Embracing the inevitable

I can’t exactly admit to embracing this whole “getting older” process with open arms. It often scares me to think about the changes that the future will bring. I am a creature of comfort, as evidence look at the fact that during my first year on the bike I only rode 2 routes. One was out to the race course (4 turns?) The other involved riding down route 5, veering off a bit, then turning and coming back…on route 5 for umpteen some miles. This year in particular I admit to being a bit concerned with the prospect of the future. In the coming year I will leave my undergraduate school of William and Mary and either go to graduate school or find some sort of employment. Some sort of anxiety is to be expected, however in reflection my fear is foolish. I realize now that for the past 22 years of my existence, simply by living I am risking change. Every second I am alive, something new comes to be. The year of 2010 has been 365.24 of the best days of my life and why should I expect the next year to be any different?

Later, when I have time I will try to do a synopsis of the past year. Now it is time to drink and be merry with the family. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Using the little ring

As competitive endurance athletes many of us are extremely type A. I admit whole heartedly that I fall victim. My friends frequently have to remind me that not everything is a competition. For example, the other day my good buddy Ben and I were discussing our obsession with the sport. I proceeded to try to make my point that my passion for the sport was greater than his by discussing how much I loved training. Ben then proceeded to tell me that he woke up at 5 or 6am on the weekends to watch ITU races on TV. Quickly we realized the foolishness in our debate as Ben reminded me that it was no competition. When you are as competitive as we are, anything can be a dick measuring contest.
Another example is when I go out for rides frequently it is hard for me to, in the words of Stingle "chill." When Savage and I ride we constantly find ourselves pulling at 23mph, crushing one anothers legs and sprinting up hills. We may be some of the worst offenders of pointlessly massacring each other. Even if there is no race in sight, and no point at all to be going anaerobic, that inner desire simply drives us to constantly try to "one-up" each other.
The need to constantly compete against one another is simply part of being a competitive athlete. It is this desire that gives us the motivation to spend an ungodly amount of hours in the saddle, or get up before sunrise to get a workout in. HOWEVER, we must understand when it is time to shift to the little ring. Ironically, our competitive edge is one of our greatest faults as well as one of our greatest assets. As during winter training on the bike, we cannot always be riding around in the 53x11 (the biggest gear combination on a typical bike). There are times for hammering and there are times for "chillin'." It is being able to balance ourselves, and knowing when to use the little ring that is important. There is nothing wrong with Jon and I's weekly hammerfests we enjoy them, and that is what it is all about. On the other hand, there are times when life dictates down-shifting as well. It is critical that we pay attention to these times in our lives as well. I admit that to frequently I fall victim to the constant hammer philosophy. This week, and in the future I will work on knowing when to sit up and spin easy.

The hardest pill to swallow

I am trying to get the hang of writing entry's without discussing races, as if I only wrote about racing there would be a large gap in my blogging between the months of September-February. Just last week I discussed a revelation that I believe I have undergone since beginning endurance athletics. Coming into the sport i was extremely focused on being number 1, overly so. This is a common trap many of us fall into. It is easy, when we really want something, to put on the blinders to the world around us. Some might call this a "one-TRACK mind" (ha,ha,ha).

I apologize for the pun, hopefully you are still reading. I guess I have become quite the comedian in my old age, I have to attribute the puns to my mom and her boyfriend Mark, as they dwarf me in their linguistic abilities.

To get back to the point, I would like to believe that I have gotten BETTER at pulling off the blinders and looking at the rest of the world around me. I do believe that being surrounded by so many like minded individuals we can help each other to see the world in a more holistic manner. I do spend a fair amount of time discussing training and racing with my friends but this is what I like to do, there are much worse things that is for sure. One of the biggest parts of training, that I discuss nearly ad nauseum is setbacks. Setbacks are inevitable with endurance sports, and it is these setback that make victory taste so sweet.

Last week I discussed that it is during times when we cannot train because of injuries that we can grow the most. Maybe I should have knocked on some wood because a week later I find myself completely out of commission for running (peroneal tendinitis). I have been fortunate over the past year to undergo very few injuries, which has been phenomenal for my training. I have seen friends around me suffer from numerous setbacks and injuries and I have been quick to reassure these individuals that if they are smart and focus on recovering they will be back in no time. Now that I find myself in their position I find myself antsy as hell to get healthy again just as they were.

If a friend of mine had come to me and told me they were having the pain I was last week I would have told them to make sure NOT to run on it, and ice and stretch well. Why then is it that I feel that I should do anything different? Of course I tried to run through the aching foot for two days before I decided to take a few days off completely before resuming biking and swimming. During my drive to and from Philly Evrett and I discussed for some time the irony in the fact that it is the advice that we are the quickest to give that is the most difficult for us to follow. It is difficult for us as imperfect human beings to look at the situation from an outside point of view. It is our own medicine that is by far the least palatable for ourselves. Fortunately, it is November and there is a long time until next season. This will give me the chance to put some much needed work into my swimming. It is important for us to realize our imperfections and be patient and listen to ourselves. Frequently, the answers for the most distressing issues we deal with are best answered by the one-and-only you.

The See-Saw of Life

So i realize that it has been way over a month since I last made an entry. I have been busy, life gets like that sometimes. Also, I have not been racing except for a 10k I did last week that was just for fun. I realize though that just because I am not racing does not mean life ceases. There is far more to life then just racing, in fact, the amount of time that any of us actually spend racing, no matter how much we do so truly accounts for a very minute amount of time in our lives.

4 years ago I was in my senior year of high school. A run-a-holic, I was a racing nut. I lived to race. I devoted every waking moment of my life to running XC/Track for my high school. I was dead set on running in college, regardless of where I would have to go to do so. Therefore, when I received an offer to attend the University of Miami where I would run XC and Track for the Varsity program ecstatic only began to describe my state. As most of you know that did not work out for me so well. In addition running lost its "fun."

The other day after an hour on the rollers on a rainy day I laced up my shoes and set off for a run in the rain in 60 degree weather. As I cruised around the campus, people carrying umbrellas gave me disdaining looks as I flew past them over the brick covering the campus sidewalks. The weather perfect, my body perfectly in-tune with itself I realized that I was smiling. Smiling and running? What the hell is this, training isnt supposed to be fun....right?

This is where many of us are wrong. Some of you know Jon Grey, the all-american runner at the college as a 28 10k guy. This is one hell of a feat. Unfortunately, Jon tore is labrum last year and has been suffering with mis-diagnosis and will now have to undergo surgery. The other day Jon and I were discussing being injured and having to take time off. Jons time away from running has been tough for him. When I was injured in Miami, or last year when I thought I had torn my ACL, my friend and family had me on suicide watch (almost no joke).

Surprisingly enough we decided that it is the time away from the sport that allows us to step back and take a different perspective of who we are and where we are going. It gives us a chance to put our athleticism into perspective. Both of us have aspirations to be professionals in our disciplines, but you must be ready for the worst. That means living life today in a way that you would be proud if there was not a tomorrow. This balancing act is tough but being injured/not able to do what it is we love gives us perspective and makes it easier to balance ourselves out. On one hand we want to be the best athletes we can, but we also must enjoy ourselves while we are doing so. Keeping this "see-saw" balanced is no easy task, especially because there is constantly new things being thrown on either side. However, we are people, I am NOT just a triathlete, Jon is NOT just a runner, and it is important for us to remember this. We as athletes must be careful to avoid this trap. We should be encouraging of other to try out sport and getting them into it and realize that after all, it is about enjoying yourself. If you see someone who needs a new tube on the side of the road please do not ride past them. Lets be accommodating to the rest of the world too, we are all homo-sapiens, dependent on air, food, and water, lets not forget that! I hope this does not come out as preachy, as i write this as a PERSONAL revelation NOT to be a dick.

A special thanks goes out to my buddy Jon who has helped me to understand this. Best wishes to him for his pre-consult next week and surgery Nov 1st!

Edogenous Opioid Peptides

Endorphins- an endogenous morphine (edogenous opioid peptides) produced by the body during exercise, excitement, pain, consumption of spicy food, and orgasm. Produced by the pituitary gland and hypothalamus in vertebrates during exercise. Craved by Gregory James Grosicki. Produce analgesia and a general feeling of well-being.

