Week 7 (Thanksgiving)

Holiday weeks usually suck for training for me. This week was a little different. I got some good training in on Thanksgiving. It was the subsequent days that weren't very productive.

Monday
Workout 1: Masters Swim (50mins, 2150m=1.34mi)
Workout 2: Strength Training (40mins). I moved to a new phase of my strength training MT (Maximum Transition). The loads increase and the reps decrease. I'll do this for the rest of the month to get ready for the MS (Maximum Strength) Phase.

Tuesday
Workout 1: Prep Phase Run-S1. Interval run on the treadmill (2.44mi, 30mins). Felt strong on the run. The intervals went from jogging at 5pmh to running at 10mph. You know what...a 240lb dude's feet can make some noise pounding on a treadmill at 10mph.
Workout 2: Prep Phase Bike-E1. Easy endurance ride on the trainer (34.8mi, 80mins). There are several different trainers out there. The resistance is generated from wind, magnets, or fluids. Mine uses magnets. The range of resistance isn't that great, and the upper end isn't very rough. If I need to get a more intense endurance ride in, I'll probably try to elevate the front end of my bike to increase the difficulty (any suggestions?)

Wednesday
Workout 1: Masters Swim (50mins, 1200m plus about 8mins of steady kicking in the deep water). This was a big drill day. Some of the drills were new. Towards the end of the main set, my coach tapped me on the head and said that my swimming had gotten great...yeah me!
Workout 2: The SNC Gym was closed for renovations today. Not sure what they were doing, but it could only be an improvement.

Thursday (Thanksgiving)
Workout 1: Turkey Day 10k (Prep Phase E2 Run)...my buddy Jeff organized a fun run for this morning. There were 4 of us out there to brave the cold and the hills. Both of which were brutal. Jeff and I stuck to our race strategy of run 4:26 and then walk 1:00. We did the 6.2 miles in about 73 minutes. It was a great run and a great way to start off a day of eating way too much.
Workout 2: Prep Phase S1 Bike. Speed work on the trainer. SpinUps: Warm-Up; take a minute to get to max cadence; hold as long as you can; then recover for 1 minute...repeat. It was fun. I watched a video documenting the AU Tiger's 2004 Season. It definetly got me fired up for the Iron Bowl on Friday. (36mi, 30mins)

Friday
I didn't schedule a workout for today. It was a fun time down on the plains. I've missed tailgating this year. Hopefully next year, we can all get back in the mix on game days. The game was great except for the last 1:26. The better team did not win this game; Auburn kicked Bama's butt that entire game. Hats off to Bama for pulling it off. Go gators! I hate to say things are moral victories, but this was a game that our boys could walk away from with their head held high. It was awesome to watch. Not to mention I got about 3.5 hrs worth of plyometrics done while I was cheering. I've never jumped up and down so much.

Saturday & Sunday
These ended up being lazy days. I know...WWYDT...I rested.

So, out of a planned 12.5hr training week, I got in 9.63hrs (yes, I did count the AU game. I know that is stretching it, but I was pretty sore on Saturday). According to my plan, I should ramp up my training to Base 1 Phase starting 12/7. I've decided that I'm not going to advance my training phase until I do 3-4 solid 13.5hr training weeks. So if all goes according to plan, starting the week of 1/4, I will ramp up my training. That is the great thing about this book and the plan you make. You can always adjust it to go along with your progress (or lack there of).

Eric's Quote of the Day: "Sittin on G, waitin on O!"~AU Coach Trooper Taylor

Overall this was a fairly productive training week. I still need to do more. I did something everyday except Sunday. The weather, work, and Lucas got in the way of my biking on Tuesday and Sunday. Here we go…

Monday
Workout 1: Masters Swim (40mins; 1150m) It was OK for a Monday morning.
Workout 2: Strength Training Phase AA (50mins)

Tuesday
Workout 1: Prep Phase Run-S1: Interval runs. Felt really good (30mins, 2.3mi)
Workout 2: Should have been a bike, but work ran late, which put me later getting home, which kept me from riding so I could take care of Lucas.

Wednesday
Workout 1: Masters Swim (60mins; 1550m) I really need to focus on bilateral breathing and not kicking my legs so much; need to keep from bending knees so much on the kick
Workout 2: Strength Training Phase AA (50mins)

Thursday
Workout 1: Prep Phase Bike-S1: Spin Ups. I did these on the stationary bike at work. I didn’t feel as productive, but it was easier have all the data right there in front of you instead of having to push buttons through my bike cpu (30mins, 9miles)
Workout 2: Prep Phase Run-E1. The run felt great. It was a little cold and got dark quick. I need to think about getting one of those head lamps or a light that clips onto your hat. I think the cars had trouble seeing me. (70mins; 5.03mi)

Friday
Workout 1: Masters Swim (45mins; 1900m). John kicks your butt on these workouts so it was awesome. I'm hoping to stay for the entire time soon. I think they keep swimming until 7 or 730.

