Brick work...and then some

Took the weekend off from all workout activities...enjoyed some time with Nana and Pops and Tyler and Nelson.  I had the chance to go to the Duke game on Saturday night with Andrew and (even though they lost) I had a blast standing with the Cameron Crazies.

Training picked back up today with Brian as we began to lay out plans and strategy for my duathlon in May.  I'm pumped about this race because dad is joining me in it and I think it's a distance that suits me pretty well.  It will be my first competitive race (outside of some small 5Ks) since May of 2010 (which was the NC State Championship 10K where I managed to take 2nd in my age group with some fantastic pacing and on-the-fly coaching by Brian) and my first duathlon since June of 2006.

Today started out in the usual fashion at the gym.  I came in and enjoyed getting to visit with Brian, Meredith, and the crew.  We hit the bikes for interval work: 5 min warm up, 3x8 min hard (at 95-105 cadence holding 27-30 mph) with 3x4 min cool in between.  Overall the ride was 19 miles at a 21.7 mph avg.  Immediately jumped off the trainer and made a quick transition to the treadmill to complete the brick with a comfortable 6:50 mile.  Upper body lift to follow: 3x8 slight incline DB bench, 3x8 hanging leg lifts, 3x8 NG chin ups, and 3xfailure plyo pushups.

Brian and I both felt very comfortable after the workout and ended with some good stretching.  We headed out to lunch and after sitting for about 30 minutes Brian became very uncomfortable and anxious. Long story short, we called the ambulance to discover he was having an anxiety attack due to some post traumatic stress disorder from his past experience of passing out from pneumonia.  It was quiet a sight to have me relaying info to the lunch staff over the counter to their telephone, and then the emergency crew essentially turn our lunch booth into a medical room.  In all, we are glad that everything is stable and ok and Brian had a successful doctor's visit after stabilizing.  Today we learned just how powerful the mind really is over the body...now hopefully tomorrow is less stressful!

Weekend Home

After my last class Thursday I hit the road back to NC for a long weekend at home.  It was good to come back for a bit to clear my head from school and enjoy some nice fam time/weather/training.

Thursday I took off and spent some time visiting with Nana and Pops.   Training was re-engaged on Friday with Brian and the AE team for a full day of activity:
Full body lift, TRX class, 30 minutes on the trainer, 5 miles on the run outside, and then a quick 9 mile loop back outside on the bike.  Needless to say I was whooped...Brian pushed the pace hard as always, especially on that last mile of the run.  Felt good during the lift and was pleased to go 6 reps to failure (of 145 lbs) on the bench to top it off.  Still weighing in at around 139 lbs which is slightly under where I need to be (but not as drastic as Brian who has lost 13 lbs in the last 2 weeks on his Engine 2 Diet!)

Brian was feeling a bit better today and made the call to go for one more outdoor ride.  We did our traditional Duke TT loop from the gym and managed to go for a 20.7 mph average for a new loop record.  We timed our pulls perfectly to fit each other's strengths and despite a little traffic outside of Cameron Indoor it was a smooth ride.  Always great to get back home to train with the Jedi!

Had one last nice visit with Nana and Pops tonight, then back to the grind at school tomorrow evening.  Bringing the bike back to campus with me to help with the I40 challenge.  Would really like to turn the challenge into a charitable cause...need to sleep on it some and open to suggestions while the year is still young!  Overall, it has been a great weekend at home.

Hump Day

Began this week's hump day early when I took the car in for new tires and then headed into the gym. No morning athletes to work with so Morven, Brian, and I jumped right into our workout.

1 hour on the bikes as we watched highlight triathlon videos. 5 minute warm up. Then 5 min. hard followed by 5 light, repeated 5 times. We then ended with a 5 minute cool down. Over 15 miles of riding at a 18.0 mph before the cool down. It was a very good leg burn.

Then Chad decided to beat my time on a workout we have now come to call the "Grenade" (because of its short time length but extreme intensity). It was the routine I first tried out yesterday:

100 jump ropes

40 speed squats

20 burpies

All repeated four times.

Chad shattered my original time by over 3 minutes, coming in at 12:24. I had no choice (especially with both BD and Chad talking smack) but to engage in record breaking. With Kelsey as my motivator and time keeper, I was able to finish it in 10:52 which left me very tired, especially after a long ride. Thanks again Kelsey for coaching me!

We then jumped into a quick pullers lift:

Off the rack DB rows combined with ab side twists on the decline

NG chin ups with DB alternating lunges

Ended with a quick set of DB curls.

Then Chad, Brian, Kelsey, and I all jumped into the car and headed out for a quick lunch before coming back to work with the Jordan girls soccer team.

Ended the day with a quick shower and dinner on the fly before heading to Duke to watch the basketball team crush UAB. Gotta love the intensity at Cameron Indoor. In all a good day of fitness and sports activity.