The experience of a LIFETIME

As most of you know, this past weekend I competed in the biggest completion of my life, the Duathlon World Championships in Edinburgh Scotland as a member of Team USA. A year ago when I begun the sport of triathlon I did so for the same reason everyone else does, to push myself and test some new waters (hahaha). Okay, that was a bad one, but you’ll just have to live with it. Anyway, a year later I found myself toeing the starting line in Holyrood Park at the biggest Duathlon competition that one can compete in. Before I recount my tale I feel as though I need to say HOLY SHIT I AM SO INCREDIBLY BLESSED IN SO MANY WAYS IT IS UNBELIEVABLE. Alright, now that’s said let us move on.
All of my life I have loved to compete. For me, there is no greater satisfaction then testing my limits and seeing how far I can push myself. Let us go back to the lima bean bet of my younger years. One day at dinner as I refused to eat my lima beans my dad bet me 20 bucks I couldn’t eat 3 spoons of lima beans. We made the bet but I told him I would do it in a few days before I had eaten supper. That night he came home with the LARGEST spoon you have ever seen in your life. I HATE lima beans, they are the most repulsive food known to man (and I am NOT picky, just yesterday I ate Haggis and LIKED it, and for those of you that don’t know, Haggis is sheeps stomach stuffed with organs). After choking down the beans I went up to my room with my 20 dollars sick out of my mind, but oddly satisfied with myself for rising to the challenge. A love for competition or possibly a masochist/idiot? You decide for yourself.
My mom and I were discussing the reason for my obsession with competition and I still cant really figure it out. Fast forward to last week and an entire WEEK before DuWorlds I was already nervous as ever. The desire to feast that typically plagues me hourly was no longer present and sleep began to come in shorter and shorter intervals. Yet, for whatever reason, this is what I do. I spend all this money to make myself sick out of my mind. The days before the race I swear I was more moody than a pregnant woman on steroids (thanks mom, for putting up with my bs). I did still manage to enjoy Edinburgh the week before, however as the race grew closer and closer my enjoyment began to dull. The night before the race with the help of a beer I managed sleep about 45 minutes, and I thought Christmas eve was bad when I was 5….
Race day did come, but there were no boxes or bags, just a whole bunch of incredibly nervous athletes crowded in the metal confines of the starting box, waiting anxiously for the gun. 10 minute delay….great, 10 more minutes of anxious waiting. Everyone makes nervous casual conversation in the box, a little different when its in about 5 different languages and a lot of different accents. The gun goes off and we begin making our way up the 1200 meter hill before the turn around, which we would do 4 times for the first run. Not even 25 meters into the race a lad from Great Britain falls over and eats shit directly in front of me. I am no steeple chaser but fortunately I manage to hurdle him. The first 2 laps go by and the 3rd lap I know will be the hardest. I grind through this lap, the slowest one of them all, and before I know it Im on the bike with a new 10k pr.
My legs are fried. I desperately hope that power returns to them soon. Fortunately after a couple minutes they begin to feel rejuvenated. I get to the climb, which we will do 5x and immediately begin to reel people in, god I love being a skinny bastard in times like these. Not before I got to the end of the first of the five laps I feel my calves begin to cramp. Fuck, this has never happened to me during a race. I try to stretch them out a bit and keep the crampinig at bay. The first 3 laps go by rather uneventfully. I didn’t get caught and managed to catch a good amount of guys. The fourth lap though both of my hamstrings turn to pretzels at the top of the climb. I stand up and lean back trying to stretch out the monstrous knots in both of my hamstrings. The unrelenting cramping continues and negative thoughts about not finishing begin to creep into my mind. I am only moving forward at about 5mph, and people begin to go by me. A man from Australia in the 25-29 encourages me as he flys by me. Finally I felt that I could pedal and began to slowly turn over the pedals, I feel the micro-seizures of my hamstrings with every rotation, but fortunately I was able to hold off disaster for the rest of the bike. I knew this may plague me in the run so I finished my water to attempt to rehydrate.
My flying dismount went epically and my transition felt fluid and smooth into the second run, just 2 laps this time. The first lap hurt. The 1200m uphill teased me with the fact that as I ascended it I would only have to loop around and do it all over again in less than 9 minutes. An 800m hill workout I did over the summer at Occoquan Park began to creep into my mind and I focused on staying smooth and working my way to the top of the hill. On the final ascent I cruised to the stop and tried to open up my legs into the final downhill. My quads had different ideas however and were not pleased with the pounding they took as I tried to open my stride to coast down the downhill and pick up speed. As I approached the finish line I heard the announcer through the loud speaker “And here comes Grosicki of the USA, the Mens 20-24 Gold Medalist” my mind immediately went nuts, I looked backwards and saw that no one was close and through my hands up as I crossed the finish line. My state was shock and disbelief as I gasped for sweet air in the finishing area. Overwhelmed with emotion I was stuck between disbelief and sheer joy. Tears began to make their way down my cheeks, what a bitch I am I thought to myself. I went over to the fence and hugged my mom and called my dad.
Before I left, everyone told me I was embarking on the experience of a lifetime. Everyone told me how sure they were that I would do well, but no one, not even I, expected this. For days people asked me if I was still on cloud 9, the answer is yes I was, to be honest its almost a week later and I still haven’t come down. Just typing this up has got me all worked up like a mom watching her kid get on the school bus for the first time. I can’t put into words how lucky I am. I am so blessed. So blessed to have such a great family that has supported me and been with me all of my life. So blessed to have the BEST friends in the entire world, and lots of people say stuff like this but I know theyre full of shit because I really do have the best. You all are fucking incredible, thank you so much for being there for me and encouraging me. So blessed by the lord to have all that I have and be able to do what I can. Thank you everyone so much for all of your support, especially the past couple months. What a gay way to end a blog right? Could I possibly have been more trite? Maybe…but I am the champion of the world in the duathlon not JK Rowling, so if you were expecting wizards, thats your fault.

Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end

And so ends my summer. It is hard to believe that it is already time to go back to school. Ive got to say, the entire summer I feel like Ive spent a good deal of time complaining about how Ive missed school and such, but now that the school year approaches, I have to admit I am a tad nostalgic for the area of which i am from. Even harder to believe is that this is my last year at the College of William and Mary (assuming I pass haha).
Haven't written for a while. I guess I missed the Page County race report big time. It was fun though, nothing like racing through some good ol' hills for 3 hours, it definitely plays to my aerobic advantage. I won't bother writing the details of the race, however I feel it is somewhat noteworthy that before the start of the last 11 mile lap some dudes spokes sliced the top and major buckle on my shoes, making the last lap a tad more difficult. Kind of sucks that my 300 dollar Mavics are probably ruined now, but thats bike racing I guess...better than my bike or my wheels. So ended my 2010 cycling season. Id like to pronounce it a success. I got my Cat 3 upgrade, and proved to MABRA that the guy riding more or less unattached can indeed hammer out some decent finishes in Cat 3 races. Im definitely excited next year to race with Team Bike Doctor though, it will be fun to have some teamates.
The reason i didnt write a report for Page County was because the following week the family and i took our yearly vacation to Lake Anna. It was fun times. Found a good 40 mile loop to ride that encircled the lake, and got in one open water swim in water that nearly cooked me (this stuff was 96 degrees and getting out of the water I promptly hammered 3 bottles) thanks to my mom for kayaking along side me so that I did not end up in some boats engine. The hardest workout of all however was probably going fishing out on the boat with my two cousins, Collin and Stephanie, ages 10 and 7. Unfortunately the stupid fish would not stop biting, which meant constant unhooking, worming, untangling and so on. Largest catch of the day ME.
Got an email today from Team USA about DuWorlds. Im not going to lie, although Im looking forward to the race and being over there, i am undoubtedly more nervous about this race than i have ever been about any. I know that I have been putting in the hours of training, but the whole concept kinda gets me a little worked up. Oh well, I do what I can I guess right? Special thanks to Mark, my moms bf, for sitting at Burke Lake the other day to act as a transition area for my bike and my shoes as i did a mini Du. The legs felt great, got a loop around the 4.7ish mile lake in 2720, then hammered out an hour on the bike and did another 2.2ish mile run in 12 minutes. The money is in the bank, now to play the waiting game for September 4th. Anyway, Saturday I leave for the Burg. Definitely excited, as SemiSonic says "every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end."

Culpeper Sprint Tri

This weekend was my second time racing the Culpeper Sprint Triathlon. That officially means that I have been racing triathlon/multisport for over a year! The weeks leading up to the race I really focused on my swimming. I mentioned briefly last week that I was now training under Debi Bernardes, owner of Ucandoit multisport coaching out of Fredericksburg. Debi has been great thus far, she has got me doing things that I wasn't doing on my own, such as speed work and things to work my anaerobic system in addition to getting me in the water 3-4x a week. The water part made a huge difference. Last year I swam a high 13, this year I swam 3 minutes faster! First 1/3 of the race, monster success.

T1 went alright, the insole in my shoe came up and clumped under my foot, which sucked, but in the first mile of the bike I passed probably about 10+ other cyclists. I love swimmers, especially when they cant ride bikes. It brings me great joy to go by these fish as they are weirded out by the fact that they can breath whenever they want while exercising. Unfortunately for them, I am now joining their breed by trying to grow a pair of my own gills, 2 points for me!

The bike portion went well, the course was hilly. I passed the 15 mile mark at 37 minutes, somehow the next mile took me 7 minutes? Im not really sure about the distance. I did have the 6th fastest bike there, which pleased me. I want a TT bike, I also want about $20k of other bike stuff, a big house in Colorado, and a beautiful wife, I guess lifes just rough sometimes. That said, I love my Zipps, they are fantastic, its also fantastic to fly by people while they have to listen to the beatiful noise of my carbon wheels, poor bastards =)

T2 went about as well as T1. I didnt wear socks and could barely get my left shoe around my heal. Some fish that I gained time on in the bike beat me out of the transition. Unfortunately he could run pretty fast and gained even more time on me in the run. Luckily he caught 2 other people in the run and I caught them too.

I finished the race in 4th. My goal was top 3, but its hard to set goals like that before you know the competion. Props to the dude who won by beating Robbies time last year by 3 minutes. Not to mention hes only 19, I cant wait to see where he is in 4 years, and hopefully Im not up against him. Also props to my buddy Ben for a great race finishing in second, and Nate Martins for finishing his first tri, 2nd in our age group and 28th overall!

After the race Nate and I went to Skyline for some camping and relaxing. We enjoyed some delicious beverages while relaxing in the wilderness. We feasted and zonked out pretty early. Monday morning we woke up early for a beatiful foggy and cool run on the Appalachian trail. Nate was able to show off his Army ranger skills by avoiding the slippery rocks and warning me to be careful every time Id nearly roll an ankle or slip on a rock. After we came back to the campsite where we ate some delicious smores oatmeal and packed up the campsite. All in all a great weekend with some great people. Thanks for reading!

Easiest 5k ever.

