Newness

It's definitely been some time since I last posted here. Life has been busy. New school, new job, new friends, new bikes, lots of newness in my life over the past couple of months. Hence the reason for no posts as of recent. Fortunately I have no exams for the next week and a half so there is no point in studying right now because I would just forget everything by then right? The answer is probably not, but for now at least it serves as a good excuse for me to record some of the events and my random thoughts over the past couple of months, which I guess is kind of productive.

I guess the biggest change in the new life of Greg is graduate school, which is actually more a lifestyle than an education. Allow me to explain. The other day as I was walking to class I saw a girl on a run come across one of her friends. Ripping out her headphones she excited proclaimed that she had been admitted into ECU for graduate school. The two jumped up and down with excitement and hugged one another. Quickly they began formulating plans to go out to dinner that night for drinks and food. To her I have a few things to say. 1. Congratulations on getting into graduate school 2. Enjoy having the time to both go for a run, and go out to dinner on a Wednesday night, because soon enough, you will have neither the time nor the energy for neither. 3. Enjoy having the money to go out for dinner, because soon you won't have any of that either....In all honesty though, I am very happy to be here at Wake. Sure getting up at 5am 3x a week sucks, but I just go to bed earlier. Now that I don't have tv, there is nothing to distract me except for maybe James McCabe trying to go to Dunkin Donuts or The Cookout with me at 930. I do love the program here, which is fortunate because if I didn't I wouldn't have lasted. I really enjoy the satisfaction I get out of being able to help with people, and there is nothing as rewarding as seeing the smile on peoples faces when you make a difference in their lives. I am very sure that this is the field in which I belong, and for that I am very fortunate.

Other big changes are fairly minimal in comparison to beginning at a new school, in a new state, living by myself and paying rent. First I have run probably less than 10 times since coming to Wake in August. I am still struggling with some bursitis in my knee, and will be going to a physical therapist today, who, god-willing, will be able to help me get over this chronic injury. It has definitely been an adjustment going from training 20 hours a week at W&M to not even being able to get in a session a day here sometimes. Fortunately however the Wake Cycling team has treated me VERY WELL. James does a fantastic job running the program and does so in a VERY professional manner. He has gotten me into cyclocross, which I have fallen in love with. It kind of combines running and biking and is helping with my bike handling skills, which I believe will pay off come road season, especially in crits. I have been doing fairly well in cross, and feel as though every time I clip in to the team VanDessel that I am currently riding my cross skills improve. I must also give a shout-out to Ken's Bike shop who gives great support to the team. Without them we would not be who we are.

On the radar is cyclocross conference championships this weekend in Blacksburg, hosted by Virginia Tech, followed by a few training races before Nationals back in Madison Wisconsin, in January where my lovely girlfriend Briana Paxton will help the team by holding bikes, and making us dinner. Yup, I have a winner. I have got to say that although i do miss running I am feeling MUCH stronger on the bike then I ever have in my life. I guess I can attribute this to not wearing down my body so much with running and swimming, which is giving me more recovery and allowing my body to adjust to cycling. Pretty cool, train less, do better, I can kick it.

Another big change in my life is taking naps at 9 or 10am, because well, this is what happens when you wake up at 5am. Speaking of which, I think it is getting to be time for one now. Hopefully I write here again before 3 or 4 months pass...it is kind of a soothing thing to do, and who knows, maybe some people will actually read it, and maybe even enjoy doing so? PEACE OUT.