Collingwood defender Nathan Brown is keeping a daily diary during his time in Flagstaff, Arizona.  Brown has joined teammates Dane Swan, Brent Macaffer and Darren Jolly during a 12-day mid-season camp.  The players are training under the guidance of the club's sports science director David Buttifant.

You can follow Brown (@njbrown16) and Swan (@swandane) via Twitter during their trip.

Day 8 - Monday 13 June
Today, we were woken up very early to complete a second drug test within 12 hours by AFL-issued drug testers.  It is strange to see these guys out here but it also bring about a sense that what we are doing in Flagstaff isn't too far removed from action back in Melbourne.

As you can see by the snaps, today was a field day followed by weights.  Butters brought out the sled and we were all feeling ill by the end of the session.

We are having a lazy one tonight, because we are spending the night up on the mountain tomorrow.

Day 7 - Sunday 12 June
Sunday was a down day for us, a light session followed by a long massage.  Our bodies have been going at 100% for over a week now and we were desperate to have a "recovery" day.

We finished off our light session by sitting down and watching the boys pump the Dees.  We loved watching the young fella, "Fas", doing some fantastic stuff.

It's great to see the guys play with such intensity and consistency at this point in the season.  

Lucky for Caff, he only had water in him when got sick at the end of the session.


Day 6 - Saturday 11 June

We had an early gym session this morning before we piled into a car to drive to Sedona, located 45 miles outside Flagstaff.

Sedona is one of those old-school western towns, with cowboys and indians walking around every where. It has provided the back drop for many western films.

The town, of just around 10,000 people, is surrounded by the Red Rocks of Sedona.  Here we had a lunch and a big pool session.

So far the trip has been great for my body but also my mind.  I have freshened up and feel ready to tackle the second half of the season.

I try to work on my tan with Caff after our big swim.

Day 4 - Thursday 9 June
Another tough session this morning, followed by a massage and recovery this afternoon. A really productive day for the boys.

Everyone in the US is fairly pumped with the current NBA finals series, so we spent the night watching that. Caff has money on Miami winning, so a fairly nervous night for him.

Day 3 - Wednesday 8 June
It was an early start today as we headed up to the fields for a two-hour fitness and skills session.  Butters had us strapped with GPS devices during the session.

The idea was that we were not allowed to stop running until we had covered 10km of football drills. Tougher than it looks, believe me.

Everyone is still looking/ feeling good.  Swanny and Caff are absolutely killing the running, and Jolls is moving very well.

After that we had lunch before another weights session in the arvo, followed by a cardio session.

Tonight we all went to the movies and saw the new X-Men flick. Not bad at all.

Hope everyone is enjoying the weather back in Melbourne.  It's a little hot today here in Flagstaff, hope it cools down! haha!

Caff, Jols, Swanny and myself stand in the middle of the pitch during a skills session.

Day 2 - Tuesday 7 June
After a big night’s sleep, we shook off the jet lag and kicked off our first session. We headed to the fields at Northern Arizona University (NAU) and did a 90-minute running session. All the lads looked really good and carved it up, although Butters had me doing shorter, higher intensity sprints and I found myself hunched over on a few occasions as the altitude and workload took their toll.

This session marked the first real game-like intensity session I’ve completed since my operation, and everything felt really strong and pain-free which has boosted my confidence in my knee.

We then went to the gym for a weights session, before heading to the NAU dining hall for lunch. The hall was packed with all the future freshman students here on an orientation week, and just like home, everyone was loving Swanny and his tattoos. I might have to invest in a sleeve.

This afternoon, we had a couple of hours off and then a massage, to get us all up for tomorrow.

Loving the hard-work so far, and I know this will benefit the boys greatly!
 
Day 1 - Monday 6 June
After a four-hour delay in Melbourne, we finally touched down in Flagstaff, Arizona, via LA, at 4:30 pm (local time) on Monday. 

It's really windy hear in Flagstaff at the moment, but amazing weather.  Sunny and about 25 degrees Celsius.

Butters gave us a little wake up this afternoon with a weights session and a light run in the gym.

I am really looking forward to hitting it hard tomorrow, and have a run in the sun.

It's a huge contrast from when the team is here during the dead of winter for our preseason camp. 

The lads are in good spirits and so far, there are no signs of jet lag.