me to realize how far I have to go to get ready for IM Florida next year.  I'm looking forward to an awesome adventure and hope you stay along for the ride.
Quick shout out to my friends Courtney who finished IM Lake Placid today with a total time of 12:42:09 and Julie who placed second overall female in the Music City Sprint Tri in Nashville. You two rock!

Eric's Quote of the Day: "There are two things in this world that I can't stand...people who are intolerable of other people's cultures and the Dutch."~Nigel Powers in Austin Powers 3

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Wet Dog Triathlon

So, I think I have found one of my favorite sprint races. This course is short, flat, & fast. I was a little timid throughout most of the race. I held back some on the swim and bike. As I was finishing up my last mile of the run, I was a little upset for not pushing myself harder earlier in the race. At least now I know how to handle this race next year.

Pre-Race
I woke up about 400 Saturday morning and ate some cheerios and pop tarts I acquired at the service station down the road from my hotel in the little oasis known as Decatur. I watched some TV for about an hour. Then I got all my gear loaded up and headed to the race site. Body marking started at 545 and the transition area was first come first serve. I got a spot on the outside of the area. In hindsight, I should have gotten a spot right in the middle. That would have shaved some off of my transition times. Around 630 everyone headed down to the water. It was an out and back swim (400m). I did a warm up swim of about 200m and then stretched on the beach. There were over 500 racers there (up from 300 racers last year) which was awesome b/c all the proceeds of the race went to the Big Brothers Big Sisters program up there.
Swim
The first 100 swimmers went by quickly, but then the next 100 seemed to take forever. I was 216. The called my number and I ran on into the water and dove out as hard as I could to try and catch a few people in front of me. I passed maybe two people before several passed me. I was relaxed and just kept focusing on my stroke and breathing. I actually managed to swim in a relatively straight line this race. I made the turn at the bouey and started towards the exit. About halfway there, one racer was signaling the rescue boats for assistance, me and another racer slowed and went his way to check on him. He was having trouble catching his breath. The boat started to make its way over and the dude calmed down. The other racer said he had him and told me to go on. I finished the swim hard with a time of 9:09 which put me at 20/30 in my age group (25-29). My estimated swim time for registration was 9 mins so I wasn’t too far off.

T1
Since I was able to hit the right buttons on my watch this race, I have transition times. The race results lump T1, Bike, and T2 into one time and rate. The run to the transition area was probably the shortest so far this season. I pulled on my jersey, race belt, helmet, glasses, gloves, and shoes; grabbed my bike off the rack; and headed to the bike start (T1 = 4:16. I really need to get better at T1).

Bike
I mounted my bike and started getting situated on the saddle as I passed the first couple of people within the first ½ mile. I have to say, I love my aerobars. It is nice to be able to lean over and give your arms a rest. It will still take some practice staying well balanced when on the bars, but it will definitely be worth it. About mile 2, I saw some flashing lights from an ambulance. Some dude had run his bike up over the curb and wrapped it around a sign post. He was just laid out in the grass. The medics didn’t seem too concerned with him. I hope that he wasn’t hurt too bad, but how in the crap do you do that? Short of a car running you off the road, you just have to try to wreck like that. Another couple of miles, another couple of people passed. I was feeling pretty good on the bike. Just before the turnaround, the freight train passed. Not a locomotive, but a string of about 6 racers drafting (illegal) and flying by everyone. I felt like I was caught on the outside without a drafting partner at Talladega. I made the turnaround and headed back to the transition area. About ½ a mile out, I reached down and slipped my feet out of my shoes. I have always wanted to try it, but never felt confident enough to do it in a race. This is definitely the way to go! By my watch, my bike time was 30:23 with a rate of 17.50mph and a max speed of 23.7mph. The race results have me at a total time for T1, Bike & T2 of 36:56, a bike rate of 15.1 which was good enough for 25/30.

T2
I stopped my bike, jumped off and ran it back to the rack. It is SO much easier to run barefoot than in bike cleats. I slipped on my running shoes and dropped my bike gear. I grabbed Jeff’s GPS watch and took off on the run (T2 = 2:06).

