Sunday, March 21, 2010

Catching you up March 8th thru 21st

Well, I've been a little pressed for time these past 2 weeks so please excuse my lack of updates. Where to start...

First week with a coach was cool. We focused on a lot of aerobic training, nothing to intense while we are changing my diet/nutrition. The training wasn't hard, but I felt sluggish on all of my afternoon workouts. You don't know how much bread, grains, pasta you eat until you try to cut it out of your diet.

Monday 3/8
WO#1 Masters Swim
1hr10mins 4000m
(I need to be better at remembering our sets)

Tuesday 3/9
WO#1 Endurance Run (RPE 3)
55min5sec; 4.38mi
Run was ok. It's harder than you think to keep your HR/Rate of Perceived Exertion down low.
WO#2 Core Workout

Wednesday 3/10
WO#1 Masters Swim - Thunderstorms so no swim
WO#2 Endurance Ride
I loaded up the trainer and did this at mom and dad's house while they played with Lucas...thanks!
1hr30mins 28.2mi
I really wanted to have some gatorage or clif bar on the bike today. Water just wasn't cutting it, but I resisted.

Thursday 3/11
WO#1 Endurance Run
6x10mins w/ :45 recovery walk
80mins; 6.10 miles
WO#2 Core Workout (missed)

Friday 3/12
WO#1 Masters Swim - Thunderstorms yet again....booooo
WO#2 Easy Spin on Bike
61mins; 15miles

Saturday 3/13
WO#1 Endurance Ride (flat as possible route for 2 hrs)
This was going to be a benchmark workout that I recorded my avg speed and HR for the 2 hr ride. I loaded up and went out to Anniston to ride on the Ladiga Trail. Awesome place to go ride. It was cold so I had all my cold weather gear on. My plan was this...
W/U 15mins (RPE 2-3)
90mins (ride at RPE 4 for 45mins then turn around and head back in)
C/D 15 Mins
THe ride out was fun. THen I turned around and was greeted by a strong headwind which made for an interesting ride back. I felt like I was barely moving since I had to keep my RPE/HR down low. Then around mile 23 just before the JSU campus, I was looking down to put up my water bottle and my front wheel decided to head off the asphalt into the pinestraw. A split second of oh sh!t and my big butt was sliding on the pavement. Other than a burning face and sore hip, I didn't feel to beat up. My rear shifter was bent and out of commission so I thought I was going to have to walk the last 6-7 miles back to my car. MH was at work so I ended up calling my mom and she was ready to head out to pick me up. Turns out my bike was still rideable but there was only 1 gear. So after I took a few minutes to give the bike another once over, I hopped back on and battled the wind the rest of the way to the car. The soreness set in later that night and lasted for a few days. My shoulder is what hurt the most, but I was sore all over. Apparently that is what happens when 230lbs slams into the earth. I was suppose to do a quick 30 min run off the bike but skipped it b/c I was just ready to be back home.

Sunday 3/14
There was a long run scheduled today. I started out from my driveway, but everything hurt with each stride. John's big on if it hurts stop. IM Florida is my goal for this season and it's way off in November. There's no need to hurt myself now by pushing through an injury to do a sprint race.

Monday 3/15
WO#1 Masters Swim
1hr30mins 4000m
Pool was good today. I focused a lot on my form today. The shoulder felt better the more I swam.
WO#2 Strength
Lower Body (45mins)
WO#3 Endurance Run (RPE 3)
4x10mins w. :45 recovery walk
4.16miles; 51mins
Took my bike to the shop today. Should have it back by Thursday.

Tuesday 3/16
WO#1 Core Workout

Wednesday 3/17
WO#1 Masters Swim
1hr30mins 4000m
Speed day in the pool today. It kicked my butt, but it was awesome!
WO#2 Strength Training
45mins
Upper Body
Weird think today...my right ankle started hurting. I could barely walk to the gym at lunch. I know it is a tendon thing. It hurts on the outside of my lower leg between my ankle and calf muscle. Need to watch that.

Thursday 3/18 (my birthday...the BIG 3.0.)
Had an Endurance run planned, but my ankle would let me do it. I'm going to try and see a sports doc if it doesn't get better. Maybe it's a shoe thing but more than likely it is a mechanics thing. So, I turned the 30 today. It wasn't weird until I started seeing it on cards. I know that is weird. It was a great birthday. I got my bike back from the shop (no cost to me!). My awesome wife wants me to get a new bike for my birthday. I don't see it happening immediately, but definetly before Chatty. I'm looking really hard at an actual tri-bike. My coach is helping me sort through a little of the clutter. I'll go meet with Joe at Bike Link and see what we can get figured out.

Friday 3/19
WO#1 Masters Swim
75mins 3500meters
WO#2 Strength Training
(sport specific)
(core training at home)

Saturday and Sunday
I had runs scheduled this weekend. Ankle is still bothering me. Getting pretty ticked off at this past week. First the bike and now my ankle. Are there forces working against me and my training? At least the week is over.

Next weekend is the Doulbe Oak Du, part of Powerman Alabama. I haven't registered for it yet. I'm going to see how this week treats me. I'd love to go out and be in a race. The rush is awesome.

Big shout out to my buddy Jeff. He ran the Oak Mt. 50k this weekend. It ends up being like 33 miles of trail running. He crossed the line in under 8 hrs. Proud of you dude...that's awesome!