The past few days have been about the hottest temperatures I have ever dealt with. Saturday, as I discussed last week was supposed to be the big day. I was all set to run my PR for a 5k. The week started out hard, and got easier 2 days before the race. Thursday I rode at Wakefield and it was the first time all year that I was not constantly attacking every time my heart rate dropped to a point where I felt like I could put a good hurting on my compatriots. Friday i did an easy ride and a short run and Saturday I felt good. The weather however, did not.

Sometime on Friday the weather decided to politely give me and my PR chances the finger and that was all she wrote. Saturday when I woke up at 8am after closing the deli the night before the temperature was already in the upper 80's, this is bad. It got worse when the family, including my little sister Lauren, went to DC and the walk between the air and space museum and the museum of natural history felt like I had bonked at the end of a half marathon. The heat was the kind that got inside of you and zaps you of all energy. Upon arriving back at my house i called my coach Debbie B. of Youcandoit out of Fredericksburg and we decided that a swim this afternoon was a better idea than killing myself in the brutal heat. The swim was my 3rd swim of the week, a feat I havent accomplished since school at sWiM club, when I got injured and couldnt run for 2 weeks. The swim went well and then after Nate, Charlie, and I (2 of my friends at USNA, and USMA) went to see Inception in an air conditioned theater, that beats a 5k any day!

Next week up is Culpeper Sprint Tri. This was my second ever tri last year. Im definitely stoked and looking to put together a much better overall performance in all 3 components than I did last year. The fact that i dont have to worry about an untied shoe lace 1 minute into the run should help! ;) Thanks for reading!

Keeping the eye on the prize

Less than a month and a half left until Duathlon Worlds. Got my jersey this week. Sweet jesus it is sick. Excited? God Yes. Ready for it to be over? Also yes. I owe a HUGE thanks to my family and friends for giving me so much support with this. My grandparents for helping my mom and I with travel expenses and my friends for training with me and giving me travel advice, and also listen to me bitch and complain on the days when I have to do my second or sometimes even my first workout of the day and I dont want to do it. I guess training goes through ups and downs though, very much like a roller coaster. There are days when you want to go out and kill it, and more power to you on these days. There are also days when you feel like your body is going to kill you, and these are the days that test our will. I certainly have had my fair share of both over the past few months.

Races are good not only to serve as tune-ups and gages to see "where you are at" but they also make things fresh and interesting and give you short term goals if your goal race is possibly a while down the road. This weekend I raced at Giro Di Coppi, a 3/4 bike race in Maryland. It was HOT and the course way HILLY. Fortunately, both of these are great news for me. Being smaller helps me stay cool and climb hills, this was my kind of race. The roads were also narrow and the on and off pace of the field gave many of the riders an uneasy feeling and was the result of alot of nerves among the riders. By the last lap the heat and climbing had taken its toll on many of the riders and the field had been reduced to less than half.

The sprint was an uphill finish, another positive for me. Unfortunately, I managed to get stuck behind and Evo rider whom the uphill finish did not benefit. Seeing riders go by me I wiggled my way past him on the outside and gunned it for the line. I got two riders right before the line and finished in 7th, my first top 10 finish in a Cat 3 race. Solid finish? Yes. Satisfied? Not really. Thats bike racing though. You've got to pick a wheel or be at the front, and pick the wrong wheel and your hosed. Such is life, live and learn. Overall result of the day, a good 50+ miles of riding with alot of climbing and some points towards my Cat 2, Ill take that.

Thats enough for tonight, work has drained me. Next weekend is the Crystal City Twilight 5k in Arlington. Should be a fun race. Big names, fast times, post race beer...enough said. My goal? Hell yes I have one, that said though... HELL NO, im not telling, don't want to jinx it. As always, thanks for reading.

Mid week ramblings

So I normally struggle to keep this thing updated even one time a week but I have the time this week so why not go wild?

Anyway, Le Tour certainly has been interesting thus far. Although I admit to being a tad disappointed with the disappearance of Lance so early on, I do think that it has in fact made the Tour more interesting in general. Instead of hearing people constantly talking about how Lance did today and how far back Lance is we get to hear about the younger cyclists, who may not have won seven Tours, but they most certainly are exciting to watch.

For example, watching Cav and Renshaw work together in a sprint is absolutely incredible. Today in Stage 11, Renshaw was HEADBUTTING and slamming into the guy next to him at speeds near 40mph with 400m to go in order to give Cav the leadout he knew would lead him to his 13th victory in Le Tour! I was amused as soon as Renshaw pulled off the announcers gave Cav the victory well before he even crossed the line. The dude is a freak of nature and the Columbia HTC leadout train certainly is one of the strongest the sport has ever seen! As for the competition for the maillot de jaune, Im definitely happy with it resting on Schlek's shoulders for now. I would love nothing more than to see him take it from Contador and Astana. Schlek certainly is lucky to have riders like Voigt and Cancellara on his team. After Stage 9 in the mountains and Voigt's incredible effort to propel Contador and Schlek up the mountain to catch the break I would seriously not be surprised if Voigt would sacrifice his life for Schlek, what a beast!

As for my training this week it has been pretty good. The effects of the Colonial Tri, definitely affected me on Monday and Tuesday a little bit, but now I feel in general pretty recovered from the effort. Heres what the week has looked like for me thus far:

Monday- Easy 20 mile recovery spin to flush out the legs from the Colonial Tri on Sunday
Tuesday- 2 loops around Burke Lake (Both around 29). 9.5 miles
Wakefield bike ride- lots of guys up in the A group, felt strong and was able to throw in a few good surges, including a hard effort that dropped all but 3 of us (Dockins, myself, and some rider from WWVC)In total approx 30 miles
Wednesday- Hard ride in Clifton with Dockins 2 hours 15 min for 47 miles
Thursday- 3150m swim in the morning (Main set 100,200,300,400,1 min rest, 400,300,200,100) 10 sec rest between intervals
Burke Lake Loop at tempo effort, ran 2830, was deadly hot (upper 90s) approx 6 min pace

Racing at Giro di Coppi 3/4 this weekend. Should be fun race, lots of up and down which could definitely benefit me! Finally get to race against ex-Tribe cycling team member Owen Hassig! Thanks for reading and hope everyone enjoys the weekend!

Fuck ya.

I love to race, and thankfully, this summer has been full of alot of it. There have been a few weekends where I have raced multiple weekends in a row. I have traveled to places like Atlanta, northern Maryland, and all around the state of Virginia to test my Running and Biking fitness against other athletes. Last weekend, the weekend of the 4th of July, I decided that it was time for a rest weekend. It certainly was nice to not have to worry about any long car rides or race fees, although i did have to buy a new tubular due to the puncture that mine unfortunately got while racing the Mens 3/4 Criterium at Reston Town Center 2 weeks ago. Last weekend was definitely awesome. After a morning of training in Clifton and Burke I went to the zoo with Natasha and Kyle and then feasted some dankkkk Lebanese food before the fireworks. Sunday I worked a little before going for the hottest 60 mile ride of my life at 1pm, during which I drank 8 water bottles and then polished off 2 more upon my arrival home.

After this weekend my father and I traveled to Chicago where my dad went to school at Northwestern. We had a blast going to a White Sox game (Go SOX!) and feasting deep dish pizza. The morning was filled with hour long runs along the 18mile trail on Lakeshore Drive. I would just like to say that the people of Chicago are fuckin awesome. During these hour long runs I saw more bikes than you would see in D.C. in an ENTIRE DAY! People ranged from commuters with leg warmers to guys pacelining in SRAM jerseys with shaved legs and skin pulled tight across their cheekbones, a result of many hours of training as they got their morning training session in, i say morning because Im pretty sure there would be more punishment as the day aged for these men. The runners were in full force as well. After taking an off day Monday, Tues and Wed morning I was out the door at around 7 for my hour of running before the tour came on at 8:30. One thing that I definitely noticed was that I sure was not running around Burke Lake anymore, this flat fast boardwalk trail definitely was conducive for some FAST running. Both my runs totaled approximately 10 miles in the hour I was running at my normal distance run pace, which is only approx 6:20 pace back here! After runs, my dad and I would hit the city and be sure to be in the Bars to have a few brews and watch the World cup games. Thanks pops, this sure was a great break!

Upon returning from our Chicago fantasy-land of running and drinking beer and watching soccer I made my way out to the Wakefield ride on Thursday. It was good times except alot of the riders only rode half of the ride due to the heat and the many races this weekend. It felt good to be back on the bike though.

Yesterday was the Colonial Triathlon in Colonial Beach VA, my second Olympic Tri of the summer and a good tune up race for DuWorlds, working on transitions and bike/run. I knew that I was in good shape going into it but I was not prepared at all for what happened. The race was a water start and being me, I tend to like to joke about my lousy swimming with the other racers before the start of the race. It tends to loosen up the mood and nerves of the racers and makes us feel better so I frequently joke about the ridiculousness that we paid to put ourselves through this pain, it was 100% voluntary! The swim was two loops and amazingly after the first loop i was in 4th, my jaw dropped and as I ran across the beach for the second loop I think I muttered something like "Oh my god." This was not me, I was in 4th place in the sWiM, UN-FUCKIN REAL!

After the second loop I was still in the same place, and passed one of my competitors in T1. On the bike I was breathing hard but feeling good. I could tell I was flying. Before the turn around I caught another guy and went by him easily. I love catching people with the Zipps because I know how bad it sucks when someone blows by me with theirs, poor mother fuckers. The guy in first was 2min up at the turn around and 50 sec at T2. I noticed I was gaining on him on the run and caught him and picked up the pace as I did at a little past the 1.5 mark. I was leading the race and gaining on the second place man. I tried not to let the fact that I was likely about to WIN creep in my head to much on the run, trying to stay focused on the next 5 miles at hand. My splits were all around 5:45, until my last 2 miles were I dropped 10 seconds a mile. As i crossed the line in 2:04, 3 minutes ahead of the second place guy I did the Contador gun shot into the air, i decided a 2 finger Mark Cavendish salute, was NOT the best of victory celebrations. God it felt good, my legs still ache, and they did all last night, but with the help of my good friend beer I was able to ease the pain and get to sleep.

