March 4, 1944

This is the day that my Jajji (grandpa in Polish) was shot down in his B-17 bomber on a mission to bomb a ball-bearing plant in Germany. He was the left waist-gunner on the aircraft called "Spare Parts". He was part of the 8th Air Force, 381st Bombardment Group, 532nd Bomb Squadron. They flew out of Ridgewell, England. He and his crew were shot down and taken prisoner by the Nazi's. Jajji was a POW at Stalag Luft VI and Stalag Luft IV (the Stalag Luft's were German prison camps especially for captured aircrew). He spent over a year at those camps, getting fed a starvation diet and given no amenities. In March 1945, he and his compatriots were marched out of Stalag Luft IV and force marched for 3 months across Europe. It was one of the coldest winters Germany had ever seen. These men were given even less food than in the camp, forced to march despite illness and injury, forced to sleep in barns or in fields, and infected with dysentary and pneumonia. They were shot if they lagged behind. This is the famous "Black March". Next to the Bataan Death MArch, it is considered the worst crime ever committed against American POWs. They were eventually liberated by the British and Americans, in what was to be a sad day for the Germans.

Jajji is still here, and he is the greatest man I know. He is endlessly selfless and will do anything to se a smile on your face. He is caring, kind, generous, and compassionate to everyone. He proudly wears his "Air Force Veteran" hat and displays his "Prisoner of War" license plate. I am so proud to know him and can only hope to emulate the kind of man he is.


Jajji is in this photo with his crew. He is in the back row, second from the right, with a huge smile on his face.

ETK Medium Day

Clean and Press

28kg/ 4 x (1,2)

L-pullups/ 4, at top of each ladder

2x24kg Front Squats / 5 at top of each ladder

Swings
32kg/ 6+6 at top of minute x 12 minutes

Next time I think I will try to move to 7+7 with the 32kg swings. I felt really good at the end of the 12 minutes and I think I can progress this. Watched Band of Brothers during the workout. Probably had something to do with my great session.

VO2Max Day

Snatches with the 16kg

15 ON:15 OFF x 55 sets

I did 7 reps per set. I wanted to hit at least 60 sets, but my lower back was trashed. I feel Like I should have loosened a bit more before going into it, because I was really tight from school all day. Sleep was OK, nutrition was OK.

ETK Heavy Day

Clean and Press

28kg/ 4x (1,2,3)

alt. with

L-Pullups/ 4x (1,2,3)

2x24kg Front Squat x 5 at top of each ladder

24kg Swings/ 9 minutes @100%

=187 swings

I felt good with the pressing and the pullups. I'm not sure what was going on with the 24kg swings at the end. I feel like I should have gotten at least 1.5 times that amount, but my body just wasn't having it. Nutrition has been crap for the past few days because its my birthday. Maybe that has something to do with it. Sleep is the usual school schedule.

ETK Medium Day

Clean and Press
32kg/ 3 x (1,2) r/l

Alt. With

L-pullups
3 x (1,2)

Front Squat at top of each ladder
2x24kg / 5

Swing
32kg/ 6+6 at top, x 11 minutes

I went a little heavier on this one today. I think I might find a happy medium somewhere between the 24 and the 32 for the clean and presses. The 32 was ok for only 2 reps, but I think as the reps get higher I will have trouble progressing. The 28kg might be just perfect. The 24 felt a little light, and I think that I would not be utilizing my full potential by only pressing that.
The swings were actually more difficult than I thought. If my math is ight, I did 132 swings with the 32kg in 11 minutes. I am pleased with this performance. I wanted to go heavier on the swings at least one day per week, because I want the 24kg to start to feel like a baby weight, which will help my progress with the SSST.
My nutrition was pretty good today and my sleep was ok.

VO2 Day

This day takes the place of my ETK Light Day.

Snatches with the 16kg:

15:15 ON:OFF

7 reps per set, alternating arms

This is from Kenneth Jay's Viking Warrior Conditioning book. I highly recommend this book if you want to learn some really good cardiovascular training. I think this protocol developed by KJ will benefit anyone in achieving excellent cardio health. It would be especially good for endurance athletes, either in the off season or as an adjunct to their normal training. He gives an excellent, semi-periodized plan for getting you to increase your VO2Max, Lactate Threshold, and Power Output, among other things. Check it out over on www.dragondoor.com.

