ER Visits and Daily Grinds

Pre season threw a wrench into things in our inter squad scrimmage Wednesday night.  Colin went down for a ball and a freshman forward came through way too hard and cleated him in the face.  Colin headed out to the hospital and we continued play.  I bounced back and forth playing minutes with the starting and second team - holding down the middle and thankfully feeling good.

After the game I headed over to the hospital with Andrew to spend the night with Colin - he was in great spirits despite suffering a double fractured nose and concussion.  We were discharged around 12:30am and headed home for rest.  Unfortunately the fire alarm in the apartment complex went off at 5am and two short hours later I was back running on the Noland.  By the end of practice Thursday I was dog tired - more mentally than anything.

This morning we had a good walk-through session and will play under the lights against Hampton-Sydney tonight.  Continued prayers for Nana as she recovers from a hard fall earlier this week and Tyler as he works through his pre season.  Disappointed in the news regarding Lance Armstrong but glad there is no admission of guilt - he is simply making a personal choice.  The grind continues...LIVESTRONG!

Memorial Day Heat

Traditionally this holiday is the kickoff for summer and boy was it a hot one. The car thermometer read 103F when I got in...wow. Morning run at the Duke track to kick things off with the team:

Warm up

200 M hard, 200 M jog, 200 M hard, 200 M jog- for 3 sets. Ended the last one at 28 sec. which was decent considering the extreme heat and the fact that I didn't kick it until half way through.

Then hit the gym with Brian (the birthday boy) for an excellent pushers lift:

Bench- 4 sets of 5 working up to 155 lbs

Lance step ups- 4 sets of 6 each leg

Decline DB bench- 3 sets of 6-8 reps working up to 60 lbs

Dips combined with BB squats on BOSU ball (see pic above for this)

Plyo push ups combined with "row the boat" abs

Ended with 3 sets of BB curls.

It was also nice to visit with Meredith at the gym as she did her workout. Enjoyed a nice lunch after with Mollie, Chad, and Brian and hung at the pool for the rest of the afternoon. A special shoutout to our troops for their service and our prayers for those who have sacrificed and fallen for us...God bless and thank you!

Monday Grind

After a good rest day on Saturday and a chance to visit with Nana and Pops, Brian and I hit the the road on Sunday afternoon for a good ride. We did 18.5 miles from the gym around the legendary Duke loop....doing that ride again with the Jedi brought back some good memories of past tours. It took us about an hour and we came in at a 17.5 mph avg. I was pleased.

Today we began the morning college workouts and had a great turnout. Warmed up and then did a 1200M in about 5 minutes. Then 8x 100yd sprints with standing rest. Ended the last one at 11 sec. with Cam just edging me out. He's in good shape and I'm excited just to keep getting better.

A good lift with Kelsey followed a long day at work. I'm really thankful she will be my lifting partner this summer...she always works hard and there to push me. Today's pullers lift:

Hanging cleans- 10, 8, 8, 6 (working up to 125 lbs.

Walking lunges- 4 sets of 10 yds and back

3 sets of NG pull ups (10, 11, 11) with decline sprinter curls (50)

3 sets Twisting Dynamax slamballs on the decline combined with BB rows (7x135 lbs)

As for other events surrounding the weekend- Congrats to Meredith and her husband Ryan on his new job...a tough decision was made and it was the right one! Thoughts and prayers with them. Also in terms of the news surrounding Lance- I think for now I will hold my tongue and see how things play out. Not happy with what was released but also open-minded enough to listen to other testimonies. Also congrats to Tyler for winning the Reality 5K Race on Saturday! Tomorrow the tour continues.

Realizations

Today I came to some tough conclusions. Now that the summer is in full swing I have to face the fact that I am no longer a tour rider...thus I may never reach the full level of fitness I enjoyed last summer with a full time job. I will die trying. As for those who don't have jobs this summer-hope you enjoy riding on mommy and daddy's money, never able to really ever call anything your own.

