Rain, Rain, Go Away...

Here in NC we have had rain in the forecast for nearly every day for the past 2 weeks and it's looking about the same for the next week. I've been lucky enough to still get most of my training in depite and haven't gone too stir crazy. My typical routine these days is the following:

Mon - Weights or swim and a tempo run
Tue - Pilates class and spin class (both of which I teach AND participate)
Wed - Masters swim class and interval run
Thu - Weights and spin class (again, teaching the class)
Fri - Tempo run and recovery swim
Sat/Sun - one of those days long bike and weights and the other OFF

The Tour de France started and I'm all pumped again for the great scenery and action with the young up and coming riders. Here's my picks for top 5:

1) Contador - best rider but not on the best team.. will he be enough to carry the load?
2) Fromme - strong team and Wiggins out gives the overall favorite a good chance
3) Teejay - this was my original pick for the 3rd spot but his teammate Cadel Evans is not looking his age at all and Teejay may need to wait another year to make him move. Swap with Cadel if he has the legs to go the distance. This will be a BMC rider no doubt.
4) Andy Schleck - a weaker than average team for him may cost him a shot at podium so I bump him down to 4th
5) Richie Porte - the new 2nd man for Sky will have to be strong enough to help Fromme when needed and he may just slide into the top 5 because of that

Looking forward to watching todays stage on the DVR when I get home!

I'm Back, Baby!!

Ok, well, maybe it's not that exciting but after taking nearly a year off blogging and chronicling the training and happenings in my life, I've decided to jump back on and at least get in one post a week (start with small steps).

The tone of the blog may shift from one that was training dominated to one that will mix family life with training... I'll still try and post most of my workouts and you can keep up with my alias, Kyle Katarn, at Strava for volume loads and ideas. ActivEdge has a new website, TrainerThrowdown.com, that is going to post a monthly challenge starting in July - some by me, some by other trainers.

Nowadays, I get most of my training done in classes that I teach, or workouts midday over lunch. Every once in awhile, if the opportunity presents itself, I'll get a 1-2 hour bike in while the kids nap on Sunday or early Saturday morning. Every Saturday is date night with Caroline (either getting a babysitter and going out or experimental cooking at home after the kids go down) and the rest of the weekend is dedicated to what the kids want to do (go to parks, the science museum, ball games, etc.).

While not an excuse, the last year has been extremely busy with opening a new location and trying to grow the physical therapy end of our practice. It has been life changing as I step back and take a look at what is really important to me and where I want to spend my time (both free time and work time). I've decided to cut back on the amount of training I was doing and have enjoyed my workouts even more! I have included the kids and Caroline in the workouts and have freed up my weekends to enjoy the little things that kids do as they grow. What a relief!! Not only is training for a half Ironman selfish, it sucks my time from the things that are quickly disappearing. It only took me a few years to realize this, but I'm not getting paid to race and train and I'm in plenty good enough shape when training at nearly half the volume that I have done the previous 2 years. Will I be able to race a half Ironman well? No. But I can do any distance less than Olympic and be competitive, balance work, and have the weekends off to be with the kids... This, is my older, more experienced mind finally kicking in heading towards 40, and is well worth the trade off.

So, needless to say, I'm back, baby! And ready to rock!

Brick Laying

Entering my 3rd full week of training in the 18 week plan for 2012 B2B in October. The heat wave doesn't help much at 100+ degrees for most of the past 2 weeks. Nonetheless, I have had fun laying down the foundation for progression. I have amped the mileage back up and tipped 100 miles on the bike (week total) for the first time this year.

I have been using Strava GPS on the iPhone to track my progress and help me monitor my data and I have loved it! It makes keeping track of progress simple and you can go back and look at previous workouts. I have played with many different apps to track and monitor endurance training but this one seems to be the best so far. I link my ANT+ devices to the program and it tracks my HR (and cadence if I want it too) and plots it against other data collected. Makes it simple to see which zone I'm training in an adjust workouts accordingly. I have added the summary of some of my last rides off to the side bar of this page.