Run
Having my pace right there on my wrist is awesome. I felt pretty good on the run. I actually passed a couple of runners. Granted, some of them were older people running/walking in a group (aka family). So what if they were in khaki shorts and didn’t have timing chips or race bibs and they were walking behind a kid on a Spiderman bike with training wheels. But seriously, I did pass a couple of actual racers which made me feel pretty good. Then about mile 1 it happened. A vine reached out from the side of the trail and snagged my foot….wham…down goes Frazier! My first official bust during a race…sweet. The people behind me slowed to see if I was OK. I got up, brushed off the dirt and rocks from my knees and started back on the trail. I made the turn and ran back on the park service road. With about ¾ of a mile to go, I picked up the pace. The closer I got to the finish, the faster I started kicking. I crossed the finish line with a runtime of 34:43 (avg pace of 11:12 my best race run yet) which put me 27/30 for the run in my division. My total time for the race was 1:20:47 and a ranking of 26/30. I didn’t meet my 1:15 goal, but I was happy with my time.

Now, I just have one tri left on my schedule for this year, Mt. Lakes. From what I’ve heard, the terrain is very similar to the Wet Dog but just a little longer. Seventeen days until race day. I haven’t settled on a goal time yet but will soon. I’ll be back later with training updates.

Eric’s Quote of the Day: (If you know the actual line and/or who said it, let me know. I’m not sure which Olympian said it, but I’ll paraphrase…) “I’m not here to start the race. I here to finish it”

Friday, July 17, 2009

Race Week

No major training this week to speak of. I had a few things planned, but everything else got in the way. Really wish I would have done some light workouts to keep everything loose but oh well. UPDATE Only 7 weeks until Lucas is here…that’s 49 days…holy crap!

I’m heading up to Decatur today after work today for the Wet Dog Triathlon. It is a short and fast Sprint (400m swim/15km bike/3mi run). I’m hoping to get an easy ride in once I get up there. I’m not sure of the course layout, so I don’t have any maps to put up here for this race. I will be cruisin solo this weekend b/c MH has to work so my race report will be missing video and action shots. I’m pumped about this race. I’m shooting to finish in under 1hr15mins. It seems like that is a pretty average time in my division going by last year’s results. I’m afraid it will all boil down to the run which is my weakest area.
Have a great weekend!

Eric’s Quote of the Day: “Follow your dreams…just not that one where you go to work naked” ~Unknown

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

My First Oly

No real training to report since the race. I did get my aero bars fitted yesterday which I’m pretty pumped about. I am so happy that I decided to go ahead and do the Chattanooga Waterfront Tri. I wavered back and forth everyday for a couple of weeks following Buster Britton. Everything about the race intimidated me. The distances, the terrain, the expected turnout all made me want to go and not want to go. Well, I got up there around 1230 (Eastern) on Saturday and made my way to the registration tent to get my packet. The size of the staging area and transition area were huge compared to all my races so far.

