Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Executing the Plan

No secret - I’ve been having trouble with execution. Ever since the L.A. Marathon back in March, execution has not been my strong suit. The L.A. “experience” left an “I’ll get even with you” taste in my mouth. But it also left an “eff you” feeling in my body. Maybe that was the sign to take some time off (you’re right Danica). But taking time off leaves an “HTFU” feeling in my brain. So I tried to work through it. I tried to convince myself that training was fun. I tried to put in the miles and hours. What was the result? The consistency in my execution looks like an elevation profile from a trail run. Peaks. And valleys. Deep valleys…

In my daily (okay – weekly) catch up with everyone’s blogs, several have little “tricks” to keep themselves accountable to a plan. Kerrie documents her training day by day. JoLynn has here “MED2010” accountability ticker. Wadia documents his runs – mile by mile, and his weight – pound by pound. All of these folks have been *wildly* successful in meeting their goals. Soooooo….

Starting today I’m going to start my “ETP” (Executing the Plan) counter at the bottom of each post. This will be my little way of holding myself accountable to my plan and ultimately, to the goals that I set for myself at the beginning of the year. Maybe, just maybe, I can get this big battleship back on track (Hmmm. Aren’t battleships obsolete?) One thing though – I *am* reserving the right to change the plan though. Why would I want to run in the heat and humidity if I can exchange it for a romp in the hills? The point is I need to avoid more weekend mulligans….

As far as execution – I hopped on the rowing machine last night. I chose a random “workout of the day” from Concept2’s website. 5 minute warm up, 30 minute steady state, 5 minute warm down for a total of 7980 meters (4.3 miles). On top of that, I consumed 2600 calories of my 2580 calorie budget (1980 base plus 600 exercise budget) So far so good. Onward and upward!

ETP Day 1

  • Training budget: +0.3 miles
  • Calorie budget: –20 calories

9 comments:

  1. Good luck with Project ETP, Glenn!

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  2. I understand the lack of motivation-I have a bit of it right now too!

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  3. You are so funny. You have a calorie bank!?!

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  4. Hopefully this will help you get back on track Glenn!

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  5. I like the calorie bank! Good one. Good luck with project ETP!

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  6. You and your honesty! I decided to add my "caloric activity" to my daily activity. I come to closest to my target on the days when I do not run. The more miles I run the harder it is to "eat up" to the target.

    Stick with it!

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  7. Counting calories has helped me in the past, but what a pain it is to record everything and especially if you don't eat prepackaged foods since that seems to dominate the preloaded listings.

    We've all had that lack of motivation. A new goal and that accountability counter will go a long way.

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  8. Hope operation ETP works for you! I am bad about tracking my workouts on my blog, but I do find that having a calendar with my weekly workouts listed is helpful to keep me accountable.

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  9. Good luck Glenn and remember a rest day is OKAY! :) ETP!

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