Had a great Fourth of July with the family on Wednesday! Despite the heat, we were able to get out and grill and Braden made his racing debut earlier in the morning at the McDougle Middle School track where he ran a 50m "race" and got a ribbon from the Zimmerman boys. It was neat to see how excited he was and fun to be a part of... All the Zimmerman boys were in attendance for the 4 mile race that started before the "little firecrackers" division and I raced it with them after Roger and I bike just under 15 miles TT style just before the start. I was happy with my pacing and felt really good considering that I am still laying the foundation and training is just getting amped up. Let's hope the heat doesn't kill progress...

I'm going to try and stay in AC and keep laying bricks...

Summer Is Here

You know it's summer when training starts to get really tough and the weather becomes brutally hot. Case in point, this past weekend when my training partner, Zimm, decided to enter us into this little race out in Wilmington. Despite the fact that it fell at the end of my longest training volume week of the year, happened to be 90 degrees on the roads, stiff winds working against us, humid, and Mother's Day, made this a difficult task to pull off.

I went down the day before and enjoyed the beach with my beautiful wife and 2 boys that morning before heading over to the hotel around 2pm on Saturday. After a short, and failed, attempt at napping with the boys, we decided to head back to the beach where they ran around some more and enjoyed the sand and surprisingly warm water. We had a good meal at Mellow Mushroom (altough not as good of service as Patrick Costello provides at the Durham location) and then headed back to watch a movie with the kids at the hotel.

A sleepless night with Eli in my bed and Braden in Carrie's and then up early on Sunday morning to race did not start off Mother's Day quite as I had planned... Nonetheless, Carrie was an awesome fan and brought the boys to watch me roll around for about 90 mins in the ridiculous heat, wind, and humidity. We wrapped up the day with another trip back to the beach before heading home.

RACE RECAP: The race was a duathlon with a 3.2 mile run, 16 mile bike, and then 2 mile run. I finished 9th overall out of 150 people and was 2nd in my age group. I had the 4th fastest bike overall (1st in age group and top bike with a non-tri or disc wheel bike) and was pleased with how I finished. I knew I could do better (I lost some time in transitions digging for a water bottle out of my backpack due to dehydration after the bike) but happy to have my lungs back and working again. Zimm Sr. and Jr. each had good races as well and seemed excited to back and training again.

Unlearn What You Have Learned

Jedi lesson #1 - "You must unlearn what you have learned."

I raced for the first time since the 10 miler in the forrest back in the winter and it felt very very different. Not only have I fully converted to a mid to forefoot strike, my lungs are starting to get back to full strength. Roger and I went out together for the Tarheel 4+ Miler that was run just after the flagship 10 Miler race which drew a massive crowd. Our Olympic Trial Champion, Meb Keflezighi, was present for the gun start. He is our oldest Olympic Trial Champ at 36 and will be 37 when he dons the Stars & Stripes in London... a legend already.

I decided to start the race with Roger and help him learn pacing on this early season race. We were able to keep a respectable 7:40 pace for the first 2 miles but he needed to stop twice to clear his stomach and I waited the first time but he waived me forward at about 2.25 into the race. At this point, I decided to push a little to get to the long Laurel Hill climb. I have never been up this road before but am planning on making this a regular stop with the team come summer time. A great climb that brought my HR to 190 before I leveled off and turned on the boosters to finish strong. I closed with a 29:05 chip time and that was somehow good enough to take 1st place in my age group - weak field since the real runners were in the 10 miler.

My calves were on fire from all the ups and downs and the new mid to forefoot strike with the 4mm drop Kinvara 3's from Saucony. The evidence is overwhelming that this is the best method to run and it will continue to take some will power to prevent myself from heel striking.

After the race, Roger and I and his daughter, Megan, went out for a quick recovery run that ended right at Ye Olde Waffle Shop on Franklin St. in Chapel Hill. I, of course, had to get some post-race grub and polished off a full plate of waffles, blueberries, eggs, and bacon. Deliciousness!

Planned on getting in a nice ride and run brick of the Beaverdam course but we were sidelined today with constant rain... plugging on with a new week and will continue to tweak the foot strike to make it a more natural motion.