Eric's Quote of the Day: "Training is what you're doing while your opponent is sleeping in." ~Brian Owen

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Start of March

Not the greatest way to kick off the month. I had three days of no training. Something is going to have to give eventually. The days until race day are ticking on by. Here is what I did manage to do this week…

Monday 3/1
WO#1 Masters Swim
75mins; 3250m
Took a while to get warmed up today.
WU 2x350
Pulls 3x300
MS 3x450 100 easy/50build 60 sec rest
Kicks 8x50
WD 1x250
WO#2 Strength and Core

Tuesday 3/2
WO#1 Base 2 S2
on Treadmill (Speedwork)
25mins 2.10 miles Worked in 6 sprints
WO#2 Base 2 E2 Ride on trainer w/ Run OTB
55mins 17.2mi & 18min 1.60mi
Little brick workout. Didn’t take too long to find my legs. Need to remember to just push through the first 5 minutes.

Wednesday 3/3
WO#1 Masters Swim
75mins 3100m
I ran a little late this AM so I stayed late to catch up
WU 1x400 swim
drills 1x200
Pulls 1x50 on 1:00
1x100 on 2:00
1x150 on 3:00
1x150 on 3:00
1x100 on 2:00
1x50 on 1:00
MS 1x400
3x100
1x300
2x100
1x200
Kicks 8x50 choice
Cd 1x100
WO#2 Strength & Core

Thursday 3/4
Thursdays suck for some reason. I never seem able to get my training done.

Friday 3/5
WO#1 Masters Swim
John broke out the camera today and recorded us swimming under water. He’s going to get us all a copy. I’ll be sure to post it so everyone can see what shark bait looks like.
WU 1x600
Drills 4x100 (FTD, OR, SF, Swim) 25 ea.
MS 4x100 @ 50% w/ :20 rest
1:00 rest
3x200 @ 60% w/ :20 rest
1:00 rest
2x300 @ 80% w/ :20 rest
1:00 rest
1x400 @ 90%
Kicks 1x300 (every 3rd length hard)
WD 1x200

Saturday & Sunday
No training this weekend. It has been very easy for me to find an excuse to not train on the weekend.

I met with my swim coach (who also coaches triathletes) on Sunday afternoon. I really liked everything he had to say. We are going to split my season up into two parts…the first ends with Chatty and the second ends with IM FL. He is also going to be helping with my nutrition. We are going to “change my metabolic efficiency.” For these first two weeks I can’t have any breads, pastas, or multigrains. All I can have are lean meats, fruits and veggies. The idea is to train your body to use the fat stored in your body as fuel and not depend on the glucose you take in with all the GU’s, sports drinks, and bars. They will have their place in the grand scheme of things, but they will not be the primary source of fuel come race day. I’m really pumped about having a coach. John is an awesome dude with a family so he knows what the priorities need to be. It will be nice to have a bit more direction and someone there to constantly guide and motivate me.

Eric’s Quote of the Day:
“I feel like I have aphids crawling on me” ~MO, my sister

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

February FIN

Well, I’m not sure why, but I can always start a week off great and by the time Thursday rolls around, I don’t keep up with my training. Monday thru Wednesday rocked this week. Swimming was awesome, rides and runs were smooth, and I felt strong in the weight room. This week was my last Base 1 week. Next week, I start my Base 2 training and add a little more volume…it ought to be interesting.

Monday 2/22
WO#1 Masters Swim
2550m; 75mins
WU 1x200
MS 3x100 build
4x25 build
TT 1x1500 steady stroke
Drills 6x25 kick w/ chin on shoulder
Sprint 4x25
CD 1x200
My time for the 1500 was 29:20. I beat my Chatty swim time by over 4 minutes!
WO#2 Strength & Core
45mins

Tuesday 2/23
WO#1 Base 1 S1-Speed Intervals on Treadmill
2mi, 25mins
Legs felt weak this AM. Only worked in 5 sprints.
WO#2 Base 1 E2-Ride on Trainer
24.10mi, 70minsTried to push it on the trainer tonight. In Zone 3 for a good bit. Worked through the gears.

Wedesday 2/24
WO#1
Masters Swim
75mins 3750m
Long Distance in the pool today.
WU 1x600
MS 7x250 Last 50 hard 3:45
Kicks 8x50 Hard 1:00
Drills 1x800 Hypoxic Breathe every 3 down/5 back
CD 1x200
WO#2 Strength & Core

Thursday 2/25
WO #1 & #2 Skipped

Friday 2/26
WO#1
Masters Swim
40mins, 1500m
Masters Swim Not a great day in the water. Cut it short so I could get to work early.
WU 200
Drills 8x50
Kicks 6x50 choice @ 1:00
MS 5x100 build @ 2:10
CD 1x100

Saturday 2/27
WO#1
E2 Ride at Industrial Park
30mins, 8.6mi
Finally made it outside today. I felt aweful out there…never could find my groove. I cut this waaayy short

Sunday 2/28
WO#1
E2 Run through Neighborhood
25mins, 1.92mi
For some reason I thought it would be fun to take Tucker on the run with me. Hopefully he will get better at running with me.

Here are my totals for the month and year-to-date. February was not a stellar training month.

February Year-To-Date
Bike: 3hr55mins – 76.3mi 15hr45mins – 325.19mi
Run: 4hr21mins – 21.65 mi 10h45mins – 52.7mi
Swim: 7h55min – 19,100m 18h55mins – 44,475m
Strength: 3h01min 9h 08mins

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