2/20 - 2/26/2012

Tough week of training that ended with a two day training camp in the north bay with my new team. I was really excited to get to meet and train with these guys. There is a ton of strength and experience amongst them and I spend so much time training alone that being able to get some tough sessions in with other motivated guys that are hungry in the sport. It ended up being a big week all around and all the guys are really cool. We got a preview of some of the sponsors and bunch of our team gear. Probably the toughest weekend of training I have ever done.

We rode some incredible roads...

...and did some serious eating :)

After this weekend I am feeling stronger than ever and really looking forward to this season!

Swim 24,100 yds

Bike   14.75 hrs

Run    43 mi

2/13 - 2/19/2011

Good strong week of training this week. I think I am having some trouble with seasonal allergies and that is wiping out some of my lung capacity and energy but it comes and goes and I am feeling great! Some very tough workouts this week and some even better company! There is nothing that makes working hard more enjoyable than having great friends to work with and challenge you. 

Mel and I had an afternoon off and we went down to Manresa for a stroll on the beach. I am going to have to come down and do some beach running here because the beach is relatively flat and it looks like you could run from Seacliff almost all the way to moss landing...that is like 13 miles one direction. After how much I am enjoying longer runs I am almost excited about the idea of a beach marathon...but I may also be geting a little ahead of myself.

It is no big secret that food is a big part of every athlete's life and I definitely embody that truth. This was my favorite meal that I had this week...smoothie, espresso, toast with strawberry jam, cottage cheese and cranberries, and a spinish/tomato/steak scramble + avocado. Again I may be getting carried away :)

Swim 20,000 yds
Bike   12.75 hrs
Run   45 mi

Eric Clarkson's Training Blog Home

2/6 - 2/12/2012

So a lot of people are talking about triathlon this weekend, mostly for the wrong reason, so  will keep it brief. This was an easy week for me as next week I am starting the big push to get ready for Oceanside at the end of march. I am thinking that my rest weeks are a little too easy as I feel so out of wack durring them and I am going to bump them up a bit from here on out. 

I did have one great ride this week; on saturday I rode to Monterey with some of my very favorite people to hang with. The pace was mellow and with such great company it was a great boost to my spirits and motivation. Amongst the group..."Super" Dave Reid a fellow slug swimmer and talented triathlete from whom I have gotten tons of valuable advice and guidance, Jeff Traugott (tall, dark, and handsom dead center) a very accomplished luthier and all around great guy, in the blue is John Caletti a hand crafter of some of the most beautiful bikes on the road, and Cory Caletti in the foreground who gave me a bunch of great nutritional ideas and some serious vegetarian goodies to boot!

Although I do love challenging myself and racing hard and all that jazz my absolute favorite part of being an athlete is being a part of such an awesome community of people. Sharing stories, joking around and enjoying the outdoors with friends like these is what really makes me the happiest.

Swim 9,000 yds

Bike   12 hrs

Run    22 mi

Eric Clarkson's Training Blog Home

1/30 - 2/5/2012

Something went wrong and my original version of this post got deleted, which I am disappointed about because I wrote it while totally jacked out on coffee and it was fun. So here is what I can remember...

My bike and run quality sessions were this week with a race-paced group ride on tuesday and a 10k race on sunday. I don't know if it was allergies or if I was fighting something off but through the middle of the week I was feeling really run down and tired. I missed some of my core workouts for the week but got the hard ride in and by sunday had gotten enough rest and was feeling mostly normal.

Sunday was the Super Bowl 10K put on by Santa Cruz Track Club every year. IT is a low key event that a lot of people I know do, that makes it a lot of fun and a nice way to get started with the season. They also put on a 3k and a kids 1k fun run! I had done this event once before and made my usual mistake of going out way too hard then dying in the the last mile; this time I let the front runners go and settled in with Chris Ratliff and Stefano Profumo who I know are strong and experienced runners and their pace eventually brought everyone back. When most of the guys slowed for water at 5k I pushed through and got the gap then pushed at my limit the rest of the way. I finished first in a time of 34:52 which I am really happy with for this time of year. I also won a Super Bowl cake, which I must say is a brilliant and very original race prize.

My girlfriend did the 10k as well and I am very proud of her because it was her first organized run and she just recently (last week) started doing longer runs. She was nervous but we got up early and got coffee, showed up early to arm up and she did great! She even won a medal for second place in her age group! She got some great photos and you can check them out at her blog Sweet Honey but here is a preview.

I am gonna do some recovery volume this week and then comes the big push for Oceanside 70.3 EIGHT WEEKS!!!!!

Swim 14,900 yds
Bike   8 hrs
Run    21 mi