ETK Heavy Day

Ok, this protocol is really awesome. Pavel is a real genius. This is my first day of ETK (again). Only had the 24kg with me while traveling, so it was all done with the 24kg:

Clean and Press L/R 3 x (1,2,3)

L-Sit Pullups 3x(1,2,3)

Pistols 5/5, at top of each ladder

Swings/ 10 minutes: 225

I warmed up and cooled down with prasara yoga flows. This was a good session. I want to see how my left shoulder holds up with the high volume of presses that is to come in the next few weeks. The tentative plan is to increase the ladders by 1, in each of the next two weeks. On the fourth week, I will test my max Clean and Press. I will also swing the 32kg on the medium day, instead of the 24kg. I will only perform the Medium and Heavy days, replacing the Light day with the VWC 15:15 protocol. Variety days will be just that.

For this day, my lower back was tight after the swings, but I balanced it out well with some prasara at the end. Nutrition was OK today. It's the weekend and we are traveling, so it could be better, but I'm not disappointed. My sleep last night started late, but also ended late, totaling about 9.5 hours.

Training 110120

0930:

Tiny Murph:
400m run
50 Pullups
100 Pushups
100 Air squats
400m run
18:36

This took me a lot longer than it should. I have never really been good at training in the AM. It's not because I don't want to, its just that my schedule for the past years has logistically made it easier for me to train in the evening. That is a gap in my fitness that I need to remedy. The 400m sprint in the beginning took a lot more out of me than I expected. Surprisingly, the hardest part was the air squats. I will progress this one and reduce the time for sure. My nutrition for the morning was pretty good. I tried a new meal that I am still experimenting with for breakfast. Egg Beaters with salsa and lentils, all mixed in a bowl. It was good but I'm not sure how it will work for training purposes.

1730:

Snatches w/ 24kg Kettlebell

5+5 at top of minute for 15 minutes

I did this one with Kris. He did 15 swings at the top while I did snatches. It was a pretty good session. For the first ten sets my rep speed was off the chart. I was getting the 10 snatches with a hand switch in about 22 seconds. The last five sets the speed slowed to about 30 seconds per, but I was happy with the initial rep speed. Overall, a good training session. My nutrition prior was a turkey bacon sandwich from Starbucks a few hours after lunch of a bagel sandwich. Followed this up with dinner of shredded beef cheesesteak sandwiches (the quality beef, not SteakUmms). I will work to increase the number of minutes and then the number of reps per minute with this workout.

Training 110119

After class at about 1415:

Run 500m - 2:06

Deadlift
3x335/3, 1x345/1

That's it. The gym was crowded and for whatever reason I wasn't feeling it. Maybe it was the early morning to class and the 5 hours of sleep. Nutrition for the day was OK, but not awesome because I got hungry more than I should have. Went out at night and had two beers, which is OK but overall not conducive to training goals.

Andy Irons Has Left Us

On Tuesday November 2, 2010 world champion surfer, Andy Irons was found dead in his hotel room in Dallas. He was on a layover on his way back to his home in Hawaii. The cause of death, as far a I know, was dengue fever. Dengue fever is a tropical disease spread by a specific type of mosquito. Normally, it will last anywhere from 2 to 7 days, but there are rare instances where it can progress to a fatal disease. Unfortunately, Andy's was one of those instances. He is reported to have contracted the disease in Portugal, where he was competing. He then made his way to Puerto Rico, where he dropped out of a surfing contest because he was too ill to compete. He travelled to Florida, where he was treated with IV antibiotics for 2 days before leaving to return home to Hawaii to be treated by his doctor. It was during this return trip that he was in Dallas.

I am truly saddened at his death. When I was thinking of only surfing and doing nothing that was not surf-related back in high school and college, Andy Irons was one of the up and coming stars in the sport. He was the champion by who all others gauged their performance. The guy was an incredible athlete, and from what I hear, a very real and true person. His wife is expecting their first child in under a month. Please send out your prayers and well wishes for the Irons family during this tragic time. This is a great loss to the community as well as the world. It is my hope that consolation can be found in that Heaven has he greatest waves and the best boards one can imagine. You can bet that right now, Andy is smiling upon his friends and family as he rides the biggest and best waves anyone can fathom:)

RUNNING

I like to run. Hard. I don't think I know how to run very slow. Even when I was very serious about running and ONLY running, I never ran my long runs slow enough. I will run slow for a bit and then get bored, take off, and run it entirely too hard. I actually run so hard that I need to stop to walk. I only walk for a short minute though. Then I take off again. What the hell?

