SamRacing

Good Run

2010-10-11T19:54:00.000-07:00

its been awhile since i wrote on this thing, this is kind of awkward now. not that anyone still reads this blog, or my friends are still interested in what's going on w/ cycling or my very short stint in triathlon, but its time for some blog closure. it looks like my blog will go the way of Ben W, JZ, Eric, and Christian's(nice try there), Steven Gordon, was giving me faith for a comeback all summer, but after he gave up in mid July, i became pretty uninterested.

i did some cool things this summer. worked some odd jobs, before my real job, and now im settled in richmond. its all worked out. i see this blog as an extension of cycling and college, now that i'm out of college, and most of my cycling friends don't ride anymore,(props to the guys still killin it!) i'm putting this thing to rest. i'll probably be on facebook pretty soon to keep in touch. my sophmore year of school was a hell of a lota fun because of cycling. Tim, Cecil, Eoin, JZ, Steven, Eric, Reid, Owen, Sam, Brian, and Frink, and our sponsors Bob Broyden and Ignacio Moore, hope all is well with you guys.

2010-10-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

The Hustle

2010-04-18T18:17:00.000-07:00

Next month is graduation, and I'm trying to line up a job or hell a career! for when I'm done with school. Right now I'm "grindin", in the words of Joe Kinder, at a dining hall on campus, and I'm def ready to move on.

Joe's post outlining the random jobs he had before he could climb full time put things in perspective though. For a lot of people it takes a long time to get where you want to be. Whether it's a career, relationships, or athletic goal, I'll be patient.

wxc

2010-03-31T12:37:00.000-07:00

column about happiness by david brooks

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/opinion/30brooks.html?src=me&ref=general

peak happiness-dinner w/ others

and kenyan women go barefoot at WXC, just a cool photo

Things To Do

2010-01-12T22:05:00.000-08:00

Got back from a short snowboarding trip to wintergreen. A lot of fun, good conditions, good company, and no lines. I may have some pictures from the first day. After that I just had to focus on keeping up with my girlfriend, Kelly. She just got back from a ski trip in Colorado, and she owned these slopes.

I'm watching this documentary about a trek through the "Big Sur" region of Cali., documenting redwoods.

Here's a gallery.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/redwoods/redwoods

In some of these redwoods, animals lives their entire exhistence without leaving. Some reptiles may not even touch the forest's floor. It makes me think about what it means to be free.

What sort of things are we tied down to? What is most essential, and what are we dependent on?

Weather's turned around a little bit. I'll start running for some spring races soon. Definitely excited to see what sort of new challenges in the sport I can find, what new people I'll meet, and what I can learn about myself.

Adventure Race?

2009-10-31T09:31:00.001-07:00

NIRCA Regional Champs

2009-10-31T09:00:00.000-07:00

I did a club running race in Harrisonburg last weekend. It was a pretty hilly course, right next to some mountains in a town called Penn Laird. Awesome place.

At the start I ran pretty hard trying to stay close to the front, and I got in a group of three a couple hundred meters ahead of the main pack. We slowed down a lot though after 5k, and a few Clemson and UVA guys came up and went right to the front. I tried to stay with them, and did for about a mile, but I started cramping at the start of the last mile, and pretty just hoped not to get caught by anyone.

4th place with a time of 27:11, pretty dissapointed with this one, I was running really solid until that last mile, and I would have liked to see this time in the 26:'s

Good news is I've found some more XC races!

After the Hokie Open next week, depending on school I really want to go to Richmond for the Ntelos 8K Nov 14, then instead of same lame Turkey Trot, I'm going to the Footlocker South Regional on November 28 in Charlotte, NC. This is a big race, I'm hyped.

New Schedule

2009-10-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

I had a solid plan mapped out for the fall, but unfortunately after a week off from sickness, I've had to adjust some things. Last week I overtrained a little, and then went to a show full of hipsters (not known for having strong immune systems, no body fat, too much coffee and cigarettes, no sleep), and the next morning I wake up and I'm wiped out.

Haven't felt that bad in a long time, felt like I had just gotten out of a dentist appointment, totally drugged up.

So a week later I'm feeling ok, but I won't be racing this weekend, and I've changed the schedule to extend the season a little since I lost a pretty important week.