Congrats to Chuck Feerick for finishing 2nd in his age group (20-24), and Emily Anthony for winning the Womens Aqua/velo race. As always, thanks for reading!

This weeks goal, make sure I keep getting to the pool, and as always, eat alot of ice cream =)

To infinity and beyond!

Training certainly has had its ups and downs the past few weeks. I feel like this happens to all of us. One day I'll be blasting a workout, whether it be running 6 minute miles at what feels leisurely or riding away from riders at the Wakefield Tues/Thurs ride, and yet the next day a feeling of total lethargy sweeps across my body. Last Wednesday i went for a run at Burke Lake at approx. 8 in the morning. After my first loop of the lake (approx 4.65 miles) in 29 minutes I rolled my ankle. Stopping for about a minute to shake it out I was able to resume my run with little pain. About halfway through my second loop my legs began getting heavy and I began to notice my pace slowing. My half mile splits slowly increased from 3 minutes on the first lap all the way up to 3:20's after a few of these I stopped watching the splits, intent on making it back to the car and drinking the equivalent to the entire lake in water. Less than a half mile from the end I had to stop running to splash water on my face. My body was dehydrated and my legs were dead from the weeks previous training.

After a couple of days off and a solid race for me at the Reston Town Center GP 3/4 race on Sunday in which I finished 15th I decided it was time for a rematch. Monday morning I woke up to find it hot and muggy as hell but I was intent on breaking the lake. I ventured out to the lake in the 80+ degree morning and ran 2 loops in 58 minutes, learning from the previous week, I stashed a water bottle to snag on my second loop. Its amazing how much of a difference a few days off and proper hydration can make. This summer I have definitely increased the duration and intensity of my training, but I am learning to do it in an intelligent manner. I have begun to realize when my body needs an easier day and when it needs say, a day off from running, or a day of swimming to stretch things out. Listening to our bodies certainly can be frustrating at times, and is not ALWAYS the right thing to do, but more often than not, its right.

Training for tri's for almost a year know I have made some gains in every discipline of my training. My swimming has made the biggest improvements, and I no longer look like a fish out of water in the pool. Amazingly, running less and biking and swimming more have made me a stronger runner as well. I am most proud however of the gains that I have made in my biking. A year ago I would get shelled by the A riders at Wakefield 15 minutes in. Now I can ride off of the front of this group and am one of the stronger riders at this ride. Some people ask me what my goals are, do I plan on doing an ironman or what? To be honest I dont really know what to tell them. I guess constant improvement is the goal. I want to be the best i can, to infinity and beyond! I find people who are better than me and make it my goal to be able to stay with them. Next year at the Wakefield ride there is one rider who goes off the front every ride. It may or may not be my goal to stay with him, I'd venture to say it is. It reminds me of this great DMB song:


Anyway, its been a solid week of training and Im looking forward to my next triathlon, that is the Colonial Beach Tri, July 11th. I will be going to Chicago with my dad Monday the 5th and getting back the 8th, so that will mean some good running for me. It is important I be cautious though and not put in to many mile so that I do not tire myself or injure myself for the race next Sunday. It sure is great to run along the river in Chicago though! Heres how my training has looks thus far this week:
Monday- 9.3ish mi run, 2 burke lake loops in 58 minutes
Tuesday- 10 mi run in the a.m.
Wakefield ride at night for 30 mi on the bike
Wednesday- 2.5 hour, approx. 50 mile ride in Clifton, my legs felt terrible but i didn't kill it.
Thursday- 3300 swim in the a.m. set of 2 10x100's first set on 140, second on 135
Wakefield ride at night for 30 HARD mi chasing after Harymarkets Bryan Vaughn, ironic that Vaughn and gone rhyme? i think not.
Friday- Easy day, 4 mile shake out run to prepare for a long brick tomorrow with Chucky Feerick

Hope you all are having a good week, and everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July. Thanks for reading.

A weekend of firsts at the Tour of Washington County

So I have officially been bike racing for over a year now. Not surprisingly, I have fallen in love with this fast paced, adrenaline filled sport. A little over a year ago today i raced my first USCF Cat 4 race at Fort Richie in Cascade, Maryland. I remember sitting nervously at the line for my first Cat 4 race, my legs shaking with nerves and my stomach feeling like a couple of goldfish were swimming around and doing flips in it. As the gun went off the riders tore away from the line. This was certainly no Collegiate C race. I had never ridden in a race with over 40 riders and this 100 rider field was no doubt a first for me. I remember feeling way over my head after the first few laps. My head was spinning with the driving pace of this large field coupled with the faster more experienced riders.

Fast forward to today, June 2010 and I have now upgraded to Cat 3. After a solid season as a collegiate B, and some good finishes at the 4 level at the Tour of Atlanta, I earned enough points to move into a whole new category. This weekend I participated in the Tour of Washington County, a stage race in Hagerstown, Maryland. Below is a summary of the weekend.

The tour would start off Saturday afternoon with a 37 mile road race. It was extremely fortunate this race was not any longer as stepping out of the car into the 90 degree sauna, was not a good start. Luckily, it shortened the time I needed to warm up. The tour consisted of a fairly large field of over 50+ people, typical for a good USCF race. Anyway, as the road race went off I was nearly dropped on the first 6 mile loop following a strong surge up a hill into a sweeping descent. Fortunately, I was able to catch back on. On the third lap a group of riders went off the front. I was sitting about 10th wheel in the pack, and luckily, unlike my first Cat 4 race I had the confidence to go off the front and bridge the gap. Catching the group and feeling the bonk coming on, I did a GU, it really is amazing how a little sugar can make a world of difference to legs in a world of hurt! Re-energized I hung with the group and a few other riders managed to bridge the gap as well. I was now riding with about 30 guys. On the start of the 6th lap about 10 guys went off the front. I was not aware enough to go with them again. I made a desperate attempt to try to catch them and found myself out of water in no-mans land. FUCKKKKK, well at least I made an attempt I thought, I guess blowing up making an attempt at a solid finish is better than just dieing. 4 other riders who had decided to follow my lead went sweeping by me a gamjams, 540,evo, and kelly guy. I asked desperately for water and was fortunate enough to receive a bottle from the evo guy, i owe you man thanks a bunch. We took turns taking pulls and pace lining trying to catch the field to no avail. With about 2 miles left in the race I took a pull up hill and looked back to see that I had distanced myself from these 4 riders. I decided to go with it and broke from the chase, finishing my first Cat 3 road race in 13th! I was more than pleased for such a brutal race.

After the race Mike and I went to Dairy Queen for sub-par milkshakes and then went back to the hotel room to rest before dinner. We went to Five Guys, dinner of champions, and inhaled bacon cheeseburgers and fries. Of course i was still hungry after my burger, 2 rootbeers, and fries so we went next door to Weiss where I bought pretzel m&ms and some sundried tomato wheat things (warning: these things are like crack). We returned to the hotel room where we lounged about, computers open and blades of glory on, reminiscing about the day and the past collegiate season. We passed out fairly early, to rest up for the TT.

We got to the TT course a little over an hour early to warm up for this excruciating suffer-fest. As we pulled in the parking lot and i turned off my car i was overtaken with the sound of disc wheels. I watched as riders in skin-suits pulled Trinities and Transitions off their roofs like knights preparing to slay their foe (me) as he withered on the ground. I got a good warm-up in and was able to get most of the heavy feeling out of my quads before I went off. Before racing I had decided that anything under 28 minutes would be solid. I reached the up-hill turn around well under 14 and figured I was doing pretty well, until I saw 2 other riders had nearly caught me already. For those of you who dont know, riders in TT's go off in 30 sec increments. Before today I could proudly say that I had NEVER been caught in a TT. After today i can say that I have been caught only 3 times, I will not tell people that it was all in one race....I finished in 25 minutes and 2 seconds, i averaged over 24 miles per hour, and i got caught by 3 guys. I couldnt go any faster, i blow chips at time trialing, i can blame in on aero-helmets, aero-bikes, skinsuits, and shoe covers but when it comes down to it I got beat by 29 of 47 in the TT and that sucks.

After the TT Mike and i went and feasted some Panera and listened to a 6 year old girl sing "bad romance." This reminds me of a conversation that Mike and I had this weekend. Bike racing is our "bad romance" you pay money to hurt like hell and beat yourself to death and after the weekend you go home in search of more agony...ok so maybe were a strange crew, but I think you could tell that by the lack of hair on our legs. The crit went well for me, I think I placed 11th or 12th but Im not sure yet. I still await the GC standings to come out. Overall a very successful weekend where i was able to affirm to myself that I do belong as a Cat 3. I am definitely proud of the progress I have made in the past year from a scared 4 to a solid 3. Thank you very much to all of my team at school for helping me with biking stuff and the like. Thanks Cory for making me suck your wheel through 400 watt intervals, JOA for dealing with all my annoying ass bike questions and for teaching me to clean my chain and listening to me as I bitch about my fucked up rear derailuer, Wilson for building up my whip, and Adam o mr. president for all you do.

Well, thats all I can write for tonight as i can barely keep my eyes open and its only 8. Thanks for reading.

And on the seventh day god created....