Today's workout with Tyler- great to have him along to push me as always.

Pushers lift:

Bench- 10, 8, 8, 5 reps working up to 145 lbs.

Jump rope- 3 sets of 100

SA Incline DB press combined with Lance step ups

Plank holds (1 min. w/ weight added) combined with dips and leg press.

I was happy with the lift and then we hit the track for 200M repeats- 8 total. I died at the end which is to be expected on my first day of real training, but disappointing nonetheless. On the way home I pulled over to check on a stranded biker- thankful for a chance to pay it forward. Everything was ok, just had a slightly bent rim and was close to home.

Tomorrow I hit the road to Charleston SC for the Dixon-Hughes Accounting conference- another opportunity to help further my career but will miss three days of training and blogging. Back at it on Saturday. Also keeping Meredith in my thoughts and prayers with the passing of her grandfather this week.

Finding the Groove

As work gets up and rolling I am working to find the groove in a work/training balance.

This evening's training at Activedge:

1/2 Mile warm up then pushers lift

Bench- 10, 8, 5, 4, reps working up to bodyweight at 145 lbs

Lance step ups- 3 sets of 6 ea. leg

BB skull crushers- 3 sets of 8

Cable rows- 3 sets of 6

Seated DB shoulder press- 3 sets of 6 ea. arm

Dips- BW 3 sets of 10

Ended with 1/2 mile on treadmill incline 3 and a number of decline ab exercises

It was good to visit with Brian and I am looking forward to settling into a rhythm and getting into top shape.

April Fools

I woke up to a pleasant surprise to learn from Brian that Morven was now engaged, how exciting! Upon congratulating her I was greeted with the response: April fools, Brian got you good! Without going into too much detail I did manage to get him back though.

On another note I was excited to learn that Endurance Magazine published an article about Brian's achievements as a "Tri Dad" It was an honor to train with him last summer and I am very thankful he gave me a kind shoutout....you can access the article here.

Anyway, ended the week with a good lift and practice:

Ab routine (with 40 lbs weight vest added)

BB warm up

Split press- 5 sets of 5 working up to 110 lbs

Hanging body pulls- 3 sets of 12 with weight vest

Hanging leg raises- 2 sets of 6 with weight vest

Outside practice of small sided games.

Still cold here but glad it's April, lots of work to do this weekend, but looking forward to warm weather. Also excited to learn today that Andrew Crabtree's treatment is going well as he continues to read Lance's book...hang in there Andrew!

Some Ask "What If?" I Say "Never"

No workout for me or the team today, a good day to take off and a chance to focus on school work. As for those who have been questioning me in light of the recent allegations against Lance Armstrong, all I've heard is "what if?" No proof, no confession, nothing. Lest you've forgotten what Lance stands for, take a moment to watch this video and ask yourself if a man like this should be pursued for wrongdoing. I refuse to accept that he could become the next fallen hero, the "next Tiger Woods." He won't. I choose to stand for what he stands for. Livestrong.

Tour Day All-Around

While Lance climbed we continued our own tour.

Morning work at AE then 4 basic lifts:

Bench, worked up to 165 lbs, overhead DB tricep pushers.

End with BW Dips and DB flies.

Then team time trial loop with the BD.

9 mile loop with two very hard/long climbs.

First loop at an impressive 19.7 (personal best) avg with full pull by BD

Second loop at 19.4 avg, I pulled the first 2/3 with the two climbs and BD finished us strong on the mostly flat/downhill returns. Also hit a new max speed of 42.7 mph.

Brian's bike has really come a long way, just happy I can keep up. Would have been blown away had it been an individual time trial stage today. Thanks again to Morven for watching Nelson today at the pool! Nelson said he had a great time, it was nice for him to get to see the inner workings and trainings of the AE family today!

Throughly enjoyed the Tour de France today, got goosebumps watching Lance climb with the best of them again. Wish he could have pulled out the win, but inspiring nonetheless!