I just got back from a really good run. A mix of small inclines and flats through the surrounding neighborhoods. Once I got warmed up, I was ready to go. Coming back was WAAY quicker than going out, which is good.
Negative splits are good.
Barefoot running is good.
I am getting faster.
I think I like Crossfit Endurance.
I know I love kettlebells.
I like running.
Starting to LOVE running.
Freedom.
On my feet.
Ramble....Ramble....
Can you tell I'm tired?
I need food.

BEANS...mmmmm:)

BORN TO RUN Insight

I just finished reading Born To Run by Christopher McDougall. The book is awesome and I highly recommend it. Although I had started running again before reading the book, now that I'm done, I feel a new inspiration for running. Normally, running for me has been about pushing through the pain, testing the limits, doing the grind. After reading this book, I think my outlook has been skewed. While running is and can be about all of the things listed above, those things don't have to be a struggle. The pain I've experienced is increased exponentially by my anxiety about its onset. As soon as I start feeling some of that pain associated with running hard, my anxiety jumps through the roof..."How long can I deal with this? Can I deal with this? Do I want to deal with this? Holy crap, its getting worse!!". I end up talking myself into feeling pain and paying attention to it. What the hell? Once in awhile though, I GET IT. The pain is comfortable. I LIKE IT. I've relaxed into it, and I am no longer afraid. This enjoyment happens when I pay attention to the beautiful things about running. I get to experience a lot of nature and a lot of the area I live in by running. I get into a fluid stride, a rythm of movement. When I start to pay attention to these things, my anxiety drops and the pain becomes a pleasure. Its not even pain anymore. The running isn't a grind, its a pursuit. I am testing the limits and breaking through new barriers each time I go out, which is beautiful in itself.
Thats the message Christopher McDougall is trying to convey. Running is not a means to an end, but an end in itself. Running for the sake of running. Running as a part of life. This is my new view on running. Every part of it is enjoyable. No pressure, just have fun.

Below is a video from Barefoot Ted, one of the runners in the book. An overview of the Copper Canyons and some of the runners that ran in the first Copper Canyon Ultramarathon.

Strength Day

I've been trying to get more running into my weeks. I'm trying the barefoot running thing and it seems to be working out. I have gradully increased my mileage and avoided any injuries so far. Although I'm running more, I still want to keep a base of strength (or strength-type training). For me, that looks like this...

All with the 24kg kettlebell:

Clean and Press x 5,4,3,2,1 r/l

Swings x 10/10 , 30 secs rest x 5, 20 secs rest x 5


Swinging Planks - 20 sec on / 10 sec rest x 8

Thats it. I'm still trying to figure out how much I can strength train while trying to effectively increase my mileage while running. Eventually, if you push them too hard simultaneously, they both hit a wall. I will continue to try and balance work and recovery while maintaining at least a base of strength and power endurance (ala VO2Max VWC) and cardiovascular conditioning (ala running and VO2Max VWC). We'll see how this works...

FEED THE MACHINE

I want to talk about post-workout nutrition. So often do I find that people train hard, yet ignore good nutrition. Your body doesn't improve WHILE you workout, it improves when you recover. Post-workout nutrition is the primary step to that recovery (ina ddition to adequate sleep, sunlight, and eating well). Also, you WILL NOT "gain back what you just lost" if you eat immediately after working out. Your body doesn't work like that, sorry:) E-mail me if you want a rant on why that just isn't so.