I can't believe its June already. This summer is definitely flying. I have to admit that after spending 3 years away from home at school it certainly makes returning home for the summer more interesting. I love my family but living in their house is certainly different than the ol' dorm room. Working is also taking quite a toll on me. I give mad props to those adult members of society that work 40 hours a week because the part-time 30 hrs a week that I put in at the Weg slays me. When I get off I can barely function. The past couple of days I have been so tired that I dont even have the desire to eat, which is HUGE for me. Fortunately on the seventh day god created ice cream, and therefore, I eat heartily even if my eyes can barely stay open.

As far as training goes this week it had its ups and downs for sure. I was talking to JOA the other day who mentioned that he hadn't really been feeling great until a couple days ago due to a sort of hang-over from the Tour of Atlanta. I think as well that this awesome memorial day adventure may have taken a toll on me as well, and hence the reason for some of my fatigue the past couple of weeks. I have come to realize that sleep is definitely critical to how I feel the next day, the nights when I worked late or stayed up too late doing useless things the next day I definitely just was not feeling it as much during my workouts. Heres how my past week looked:

Monday: Swam 3200, then ran a chill 6 immediately after before work.

Tuesday: Intended to bike nearly 100 miles but after 20 I found myself on a gravel stretch with very large gravel stones. I decided that it was not worth risking the amount of flats i could get and turned around and rode some more back in Clifton for a total of 65 miles for the day.

Wednesday: Long running workout with the Grimsley household. After about 6 miles worth of warming up did a tempo around lake accotink (approx 3.8 mile loop with TONS of gravel and lots of hills in 22:45). That puts me at a little under 6's which I was satisfied with given the surface. Glad to have a new benchmark for judging my fitness.

Thursday: Woke up in the morning intending to swim, got to braddock road and saw traffic so I changed my workout up into some digestion followed by a nap. Went for a ride in the afternoon with the Wakefield crew with my newly purchased Zipp 404's! Bryan and i rode off of the front but fortunately its not smart for me to try to hang on to pro's with quads larger than my waist so i got dropped and proceeded to get lost. Fortunately I found my way back to Wakefield after riding an hour. A sign from god that this was not a day for me to exercise? Anyway, went by my grandma's house on the way home, all in all a good day off from work!

Friday: 2 loops around Burke Lake, first one easy in 59 mid, second loop tempo in 58 low. Followed by 20 mile sustained effort ride through Clifton to Occoquan.

Saturday: Easy 20 mile recovery ride with my mom's boyfriend Mark

Sunday: 5 mile race at Burke Lake. After warming up for roughly 2 miles i was dripping sweat. This would be a rough one. The race went out in a little under 540. I had decided from the start not to make any early moves due to the heat. I sat comfortably on the leader until he began dieing after the first mile and through in a couple surges to distance myself from the guy in second. Ended up winning the race by approximately 45 seconds and setting a new course record!

Week totals

Swim: 1x for 3200m

Bike: 4x for 125 mi

Run: 4x for 36 mi

Overall, a pretty solid week. I would say this next week i want to get a little bit more swimming in but that would be a lie. I would like to get a little more miles on the bike in however, although i did have the one long ride I would like to try to log at least 2 rides a week over 2 hours. Although 36 miles isnt a ton, I do not plan on hitting that number again this week as it is a pretty big increase for me and id like to back it down a little bit so as to avoid injury this week. Next weekend assuming my Cat 3 upgrade goes through this week I will race the Tour of Washington County! As always, thanks for reading.

p.s. Congrats to Cory Scott who kicked ass this weekend in Florida in his omnium and earned MORE than enough points for his Cat 1 upgrade, what a bamf.

When i dont race

When I dont race I feast Jimmie cone with the Darster...and do lots of other things too, but she desired that I mention it, and it is pretty damn good, so here you go Darster!

p.s Darster is NOT annoying/or desiring of attention, she is my best friend and she is pretty damn cool =)

After last weekends long and tiring race in Atlanta i decided it would be good to take this weekend off and prepare for the future. Unfortunately, Im not exactly sure what the future holds in terms of racing for this summer. My goal from here forward is to prepare myself for Scotland and Duathlon Worlds. I am pleased with the hilliness, of Edinburgh, as i feel this will undoubtedly benefit me in the bike portion for 2 reasons. 1 is that I do not have a time trial bike, and those with them will not reap much benefit with this course. 2 is that I weigh 135 pounds and it is much easier for me to get my ass over the mountains then it is for individuals with quads as big as my waist that can push 400 watts on flats and smoke me like a pack of cigarettes in sprints.

This weeks training started with an off week Tuesday followed by a 2x burke lake loop run on Wednesday. 2x burke lake tempos have become an integral part of my training over the past few months as they let me gage my fitness and show me how I am recovering from previous days of training. I usually aim for about 58 minutes for both the laps on the approximately 9.4 miles worth of running. Thursday i went for a long bike in preparation for a track workout with Kyle and his Dad Friday morning.

In high school I hated the track with a passion. This workout showed me again why it was i hated it so bad. After a 200,400, and an 800, i was ready to pull the plug. Instead Kyles dad was the most manly of us all and convinced us to stick with it, albeit the scorching heat and terrible humidity, combined with the p.e. class on the track made a rough workout. By the end I was dizzy with dehydration and my legs ached like none other but I was happy i had stuck with it, thanks Mr. Grimsley! On the way back to the Grimsley's household a long discussion of the benefits of caffeine was held between myself, Mr. Grimsley and Kyle. Mr. Grimsley was adamant that soda was good for racing while Kyle tried to explain to him the negative side effects of the calorie laden beverage. Unfortunately, Kyle's attempts were to no avail. I dont know if there was any real conclusion from the conversation, yet it was certainly heated and entertaining.

Saturday Mike B from Vtech and i went to Skyline for a nice hilly training ride. I showed Mike how to climb, and he showed me how to descend (even though he repeatedly tells me that I'm just calling him fat when i say this, i am not the man truly has a talent for getting down the mountain). Using his talent almost landed him into the side of the building however at the bottom of the mountain when as he descended his brakes locked up, he went across the yellow line and the other lane and then on some gravel, stopping inches from the side of a building. As i came to the building I saw Mike standing up, with his hands in the air in triumph. Needless to say, he was a little more careful the rest of the day and best of all was the end of the ride milkshakes of course, its good to see Vtech enjoys the same traditions as we do at W&M.

Overall it was a good week of training and i even got a swim in woohooo.

Week totals:

Bike: 200 miles, 4 rides

Running: 23 miles, 3 runs

Swimming: 2800, 1 swim

Day off: 1

Memorial days 2010-The Tour of Atlanta, Milkshakes, and upgrades

To celebrate memorial day most people break out the grill, crack open a few beers and feast some delicious burgers and sausages. This memorial day JOA, Grayson, and I were not most people. After I got off work a little after 9 on Thursday night I drove up to JOA's house in Richmond so that we could wake up Friday morning, pick up Grayson, and drive 9 hours to Dawsonville, GA for the Tour of Atlanta Omnium, part of the Georgia Cup race series. TOA consisted of 6 stages, a Time Trial Friday night, 2 road races saturday and Sunday, each around 40 miles, and then a 55 mile road race Monday with a 7 mile climb in the MIDDLE of the race.

JOA, Grayson, and I left for the 7 o'clock Time Trial at 730 from richmond. The drive was supposed to be 9 hours, calculating time for food we figured wed be fine. We got to the race at 645, needless to say, my legs felt like shit, JOA and I both missed our start times, and then we almost crashed each other out in the parking lot as we road around on our jello feeling legs. If this was how the rest of the weekend was going to go, 40's began looking like a better idea then bicycle racing.

Fortunately with Saturday morning came the feeling of fresh legs, maybe the fact that we were all to tight to be able to function on Friday was good and helped us save our energy for the road race. Not to mention neither of us even had aerobars, while most of the competitors road around on giant trinitys and specialized shivs with disc wheels. Anyway, the Saturday morning race began and the 4 or 5 University of Souther Florida Riders took control of the pace from the start. These guys were pulling hard for the first lap of the 2 mile course. The lap ended with a .7 mile climb up to the finish. The first lap was relatively uneventful even at the hill. You could tell some people were hurting more going up (particularly those of us over 150 pounds and able to put out real watts in a sprint) thankfully, that isn't me. On the second lap about a mile before the hill some of the riders on Scenic velo club began putting the hammer down. Having a lot of riders in the field this was a pretty good decision. Props to USF and SVC using team tactics. By the time we got to the .7 mile ascent to the finish the field was hurting and now the men would be sorted out from the boys. I was probably sitting maybe 12th wheel at the bottom but as the climb continued I kept moving up. At about the 200m sign i stood up and went wheel hopping as racers tried to tear away from the pack. With about 50m to go I found myself second wheel, legs strong and confident I made a move to the outside and punished the pedals. Putting my head down I sprinted for the line and left the SVC rider, who won the TT the day before in my dust for a first place finish and my first win ever! God damn that felt good.

The afternoons road race I was full of confidence but it turns out in a flat finish trying to break away with 500m to go against guys with 32in quads doesnt work so well. Needless to say I got swallowed up by the pack and spit out the back for my worst finish of the weekend in 15th, I admit here to riding like a panzi and sitting up when I saw the first 5 or 6 wheels go by me. The next morning was a lollipop with 6 laps and a big climb at the beginning, it started in the rain and was definitely a rough race. Luckily for me the finish again was at an uphill. After 2 man break the field and I approached the 1000m mark at the uphill. I began maneuvering to the front of the field again and found myself next to a rider I named "Jittery Joe". This guy shaked uncontrollably. He was a beast though, not a ounce of fat on his body but built like a brick wall. Unfortunately, the hundreds of caffeine pills he popped during the race made him shake like mad and he began leaning all over me. After the 3rd lean I decided to give it all I had and gunned it for the finish. Winning the field sprint I came in 3rd. Sunday night was a good race for Joa and I as we began using team tactics for 4th place (JOA) and 7 th place finish for me.