Inch By Inch

As my training continues to struggle to make it into the next level where I was at just before the pneumonia, I hover slowly waiting for my body to finally get right and let me take the jump. I tried again to push today and failed at the end coming to a walk while my HR skyrocketed up over 200bpm. Although, I'm not as anxious when this happens anymore after the pulmonologist cleared me with the chest x-ray last week, I still feel like I'm having a heart attack and back off. The swim is what suffers the most and I am thankful that I don't have any triathlons coming up soon. My breathing patterns and what I learned from Dave over the last few months has withered away and I'll need some serious practice to get it back... inch by inch.

The bike is my strongest part (I think).. only because of the 2 classes a week that I am teaching at UT that requires me to amp it up a notch. I have yet to get out on the road since the time that Zimm and I rode the record around the Duke loop almost 2 full months ago. Should be interesting when I try and go from no rides in 2 months to full throttle on Sat for the team ride from the house... I'll probably be hanging with Senior in the rear haha... inch by inch.

Run is the saddest part. Swim I expected, but to be so far behind with I was so far ahead prior to the pneumonia makes me really irate. I averaged 7:30's (although much faster before I was forced to walk with the 200+ HR) as I crawled home on a hilly course this afternoon after 460Kj on the bike... that will need to get better before too long. I signed up for the Tarheel 4+ Miler on April 21st and we shall see how far along I really am... inch by inch.

Happy to have Zimm back to train with for a Sat brick with some of the other team members. A new bike will make it that much harder to keep his wheel... inch by inch.

Realistic Expectations

I've had a successful last couple of days where I have felt like I have more control over my breathing and fear of possible relapse. I finished off a week where I was able to get in some decent spinning sessions at United Therapeutics and a couple of runs (one on the treadmill and one at the house). I have still yet to brave the swim, and for that reason I have decided to pull out of all the upcoming spring races, except for The Doughman which Dain has convinced me to participate in even though I swore I would never do this race again after my last run in 2009.

I will still attend the races to cheer on the AE team members that we have racing and this will allow me to do some coaching for the athletes looking to set PR's like Morven, Maddy, Lauren, Rachel, and Roger. I'm sad that I have to retire for the spring but am looking forward to coming out in the summer with a clearer lung and head and looking to make up some lost ground. Still debating on the sinus surgery that I had to move due to the pneumonia... may wait a year on that or just decide to go for it in April or May once the follow-up chest x-ray is cleared and I can build my immune system back up.

For now, I train when I can, I lift even more, and I am trying to get the new location at UT up and established so I don't have to waste too much time with paperwork when I start cranking the training back up when Zimm returns in May. I will continue to post my workouts and progress as I go...

I Won't Give Up

Tough times in my struggling return to get back to the health that I had about 6 weeks ago... After almost 4 weeks of complete inactivity (other than lifting to put back on the 17 lbs that I lost in 20 days), I started back up with cardio at the end of last week. This also coincided with the opening of a new location for ActivEdge at United Therapeutics in the RTP. The transition into a new building and splitting my time between two locations has gone relatively smoothly but has left very little time to train. I'm not upset by this, just adjusting...

The problem is, my body is NOT adjusting. After the first several attempts at exercise, I was forced to stop due to increased breathing rates and difficulty getting my lungs back. I kept working and trying to slowly bring things back up to pace and I decreased my expectations to be anywhere near where I was at when I was forced to stop training when my lower right lobe of my lung collapsed with the pneumonia. So, I waited for my friend, and training partner, Michael Zimmerman, to get back into town before I picked back up again this past Monday.

We had a great training session and were able to hard relatively hard for an hour on the bike trainers before running a moderately paced 2 miles on the treadmill. It felt good and I was happy with my breathing. Unfortunately, while we were at lunch I started to get the tingling back in my fingers that was present just before my lung collapsed. Coupled with aniexty and then a poor decision to add the inhaler to the equation to elevate my heart rate even more, I was forced to call the paramedics once my HR was at 210 and BP at 200/110. They talked me down and I went to my doctor later that day and she told me that the tingling was to be expected since my lungs are still recovering and not to overreact and definitely do not add the inhaler to the equation. This gave me some solace and I pushed forward.