Saturday
Workout 1: Prep Phase Run-E2. Had a pretty good run. I really want/need to get a little faster. I used the fuel belt for the first time. It wasn’t too awkward, but I do need to be sure to rinse the soap out of the bottles better from now on (blahhhh). I kept a pretty good routine of running 5mins and walking 1. I finished at 9.97 miles (close enough to 10 in my book) in 2hrs10mins.
Workout 2: Should have been an easy ride to just practice on spinning. I really can remember why I didn’t do this.

Sunday
Workout 1 & Workout 2: Should have been a long endurance ride followed by a short run just to give my legs some practice at the transitioning. I got out to the industrial park around 1045 to start my ride. I got a few miles into it and was about to freeze to death. It’s one thing to be out in the cold, but when you start moving 15-20mph, it gets flippin cold. I cut it short at 10mins/3mi. I need to invest in some cold weather gear. Until then, I guess I’ll just stick to riding on the trainer (boooo).

So, it wasn't 13.5hrs, but it was more than usual…8.58hrs. Next week is Thanksgiving. It will probably be a shorter week of training. Not to mention that the Iron Bowl is Friday (lots of 12oz. curls). Yes, I will be there screaming my head off for our beloved Auburn Tigers to improve our bowl bid and ruin Bama’s chance of playing for a National Championship. War Eagle!!


Eric’s Quote of the Day: “Believe that you can run farther or faster. Believe that you’re young enough, old enough, strong enough, and so on to accomplish everything that you want to do. Don’t let worn out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself”
~John Bingham, “Tools and Rules,” Runners World

Week 5

Started out being a great training week…I made it to the pool on Wed and Thurs…My legs felt great on the bike and on the runs…and then the weekend rolled around which produced a sore throat, no energy, and house cleaning/organizing.

Monday
Workout 1: Recover Swim-skipped
Workout 2: Strength Training (I upped the wts by about 5-10%) 50mins

Tuesday
Workout 1: Run-S1 Interval run on treadmill 30mins 1.98miles
Workout 2: Bike-E1 Easy endurance ride on trainer 70mins 13.7miles

Wednesday
Workout 1: Masters Swim (HOORAY!) cut it short. No coach makes it hard to know what to do. 700meters 35mins
Worktout 2: Strength Training w/ core at home 55mins

Thursday
Workout 1: Bike-S1 Spin-ups on trainer 20mins
Workout 2: Run-E1 Easy endurance run at industrial park 45mins 3.26miles

Friday
Workout 1: Masters Swim. Still no coach. 950meters 45mins
Workout 2: Strength Training 30mins Cut this one short. I’m going to stop lifting on Fridays so that I can recover a little bit before my long runs and rides over the weekends.

Saturday
Sore throat and overall blahness kept me in bed. Had to work on straightening up the house for Lucas’ post-baptism party.

Sunday
Still a few last things to do for the party so no ride today. The whole day was great. The baptism was wonderful…Lucas was a happy baby…enjoyed visiting with all the family.

So, out of a planned 13.5hr training week, I managed to get in 6.33hrs. A lot of quality training, but I need to get those long rides and runs in to get my body use to that volume.

In other news…So has anyone else noticed that ticking clock to the right? It sure is getting close to my first off-season event. As of now, my race strategy will be to run 5 and walk 1 (maybe 2). I need to work on my nutrition while running the next couple of weeks. I finalized my IM Florida registration. I’ll share news as it becomes available to me. Weight Update…I’m starting to get close to where I was before Lucas was born. Sunday morning the numbers flashed at 246. Just a few more to go before 242. Hopefully by the marathon I can be close to 238.

Eric’s Quote of the Day: “let us strip off every weight that slows us down…and let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.” ~Hebrews 12:1

Week 4 Training, IM watching, WWYDT

Training was ok this week. I’m still falling short of my weekly training time goals. This week was going to only be 11.5 hrs rather than the 13.5hrs because of traveling to PCB. I guess it was lack of motivation/determination. That has definitely changed as you will read next…

Monday
Workout 1-Masters Swim (skipped)
Workout 2-Strength Training Phase AA (60mins)

Tuesday
Workout 1-Run Intervals S1 (25mins)
Workout 2-Walked the jobsite. About 2 miles. Very hilly terrain. (45mins)

Wednesday
Workout 1-Masters Swim (Skipped)
Workout 2-Strength Training Phase AA (50mins)

Thursday
Workout 1-Run Intervals S1 (26mins)
Workout 2-skipped (Dad went to Emergency Room for his kidney stones. He’s been battling them for over a month now. They will be “going up to get them” (oowww) on Thursday so keep him in your prayers)

Total training time 296 mins-that’s right, only 4.93 hrs out of a planned 11.5. Sunday was supposed to have a long run or ride mixed in, but I was just too tired from the trip.