tranisition pics

I got checked in…number 185…and headed to grab something lite for lunch. Afterwards, I decided to drive the bike course so I would know what I was in for….wow. I went from a little nervous to down right petrified. MapMyRide did not do these hills justice. They seemed to climb forever. I tried to stay focused and plot out a strategy, but all I could think was how long those climbs were. I decided I needed to go get checked into the hotel before I talked myself into heading back home. After a little bit of confusion at the hotel, I got to my room and started to try to unwind. A couple of hours went by and I got a phone call from Heather saying she was almost to the airport. Sidebar: My wife rocks. She decided she was going to rent a car after her grandparents’ party and head up to Chattanooga. Originally she was going to surprise me, but in the end she told me her plans on Friday. I was thrilled to have her up there! Love you babe. I headed to the airport to pick her up and we headed back to the hotel to grab some dinner. Dinner was ok. We got back to the room and I started freaking out a little bit. I organized all of my gear, lubed my bike chain, and tried to get some rest.
RaceDay
4:00- I got out of bed and tried to eat a little. No microwave in the room, so I was forced to get by on a couple of Clif Bars for breakfast. I showered and got ready. My stomach was in knots. To quote my dad, you couldn’t have driven a pin up my @ss with a ball pin hammer I was so nervous. Throwing up crossed my mind several times.
5:45- I rolled my bike downstairs and mounted up to ride to the race site. My nerves calmed a little bit once I started riding but came back just as quickly as I rolled down the street to the hoards of people. I got my body marked and went to set up my transition area. The wind was blowing and the talk around the bikes was that there was a pretty good chance of rain that morning….crap. I put my cleats and shoes upside down to try and keep them dry if it did happen to rain. I grabbed my Gatorade and a banana and just walked around. I tried to calm down and focus as I headed to the busses that would take us up to the swim start area about a mile up the road.
6:40- The bus drops us off at the UT Chattanooga Rowing Center. There is a football practice field where all the traithletes are waiting to start the race. Some were running around. Others were in groups talking while the rest of us decided to be by ourselves. A calm started to come over me while we were here. I couldn’t wait to get in the water. I decided ealier that I would head out towards the buoys to swim rather than stay close to shore. My original intention was to get out of everyone’s way, but I started to think about it more and realized that the current would be moving swifter away from the rocky shores…in my best Mr. Burns voice “excellent.”
7:45 We are finally all lined up and ready to go. The first two waves are already in the water. We start to walk down the gangplank and onto the dock. I sat on the edge and scooted into the water. You had to swim about 50 feet down to the end of the dock before you could start going all out. I heard “185, go” and started swimming.
The Swim
I got to the outside and felt great. I had some good separation between me and the folks behind me. Next thing I knew, I was heading under the first bridge, which is pretty creepy actually. I did break down and breast stroke for a few minutes along the course, but I never really got just drained while swimming. The second and third bridges passed overhead and I started to angle my way towards the shore. I looked behind me and just saw what seemed like a hundred sets of hands and feet flailing around and splashing. I turned back ahead and sprinted the final 50m to the exit. There was a small platform that workers would help pull you to so you could walk up the steps out of the water and then run (ok, I walked) up the amphitheater steps to the transition area. My swim time was 33:14 which put me 33/35 in my division.


I got to my spot and started putting everything on. The only thing I didn’t do was turn on Jeff’s GPS watch for the run…dohh! It takes a few minutes to align with satellites so I wanted to go ahead and get it on well before I needed to use it on the run. I trotted my bike over to the exit and started off on my journey.
The Bike
After feeling so good after the swim, I knew that I was going to be able to handle the bike. You go about 1.5 miles and go up an on-ramp to get on the highway. Some people complained about it, but come on, how often do you get to ride in a closed lane of a highway? Then about mile 2.5 you hit the first climb. I find a comfortable gear and go to town. I watched my cadence and as soon as it dropped below 80, I dropped into the next gear. The next thing I knew, I was over the top and starting my first decent. Hell yeah, this isn’t going to be bad at all” I thought. “How about them apples, b!tch” came out too, but the hills would have the last laugh. The next climb was a little brutal. Not extremely steep, just long. I had to stop for a minute so I could catch my breath and refocus. I saddled back up and didn’t stop until the turnaround and mile 13.1 so I could snag some water b/c I was afraid I didn’t have enough for the return trip. The return trip was a lot easier. The final big climb was another drainer, but I managed to grind my way to the top. I crossed back over the river and then off the interstate. I rounded the corner and started trying to spin in some high gears to get my legs ready for the run. I heard my MH hollering and shouted back an I love you too! . Apparently, I didn’t step on the timing mat with my left leg, so the official results don’t have a time down for me. The best that I can figure is that I had a bike time of 1:49:48 at a rate of 14.3mph which put me somewhere around 31/35 for my division.