Yesterday, after working a full day at the 2 different locations again, I jumped on the treadmill and tried to do some repeat intervals. I was able to get in a few 800's and totaled 5 miles for the night. On the drive home, I started to get the tingling again in the fingertips but this time I tried deep breathing techniques and and was able to get through the discomfort. Made in home safely and felt better.

I still have yet to add back swimming because I don't really want to struggle with breathing in the water. It's been over 5 weeks since my last pool workout, that's going to be ugly when I do get back in. I am now realizing that it's going to be a long road back... and I'm definitely cutting my expectations to be ready for any race this Spring. Will have to wait for the fall... B2B is looming in October and I know I need to pace myself to be ready for that...

Not sure why I'm including this song because the lyrics don't really apply but I've been listening to it a lot while running and it seems to help.

I Won't Give Up - Jason Mraz

Finding My Mojo

It's been nearly 4 weeks now since I first got sick and needed to take some time off. After 7 days of high-powered anti-biotics starting with an IV dose in the Duke ER after the right lung collapsed, the pneumonia came back, and they placed me on 10 more days of Avelox. I've been off it now for 2 days and am hoping and praying that it's gone for now.

The biggest hit that I've taken in the last several weeks is I lost my mojo. I'm still able to lift weights and get somewhat of a workout in but I haven't done any cardio in almost 28 days. I used to think I was invincible (as my last post indicated), and now I'm terrified that it's going to come back. I feel like my time on earth may be shorter than I originally expected and I wake up often at night with anxiety and cold sweats. My mind is weakened and I feel vulnerable.

Today, was a good step in the right direction... I had a full day of listening to presenters talk about strength training, cycling, and running for triathletes. In a room full of fit people trying to get their certification to be a USA Triathlon coach I started to get excited again about training. I headed straight to the hotel gym at The Westin in Uptown Charlotte and got a few sets of exercises per below:

4 sets of the following

NG arched pull-ups with added weight (30lb DB) x 10
SA DB incline press at 50lbs (highest the gym had) x 8 each side
Med ball 5kg jumping slamballs x 12

3 sets of the following

SA snatch x 6 each side with 50lb DB
Y,T, Arrow - 5/10lb x 10
Speed skater jumps with med ball x 10 each side

Jogged a light mile warm-up and cycled for 5 miles on an upright spinning bike and started to feel normal again. My cough is still present and the doctors are telling me that I'll still need at least 2 months more to let the lung heal before I can start really cranking my paces. Nonetheless, I'm optimistic and hopeful that I can continue to heal and not catch any of these simple colds that come into the gym that would easily develop into pneumonia for me. A few more weeks to get into the clearing... In the meantime, I'm going to try and find my mojo...

Stress Reaction

I'm not talking about when I see Charlie Densmore getting ready to rip me up in weights, I'm talking about my right shin... was forced to take off the weekend (including the long 8 mile run) because I could tell my right medial tibia was starting to develop a stress reaction and this needed some rest.

Even after no running on Sat, Sun, and today, the pain still lingers. Despite the pain, I was able to hit some 2 min power intervals on the bike trainer over lunch. Warmed up at 100-140 Watts at 95-100 cadence for the first 20 mins while talking with Roger about the UT project coming up - very exciting time for ActivEdge and UT, both! After the warm, did 2x2 min PI's with 2 min RBI at 200 Watts and then did 8x2 min PI's with 2 min RBI at 280 Watts keeping the cadence at 95-100. The recovery and time after was at 180 Watts, same cadence. A good 90 mins on the bike.

Prior to the bike, had a good weight session with Charlie - WOD:

4 sets of incline BB press - 8 reps up to 165lbs failing the last set at 7
3 sets of Dynamax ball ab slams x 10 each side 16lb ball
3 sets of jump rope (painful on shin btw) x 100

3 sets of NG alternating pull ups x 14
3 sets of front squat to press with BB x 8 with 95lbs
3 sets of stab ball glute/ham raises x 15

Finished the evening teaching a great TRX class that had a good turnout. Happy to see Bill and Rachel make it this time..

