After last week’s unfortunate tweaking of the Achilles on my left side, I have been a bit cautious about my activities. Next week will be my first Hurrican Heat in Boston and I want to be sure that I don’t create a problem by over doing it. Although I am not terribly concerned about the HH with respect to the Achilles, it is the cumulative effect of the activities that may put a hamper on my Ultra Beast training. With only a week of rest, I have not been optimistic about getting back on the horse.

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Monday 5/23

Today would be a day of pure rest. I spent most of the day speeding down the great highways of New Jersey instead of the track at our local high school. My Achilles is feeling pretty good, so I don’t want to push it too far. Instead of running, I grabbed a 5-gallon bucket of paint and carried it up the stairs to my son’s room… then down the stairs, then back up the stairs, then down the stairs again, and up… you get the idea. It isn’t exactly as excruciating as the bucket brigade in Palmerton, but it works for today. Then I painted. Tuesday will be the first test.

Training: None

Tuesday 5/24

As a road warrior (sales professional by day, OCRAddict by night), my weekdays are typically spent in the car heading to a meeting, sitting in my chair in my home office on a conference call, or in the local sales office sitting in the conference room for a meeting.

However, Tuesday is Shoulders and TKD, two of my favorite things. Having some good rest behind me, the Achilles is feeling like TKD is a good possibility. Having had to leave my class eary last week, I am looking forward to finishing this week.

This week’s workout shifted a smidge, I skipped the calf raises.

Military Press	10 Reps	8 Reps	6 Reps	4 Reps
	100 lbs.	113 lbs.	125 lbs.	138 lbs.
Front Raise (dumbell)	10 Reps	8 Reps	6 Reps	4 Reps
	15 lbs.	20 lbs.	25 lbs.	30 lbs.
SuperSet
Leg Extensions	10 Reps	10 Reps	10 Reps	10 Reps
	150 lbs.	150 lbs.	150 lbs.	150 lbs.
Lateral Raises (dumbell)	10 Reps	8 Reps	6 Reps	4 Reps
	15 lbs.	20 lbs.	25 lbs.	30 lbs.
Cuban Press (dumbell)	10 Reps	10 Reps	10 Reps	10 Reps
	15 lbs.	15 lbs.	15 lbs.	15 lbs.
Shrugs (dumbell)	10 Reps	10 Reps	10 Reps	10 Reps
	55 lbs.	55 lbs.	55 lbs.	55 lbs.
Upright Row	10 Reps	8 Reps	6 Reps	4 Reps
	120 lbs.	130 lbs.	140 lbs.	150 lbs.

TKD is always a good workout and a fantastic way to get in more than just running. Many will say that a Spartan Race is a “race” and running is what you should focus on. However, the lateral movements and the explosive nature of the sport of TKD itself is more valuable than many would think. Incorporating workouts that target areas of the body that don’t get attention from running is key to building a balanced base.

 

Wednesday 5/25

Having tackled a full hour of TKD without much pain, today’s run started with buckets of optimism. Although my route is marked for 9 miles, I ran just 5. Somewhere in the neighborhood of mile 4, my Achilles started to really tighten up. I sucked it up for a mile and so and had to talk myself into seeing the bigger picture. I will not sacrifice my future training by being selfish today and pushing things too far. I didn’t push the pace, I kept it nice and slow.

Thursday 5/26

Rest Day, going to ice the Achilles.

Friday 5/27

TaeKwonDo class on Friday is more challenging than other classes during the week. This is the day to let off some steam, get the bad juju out from the work week for a fresh weekend.

Our warm up today included bear crawls, army crawls, gorilla runs, and basic movements. Then, typical TKD… lots of kicking.

Saturday 5/28

I love Saturdays! Why? Saturday is Chest and Triceps.

Bench Press	10 Reps	8 Reps	6 Reps	3 Reps
	185 lbs.	205 lbs.	225 lbs.	235 lbs.
Incline Press	10 Reps	8 Reps	6 Reps	6 Reps
	135 lbs.	155 lbs.	185 lbs.	185 lbs.
Peck Deck	8 Reps	8 Reps	8 Reps	4 Reps
	100 lbs.	113 lbs.	125 lbs.	138 lbs.
Cable Fly (Low to High)	8 Reps	8 Reps	8 Reps	8 Reps
	40 lbs.	40 lbs.	40 lbs.	40 lbs.
Chest Dips	10 Reps	10 Reps	10 Reps	10 Reps
SuperSet
Pushups	10 Reps	10 Reps	10 Reps	10 Reps
Tricep Pushdown (Bar)	8 Reps	8 Reps	8 Reps	5 Reps
	120 lbs.	130 lbs.	140 lbs.	150 lbs.
Tricep Kickback	8 Reps	8 Reps	8 Reps	8 Reps
	15 lbs.	15 lbs.	15 lbs.	15 lbs.
Close Grip Bench Press (EZ Curl Bar)	10 Reps	8 Reps	6 Reps	3 Reps
	65 lbs.	85 lbs.	105 lbs.	125 lbs.
Bench Dips	20 Reps	20 Reps	20 Reps	20 Reps
Tricep Pushdown (Rope)	10 Reps	8 Reps	7 Reps	6 Reps
	60 lbs.	70 lbs.	80 lbs.	90 lbs.

Some sprints later in the evening. 9 Sprints at 100 yards each. Not my fastest today… I hit 22mph before I the Achilles injury.

Sunday 5/29

Took a raft down the Delaware River through the Water Gap. Not much in the way of cardio, but rowing isn’t exactly resting. I had hopes that I would get Back and Biceps in today, but that didn’t happen. Have to hold off till Monday for that.