Friday
Travel Day

Saturday
So today we went over to Panama City Beach to watch the IM race. Wow is all I can say. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. So many people on the beach. Some looked scared, some looked excited, everyone look determined. All the spectators had signs, cameras, and t-shirts. You’d think we were on the campaign trail. You can read all you want about the swimming, but until you see just how far out that buoy is, you have no idea. The pros started about 10 mins ahead of the age groupers. There were about 40 of them. Then the remainig 2400 racers entered the water. All you could see were arms splashing and water. It looked like a brawl in a cartoon when it is just a big cloud of dust with hands and feet sticking out.

After watching the swim start we headed over to the bike mount area. These pro’s are crazy fast at getting on a bike. If I tried to do what they do what they do, Lucas will not have a younger sibling.


We headed back to Grayton for the afternoon. We got back to PCB about 800pm. We went straight to the finish line. It was awesome seeing all these people crossing the finish line. The smiles took over their faces. I can’t even imagine the feeling that they had.



On the way back to the shuttle drop-off, we walked up the run course a little so we could cheer everyone on. Seeing the lights and hearing the announcer has to give you so much motivation to dig deep and try to finish strong. If by some chance, any finisher reads this…Congratulation Ironman!!! You rock!

Sunday
MH, Lucas, and I got to the registration site around 645am. There were probably around 60 people ahead of me. We all sat and chatted. People from Atlanta and Chicago were right around me. Around 800 they started registering all the volunteers from the day before. Apparently every single person that volunteered registered. People were worried that we would get a spot. Then, around 1000, our line started to move.


Then I was at the threshold of the tent. The point of no return.


10 minutes later….it’s official. I’m going to be racing in IM Florida 2010!!!


I decided that I wanted to have a reminder about IM. A little bit of motivation everywhere I go. So I made up these little cards…

The WWYDT means “What Will You Do Today.” What will I do today to get ready for IM…It is going to serve as a reminder that I have training to do; that so many things are going to go into me finishing this race that I need to be sure to do what I need to do each and every day. I put one on our fridge, on my mirror at home, on my computer monitor at work, and on the dash of my car. I’d get a “livestrong” bracelet made if I could. I know it’s cheesy, but I don’t care. This is something that I want to accomplish. I’m determined to do it and give it my all. It’s not going to go ahead of God, family, & work, but it is up there. MH, you are the best for being so supportive over this past year. You are always there to push me and yelling “keep runnin!” I love you.


Eric’s Quote of the day: “WWYDT"~Me

Week 3 = Worst Training Week Ever

This week was not good. Work was extremely busy. It cut into just about all of my training time. Then by the time the weekend got here, I was so worn out, I didn’t feel like I could get in a run or ride. Poor motivation and mindset on my part. Oh well. As long as you learn from your experiences & mistakes right?

Monday
Workout #1 – Masters Swim (skipped)
Workout #2 – Strength Training (46mins)

Tuesday
Workout #1 – Intervals on Treadmill. Went ok. 26mins, 1.97 miles.
Workout #2 – Endurance Ride (Skipped)

Wednesday
Workout #1 – Masters Swim (skipped)
Workout #2 – Strength Training (50 mins)

Thursday
Workout #1 – Bike speed work (skipped)
Worktou #2 – Endurance Run. Crappiest run ever. My legs felt like poop. Cut it way short. 30mins 2.7 miles

Friday
Workout #1 – Masters Swim (skipped)
Workout #2 – Strength Training (skipped)

Saturday
A whole lot of nothing

Sunday
Even more nothing

So, out of a planned 13.5hr training week I sqeaked in 156mins...that is 2hrs 36mins. I'm going to have to adjust my overall training plan. I'll push starting my base period to 12/7. The month of November is going to all be Prep. I need to get in the habit of getting my butt out of bed early each day. This week should be pretty good. I've mapped out some good training to work around going back down to the beach this weekend. I won't be doing any training on Saturday so I dropped my hours down to 12.5. "Why are you going back down the beach, Eric" you may ask....Well, IM Florida is this weekend. I'm heading down to make it official and register for next years race. I'm a little nervous about it already and its 53 weeks out. I'll take some good pics and vids to post.

Til next week...

Eric’s Quote of the Day: “Believe you can and you are halfway there”~Theodore Roosevelt