Worried about the development of the reaction on the right tibia but will plan to march forward with the running for tomorrow. If too painful, will decide course of action at that point...

Blink 182

This was the last meat session with David Hey before he heads back to NY tomorrow morning. He wanted upper body focus and to failure and I let him pick the music playlist which was Pandora's take on Blink 182 channel. Patrick Costello and Charlie joined us, while Garrett did his own thing at the same time. Here's the breakdown:

Bodyweight bench press (although weighing in at a low 174 lbs I still put 185 lbs on the bar since that is what I usually weigh when not on the Engine 2 Diet). 4 sets to failure - each set followed immediately by push-ups to failure. My numbers at 185 lbs were - 15 reps, 13, 10, and 9

4 sets of SA cable wide pulldowns at 6 each side taking it to #14
3 sets of EZ bar standing curls at 6-8 reps at 85 lbs

3 sets of pop-up pull-ups to wide grip to failure (forearms failing first)
3 sets of SA alt Arnold press at 5 each arm at 55 lbs
3 sets of dips with 35 lbs added KB at waist to failure

2 sets of Hammer curls alt at 40 lbs DB's
2 sets of skullcrushers at 85 lbs x 6 reps

Tabata-style (20/10 for 2 rounds):

TRX bicep curls
TRX chest flys
TRX high pulls
TRX tricep extensions

Metabolic Machine

Engine 2 Diet is full stream and in it's 2nd week. This is an interesting experiment on my body and I'm intrigued to see what the blood work will say when it's done. I took weight, body fat, blood pressure, and a full comprehensive blood panel via DirectLabs.com. I've kept the total caloric intake the same over the spam of the week on the diet compared with the weeks prior to the diet to hold a constant. I did this to make sure that I was getting the calories that my already high metabolism would need to continue. I've been having to double and triple some of the recipes in the E2 book and had to add some Vega Sport protein shakes and whole food energy bars to supplement. Even after all that, my body is still increasing it's thermogenics and has actually LOST 9 lbs in 11 days. That needs to stop. So, I've actually increased my weekly caloric consumption as compared with what I was doing before to see if I can stop the weight loss. If I continue to lose weight than I'll be forced to add more fat into the diet since that seems to be the only thing that is lacking. I'm getting plenty of protein, just not animal protein, so I may need to supplement with whey isolate. Regardless, I'm staying away from casein based on the negative studies... before I start to add back any of these things, I will make sure and get my blood work done again.

So far, I must conclude that a plant strong diet definitely makes you into a metabolic burning machine, well at least me. And am hopeful that I have actually lowered my already low cholesterol so I can add that as a success too. The Engine 2 Diet is definitely not for everyone, but I would have no problems suggesting it to clients or patients that come into the gym. Clean eating, renewed energy, and increased thermogenics.

Start Over

Time to hit the "START OVER" button and begin anew... I've deleted some of the past posts that were to focus on the future and the here and now. I've learned from my mistakes in trainnig and the choices that I've made and am ready to forge forward with no regrets and no looking back. For those who were following a workout in the past and have already asked where it is located, I'd be happy to talk you through it and see if we can reconstruct what I did... if not, just jump on board and follow the newer routines. Today's WOD:
Warm-up - 4 sets

DB Squat Complex - 4 end loaded squats/ 4 cleans/ 4 presses/ 4 top loaded squats with 30lb DB's
Jump rope x 100

3 sets of the following pairs:

SA DB press on foam roller x 5 each side 65lbs peak
Squatted rope curls #8x10

Hanging cleans - 135lbs x 6
Walking lunges - 10yds 35lb DB's

Tabata-style (20/10 for 6 sets):

Push-ups on KB's
Jumping slam balls 8kg
SA DB row off bench left 60lbs
SA DB row off bench right 60lbs
Prone Y's with 8lbs

Charlie joined me and we had the workout knocked out in a little over an hour but can easily be done in 45-50 mins without too much interruptions.