So, you've trained hard for the past hour, you are finished cooling down, and now you need to eat. Notice I didn't say WANT to eat, I said NEED. You may not have the best appetite after training, but it is essential that you find SOMETHING that you can stomach within the first 30-60 minutes after training. Why 30-60 minutes? Because thats when your insulin sensitivity is at its peak (after about 90 minutes they are almost back to normal levels). Why is this important? Because insulin is responsible for shuttling all that post-workout nutrition right into your muscles. Insulin grabs onto glucose (from your bloodstream) and packs it away into the muscles that you just trained. Oh yea, it also carries amino-acids with it, allowing your cells to start building new proteins (i.e. - NEW MUSCLE). This is important even if you are not training to build big muscles, because this process allows your muscles to adapt to the training you just performed, to give you new capacity (i.e. - MORE ENDURANCE).


Ok, now that you know the basic science behind it, lets apply it. Ideally, and this goes for endurance athletes as well as strength athletes, you want a 1:4 ration of protein:carbohydrates in your post-workout meal. This ratio applies to the number of grams of each (they have the same caloric value per gram). So, if you eat 20 grams of protein, you want 100 grams of carbs. Get it? Good.



Now, the TYPE of carbs and protein should be considered. You want a FAST-DIGESTING carbohydrate, and an EASILY-ASSIMILATED protein. This basically means sugar and whey protein (I suggest whey because it is easily found as a supplement and in most dairy products). You could also use egg whites if you have a whey allergy. If you are allergic to both, then do some research and find something you can eat after training (any supplement store should have some options for you).
As for the carbs, any carb with a high GI value will work. Some of the best are bananas, pineapple, white bread, etc. You can work out the amount of each of these foods that you eat based on the above ratio and your specific caloric needs.

Some ideal post-workout meals that I like to use) are:

- A banana and a cup of milk
- A cup or two of CHOCOLATE MILK (yes, it is one of the BEST post-workout meals, even for a serious athlete, and no, it will not make you fat)
- Ricotta cheese and Jelly on white bread

Let me know if you have any other suggestions / input. Hope you enjoy;)

Winter Games

Today is the last day of the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia. I was able to watch a good portion of the Games. My favorite event has to be the Biathlon. I think that the intensity of this sport is unrivaled. Full-on cross-country ski race then stop to shoot accurately at a target over 160 feet away, all while having a heart rate near maximum!! The breath control and shooting accuract required to be successful is unbelievable. Check it out at www.biathlonworld.com.

Here is the Final Medal Count for the Games (for the top three finishers):




United States
Gold - 9
Silver - 15
Bronze - 13
Total - 37

Germany
Gold - 10
Silver - 13
Bronze - 7
Total - 30

Canada
Gold - 14
Silver - 7
Bronze - 5
Total - 26

WAY TO GO UNITED STATES!!!

I want to give a round of applause to all of the athletes that competed in the Olympics. Your talent and commitment is undoubtedly the highest of any. Great jib to everyone who competed!!

I also want to highlight my favorite group of athletes, those from Lake Placid (the best place on Earth). They are:



Haley Johnson - Biathlon (comeskiwithme.blogspot.com)


Tim Burke- Biathlon (timburke.us)


John Napier - Bobsled (http://bobsled.teamusa.org/athletes/john-napier)


Bill Demong - Nordic Combined (http://skiing.teamusa.org/athletes/bill-demong)


Lowell Bailey - Biathlon (www.lowellbailey.com)


Andrew Weibrecht - Alpine Skiing (http://skiing.teamusa.org/athletes/andrew-weibrecht)

I am biased, but the above athletes are my favorite:)

Check out the rest of the Olympic results and the amazing competitiors here:

http://www.vancouver2010.com/

Again, congratulations to all the athletes on their hard work, determination, and guts to make it as far as they have. I look forward to hearing about the future success each of you will have in your careers.

San Antonio

I am blessed to have a Mother-in-law who loves to fly us down to San Antonio to visit her. We've been there a few times in the past couple years and every time she has something new for us to do. Here are some pics from the last trip we took...


On the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio!!


MMMMMM...Cookies in Boerne (pronounced "Bernie").


In Fredsrickburg, a Cowboy town in the Texas Hill Country.


Good food in Austin...


Above the Casa Rio restaurant on the San Antonio riverwalk. I highly recommend this place for authentic Mexican food.

Backpacking!!!

We went backpacking a few months ago (obviously, by the look of the warm weather). It was Samantha's first time backpacking, or even sleeping in the woods!! She did awesome:) The whole thing is so simple. You carry your whole life on your back, for however long you are hiking. Your days are: Eat, walk, sleep, eat, walk, sleep...SOOO fulfilling. Here's some pics, enjoy:)

Travelling...

