Yesterday's run went surprisingly well. I did a bit over 2 miles and managed to keep a fairly continuous pace (though I was probably barely sub-10 in my time). Mixing in a few more push-ups and pull-ups today just to keep maintenance.

Truth is, I still don't like running. But I need to do it once or twice a week if for no other reason than to keep my stomach tight. All of this talk about what makes for good abs and such in my experience is all crap. There is no substitute for running and making your gut tighten up with every footfall. Maybe that's bro-science too, but it seems to work a lot better for me than other things. Looking at updating my bike wardrobe as well so I don't have to totally abandon it for the winter.

Diet-wise, biggest thing I need to do is watch the carbs. I love sugar, I make no apologies for it, but I find I feel better/stay fuller on fewer calories if I keep the protein up and the carbs down. Wolfed down turkey bacon for breakfast, loving it.

First match of league was on Monday, and my team pulled off a victory by 700 points (this is a small margin, as a typical team score is about 36k), so that feels decent, especially since we went up against what I consider to be one of the stronger teams. We'll see if my new strategies pay off as round play proceeds.

Hit up the bike today to work off some of those Turkey Day calories, but honestly I kept myself under decent control during dinner yesterday. Keeping my cursing in check around my family when the Niners were busy ****ting the bed... that's another story.

17 miles on the bike today--hopefully by next Fall, I might be up for a Century Ride!

Another league in the books, another disappointing 2nd place finish. As a strong player, I have to put the majority of the blame on myself, but c'est la vie. We did manage to stage a massive comeback in the semi-final to avoid 3rd place, so there's a highlight.

Other workouts... bleh, not so much. SAD kinda hit me. OK, maybe not really SAD, but the cold weather and early darkness, coupled with long boring days at work don't fill me with a lot of motivation, and I've put on a bit of, shall we say, "winter weight."

That trend will hopefully start reversing today, as I've enrolled in a 2-year membership ay 24 Hour Fitness. No more excuses that I don't have a workout space. After a long string of runner-up lasertag finishes and winters where I plump up, it's time to get serious about training again. Now off I go.

Re-Train Session 1
Easing back into it lightly.

Squats: 5 x 135, 155, 185
Bench: 135 x 5, 5, 10
Curls: 10x30, 20x25, 16x30

Kinda surprised I was able to manage that much on bench. I predict sore hamstrings and pectorals tomorrow.

Run: 1 mile, 8:49 pace. I also predict somewhat sore calf muscles.

A LOT of work to do. And hopefully the fact I shelled out $360 up front will give me some motivation to do it. Also bought a basketball today so I can shoot some hoops and keep my hand-eye coordination sharp when/if lasertag goes kaput.

Definitely some soreness today, but I went to shoot some hoops to keep from sitting on my ass all day. Definitely shot a Dwight Howard-esque 40%ish from the line. FML.

I won't even discuss the layup drills.

More basketball shoot-arounds and some (light) lasertag yesterday, then gym again today. I hurt. In a good way, I guess.

Re-Train Session 2
Warm-Up: 0.85 miles at 7.0 mph
Bench: 10x135, 3x5x145
Squat: 5x135, 3x5x185
Finish: 0.85 miles at 6.8 mph

I'm not really happy with my performance at the moment, nor am I happy with my lasertag game. I got complacent in the last two months as it got colder and darker, and the work hours seemed to drag on longer and longer.

Another shoot-around today... my shot is slowly coming back. Very slowly.

Re-Train Session 3
Squat: 2x10x135, 2x5x185, 5x195
Bench: 10x135, 2x5x145, 5x155, 5x135

Was easily the smallest dude in the weight section of the gym today, yet still the only person using either of the squat racks. lol chicken-legs.

Did not due cardio today due to basketball today and lasertag tomorrow, which I hope will be intense, first actual practice for the 2015 tournament. Hopefully it will be filled with less bed-****tery by me than either of the previous leagues.

Basketball continues to happen. I continue to be awful. But hey, at least I'm outside!

Re-Train Session 4
Warm-up: 15 min on elliptical to see the end of the HOU/CLE game
Bench: 10x135, 7x145, 2x5x155
Squat: 10x135, 2x5x195, 5x200
Various curls and shoulder rotations, etc.

Needed to work the back a little bit today.

