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