Upcoming Season

I’ve spent the past couple of weeks reading through Joe Friel’s The Triathlete’s Training Bible. The title pretty much sums it up. It provides a ton of details on how to self coach for triathlons. Using the methods from the book, I have plotted out my next season ending with IM Florida. It’s going to be an awesome year. Here is how things are going to pan out starting with Rocket City Marathon in December:

December: Rocket City Marathon (B)
January: First Light Marathon (B)
February: Mercedes Marathon (B)
March: BYE
April: Magic City Duathlon (C)
Music City Marathon (B)
May: IM 70.3 Florida (A)
June: Buster Britton (B)
July: Chattanooga Waterfront (B)
Wet Dog Triathlon (C)
August: Mountain Lakes (A)
September: IM 70.3 Augusta (B)
October: BYE
November: IM Florida (A)

The letters at the end of the event represent its priority. With “A” being the highest, these events are the focal point of my season. The “B” priority races are almost as important, but I won’t be tapering or recovering nearly as long (if at all) for these races. The few “C” priority races are those that will be just for fun. A few more might get added as the year progresses and event calendars are published.

When I started planning out my training, I needed to identify my biggest limiters. Running is by far my worst discipline of the three. That being the case, I decided to push myself and get a lot of running volume during my off season. First up is the Rocket City Marathon on December 12th. This is the first of three races in the 3-N-3 Challenge. The 3-N-3 Challenge is a race where you run all three marathons in the state of Alabama in three months. If you end up completing all 3 races, you get some sweet swag and bragging rights. Although I will be training for the marathons, I won’t be focusing primarily on running. I think a lot can be said for triathlon training as it pertains to overall fitness and weight loss. I’ll be adding a few more runs into my training than I will be doing after Mercedes, but I’ll still be working hard at building a solid base in the water and on the bike.

The first thing I did when I started thinking about this upcoming season was set goals. They are “up there.” It will take a lot of focus and training to reach them.

1. Finish IM Florida (in less than 13 hrs)
2. Finish IM 70.3 Florida in less than 6.5 hrs
3. Finish Mt. Lakes Tri run in less than 23 mins

Everywhere I’ve read, people say not to shoot for a specific time to complete an IM. There are just too many variables that are out of your control. Ideally I want to hit the sub-13hr mark, but will I be upset if it takes me 16 hrs to finish? Nope, as long as I cross that last timing mat still married, smiling, under my own strength, employed, and not poor I will be thrilled. I read that goal in Triathlete magazine and had to steal it. This next year is going to be a blast!

Eric’s Quote of the Day: “The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” ~Michelangelo (the artist not Ninja Turtle)

'09 Tri Season - Lessons Learned

Well, my first year as a triathlete is in the books. Simply put, I had a blast. I met a bunch of awesome people, learned a lot about the sport, and learned a lot about myself. The following is a quick look back at my races this year and a brief account of what I learned.

2/15 First Race – Mercedes Half Mary (13.1mi run…ok, jog & walk) Goal Under 3hrs – Actual 2hrs 43mins

First lesson in a repeating course of sticking to training. I started out pretty strong and then started to feel fatigued as I passed the 6-7 mile mark. Felt the “runner’s high” and loved it. While running still sucks, I enjoy it when I’m done. This was the first and only time this year that I could barely stand to walk the following days due to the pain in my feet & ankles. Definitely need to be sure to stretch well before and after the race.

4/18 1st Multisport Event – Magic City Duathlon (3.1mi run/12mi bike/2mi run) Goal 1hr 30mins – Actual 1hr 40mins

Lesson 2 of the course “The Importance of Training”. I felt good going into this race. I had ridden a good bit around the Hoover Freshman Center. I started off waayy too fast on the first run…ended up walking some (or most)…getting very fatigued on the bike…and flailing around in the home stretch. I wasn’t too sore after this event. Crossing the finish line was a feeling that I would never forget and that will never get old.

5/25 First Triathlon – GJCC Memorial Day Triathlon (200m swim, 8.5mi bike, 2mi run) Goal 1hr 00mins – Actual 1hr 12mins

This was my first “competition” swim. I was pretty nervous about the whole event. The swim went great. The bike was fun until I came upon the only climb on the course. To this day, that climb seems like it went straight up a mountain. This led to my next lesson learned…work on biking up hills. Even though I didn’t feel like I had done great, crossing the finish line still rocked. The tri bug had latched on.