Oct. 24 JMU Invitational 8k

Nov. 6 Hokie Open 6k

Nov. 26 UofR Turkey Day Race

After Turkey Day I'll start training for the 2010 triathlon season. My goal is to win the Virginia Triathlon Series which starts in April and go's through October. In preparation for summer racing I'll do some local running races and some early season bike races with the VT team.

BTW in running news, have you heard Ritz broke the American 10mile record in TRAINING.

http://www.oregonlive.com/trackandfield/index.ssf/2009/09/dathan_ritzenhein_runs_faster.html

I'm on record as saying he will be a better marathoner when his career is over than Ryan Hall, believe it

watch him move, it's so cool

Track and Field Videos on Flotrack

he races tmw in half marathon champs.

Too Good to be True

2009-10-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

Thom Yorke's new sideproject! AND Flea's in the band!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/arts/music/06yorke.html?_r=1

check it.

Virginia Tech Alumni Invitational

2009-09-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

7.6k on the VT xc course. Really beautiful night, lot's of sun, and temperatures around 70's. I got to the race on my mountain bike and started to warm up.

After 30 minutes of warm up I was putting on my road flats, feeling very unsure of where I was at fitness wise. I've only been training for two weeks, the training has been consistent, but I've done just three workouts so I wasn't sure where I'd be.

I started on the far side with all the unattached runners. Right behind the guy who would eventually win the race. VT xc started on the complete opposite side, (the better side) and at the gun ran hard to take the first turn on the inside, by that time I was already at the back of the field, but the pace was pretty easy, I came through the first mile in 5:23, and I felt good. I started to make some moves, and attack as many people as I could and I was able to move up a lot during the second half of the race. Finished 46/94, at 25:53. Here's the results.

XC runners seem to race a lot differently than triathletes. Most of the running I watch is ITU triathlon, where guys run in packs, surge, and attack eachother constantly. I don't have any experience in xc running so I emulated the ITU style of running. All the XC guys seemed just run hard and steady the entire time. This probably comes with experience of how to hold a threshold pace in a race, something I want to learn before I race the Ntelos 8k in Richmond.

For those who don't know about ITU check this out. My favorite triathlete Simon Whitfield, taking a win in the states.

Another bad ass race comes compliments of Alistair Brownlee at World Champs this year. An ultimate goal in sport for me would be to line up a Continental Cup/World Cup so it's cool to watch these.

Anyway fun night tonight, season should be good.

Rest Well.

home race

2009-09-06T12:56:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Justin Morrison, triathlon club president and mtn bike stud I got to race the VT Home Race this weekend.

Saturday morning I woke up and rode down to the base of Old Farm for the uphill TT. Old Farm is about a mile and a half, and it has a few really steep and technical sections. I hungout in the B field waiting to go off and happy/nervous to be racing.

My effort was ok, and I came in at 8th place in the B's. I know I can climb better I just need to start working out. Ride down the mountain was fun, I pushed a few sections and took some risks. I like it.

That evening was the short track race around the cyclocross course. The B field got on the course as the sun was setting and it made for a really cool race. all the photos are from the short track thanks to Nick Shoemaker, here's his gallery.

I took a really good lesson from the race's that I'll need for some upcoming xc races. Attack the start. I need to be ready to go as hard as I can from the very beginning and try and hold that effort. I wasn't aggressive at the start of the short track race and couldn't make up the time I lost soft pedaling on the first lap.

My next race is an 8k in a couple of weeks. So hyped, get to race with the xc team.

back in the game

2009-09-03T19:47:00.000-07:00

back at school. new apartment. the semester is going ok so far, all the classes are good, i can ride to campus in a few minutes, and the the golf course and xc course are within about a mile run.

a few things are new:

Kyle and I are starting a band, for real this time, first practice tomorrow

I've been climbing a good amount, but nothing like this summer, I went to the rock gym in Christiansburg a couple times this week, and did pretty much all the problems I'm capable of, sadly it's nothing like Peak in Richmond and it gets boring. we compensated by making up games, like "Sasquatch" pick a bottom starting hold and a hold near the top of the cave, you have on foot to start and four holds to get to the top hold

it makes people climb like Sasquatch, all big moves, hand foot matching or no matching at all, i probably won't climb at the gym much more though, it just makes me miss Peak

i have a race schedule for the fall, all xc races with an 8k road race at the end of the xc season