Us Against The World

It was a tough 2011... perhaps one of the hardest years that I've endured in awhile. I get nostalgic when I think of what I've left behind and lost as well as those found memories created that will last forever. Life throws a lot at you and you can't be prepared for everything. The true test is your reaction to those things that you did not plan for... How do you respond? How do you move on?

When the clock struck midnight and we went into 2012, I let out a sigh of relief. I let go of a lot of pain, pent up anger, and frustrations of failure. I decided it was time to step forward into the light and walk with the reassurance that someone is looking out for me amidst the chaos. I have set some lofty personal goals as well as make-or-break business decisions in our 6th year at ActivEdge. I have learned a lot the past year and am not backing down and giving in for 2012. This is a breakout year.

In these past several weeks to close out the year, I've been listening to the new Coldplay album and have been drawn to the song, Us Against The World. It opens with the line, "Oh morning come bursting, the clouds, Amen. Lift off this blindfold, let me see again."

I will never forget 2011. I have several found memories and wish I could turn back the clock on some special moments with the kids. I love my family, and even on the hardest days, Caroline, Braden, and Eli, are always there with a smile. It's taken me seven steps to take one forward to get to here, but nonetheless, hello 2012.

Notch Above

Just when things are starting to die down for most people during the Holidays, it's that time to kick it up a notch for the official start of integration of all 3 disciplines... training amplified.

This week in a glance:

Week of December 12, 2011

Mon – R: 1 mile up, 1200, 1000, 800, 600, 400, 200 (200RBI), 1 mile down; W: 60 min WOD

Hit the 1200 at 4:37 (5 secs behind), 1000 at 3:48 (another 5 secs behind), 800 at 2:57 (on pace), 600 at 2:07 (5 secs under), 400 at 1:21 (6 secs under), 200 at :34

Tue – B: 10 mins easy, 4x8 min SS (4 min RBI spinning), 10 mins easy; S: 300WU, 6x50 catch-up, 4x200 (20 secs RBI), 2x25 KSS, 100CD

Wed – R: 5 miles MT; W: 30 min HIIT WOD

Thu – B: 10 mins easy, 4x8 min SS (4 min RBI spinning), 10 mins easy; S: 200WU, 6x50 catch-up (20secs RBI), 3x300 (20 secs RBI), 200CD

Fri – 9 miles HMP +20sec; W: 60 mins

Sat – S: 200WU, 10x50 drills, 16x50 power and technique, 4x25 KSS, 100CD

Sun - OFF

Roger was at the track to keep me focused and brought me back on track to hit the times. He impressed me by nailing all his times... good speed left in his legs and he needs to be thinking of 8:00 or less per mile for Tobacco Road. I'm still gunning for 1:39 or less overall...

Zimm should be back soon but is not here yet so lifting will have to commence without him... Repeat of week 3 for weights.

Bringing It Back Together

Got a little slack in my diet and dedication to athletic perfection over the last week.. BUT, wouldn't change a thing haha! Had a great Thanksgiving with 22 people at our small house in the Chapel Hill woods. My parents, brother, and his wife, were gracious enough to share a few hours of their time with a bunch of friends from church that decided to stay in the area. We were joined by the Bowman's (x5), Densmore's (x5) + a Campus Crusade leader from Duke named Sarah, and Danielle, Luke, and Anastasia Jackson! What a blast! Glad that the weather was absolutely beautiful and the kids were able to run around outside and the adults were able to hang out by the Weber grill that was smoking the turkey breast as the big turkey was roasting. Jay and Julie Harris of Harris Inc. were generous enough to give us plenty of beer from lots of local breweries like, Natty Greene's, Lonerider, Big Boss, and Triangle Brewing Co. We still have plenty left in "The Lab" so please stop by and we can throw back a few!

Anyway, the party was great and we had a ton of fun. I'm still undefeated at Cornhole (Bags from up North), and would be happy to take on any and all comers for a friendly wager. We have some sweet new boards painted in UNC colors that I need to take a picture of and post soon...