Re-Train Session 5
Chin-Ups: 3x10
Deadlift: 5x135, 5x185, 5x215 (surprisingly comfortable given how long it's been since I DL'd... must be some strength buried in my winter fatty-self)
Lat pull-downs: 10x90, 2x10x105, 10x120
Cable Rows: 10x90, 2x10x105, 10x120
Oblique DB lifts: 2x20x30

Cardio: uggghhhh, my run times are utter ****. Attempting to do a fartlek split, but my lungs and shins were just not having it. I ended up doing a run/walk for about 26 minutes, but I am not happy AT ALL with my run fitness, which may explain why I've felt like utter **** about my lasertag game of late.

Work will need to be done. And as much as I hate to say it, I probably need to start improving my diet. **** turning 30 btw.

Had a couple muscles injuries to attend to the last few days and thus didn't make it back into the gym until today. My forearm and elbow were hurting like crazy, I can only assume from overuse during basketball, so long has it been since I shot the ball. My calves/shins also took longer than anticipated to recover from my last run, but I got back to it today (lasertag was rescheduled for Thursday this week).

Re-Train Session 6
Pull-Ups: 3x10
Squat: 10x135, 6x185, 5x195, 5x205
Bench: 2x10x135, 2x8x145, 6x155

Cardio: 2 miles on the treadmill, done in splits of 0.25 brisk walk, 0.75 light run (6.5 mph). REALLY have to ease back into this, but I'm hoping to hit a non-crappy 5K time (or hell, just continuous running) by maybe end of next month.

Re-Train Session 7
Incline Bench: 10x95, 10x105, 7x115, 5x125
Barbell Curls: 3x10x50
Seated Cable rows: 3 x10x105
Lat Pulldowns: 3x10x120
Deadlift: 5x135, 5x185, 5x205, 5x225

Cardio: 30 min. elliptical hill-climber, 1 mile run @ 7.0mph. Working back into it. Going to be a long slog. But I need it.

Between my forearm/elbow pain (maybe mild tendonitis), and now my neck which is killing me, I may need to dial it down for a couple days, but I don't want to miss too many cardio sessions at least.

Re-Train Session 8
Squat: 10x135, 8x185, 3x5x205
Bench: 2x10x135, 3x6x155
Barbell Curl: 3x10x50

Cardio, 15 min. elliptical interval, 1.25 mile run @6.5 mph.

Neck injury kept me sidelined for a couple days... think I kinked it on my bench press set, and then aggravated it at my buddy's band gig that night when I was going to work on the cowbell. But it felt better by Monday so I could practice lasertag pain-free.

Lasertag Practice (2015) 1
We had our first "real" practice for Nationals 2015, by which I mean half our prospective team was able to get together and play a 6v8 match, which went decently. We got our butts kicked game 1, survived game 2, and almost won game 3. That's not terrible. If we had another decent Scout, we probably win those games handily, so I'm not unhappy with how it's progressing. It feels good to be playing a power position alongside someone competent again. It's been awhile.

Last year was all about the thrill of going to another country and playing against the best, not expecting to win. I surpassed all my own expectations by garnering awards for my position. But this year, with the competition back on US soil and me training every week, I want to WIN. This year I'm going to train even harder and play a position where much more is demanded of me.

Got myself back to the gym tonight, and since it was crowded as hell at 7 pm and basketball was on, I stuck to cardio.

Re-Train Session 9
Push-Ups: 35
Chin-Ups: 10
Cardio: 3.5 miles alternating 3.5 mph walk, then 0.25 mile run each at 6.2/6.5/6.8/7.1 mph. Working back up slowly to improve my form and endurance, and hopefully not destroy my knees by the time I'm 40.

I've come to one of those crossroads where denial intersects with complacency. I was not unhappy with how re-training was going, albeit it was a little slow. But then I happened to see a picture of myself with my shirt off at a recent concert, and I didn't like what I saw. It's not like I had an absurdly large gut, but there was no tone or definition on anything. I just looked soft. Skinny-fat. I weighed myself the next morning, just under 160. That's not horrible, but it's about 5-10 pounds over my "playing weight," and it isn't composed in the way I'd like. I had been able to delude myself before by sucking it in when I looked in the mirror, and flexing my pecs, etc. But that's not real life. It's time to do something, and that means fixing my diet.

