Three Timers for the Bootcamp Trainers under the sky,
Seven for the CrossFit Lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for the Mere Mortals doomed to die,
One for The Rise Lord on his dark throne
On the Island of Manhattan where the Shadows lie.
One Timer to rule them all, One Timer to find them,
One Timer to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
On the Island of Manhattan where the Shadows lie.

We've spent the last couple of weeks putting together a set of prototypes that we can send out in the wild.  As I've learned in the last few months, a lot of work goes into creating a product that is simple, reliable, manufacturable, and fun to use.  Here's the story of what has gone into The Rise Timer, so far.

Welcome from Coronado Island, just outside of San Diego CA.  The website has gone live!

We have pictures and video of our prototype, which has already traveled cross country and been tested by The Blaze journalist Elizabeth Kreft, who I'm traveling this week helping to film some great video stories (just a teaser, it involves Navy Seals and parachutes!)!  

I'm excited because this prototype has several new features that we are trying out:

• Volume control - just turn the thumbwheel on top and you set it from 0 (mute) to 10 (eardrum breaking)
• Audio pass-through - plug your iPod/MP3 player into the input, and your stereo/speaker into the output.  Your music will pass through - and when the timer sounds, it will mix in with your music
• Compact enclosure - we're using a smaller battery and circuit board, and so this prototype neatly fits into the palm of your hand.  The 3D printed case, while not the prettiest piece of plastic, provides 2mm of armor and is bolted together by 3mm aluminum screws.

I was eager to try the new prototype in the field.  Elizabeth and I went over to the beautiful Coronado Central Beach in front of the famous Hotel Del Coronado, and did a short interval workout.  We decided to try a different format - instead of thirty minutes of continuous workout, we concentrated on a buildup to a single, super-intense cycle.  The workout was as follows:

• Two cycles of 'dealer's choice' warmup exercises.  Each cycle was eight reps of 20 seconds work/10 seconds rest (about 4 minutes).  
• One cycle of high intensity sand sprints.
• Two cycles of cool down, balance and stretch.

For the warmup exercises we chose lower intensity movements - lunges, squats, jumping jacks, trunk twists, high kicks, planks, pushups and more to get our blood flowing and muscles warmed up.  During these sets I found myself concentrating on form and becoming aware of my breathing and how my arms, legs and core warmed up.  I also began to psych myself up for the high intensity set.

The sand sprints were intense.  We sprinted to a point about 20 meters down the beach and back.   After the second repetition my breathing was ragged.  By the fourth my legs were made of lead and I was wondering how I was going to get through all of them.  The last one was an all out slog and I curled into a ball at the end. 

For the last two cycles we could barely do anything more than balance and stretch.  We did one-legged deadlifts, quadriceps stretches, sideways lunges, etc.  

We found out three things from this workout:

• Sand sprints are hard.  I knew this already, but it just got reinforced in my mind.
• This three part workout is satisfying and great if you have a little less time, or do not want to get crazy tired.  It is also psychologically less exhausting.  According to theory, this should also give most of the benefits of a longer workout.
• Volume level 6 is good for a quiet beach.  We were able to hear the whistle just fine even during the sprints, yet did not feel like we were particularly intruding on people nearby.  

Overall I am pleased with the new prototype.  It's small and pocketable and the 3d printed case, while not the prettiest design, is rugged enough.  There are some small bugs (e.g. how frequently we get encouraging remarks, a few glitches in the display) but none of these prevent it from doing its job.

I'm looking forward to getting back to NYC next week and building out the next set of ten prototypes.  In the meantime, happy intervalling!