Monday morning came and our legs felt like shit but hey, we were used to it know. Only a 55 mile race and 7 mile climb before the end of the tour. The weather was bleak and rainy and as I huddled under the Caffeine tent next to Tour of Cali's Thomas Rabou, I seriously considered getting in the car and napping. As we began racing the weather got better and the sun came out and it got hot. This would make the 7 mile climb a warm one, but at least it wouldnt mean a deadly descent, I was pleased. As the climb continued the field shattered. After about the first mile i decided to put the hammer down and really try to break up the field. I stood up and began hammering. I decided to do this until I felt like I had been anaerobic for long enough and until I had shelled as many people as I could. A few riders came with me, maybe 8. Swinging off the front and sucking as much air as I could now it was time to let someone else do the work as I struggled to slow down my heart rate and regain more normal breathing. Luckily, everyone else was hurting so the rate of ascent slowed for a bit. As the climb continued most of us stayed together, and at the top there were 5 riders. At the bottom of the descent 13 mi lay between us and the end of this stage. Being tactical, no one really wanted to take a pull so there was much soft pedaling occuring. A few riders caught us and some of the Cat 3's that had been dropped joined to increase the size of our pack to maybe 15. With about 1k to go and another uphill the 3 riders on top of the GC and one other who had gotten second the day before in the break took off . As we rounded the turn I looked back to see no one and i yelled that we had created a gap up the hill. Fortunately for Tim and I they two riders in front of us slammed on the gas and we began hammering to the finish line. Sitting on the back of their wheels Tim (SVC rider at the top of the GC) and I were able to sling shot around them for 1st and 2nd finishes respectively. This brought an exciting end to a great weekend of racing!

That was long as hell and now my run is going to be very hot this morning, which is quickly turning into this afternoon. Thanks for reading.

This is who I am

Recently I admittedly have fallen in love with the sport of cycling. Going 20-30 mph with the wind at your back in the fields of Charles City or New Kent county certainly has its appeal. The normal college kid gets up before there 10am class, logs onto facebook, chats their friends, and does some reading if theyre feeling really productive. Few can say the woke up early to ride through the sketchy marijuana fields of Charles City or have gotten chased by a dog while sprinting on their bike at 30 mph after. For these reasons I love cycling.

4 years ago my hs soccer coach told me that in order for me to make the varsity team it would be necessary for me to run 2 miles in 12 minutes. I was furious, I could barely run one in 12 minutes. I reminisced to my freshmen year where my mom had convinced me to go out for the team and after the first practice which consisted of a 2 mile warm up, which tired me out pretty well, followed by hill repeats, running was NOT the sport for me.

A year later my mom was raking leaves and I had decided that i best be starting this running thing if I ever wanted to make the soccer team. So, I went for a 5 mile run in my jeans around the neighborhood. I hadnt planned on it being 5 miles, i had planned on just running 1 lap. What started as me running 2-3 times a week, on nonpractice days turned into an obsession. I had to run every day, except day before game day.

The next fall after running for almost a year by myself I went out for the cross country team. I had switched out of the jeans and started wearing basketball shorts. The first run we went on I realized I was pretty decent at this thing. Quickly I got the XC thing down and began wearing booty shorts like my XC brethren. Fast forward to my first race, maybe a month later, I had high hopes but it turned out a disaster. After going out for the first mile in a PR, i slowed down a good bit the second one, and fell over shorty after, scraping my palms and knees after a collision with another runner. I staggered across the finish line, dissapointed and disheartened.

That spring I opted to quit soccer to run track, my new found glory. I frequently had bad races, from running to hard on distance runs and not fueling myself properly. Senior year in districts I had a "breakout race" where i ran to my potential for the first time of my life and after that I had a few more good races in track. After graduating from hs I decided to attend Miami where I would run. Although I enjoyed my time at Miami, like highschool I suffered an injury from running 80 mile weeks which really took me out of my element. I was now at a school where all I knew was running and I couldnt even run. I had very few friends not on the XC/Track team and I was far from home. I then decided to transfer to W&M, probably one of the best decisions I will ever make.

At William and Mary I learned how to be a normal kid. For the past two years I had always been a runner. I wouldnt even think about drinking beer, shit, I didnt even drink soda. Most nights I would be in bed by midnight. W&M changed that. I was forced to learn to make friends who didnt care that I could beat them in the mile by 2 minutes, in fact, some of them couldnt even run a mile....and low and behold, THEY DIDNT CARE! This was a whole new world to me, there were things outside of running, and thank god i was beginning to see that.

Fast forward to today and I feel like I have gotten a much better hold on my life. I have realized that not only am I a runner but Im also a son, a big brother, a student, a friend, a deli employee at the mother fucking Wegmans, a cyclist, and a wanna be fish. Life requires balance, sure you can put your attention into some in particular, if you really want to succeed, theres certainly no problem with that. However, if you neglect one of these roles it definitely can affect yourself and those around you. When I train, I bust my ass. This is why today I ran 1:16 for my second half marathon, a 2 min PR over my previous. I have learned to train smarter, by surround myself with great cyclists like Cory, and Joa, who have taught me how to ride bikes. It is important when your out there to focus. As it is important to realized that not everything is dependent on your performance. Whether or not I ran 116 or walked the last 5 miles and ran 2 hours, I would still be Greg Grosicki, because that is who I am, and never again shall I forget that.

And...im a senior

Well, the good news is that even with my starting a blog during my junior year I was able to devote enough time into "studying" to pass my junior year. Excuse me from blowing my own horn (o god i am getting old using phrases like that) but not only did I pass but I did so with the highest GPA of my William and Mary career too! How I managed to do this while riding nearly 300 miles a week for the past month, not to mention getting in runs 2-3x a week and a swim here and there is what impresses me the most. Anyway, enough bragging about myself. I would like to start this off by saying thank you to all my wonderful friends in Williamsburg. Many of you, I feel, will change my life especially the W&M Cycling team, who have taught me so much about the sport I have come to love. Thanks as well to all of my wonderful friends who make those long nights of studying a little more bearable with frequent runs to Wawa and long late night conversations about things that seem important at the time, but yet are extremely unimportant in the grand eternal scheme of things. None the less, this is what college is all about, you only get to do it for four years of your life, so live it up. I am down to one and I am not about to let that last year get away from me!

Anyway, heres what I have been up to this week. Packing up all my stuff in my room every year I realize just how much shit I have. Every year I tell myself I refuse to let this congregation of shit that I have accumulated happen to me the next year, and every year it seems as if that congregation of shit is larger than the year before. Guess some battles are not worth fighting. Needless to say, move out was a pain in the ass but thanks to assistance from my buddy Kyle I was able to get all of my crap out to my "whip game proper" aka my mom's old purple Toyota sienna in 4 trips. On my way out from the Burg KG and i went to Berry Body and got some dank frozen yogurt. The place really is legit, to bad I didnt find out about it until the end of the year, luckily I see many trips in my future next year!

Training this week has been pretty solid. At the beginning of the week my quads were kind of torn up from the crit/quarter marathon combo last week, but as time passed they healed and now life is good. This weekend i have the Marine Corps half. Im definitely in good shape right now. I also am only running 2-3x a week, far less than I have for the past 5 or 6 years of my life, so well see how it goes. I am definitely hitting some fast times in my workouts though and most of my runs felt good this week so Im excited for sure. Heres what my training has looked like for the week:

Monday- 70 mile spin with Cory (double reservoir very pretty route!)

Tuesday- 20 mile easy spin with Colette in the morning, 8 mile tempo in the afternoon at 6 min miles

Wednesday-70 mile ride with Eric out route 7

Thursday- 6 mile run in the morning, 25 mile ride with the crew at Wakefield with some sprints thrown in as per usual with this ride

Friday (Today)- 3100 swim with some 100s with descending rest as the main set. Burke Lake loop and first 2 miles of the XC course for a little over 6.5 miles at a pretty chill pace (probably 630s)

Anyway, Im excited for the race Sunday, good luck to JOA and Wilson at the Sprint into Spring Crit this weekend, and Cory whos trying to ride 3 consecutive 100 mile days. Also congrats to all of my senior friends graduating this weekend, im happy for them, and they will be missed next year!

Fort Richie and the beginning of my 2010 Cycling Season

So after figuring out that I was not admitted to OCS in Quantico, VA this summer, it didnt take long for me to get online and register for my Cycling license to permit me to race USCF races this summer. This weekend marked the beginning of my 2010 USCF racing season, fittingly, with the same race I began my Category 4 career with one year ago at Fort Richie in Cascade, Maryland.

My legs had been feeling kind of dead during the week, likely a side effect of Cory and I's 120 miler last weekend. Luckily, as the week progressed and i eased up on the training as the weekend drew nearer the leaden feeling in my legs mostly left and they began to feel more normal. The Fort Richie Race is about an hour and a half away, down 270 and out 15 north past Frederick and passing the house of the Darster in Damascus. I must admit, on the drive up I strongly considered getting off at exit 16 on 270N to visit the Darsters mom for some fresh baked goods instead of racing. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it I was able to bypass the exit and get to the race. Before leaving my house I frantically tore apart the fridge and the pantry for some sort of food to eat for lunch...unfortunately I dont think my family eats food at the house anymore, a change since I lived at the house. All i could find was a hotpocket and nature valley granola bars that expired in april 2008. As I heated up the hot pocket i debated eating the granola bar, and decided against my moms advice not to feast it. Now if youve ever watched tv im sure youve seen the commercial for hotpockets, they never advertise it as being the perfect pre-race meal...cause they're NOT.

