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.