My biggest weakness has always been sugar. My current leak is calorie-filled drinks from Starbucks, which for so long I justified as "most of the calories are from milk," but there's still a lot of sugar. I need my caffeine, but I need coffee to be sweet to drink it--so maybe I need to shift back to something else. Being super caffeine-dependent isn't great, but it's not the worst of vices, either. I know myself well enough to know I need a few leaks now and then or I'll just fall off the seasonal wagon, like I've done for years, and have to get back on the see-saw next Spring... but it only gets harder as I get older.

So my plan is this: cut down my fancy drinks to no more than twice a week as a start, and start getting more protein into my diet. I need to be cooking chicken breast again, stirring it with some veggies, and taking that to lunch. No more just winging it or going out to eat some gross 1000 calorie lunch.

I did manage a short gym session last night after a long drive, and I need to go back for some cardio today. That's where I need to be focusing my energy. I was stuck for awhile, unaware of my goals and wondering whether I should be looking to gain some mass and strength, but I don't think that's the plan for me. I need to lose some weight and improve my cardio fitness first, and not feel my gut pressing against my waistband. I know it's easier to put on the muscle and then lose the fat, but I don't think I can do that in a timely manner before the next tournament. So getting lean it is!

Re-Train Session 10
Squat: 10x135, 8x185, 3x5x205 (I mistakenly thought I was doing 215 until I counted again today)
Bench: 2x10x135, 3x5x160

OK, off to get a haircut and get my skinny-fat ass back in the gym.

Re-Train Session 11
Probably didn't go quite as hard as I could have today due to having practice tomorrow, which I'd like to be 100% for, but I'm still a bit disappointed.

Incline Bench: 10x115, 7x125, 3x135
Barbell Curls: 2x10x50
Seated Rows: 3x10x100

Cardio: 21 min. Elliptical hill-climber, 21 minutes treadmill, alternating run and walk (about 1.5 miles running all told... not great). Really need to stretch my calves and achilles' more.

Thinking about taking the Wednesday night Yoga class to improve my piss-poor flexibility... but might need to use that time more wisely, as I want to get a lot of good and efficient gym sessions in, even on work nights.

Diet (still 100% crap!): Leftover mac'n'cheese, 2 truffles, protein bar, chicken pan-fried in olive oil, jerky snacks. Still needs a ton of work. But no Venti Mocha at least... saving that for Monday afternoon to cure work doldrums and prep for lasers.

Diet much improved in the last few days: cut down on sugar, didn't snack at work. Lasertag practice on Monday went well, but these 6v8 games (4 of our A-level players plus two subs vs. 8 good players) are killer. We've yet to win one, and we need to take a few of these down, because teams like Detroit and any Aussie team will knock us on our asses if we can't handle that pressure.

Unfortunately, another setback. My partner got an awful flu over the weekend, and it finally hit me like a ton of bricks today. So I'm shutting it down until at least tomorrow, taking the day off work to try and exorcise this thing. Hopefully be back in the gym on Friday. Upside: I might actually lose weight because I find food unpalatable right now.

Flu finally kicked. Yeesh, that was awful.

Sunday, I watched the first half of the Super Bowl at the gym, doing some light cardio. Now, my two LEAST favorite NFL teams are the Seahawks and the Patriots, so tough year for me. But to my shock, it turned out to be a very enjoyable game, one of the most exciting in years. So kudos, Super Bowl, for making me interested in two teams I hate, and getting me to do 75 minutes of elliptical and uphill walking in the process.

Monday we had practice, which again to me was subpar. Game 1 I thought we had in the bag... until the opposition decided to not die. That made it tougher. Game 2 was utter ****, and we got reamed by superior numbers. Game 3, our overall structure was better, but we're really suffering from not having our A-level Scouts practice with us. I am at least feeling better about my Heavy game. Playing against numbers and with the odds against us has me really working hard.

Re-Train Session 12
Finally back on weights this evening.

Squat: 2x10x155, 8x185, 2x5x205, 5x215
Lat Pulldown: 10x90, 10x105, 2x10x120
Bench: 10x135, 2x5x160 (couldn't finish last sets because I started getting nauseous... need to drink more water earlier in the day... maybe also be getting inadequate protein)

Still need to shore up that protein intake and am pledged to doing some cardio tomorrow night, plus an extra lasertag practice on Thursday.

Re-Train Session 13
Short cardio session.