I made it to the race at around 140, an hour before my race. Everything went smoothly, and after the 3 race was over we rode a few laps on the course. I got stuck in the back of the field at the start due to an unfortunate timed warm-up lap circumstance. The race went out and although I was in the back third, my legs felt good and I steadily began making my way up to the front of the pack. I must note this is much harder in a race of 75 then it was in collegiate where after a few good surges you found yourself on the front. After about 10 minutes I had jumped up to midpack, and it became much easier to follow the surges of the leaders, my legs thanked me. I settled in and after a few more laps realized I had become to complacent with my position and had began drifting back as I lost a spot here and there. I decided to put in a few moves to regain better position. I found myself riding next to an old NCVC team mate, Nate Hakken, who currently rides for Gam jams, that I had talked with thursday on the wakefield training ride. Knowing he was a solid rider I sat on his wheel and he managed to work us up to the front of the pack.

Sitting in the top 10 I heard the announcer say something along the lines of "somebodys GOT TO attack soon." Funnily enough, the same thought was going through my mind and 34 minutes into the race i put my head down and put in some big watts, after a few seconds of this hammering I looked back and to my surprise no one had followed me. I stood up and launched myself up the hill and swung around the corner. On the next straight I heard the all to familiar sound of carbon wheels coming up alongside me. I looked back and saw an AABA rider, the rest of the pack trailing us by a good bit. "Ready?" He asked me, and he took off. I grabbed his wheel and we worked our way around the course, changing pulls after the turns. The wind was brutal and the 11 remaining laps felt like an eternity. With 2 laps remaining we had worked ourselves into a 16 second gap. Unfortunately the last lap a Coppi rider began punishing the pedals and making up ground on us. He caught us with about half a lap left and even worse was that the rest of the field had followed his lead. I desperately tried to hang onto the Coppi riders wheel, but my legs simply were out of juice. I tried again but I simply could not muster any more energy. I turned into the last turn and looked to my sides as riders flew past me. I crossed the finish line, went around to the back of the course and said goodbye to my hotpocket.

Im not going to lie, this was one of the most painful races of my life. There were times when I was pretty confident we would keep our break. Unfortunately, the wind was fierce and the pack was strong. Theres only one thing I can do about this, get even stronger.

These are my people

A week and a half left and I will be out of Williamsburg till late August, i still cant really believe how fast this year has gone. Ill definitely miss being at school and miss all of my friends who are graduating this year, however the stress of finals certainly wont be missed. At the moment I guess I have chosen to deal with this stress by writing in the good ol' blog.

So last night when "studying" with Cory I registered for my road racing license with US Cycling. This means two things, this summer i will not be going to Quantico for OCS, this is pretty disappointing given all I went through to try and get in. But I feel like my dad said it well when I told him and he told me he was sorry but "If its meant to be it will happen" clearly this summer it was not meant to be i guess...Anyway the great news is that I will get to race bikes all summer while I work to get myself in shape for Duathlon Worlds in September! I am determined this summer to become a Category 3 rider. I feel like its really not that outlandish given that a good portion of the collegiate B's whom I rode just as well as this collegiate season are already Cat 3's. I'm not sure what team I will ride for this summer however. It was great getting to ride with the guys of the powerhouse NCVC last summer no doubt, and it is definitely cool knowing that no matter what race you do in DC, Maryland, or VA, you are almost assured to have a teammate. Unfortunately most of the group rides with NCVC start in Washington, which is a little bit of an inconvenience for me try get to. I did meet some great guys on WWVC last summer during the weekday T/R rides out of Wakefield Rec Center. There are definitely some very strong riders in that bunch who taught me and Dockins (an NCVC teammate) last summer a thing or to about how to hang onto a wheel for dear life because its about to bomb down a hill into a turn at 35 mph, and knowing proper bike handling turns out to be pretty important when you are moving that fast through a neighborhood id say. I guess these blazing 22+ mph rides made me feel a sense of debt to WWVC, and for that reason I think I will talk to these guys when I get back about the possibility of joining.


Anyway, the past couple of days have definitely been good times. Blowout was, as always, a good celebration of the end of classes. Met some cool people, which I always enjoy getting to do. The day after Cory and I decided to venture across the river and take the ferry to Surry for a bit of a long ride, in fact, the longest ride of my life and definitely a memorable one. Bonking is frustrating, you simply dont have the energy to pedal anymore at anywhere near a decent power. I did NOT bonk. The human body is meant to exercise, but after 6 hours my runners body simply was aching like it has never hurt before. Cory and i rode 120 miles, stopping occasionally for water/gatorade and maybe a chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich or some devil fudge cake. After the 120 mile and 6 hour endeavor I returned to my room where I sat with my legs up against a wall and passed out while facebooking on my laptop. It was a great ride and Im glad Cory invites me for such endeavors, it definitely takes a special kind of person to desire to subject themselves to such a thing as to putting 6 or 7 hours of saddle time in on one day, THESE ARE MY PEOPLE. Thanks again to Cory for working with me this semester and helping me create a training plan that has allowed me to blossom as a cyclist and a duathlete. Im definitely excited to see what the future has in store for me this summer!

Bittersweet

April 30, 2010. I have exactly one more year and I will be done with my undergraduate collegiate career. So when did this happen? To be honest I barely feel like a college student. Memories of college shopping with my parents and agonizing over where to apply and attend still are vivid in my mind. I blink and open my eyes and I find myself 22 years old and almost done with my junior year. I guess its a good thing that these years have gone so fast, they always say "time flies when your having fun right?" It seems, for me, as you get older you age faster. Im pretty sure you could draw an exponential curve of speed of aging with speed on the x and years of your life on the y.

This school year has been perfectly evidence of this. Iv got to say, I have been privileged to meet some truly awesome people this school year that I have very much enjoyed growing close to. Some of the highlights from this school are the following:
1. Turning 21 and rolling around on the soccer field trying to get my mug back from the gypsy
2. Learning to swim
3. 2am runs followed by beer drinking while kyle plays RCHP songs and I sing them and we record our fantastic music.
4. Trips to Wawa (maybe a little to many)
5. The invention of the Bromance
6. When Darster came to visit Kyle and I and we made her swear infront of Kyle's Webcam that she would drink with us the next day
7. Fall blowout
8. Bumpass Triathlon
9. Finding the wonders of Duathlons
10. Getting an awesome new bike built by the incredible Wilson Hale
11. Becoming closer with the cycling team and actually becoming friends with JOA, who would have thought since last year we pretty much would have been pleased if the other had gotten stepped on by a rhinoceros
12. Making chocolate covered espresso beans and figuring out the types of cappuccinos housed at every gas station on the eastern coast of the united states with Cory


Ahhh this most certainly has been a successful year. Iv probably left alot of stuff out but thats ok cause who knows if anyone will actually read this anyway. Alright, i guess its time for me to stop wasting this precious last day of classes for my junior year on blogging and to get out and STRIIIIIKE!

Still alive but....

not really in the mood for blogging. Life is great, its keeping me on my toes. Did my first olympic triathlon last weekend and I was definitely pleased with the finish for sure, finished in 2:05 plus a little. Also did my VO2 max a week ago at Endorphin Fitness which was pretty legit. I got 73.6. Again, I must say I was pleased. They say VO2 is alot genetic which doesnt really make sense since neither of my parents are exactly workout beasts, but oh well Ill definitely take it.

Im sad that the collegiate cycling season is over and a little shocked that I only have one more season left. It seems like almost no time ago I was a young sophomore on the team, sitting in the back of Owen's van constantly getting harassed by Owen and Joa as we drove to races. Now I only have one season left. This season was definitely a strong one for me in B's. Hopefully next season I can race A's assuming i manage to get my Cat 3 upgrade this summer.

Oh yah, summer, its only like a month away and I still have NO FUCKING CLUE what I am going to be doing yet. Im kind of pissed about it but it could be worse, i could be one of the many seniors graduating in May with no clue what they are going to do with the rest of their lives. Anyway, the marine board meets tomorrow so hopefully Ill hear a yay or nay about PLC this summer in the near future. If not that it looks like its off to Wegmans for me. The bright side is that I would be able to race alot of bikes... I guess things will work out in the end, no sense in dwelling on what we cannot change right?

p.s. heres a really cute picture of my sister and my dog tori. I enjoy showing them off.

Do the du

So it may have taken me 21 years but I have finally found my niche. Endurance sports are definitely my cup of tea. The longer the better, cause when they're short people simply just feast on my extreme lack of anaerobic power. Thank god for races that last longer than 20 minutes. My slow twitch fibers definitely appreciate and thank events like todays. A year ago in anatomy i learned that it is actually possible to determine the proportion of slow twitch to fast twitch fibers in someones body, pretty sweet! I would almost even consider doing it...except I have no need, mine probably looks something like 99% slow twitch to 1% fast. Anyway, on to the race report, where, fortunately, my severe fast twitch fiber deprivation played no role.

The race was at 9am this morning and fortunately it was not far from campus, just across the river in Surry. Pretty sweet when the race is so close given that I've grown accustomed to driving for 3-4 hours for cycling races. Id like to thank Alyssa for coming with me to the race this morning and waking up at 6am after going to bed last night at 2am. Beda, you are awesome! I also attended Palm Sunday mass yesterday with Alyssa, so she wouldnt miss service this morning to come with me. Unfortunately the wind gods were not on my side this morning. Beda and I arrived at Chippokes state park this morning in Surry a little before 8. It was 45 degrees and pretty windy. I was desperately hoping for it to warm up so as not to freeze on the bike. Fortunately by the time the race started it has gotten up to a warmer 50 degrees, i was definitely dressed the least out of anyone but it turned out not to be a terrible decision as it definitely warmed up as the race went on.