I get to my spot in tranisition, and some A-hole has his bike in my spot, so I had to slide his bike over and then mount mine and drop my gear so I can throw on my running shoes and be off for the final 6.2 miles of the day.
The Run
The run wasn’t good even by my standards. I couldn’t get in a comfortable rhythm. The first 1.5 miles was all uphill. The rain then started to fall which made it very comfortable for the first 4 miles but after that, my feet felt like they were sliding around in my shoes just a bit too much. Once I hit the turnaround, I forced myself to run just a bit more. I passed tons of people who were on the out part of the run. It definitely made me feel better seeing a good bit of people behind me. I went down the steps and knew that I only had 1 more mile until I was done with my first Oly. I decided to man up and run that last mile. It was rough. I was going at a pretty good clip. The crowds of spectators had started lining the last ¼ of a mile of the run to cheer on the last of the runners. It was awesome having so many strangers cheer for you. I see MH and just smile. I started kicking just a bit more and the next thing I hear is my name over the speakers. My run time was 1:39:59 which put me at 35/35 in my division. My overall time was 4:11:48. I was a bit disappointed in my time, but hey, I did it! I can’t believe I finished. It was hard to hold back the tears. If anyone had told me this time last year that I was going to be doing an Olympic distance tri this summer, I would have called them crazy. But here I am with the finisher socks to prove it. Yeah, that’s right, they gave us socks as we crossed the finish line to go along with our shirts. Jealous?


Overall, I had a blast. I see why so many people love this race and do it year after year. It is already on my schedule as an “A” priority race. I feel like the biggest benefit of doing this race is that now, all the other Sprint distances won’t seem bad at all. This year has been an awesome learning experience for me. I know that I can finish up these last two races and then start focusing on IM Florida. Thanks again for everyone’s support. I couldn’t do it without you!

Eric’s Clip of the day: (I decided to start throwing a few of my youtube faves in the mix)


Friday, July 10, 2009

Wow, race weekend already?!?!

So, I took this week very easy. I didn’t do anything on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I just ran a quick 5k at Veteran’s park. Thursday was another easy day of no training. Today is probably going to be the same, but I am planning on doing some light stretching this afternoon. Tonight or early tomorrow, I’ll clean my bike up and take an easy ride in the AM before I leave. Now, onto the race….

The swim (1500m, that’s just short of a mile for you non-metric folks) Goal: 33mins
I’m not too nervous about the swim. It is a long way, but you can stop and take a break whenever you feel like it. I’m planning on getting in the water and moving as far outside as I can so I won’t get knocked around by all the other triathletes. The big plus is the current. Since there has been so much rain up in TN, the current should be fairly swift (knock on wood).

Swim course


The bike (42km = 26.1mi) Goal: 1hr40mins
I’m nervous about this leg, but definitely not as nervous as I was last week before my 37 mile ride. I know I can do the distance, and even tackle most of the hills, but it looks like there are a couple of long grinds on the course that will take a lot out of me. Most of my nutrition will be on this leg. I’m planning on downing a couple of Hammer Gel’s and maybe a Clif Bar to get ready for the run. From what I’ve heard, the bike course is like riding down 280. We will have the entire inside lane. That means we will be buzzing down these hills at 40 mph with 18 wheelers flying by on the right…I’m expecting it to be pretty intense.

Bike Course


The run (10km = 6.21mi) Goal: 1hr18mins
The run ought to be interesting. Just one big hill (right at the end) and the rest is flat as a pancake. You have to go up some steps to a pedestrian bridge which I imagine will be tough on the quads. My buddy Jeff is lending me his GPS watch for the race. This way, I can do a better job of monitoring my pace throughout the run portion (Thanks Dude!). Side note: Keep Jeff and his group in your prayers this next week. They will be traveling to Juarez, Mexico to build houses. Pray for a safe journey, stay, & return. I’m going to try something new during the race. I’m going to run for 4-5 mins then walk 1 min. This should help me keep my HR under control a good bit better and help me to save a little bit of energy to crank out that last ½ mile.

Run Course


Quick weigh in report: Down to 242.5. Pretty happy with that considering no major training this week.

I’ll be sure to post my race report on Monday. No videos this time though…I’ll be the loner, the renegade, the rebel triathlete this trip. Have a great weekend!

Eric’s Quote of the Day: “A ship in the harbor is safe. But that’s not what ships are built for.” ~Anonymous

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

A little bit of training...

Thursday 7/2
No training today. I just wasn’t up for it.