Since I've posted last (and even before that), I've done a bit of travelling, mostly to Lake Placid. Hence, my lack of blog posts (in addition to mass amounts of school work). I have been training, albeit sporadically, depending on when I get home from the hospital and how many hours of sleep I can cram in. As far as the training, I'll get to that in a later post because it is very exciting and I know that all three of you (my loyal readers) are very interested in what my training has been like. For now, here is a slide show of some High Peaks adventures...


LAKE PLACID Summer!!!


This is the summit of Whiteface mountain. Whiteface is THE mountain to ride in the ADK's. This is in the summer on a pretty foggy and rainy day. We drove up most of the mountain, then walked through a tunnel that went straight into the mountain leading to an elevator taking you to the summit.


Here is Lake Placid (the actual lake) from Whiteface summit. You can see (from left to right) Buck Island, Moose Island and Hawk Island.


This is along Route 73, between Keene Valley and Lake Placid.


Here's Samantha on a rainy morning in Lake Placid. This is at the best place in the world to get coffee, AKA the COFFEE BEAN, right on Main Street Lake placid, overlooking Mirror Lake.


Here's me approaching the summit of Cascade Mountain. That was an awesome hike. Short, steep, and great views.


My beautiful wife having fun on the top of Cascade. The temperature was 20 degrees cooler at the top than it was at the bottom!!!


A morning on Mirror Lake.


A paddle board and a swimmer doing laps in Mirror Lake. We were there exactly one week after the Lake Placid Ironman. Everyone was still geared up for triathlon. Each morning I saw numerous swimmers doing laps in Mirror Lake in the Ironman course.



LAKE PLACID Winter!!!


Here is my brother, Dan and Brother-in-law, Shannon, on the observation deck on top of Little Whiteface.



Here is part of what you see from Whiteface Summit. Unfortunately, on this day, The Slides were not open to ride. I look forward to a trip up to LP when they are open, because I recently converted back to skiing (from an 8 year hiatus). It will be fun to do some backcountry skiing after riding a snowboard for awhile:)



Shannon. Man of the hour, 24/7/365 :)


So the Lake Placid Pub and Brewery has this s'mores dessert where you roast your own mallows over a sterno flame...unbelievable. They also brew my absolute favorite beer, UBU Ale. Also, their New England Clam Chowder is the best thing since sliced bread. Whenever we go there its UBU Ale and Pretzel Nuggets, New England Clam and French Onion...done.



Did I ever tell you that I LOVE the Olympic Center?


Outside the Speed Skating oval.


Winter hike on the Whiteface Landing Trail.


It's not Lake Placid without the toboggan:) Dan and Lauren on Mirror Lake with their sweet ride.

4x7 No Intensity Day

So, usually I take this day off. I'm not going to lie and tell you that I do my joint mobility, etc. just like I'm supposed to. I've always had a hard time doing the easy stuff. However, today I feel as though I need some kind of joint grease.

So, without going into extreme detail...

VARIOUS JOINT MOBILITY EXERCISES, HEAD TO TOE - about 12 minutes worth

Oh yea...

Pullups x 9,9,7,6,5

Back to the Earth

I have been reading a book by Tom Brown, Jr. titled Awakening Spirits. The book is about a Native American man called Grandfather (aka Stalking Wolf) and his journey around the world to find the spiritual truths that exist among all religions. If you are new to my blog, you will soon find out that I am no stranger to religion, and I have a deep faith in God. This book is enlightening to say the least, and I highly recommend it to anyone, not just those of faith.
Awakening Spirits reveals the power of the eartch and how getting close to the earth and away from the materials will bring you closer to God. God lives everywhere, but when we are dstracted by things of the flesh, our vision of God becomes clouded and skewed. Retreating from these things of the flesh (physically or mentally) will help you move closer to and have a deeper relationship with God. The book shows breathing exercises and meditation sequences that one can use to transcend the distractions of our busy world and ultimately walk the razor's edge between the world of the flesh and the world of the spirit. A walking meditation, so to speak. Check out the book at the link to the Tracker School in my links section. It will change you...