The run went pretty well. Not having run a 5k in a VERY long time I decided to sit on the leaders for the first mile, we crossed in 538 and I felt VERY strong. I remember thinking at the start how good I felt and wondering if it was just going out slow. I definitely think lifting and biking have made me a stronger runner, even if I only run 2-3x a week, it seems to be working well for me! The second mile I picked up the pace and dropped a 533 and lead the race for the rest of the 5k. Coming into the transition I had a bit of a helmet mishap where I may have put my helmet on backwards and cost myself some time(greg, you are an idiot and this is why we cant have nice things).

The bike was windy as hell and the roads were certainly not smooth. I talked to many riders who discussed felt the need to check their rear breaks to see if they were rubbing, unfortunately it was just the gravely ass bumpy road. Going into the race I had discussed with Cory goals for the bike and we decided 21mph was definitely doable, so even though I got passed by a few people on the bike I definitely dont feel bad about my 22mph avg. I do feel the need to proclaim my hatred for rich asses riding Cervelo P3's with disc wheels or Tri-spokes, please go fuck yourselves and then give me your bikes? Love, greg

After the bike dismount my second transition went what i considered relatively well, although I must say in the state of fatigue i was in the difference between left and right shoes can be quiet hard to tell. Luckily I was able to figure it out and get out on the run. Starting the run I felt like SHIT. I reassured myself that I only had 18 minutes of this hellish jaunt left, then I reconsidered and compromised with myself, 20 max right? I was relieved to see my effort had paid off as i went through the first mile in the 530's. When hurting like hell it definitely feels good to know that your effort is being matched by the clock and knowing your not just hitting a wall. I began gaining on the guy ahead of me and finished about 20 seconds back, not bad considering at one point he had probably about a minute on me. I ended up finished the second run in 1750. Finishing the race in 1:38, 7th overall and 1st in my age group. Definitely psyched for the next one, who knows, maybe ill even put my helmet on the right way?

I hurt...this must mean i did something right this weekend.

This weekend ended up being the UVA/VCU race and by that i mean the VCU race and by that i mean the King's Dominion hammerfest 10'. Iv got to say, the two crits this weekend were definitely, without a doubt some of the hardest bike racing I have ever competed in. The beginning of the season looked VERY promising for me, I had two weekends with consecutive top 10 finishes and breaks from the field. I also had two road races, both of which with rollers which very much fits my riding style. Unfortunately our home race was not such a success for me, neither was the Wake forest crit. Therefore when I heard this weekend would consist of two crits, I was less than pleased.

I will forever be a runner. Endurance athletes are a RARE breed, most people for example soccer players look at running to work their aerobic/anaerobic system as a means to improve their game. Endurance athletes are all about fine tuning their bodies to give themselves a leg up on the competition. This involves dedicating themselves to training, spending long hours in the saddle or pounding the pavement as well as dong sprint intervals till they feel like vomiting. Since I have gotten out of being told to do anaerobic work, I must say I do very little I love to flirt with my threshold on long rides, trying to see how much I can push myself before my legs pool with lactate, but Im a bitch and dont do sprints. Why? cause I suck at them. This needs to change.

Going into the crits this weekend I was coming off 2 big training weeks on the bike. Between Spring Break at OBX and the past week where I was well over 200 miles before the race weekend, I had spent ALOT of time in the saddle. Unfortunately Saturday my legs were feeling it. Theres not alot worse than watching the field gain on you and having your legs tell you to fuck yourself when you feebly attempt to catch up. I found myself in this situation far to many times Satuday. Fortunately, I was able to stay mentally strong and work hard enough to get myself back in the field for a 13th place finish. Not excellent, but Ill take it for the way my legs felt. Definitely one of what I felt the hardest races Ive ever done was, not sure if this is because of the intense technical asepect of the race or simply my dead ass legs.

Fortunately Sunday i warmed up better and my legs felt MUCH better than they did on Saturday. I was determined today to race hard and if I wasnt going to win I was going to make everyone hurt like hell to stay in the pack and I feel I did a pretty good job. Its hard when your legs feel good not to take pulls, this is something I need to work on because it frequently leaves my already feeble attempt at a sprint in shambles. Its not like running where i can just go by them, cause unfortunately they can latch onto me in cycling. Heres a picture of "the face" that my team knows me for when I exert such efforts. Anyway, I worked my ass off, stayed in the field, tried to catch the duke sandbagger but didnt. Thats ok, the A's can have fun chasing his ass down, and most of them wont be able to either funnily enough. Good riddance duke and navy, its been fun but Ill enjoy competing now!

O I almost forgot, one of the best parts of the weekend was not the races but the idea to ride back to campus from Kings Dominion AFTER the race. So after Cory's race, Andrew Moore, Cory, and I embarked on our adventure. Stopping once at hardees to feast some apple turnovers was a much needed relief on our taints. It was fun, my legs hurt like hell and now that I have wasted my valuable sleep time typing this up I am going to go do what I should already be doing, SLEEPING

Life pillages blogging

So I have not posted a blog for nearly a month now and to be honest Im not truly in a posting mood right now. HOWEVER, I have little better to do and its Spring Break so I dont have to feel bad about not doing my homework so I guess Ill make another post.

So the cycling season has begun and Iv been doing quiet well. My first race at NC State turned out pretty well minus the dissapointment of the Saturday road race being canceled. The sunday race went well though and I got in a break and placed 6th. The next weeks road race at Wake went fairly similarly. The pack was staying together and one break with 4 guys had gotten away early. Sick of climbing hills at 12mph i decided less than halfway through 2 of 4 laps to go and made a break from the field. Just as trying to hold myself off from the ensuing field started feeling futile I caught one of the members of the break. Working together we were able to distance ourselves from the field, putting me in 5th.

After two hard weeks of racing I decided not to race at Navy and instead get drunk at 8am in the morning with The gypsy, the darster, and KG. It was good times. It went something like this, wake at 8, drunk by 9,off to the sunken gardens to swing a golf club as hard as I could at a tennis ball, walking back to my room at 10ish? Wake up at 4pm in the afternoon. Definitely a good rest from 2 hard weeks of racing! The rest of the weekend was pretty much a gigantic head ache, Kyle was sick, all i wanted to do was nap but it was all worth it.

The week to follow was interesting, unless your Kyle, then it pretty much just sucked ass. Tuesday was kinda fun though. My buddy Billy Rison and i went with the cycling team to Bellisimos pizza, to attempt to feast the entire Bellisimo's beast, a 30 in pizza, 1 hr, eat it all and you get free pizza 1x a week for a year. We were athletes, we eat alot we could do it? right? WRONG, it bent us over and fucked us side ways, BIG TIME. Never again will I attempt an eating task like this. I think Emily put it well the next morning when we were swimming and she commented on how she felt the pizza poking her in the lungs...whats funny was i think it actually might have been. Besides that the week was full of quizzes, and midterms, luckily i dont think I failed. C's get degrees right or for some of us D's too i guess (love ya jonny boy).

Thank god this week is Spring Break. The home road race went well, none of us did stellarly. The top finish for W&M was Evrett who placed 13th in the road race....ya not the best week for Tribe cycling. Its all good though, i only rode my bike 1x all week, far less than I should have. This week is fixing things though! The weather is beautiful, things seem to be falling into place and life is good. I could write more but Im not in the mood right now. Check back in in a few and maybe I will have written more, but dont count on it. Laterzzzzz

Lifes a bitch....but at least im not Kyle

Well this weekend of bike racing was definitely a success. I feel that it is safe to say that everyone who went had alot of fun. It really is nice to get away from campus for a weekend. Not alot of work gets done, and by that I mean pretty much none. I think Andrew tried to do some orgo reading a few times, but he seemed to give up pretty quickly. The campus really does get kinda stressful though, especially with midterms coming up. There truly is no cure for such stress like traveling a few hundred miles away with some of your best friends and riding bikes, eating, and laughing for 72 straight hours. Unfortunately, when you get back to school you realize just how fucked you are because you have 3 midterms the next week and a 10 page paper, but hey, at least you were able to post pone it for a while.

When i arrived back at school I decided it would be a good idea to start studying for one of these midterms that I had the next day in my human phys lab. Never fail after less than 5 minutes Jon's fire alarm went off and he wanted to come over. For those of you that know Jon, Jon doesnt really study, therefore, by allowing him to come over i f'ed myself. Cory decided to come join, and KG was up not to far after. My Sunday night study session turned into mug night in Greg's room...at least i didnt spend 20 dollars though right? Luckily I think I did decently on the quiz in human phys the next day.

Its currently tuesday and I am sitting here at MEPS. We just unofficially got our campus golf tee time. The team was supposed to me Darcy, Kyle, Jon, and I as UVA runners, see the bromance halloween costume as a reference. Not to my suprise, Jon has practice Saturday morning and has fucked the bromance + darster in the ass. Luckily Billy is always down for drinking so we plan on recruiting him to our team. Jon, you are a nice guy man but next time dont tell us youll be on the team when your not sure and weve asked you 10000x times and you said you could damnit. So that curse for a cause bucket i made for lent, it appears to be working in my room. Austin and I have a grand old time calling each other out on it. Austins girlfriend even gets him on it during their skype sessions. Seriously though, nothing makes me more angry then when someone cant take responsibility and it effects other people, its just careless and selfish.
p.s. kg's computer crashed tonight and hes pretty much fucked for his massive thesis due the day before spring break. As bad as this sounds, I think my life sucks the next couple weeks until i realize all the shit he has to do, hes truly in trouble. May god be with his soul, and the soul of his computer.