Friday 7/3
I felt “guilty” for not doing anything Thursday, so I head up to Oak Mt. for a swim and ride. I swam for about 10-20 minutes just back and forth at the “beach” area. I tried to focus on my form and using my body to swim not just my arms (which I have a tendency to do). Then I jumped on my bike and road up the Mountain and back out to the main entrance and back to my car. It took about right at an hour to do. I felt pretty good after the ride…that is until I get a phone call form Hoover Toyota. Turns out I not only need a new AC clutch but also a new compressor (compressor = $$). I talked with the guy for a bit and let him know my “disappointment” that this couldn’t have been discovered last week when I took my car into their shop. I thought about it a bit and talked it over with Heather. We decided just to get rid of the 4Runner and go ahead and get something else. We were planning on getting something new towards the end of the year anyways. So the rest of Friday was spent cleaning up the 4Runner; going to CarMax and Driversway; and finding a great deal on a 2008 GMC Acadia. It is more of a crossover than an SUV. Not as small as a crossover but not as big as a Yukon…here is a pic



Saturday 7/4
No real training today unless you call loading up on pork products training (I like to think of it that way)

Sunday 7/5
I finally made it out for a training ride with Vulcan Triathletes. There were 6 of us heading out that morning. I was pretty nervous. We were going to go about 36-40 miles; my longest ride to date was 20 miles out at the industrial park. We left from the Brownell Travel building on Lakeshore and headed through Mt. Brook neighborhoods to Eastwood Mall area. Then we jumped onto Hwy 78 and rode out to the Bass Pro Shops (that’s right, Bass Pro Shops). Then we cut back on Rex Lake Road which changes into Sicard Hollow road all the way to Cahaba Heights. We then cut over and rode up Overton Road (b!tch of a hill). At the top of Overton, we cut back to the right and maneuvered our way over to Brookwood Road; turned between the golf courses; and road down Mt. Brook Parkway back to Brownell Travel. The overall trip was about 37 miles and took 2hrs27minutes. I was pumped after the ride. Chatty doesn’t look so scary anymore….ok, maybe it still does.

Monday 7/6
Recovery Day

Eric’s Quote of the Day: (an exert from Napoleon Dynamite)
Unlce Rico: “Back in ‘82, I use to be able to throw a pigskin a quarter mile”
Kip: “Are you serious?”
Uncle Rico: “I’m dead serious.”

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

New Race added to list!

Well, the weekend was OK. No ride on Saturday b/c I needed to take my bike to the shop. The chain was still jumping around on the rear gears. I did swim up at Oak Mt. with Jeff for a little while Saturday morning.

Sunday 6/28
I got in a pretty good run before church. I went 4.67 miles in right at an hour. I really don’t have the speed on the run that I would like to have. I need to be better about getting my runs in and quit finding excuses not to run. I should be running further distances by now.

Monday 6/29
Recovery Day

Tuesday 6/30
PM Bike
There is a stretch at Oak Mt. that is uphill and about a mile long. I rode up and then back down several times. Then I did the 20sec sprints (at 5k pace). Hills will wear a brother out!
Overall: avg HR 157; Peak HR 181; Min HR 98
Bike: Time 35mins; Dist 10.2 (forgot to look at avg and max speeds)
Sprints: 5 total
Wednesday 7/1
AM Swim
WU: 300m
Pulls: 300 on 6mins
250 on 4.5mins
125 on 3.5mins
75 on 2mins
Main Set: (4)50 easy/medium
(4)50 medium/fast

Total 1450m
I left to take the 4Runner to the shop so my AC can get fixed. One of these days, I swear I’ll be able to stay for the entire workout!

So, I decided to add another race to my calendar. The Wet Dog Triathlon is up in Decatur on July 18th. I’ve heard it is a very fun sprint distance (400m/15k/5k) tri. My buddy Kevin from the GJCC race might be doing it too. It is the weekend after Chattanooga. This way, I won’t be able to put off saddling back up after a race like I normally do. It should be a fun little day trip up there. After that, I’ll just have a couple of weeks until my first tri season’s culmination at Mt. Lakes.

Eric’s Quote of the Day: “You know what’s so bad about real life, Sssteven…there’s no danger music. Dududu DEDEDEDeDEde..” Chip Douglas (Jim Carrey) in The Cable Guy