On Friday, my parents watched the kids while my brother and his wife, Lindsay, came with us to the Duke Elite 8 game against Long Beach State Univ. What a great victory for the team and Robbie! Couldn't happen to a better man and coaching staff!! So proud and happy for them! We are strongly considering making the trip to Georgia to watch them play! Also happy for our Wake Forrest athletes, Kelsey and Lindsey, as they advanced as well to match up against Duke in the Final Four.

As for this week, hit the track on Tuesday over lunch for some speed work and then got in an early morning run at Duke with Rachel for some distance (9 ish) miles. Unfortunately, no time for swimming this week but the weights for this week are listed below:

WEEK 5

Mon (WOD): 3 sets unless noted

Bench press - 4 sets of 5

TRX squats into TRX single leg squats - x 12 and then x 8 each side

Open chest arching pull-ups - BW to fail

BB loaded split squats - x 6 each side

Bent over BB loaded close grip rows - x 10

Crunches on stability ball x 15

DB split press x 4 each side (do all 4 on one side and then switch)

Wed (WOD) - HIIT Tabata Style 6x through with 2 mins rest after 3x

1. L hand on med ball push ups

2. Plank

3. R hand on med ball push ups

4. Hamstring letdowns (sets 4-6 RDL's in place with a 72lb KB)

5. Dynamax fwd slams (sets 4-6 added a jump before the slam)

6. Bench jumps on left

7. Bench jumps on right

8. Horizontal pull-ups

9. 45lb bar hold leg raises

10. Med ball shuffle jumps

Fri (WOD): 3 sets unless noted

Decline DB bench press - x 8-10

SL hamstring curls on stability ball x 12 each side

Seated underhand pulldowns x 10

Lateral plate lunges x 10 each side

Skullcrushers - x 10

Cable swimming pulls - x 10 each side

Vertimax squat jumps 4 x 4 for each set

Decline pulse abs and hold - 30 pulses and then 15 sec hold

Tours Collide

Looking forward to seeing my good bud Michael Zimmerman this week as his short break for Thanksgiving nears. He was home shortly for Tyler's unprecedented repeat championship for Cardinal Gibbons this past weekend (congrats Tyler!), but our schedules didn't line up as I was in Winston-Salem visiting Andrea and her new baby Ezra James (Kenny was out of town...). Our Thanksgiving plans keep expanding as we take on more and more families and people that do not have their own immediate family to celebrate with - we are up to 22 people now at the Diaz estate! I'm excited to see them all and my brother and his wife, Lindsay, it's been too long... We also have the Duke Women's soccer game on Friday night that should be a victory sending the team to the Final Four!! So much happening and plenty to be thankful for... so neat.


As far as fitness, this week already has had a rough start with a challenging run early yesterday morning (1 mile up, 12x400m repeats btwn 1:19-1:27 with 90 secs of RBI, then 1 mile down). The weights for this week back to week 1 with a few changes:

WEEK 4


Mon (WOD): 3 sets unless noted


Incline BB press at 45 - 4 sets of 5
Jump rope/leg press SS - 50x on the rope and then together x 10 on the leg press (finished at 4 plates each side)
NG alternating pull-ups from side to side - added 35lbs x 8
Walking lunges - 10yds and back w 25lb DB's
SA DB row on the bench - 80lbs x 10 each
Abs on the decline - 10 tosses to the side, side and middle with 5kg
Arnold press at 90 deg - 50lb x 6


Wed (WOD) - HIIT Tabata Style 6x through with 2 mins rest after 3x


1. L push ups left
2. Plank
3. L push up right
4. Seal-ups
5. Jumping slam balls
6. DB step ups left
7. Dips off step
8. DB step ups right
9. KB swings
10. Leg raises in slings


Fri (WOD): 3 sets unless noted


DB bench press - x10, x8, x6, x4
Balance squats with BB on the BOSU x 10
SA alternating cable pulldowns - x 5-6 each arm
Glute/ham raises off bench on ball x 15
Tricep rope OH - x 10
TRX lunge hop x 10 each
BB SLDL - x 10
Rope climb abs on decline - x 30

Slowly Transforming

The "UNDER CONSTRUCTION" swim has started to look more and more like a real stroke. At the start of this project I was at a 1:43 per 100yd time - after session one of fine tuning the stroke, I dropped to 1:31. After today, day 2 of the transformation, I hit 1:24. I know I won't be able to continue this progress but it's fun to see the changes happening... key points from today:

1) On the catch - after entry, catch the water first with hand in painting the water position. Bend at elbow, keeping elbow high and pulling slightly in front of chest for power. Don't reach down to stabilize, this just weakens the power and makes breathing difficult.