Sept. 18 VT Alumni Invite 8k
October 11 Homecoming 5k
October 24 Southeast Regional Champs at JMU 8K
November 6 Hokie Open 6k ( YEAH BABY)
November 14 Suntrust 8k in RVA

all my training is geared toward 5k, and the volume is pretty low cuz of school so I'll see where I turn out in some of the longer races, probably do some cross training for endurance

mtb race this weekend EVERYONE is doing it, seriously

project

2009-08-15T08:13:00.000-07:00

A few summers ago I put up a tag that I'd sketch all over my school notebooks on my wall. It's a peach color, because that's the only color I had available, and once I finished I wanted to out some color around it to highlight it but I let it just sit, as I was never sure what to use.

Last week I had the idea to add to it using a design I painted on a table in my apartment in Shenandoah last year. It's all these arrows spilling from the left side of the table and splitting

into these smaller things. On the table the arrows were black, and I wanted to put some lime green around them, to accent it. I've thought about putting something like this on the wall of my room in my apartment this year so I'm using my wall as a kinda rough copy. I'm going to put this design next to the tag I have. So far I've cleaned it, and sketched it in pencil on the wall, and the proportions look fine.

Here's a detail of some of the pencil lines on the right side of the wall. I wanted to get the whole thing, but when I step back the lines are to faint for the camera to pick the markings up.

Or I have a bunch of chalkboard paint maybe we'll just paint the entire kitchen black and tag it up like that?

James River Park

2009-08-13T08:57:00.000-07:00

Philip and I explored some boulders at James River Park close to our house. We found a few fun lines. Nothing that hard.

I've gone to Manchester Wall the last couple of evenings and done a lot of traversing all in hopes of sending the Morman's Boulders "Ring of Fire" travese in Charlottesville on my way back to school. I've read it's rated 5.11, so it should be doable. On my way home from school after the spring semester I stopped at these boulders, they're right on the Morman River, and the traverse is a filled with big athletic moves to jugs and pockets, the sort of climbing thats really fun to me.

I'll be there in less than a week. Here are some photos from James River Park, and of course that afternoon's lunch. Solid day.

Here We Go

2009-08-11T13:51:00.000-07:00

I was at the river the other night and there was a lot of fog and mist.

Really cool I had my camera and shot these, pretty straightforward, good colors.

Rest Well

Reminds me of that Regina Spektar song "Blue?" It has a few really neat parts especially the second verse, like Amanda Rogers

Hey Cool

2009-07-18T18:54:00.000-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/07/17/sports/cycling/20090718-tourfood-audioss/index.html

it's garmin's chef featured on nytimes audio slideshow

not cool, garmin chased down Hincapie this morning, what's the deal?

2009-07-13T11:59:00.000-07:00

this is tight

my friend christian showed me this

River Day

2009-05-22T10:23:00.001-07:00

done.done

2009-05-14T23:52:00.000-07:00

Boogieburg tonight, my ears are ringing, i'm reminded of the Children of Men line.

"Y'know that ringing in your ears? That 'eeeeeeeeee'? That's the sound of the ear cells dying, like their swan song. Once it's gone you'll never hear that frequency again. Enjoy it while it lasts."

neat line, meeting Coach Jim tomorrow morning for a coffee then getting out of town, Annuals show Saturday night, can't wait

Are You Serious?

2009-05-14T16:35:00.000-07:00

Whats it Worth

2009-05-07T21:04:00.000-07:00

I'm like this NY Times blog.

http://egan.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/06/dear-graduate/?em

I'm not graduating but some of the advice is helpful. I'm moving in too many different directions right now, playing too many different chords.

Rest Well.

SNAP Program in Blacksburg

2009-05-04T21:07:00.000-07:00

I'm really into this project. All semester a group of four others and I have been working on promoting the Blacksburg Farmers' Market to those of lower income. The market has a goal of serving the entire Blacksburg community. Market managers see the market as a gathering space and a food source for the entire community. But after conducting a sample the Blacksburg Market found that those of lower income are underrepresented in market sales.

How can we attract low income shoppers to the market? By implementing a SNAP (the updated food stamps) program at the market. We gathered data on the demographics of Blacksburg to identify the number of low income households, and the number of SNAP benefit participants, and analyzed some of the other components of why the Blacksburg Market hasn't attracted low income shoppers. We then laid out an implementation model for the SNAP program in Blacksburg.