10 min. walking 3.5 mph, 5% incline
18 min. fartlek run cycle 3/2/1: 6.0/6.6/7.2 for 1st two cycles, 6.2/6.8/7.5 last cycle
Finish 2 min. walk

Felt pretty good, so will work on improving speed and time over the next few weeks. Extra lasertag session tonight; we'll see how that goes.

Re-Train Session 14

Deadlift: 5x135, 5x185, 5x225, 5x245
Incline Bench: 2x10x115, 7x115
Hip Adduction/Abduction set weight: 145
Leg (quad) extension set weight: 160
Seated Row set weight: 115

Ran, but only for a mile. Quite hard to do cardio same day as a lot of leg exercises, but I wanted to at least knock out a little. Wednesday looks to be the "big" run day, at least until summer training kicks into high gear.

Last night's practice went OK, but we logged 3 more losses. I must confess my disappointment, even in the face of superior numbers. In one game, I managed a very high score and managed to survive until the final minute, taking three of the opposing players with me, but couldn't close the deal. Upsetting, as I feel we need to be winning these games if we want to have a chance at Nationals, but I do have to remind myself we don't even have a full roster yet.

Re-Train Session 15
Can I just say how much I hate it when people use the squat rack for, well, non-squats?
Lunges: 6x20x55
Bench: 2x10x135, 3x5x160
Curls: 10x50, 10x27.5(DB), 10x30(DB)
Pull-Ups: 5,4,5 (very tired by then)
Leg extension: 10x165, 2x10x180
Hip Adduction: 10x160, 2x10x175
Hip Abduction: 3x10x160

My ass hurts. I wanted to do squats, but the rack was never free. Tomorrow some cardio, and hopefully more lasers on Thursday. Can't remember the last time I felt this focused on training, or more disappointment in myself for failures.

2 sets up push-ups today followed by 25 miles on the bike. Was pretty fun, and had to go uphill about 500 feet. Legs very tired by the time I got home, but snapped a few nice pics on my water breaks!

Re-Train Session 16
One of these days, "re-training" will just be "training." But until I don't hate myself for my crap run times/endurance...

Played some basketball today, which was fun, if not overly tiring.
35 push-ups (warm-up)
Squat: 10x155, 8x185, 3x5x225
Bench: 2x10x135, 3x5x160
DB Curls: 2x10x30

30 minute run/walk (run was slow and interrupted by walks due to side-cramping, but I always have a tough run day when I've squatted first).

Goal by Nats time is to be able to knock out 20 miles on the bike, a squat/DL session, and a 5K run all on the same day... but that's setting a very lofty goal. Oh, and playing lasertag well should probably be in there somewhere. Sure, let's add a full lasertag practice to the mix... at least I won't need to worry about calorie intake that day!

Tomorrow: holiday hike and then lasertag practice!

Finally won a game last night! 1-14, now there's a record to be proud of! Downside was I hurt my right knee in a game collision late in the night, and I'm feeling it today. DEEP bruise, which will probably sideline my running tomorrow and send me to something lower impact, like the elliptical.

Did some home work tonight.
Pull/Chin-Ups: 10,10,10,6,6
Push-Ups: 7x25

Hiking pics from Monday:

OK I think we're officially done with "re-training" now. I feel good enough that it's proper training. Monday, I had my best statistical game of lasertag in our database, Thursday I won two more tough games in both power positions (handily), and today I managed to run a 5K with very little pausing, and after a lift session.

Squat: 12x155, 8x190, 5x230, 2x5x235
Bench: 2x10x135, 3x5x160
Lat Pulldown: 10x120, 2x10x135

Run: sub-30 5K... Excedrin is magic stuff. Listened to my playlist and watched some of the Cavs game, and this didn't feel too bad. Ran mostly at 6.2 and 6.5 speed, punching it up to 7.0 and 8.0 for short 2-3 minute spurts.

Well, wouldn't that be just like me to confidently announce my progress and then promptly break myself? Last Monday, I suffered a knee collision, and it was swollen for a few days, but then it went away. Friday's run was no problem. But this Wednesday, I tried to run again after work (harder when I'm already tired), and my knees/shins were not having it. Now my deep tissue is hurting--looks like probably a bone bruise, so I need to take it easy on heavy impact stuff for a few days. Elliptical and bike it is I guess.

Today I need to go back in for some weights anyway. Missing Sunday's session due to a late night driving back was not good.