6/13 - Buster Britton Triathlon (400yd swim, 13.5mi bike, 3mi run) Goal 1hr 30mins – Actual 1hr 44 mins

After finally beating my “nemesis” on a training ride with my cohort Jeff the weekend prior to the event, I felt pretty good going into this race. I did ok on the swim, and I managed to do ok on the bike despite the wet roads. This race made me realize how important running is. I am not a fan of running, but this is something that I still need to get over. To push myself, I’m going to run a few marathons next season (more on next season later).

7/12 – Chattanooga Waterfront (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run) Goal 3hrs 40mins – Actual 4hrs 11mins

This was the longest race of the season. I was a wreck worrying about this race. The distance of the bike didn’t bother me too much, but then add on the hills to the 26 miles and WOW. I felt great during and after the swim. I regret stopping a couple of times on the bike and not pushing harder on the run, but hey, I finished. I have to admit that crossing this finish mat was the greatest feeling all year. I was a little “emotional” at the end of it. A year ago if someone would have told me that I would be completing an Olympic distance triathlon, I would have laughed my butt off. I never thought I would be able to accomplish this. I learned more about myself this race than any other. It would have been so easy to call it quits on the bike and get a ride back to the transition area. Instead, I dug in and finished it…the finish wasn’t pretty, but at least it was a finish. Ever since that race, I feel like I can do anything. (Sorry for the Velveeta moment)

7/18 – Wet Dog Triathlon (400m swim, 15k bike, 5k run)

Goal 1hr 18mins – Actual 1hr 20mins

This was probably the most fun race out of all of them. It isn’t nearly as organized as the rest of my races. The venue was pretty close and the course rocked. It was super flat and fast. This was a fun one just to go do. I learned two things today…the first is that trail running rocks even if you do get tripped by a rogue vine and second, that running with a GPS watch that tracks your pace and distance is the way to go…I must have one.

8/8 Final Tri of the Season – Mt. Lakes Triathlon (600yd swim, 16.2mi bike, 3mi run) Goal 1hr 40mins – Actual 2hrs 00mins

This was a cool race. Other than the swim being the worst of the year for me, this one rocked. The bike and run are pretty flat. The run is along a paved path that runs next to the lake. I regret not having trained harder since Chatty for this one. I really feel like I could have torn this one up. Something that I have a bad habit of doing on the bike is trying to “save” my legs for the run. In a sprint like this, there is no need to hold anything back. You just have to go all out and know that your training has prepared you to endure. This race will be one of my top priority races next year.

When I look back on all of my races, it is easy to be a little disappointed for not meeting/beating any of my goals except for the ½ mary. Then I remind myself that this is my first season and I’m not exactly the well tuned triathlete I plan to be next year. Soon I’ll plot out my course for this next year which will culminate with IM Florida. Real quick I want to say thanks to all of my family and friends for their support this past year. MH, I love you to death. You will never know how much I appreciate your support and understanding during this journey. 18 days....holy crap!

Eric’s Quote of the Day: “Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.” ~ Booker T. Washington

Mt. Lakes Race Report

Well, another race is in the books. I didn’t meet my goal of 1:40. You can definitely tell a difference when you stay off training for a while. I did ride some between Wet Dog and Mt. Lakes, but that is about it. Team-Magic definitely knows how to put on a great event. Some people complain about the wait time. I’m not really sure what they expect when you have 900+ people all trying to compete. MH and I drove up to Guntersville Friday evening to pickup my packet and get checked into the hotel in Albertville. At the hotel, we just watched TV (two of our favorite shows, Monk & Psych, had their season premieres).