Our group spent a lot of time on this, and I think we met the expectations of the professor, Dr. Sonia Hirt, and Jenny Schawnke, the Market Director.

Excited to see where this gos in the next few seasons.

Man's Run

2009-04-30T09:59:00.000-07:00

Man Run tonight!

5:30 chapel

What is it?

Rules of the man's run, as said by Chris Brown,

1. do not talk about man run
2. you do not talk about man run
3. and of course don't stop for cars

lost.in.the.same.places.

2009-04-28T20:47:00.001-07:00

try listening to the requiem for a dream soundtrack while studying

and try not to feel like something is looming over you shoulder preparing to pull you into something a little strange

spinning out of control into abyss, is there a blackhole in my room

with the training, some things are falling into the right places, some things are not, speed is up, endurance is down, first race is a few weeks out

i added a picture of this mornings inspiration. really it's that simple. same thing for breakfast everyday. that's almond butter, on a cinnamon raisin english muffin. mmm.

whats happening

2009-04-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

putting in solid training, RIDING the bike, and even building a new one, who knows what's going on

i posted so i could plug this race, benefits will go the the triathlon team, it's a "sustainable" race i'm quoting here:

Registration is $15 and includes a non-sweatshop made race shirt. Organic, local post-race food will be provided and look for composting and recycling stations. We have a recycled shoe drive, so bring your old running shoes and donate them (R-REUSE-R). Come out and support the VT Triathlon Team, Environmental Coalition and Green Team

Rest Well.

caught in the rain

2009-04-14T21:07:00.000-07:00

the edge of the storm
stirs with thoughts, like the sky is wondering
which way to turn,

running through a blanket of rain,
splitting dreams with sweat and shivers
wet grass, and the gray evening light
oozing over tree branches

awesome run tonight, one of those nights you feel happy just to be outside enjoying it all, thanks for the day. and the soaked shoes

rest well.

Hmmm

2009-04-09T22:36:00.000-07:00

Just found out Dave Eggers co wrote Where the Wild Things Are, the movie I talked about in my last post. And Karen O from Yeah Yeah Yeah's (I don't listen to them) and Bradford Cox of Deerhunter (I do listen to them) wrote some of the score with help from someone from the Coen brothers camp. Should be good.

Tonight was tight. Good run, good music, and good laughs.

Off to sleep, not cuz I'm tired, I'm pretty sure I'm becoming nocturnal, but because I can't wait to wake up for breakfast, and a coffee.

"It really sets the tone for the day"

Next race/workout - 5k cross course Thursday night April 23rd, trainings going ok, this should be the last fun/workout race before the Carytown 10k in May.

Rest Well

WorthALook

2009-04-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

I saw a preview for a movie based around the children's book "Where the Wild Things Are." I hoped whoever was directing it would do the story justice. I looked up some of the other work of the director, Spike Jonze.

In addition to film, he's done some cool music videos. I attached a few of them, you're never quite in reality in his work. Always slomotion, or backwards/reversed, and obviously the subject matter is abstract, so I guess he's the right man for a story like "Where the Wild Things Are."

When I was skateboarding I remember this clip from a skate video, just the coolest way to do an intro.

Rest Well.

its on

2009-03-22T21:41:00.000-07:00

looking at SXSW photos. i come by datarock. i ain't hatin, but MY stunner shades lost all their appeal immediately

more datarock nonsense, and some photos/music from worthwhile bands at SXSW here

http://stereogum.com/archives/cat_photo.html

this is not an endorsement, i mean Norwegian pop c'mon, but i do think they're a good alternative to "barbie girl," get on it JZ

i'm compiling some dance music/remixes right now, best so far the Bloc Party mashups, here

Dance Well

InCheck

2009-03-15T16:12:00.000-07:00

Ben Bernanke, CBS 60 Minutes at 7pm.

He's been saying the economy will be in recovery by next year. Wonder if his opinions changed? I've also heard him say that unemployment may be in the double digits this year. Right now its at 8.1%. I'd like to hear him talk about how he can stabilize the financial system. That seems to be place to start, banks lending.