2) Goggle drill - one eye should come out of the water. Don't be afraid to take some water, maybe even keep mouth open the whole time.

3) Breathing timing - I'm still breathing too late. Let the power stroke stabilize and help rotate the shoulder to initiate the breath better.

4) Kicking - got to get the kick higher on the surface. Some bend in the legs, flexible feet and heel all the way out of the water. NOT from the hips and stiff like I've been doing...

5K testing tomorrow to set the times for the start of the 18 week run portion of the winter program. Sleep fast before 6am comes...

On All Cylinders

Today was a good day for the women's soccer team at Duke, winning their first round of NCAA's and continuing their best season in their history. What's really ironic, is that this is happening in what many feel is UNC's worst season in history. Nonetheless, both teams are dangerous going into the tourney and it should be interesting to see who will go farther. Great games today by Mollie Pathman and Nicole Lipp and good to be in the company of the Densmore clan and Maddy.


As for training, Roger resumes this week and we have one more week before the official 18 week training plan for the Tobacco Road half marathon. Focus is still on weights, running, and adding swimming as my cross.

WEEK 3

Mon (WOD): 3 sets unless noted

DB slight incline press to fly – 2 sets x 8 and 2 sets x 6

KB front loaded squats x 8

Ring pull-ups x 8-10

DB heavy step-up x 6 each side

TRX triceps/biceps x 8 of each

Supine leg throws x 30

Standing DB “Y” press x 8

Wed (WOD) – HIIT Tabata Style 6x thru with 2 min rest after 3x

1. SL up on BOSU push-ups – right
2. Feet up on BOSU plank
3. SL up on BOSU push-ups – left
4. Frog jumps
5. KB drop back lunge to press – right
6. KB drop back lunge to press – left
7. Seal-ups
8. Burpees
9. Alternating SL squats
10. SA alternating KB pulls

Fri (WOD): 3 sets unless noted

WG pull-ups to failure (add weight if getting over 15)

Shuffle jumps/squat x 10

Stability ball cable press x 10

Plyometric high box jumps x 8

Straight bar pushdowns x 10

Prone Y-T-Arrow x 10

Dips to failure (add weight if over 15)

Ab rollouts x 10

Whale Transformation

Morven once called me a baby whale in the water in reference to how slow I am... time to change that. I got back in the pool today for the first time since the Sportsplex race and met an old friend there to help video my stroke. After analyzing it, I determined a few things:

1) Need to push my chest forward into the water and not dip my head straight down - used a kickboard and placed it on my stomach just above waistline and learned to balance again. First with arms out to the side and then streamlined... push the chest down - swim downhill. Not the head - the chest.

2) I'm entering the water too soon and catching drag as I hit - reach out and enter the water just shy of full extension. Should be only less than a hands length that I extend in the water at the end... Use the kickboard out front and reach to grab. If the hands cross to middle of the board that's no good - push the board away as the other arm comes off

3) Keep the elbows high and wrists loose. Imagine hitting my forearm at mid return near my ear into a hand instead of my wrist, which it currently is...

4) Timing is way off - reach and glide more instead of having one arm at mid return and one arm at mid pull. Shouldn't start the pull until the high elbow is coming by the ears.

5) Wall push is terrible - I'm 6'3" and should be coming out AFTER the flags. Hold streamline and kick under water and come out charging. Also, learn to touch and turn to both sides not just touch right and turn left.

That's it for now - swim stroke is under construction and I'm breathing hard haha! 100yd swim at Homestead before I made the changes above in 1:43 - 100yd swim after the changes 1:31. Time to extend those changes into greater distances.