5:55am- Arrived at Race Site. I was the first on my rack to arrive, so I got one of the ends so I could have just a little extra room. I got my tattoos for the day and walked down to the water to check things out.
6:30am- Went back to the car to see how MH was doing. She decided to come on down to the race area. We went to the water. I swam about 300m to warm up and to make sure I still knew how to swim. I got out and stretched. Then the waiting game began.
7:45am- The first racers are off. These dudes can book it I the water. It was awesome watching these collegiate athletes compete.
8:25am- I’m diving into the water. My swim coach was one of the volunteers this weekend. She was the “marker” in the water at the point where you can start diving. She gave me a quick “Go get ‘em” and I gracefully immersed myself into the water (hoping you pick up on the sarcasm right about now). I didn’t feel too great about this swim. I did manage to pass a couple of people for a change, and my sighting was a lot better, but I just didn’t feel very efficient out there. My swim time was 16:39 which put me at 25/26 in my division. I lost a lot of time b/c I started doing the breaststroke a little and I kept looking up in the last 50-75 meters wondering when I was going to be close enough to the shore to start walking.

Swim Video



T1+Bike
T1 was OK…4:15. I’ve got to get quicker in transition. It is just too easy to lose valuable time walking/jogging to your gear, getting everything on, walking your bike to the mount line, mounting your bike and then heading off. The bike was a fun ride. No major climbs. I probably could have stayed aero the entire time. I passed a good bit of people out there. I got a little slow towards the end of the ride when you lose the tree cover. The last 2 miles went across the causeway where my dad used to take me fishing when I was little. It was pretty cool seeing all that again. With about 1 mile to go, I managed to reach down and get my feet out of my shoes to help speed up my T2 time. I wish I would’ve waited a bit longer, b/c pedaling with my feet hanging over the toe of my shoes made it difficult to get any power behind my pedaling. Overall, the bike took me 55:46 with an avg rate of 17.2mph which ranked me at 14/26 only b/c there were several folks who didn’t cross a timing mat so they don’t have a bike rate, but hey, I’ll take it.

Bike Video

T2+Run
T2 was ok. There was little bit of a traffic jam at the dismount line. I got to my rack and got ready for the run in 2:10. I really want to get this down to around 1:15 by next year. Only one word can really sum up the run…crappy. I couldn’t keep a decent pace running. I walked waayyy more than I should’ve or wanted to. I dug down and started kicking pretty good the last qtr mile or so at around 6:36 pace. The run was nice b/c it was on a paved path that ran next to the lake. The run ended up taking me 42:07 at an avg pace of 14:22 which put me dead last in my division for the run…or walk depending on how you want to look at it.

Finish Video


Here we are 2hrs and 55 secs later crossing the finish line. I ended up finishing 24/26 in my division so at least I wasn’t dead last. It was a great day, and I definitely had a good time. I’ll be there next year to “own” that race.

I’ll wrap up the season and start looking ahead in my next post.

Eric’s Quote of the Day: “You might want to check your socks, because I’m about to knock’em off.” ~ Shawn Spencer, Psych

Race Week- Mt. Lakes (Guntersville)

I’ll get better about posting one day. I haven’t had too much time for training since Wet Dog. Work has been a little hectic, and trying to get the house ready for Lucas has swallowed up the rest of my time. I’ve gotten a few runs and rides in though. Swimming has been non-existent. I’m still going to go all out at Mt. Lakes though. It is supposed to be a flat and fast course. It looks very similar to the Wet Dog but just a little longer on the swim and bike. I always get nervous during race week. For some reason, I have been waiting until then to choose my goal finish time. I always second guess myself…am I sandbagging…am I being too ambitious…can I really do it in that time? Well, I’m shooting for under 1hr40. The ideal scenario would be like this...

Swim (600yd) in 11mins

T1 in 3 mins
Bike (16.2mi) in 54mins (this is might be tricky, but it would just be a little faster than my avg speed at Wet Dog)


T2 in 2 mins (I need to be sure I slip my feet out of my shoes about ¼ mile from the dismount line)
Run (3mi) in 31mins (I’ll be running faster than I’ve run before. I just need to stay focused and be sure I take in a gel with about 6-7 miles to go on the bike)
I'll try and see if I can find a run course map to post on here.


It looks like it is going to be hot on Saturday with a 30% chance of rain as of today. I’ll try and post again before Saturday. If not, have a great week!


Eric’s Quote of the Day: “There is no ‘Y’ in running. Believe in the run.” ~Nike