UhHuh

2009-03-13T20:24:00.000-07:00

home for break. exploring old places, feeling refreshed

a while back I read about Andrew Bird's album "Noble Beast," critics were loving it, (even though he seems to lack the ego that drives a lot of musicians, and feeds fans/critics) he is a really hard working, sincere guy so I paid attention, his music kinda reminded me of early rufus wainwright, cigarettes and chocolate milk/across the universe...ish? (relax if you just looked rufus wainwright up, I only have Poses, so stress I early)

anyway my interest was compounded when melanie mentioned Andrew Bird a few times, so I've taken a look at one of his songs "Oh No."

the BEST thing about this song isn't any instrument or piece of the song itself (though, yes the whistling is an 11), it's that the NY Times interviewed him about this song, a great look in a songwriter/musicians head,

http://measureformeasure.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/26/words-will-tell/

really I'm not that big a fan, but the music's good, and I needed something to write on to assure all that I'm still on the scene, do we have a blog scene?

best tip I've gotten from Andrew Bird is not being afraid to repeat lyrics in a song, I shared his fear that repeating yourself is unoriginal and dull, but it's really one of the tenets of pop music and music in general, no one wants to listen to a novel right?

Rest Well.

On Igloos

2009-02-28T21:57:00.000-08:00

it's snowing now... I'm reading Reid Coolsaet's blog and thinking of making an igloo (take a look at his posts around early February)

I've only had the chance to do this once in my life, it was unforgettable.

I remember spending the evening in the igloo with friends. Shivering, sipping cocoa, and watching the snow take a red hue the color of sunset. Listening to the wind, muffled into a murmur by the hard packed walls of snow. We were too proud to go inside.

it's something fun to think about

Rest Well

BTW i was passing a friend on my way home tonight, and I see him lean down and begin making a snowball. in response, i do the same, hastily scooping wet snow into a snowball the size of grapefruit. by this time he's playing it cool walking towards me with his girlfriend

i think...do I try and catch him off guard, and throw early, do I desperately threaten to throw my snowball at the girlfriend unless he backs off, is there proper game theory for a snowball duel?

but as I'm about throw my snowball I see his girlfriend hand him another snowball! so what am I supposed to do now, he has twice the firepower! fortunately instincts took over, as he's cruising towards me I reach over to a car hood next to me, get a big handful of snow and throw it into the air right above him

the sucka looked up, and i planted a snowball right on him, simply awesome...till it came to me that this wasn't a gun fight, and i got a couple snowballs myself...too fun of a night

awkward

2009-02-26T21:14:00.001-08:00

This evenings track workout was classic. I show up at the track and realize that there's an indoor meet in the field house. So ACC track and field athletes from what seemed like nearly every school in the conference are all down on the outdoor track warming up.

"Well, here we go"

I warm up on the xc course and then got on the track workout, tempo 800's with a 400 recovery, followed by a couple miles tempo. What's great about this is the fact that I'm storming by these ACC TRACKSTARS! Sprinters, distance runners, everybody was jogging around the track, and aside from the occasional striders no one was running. Except for that kid with the red hair(ME). Everybody kept looking at me, like who is this guy? Who does he run for? WHAT is he doing?

It felt like a sin passing the same distance guys over and over. But I stayed on it and had an ok workout. And it was all made better by watching the sprinters warmup. I took notes.

The Sprinter Warm Up:

1. Make sure you have every ridiculous piece of equipment on. Receivers gloves, bling, sunglasses (oh, it's 5:30pm), headphones, towel.

2. OK now just tip toe around for about 800m, follow these with a few 100m striders/sprints/skips

3. Feelin it? Good...DANCE! Dance with friends, dance with coach, dance alone, or with the FSU sprinters because the best dancers attract all the other dancers

4. Keep dancing until your event, you should be listening to krunk, remembering to shake it out as much as possible, and jumping straight into the air every so often

so dance skills=speed...just ask Usain Bolt...I couldn't be more jealous of fast twitch guys right now.

Rest Well

Im gonna

2009-02-26T10:17:00.000-08:00

run fast this afternoon.

Finally a real track workout on the program, let's see what the legs can do, the turnover definitely isn't there, but it's a tempo like workout so it'll just be about strength

I'm also gonna find a cool steel frame and build it up, the weather's starting to turn around, I need something for riding to class.

Can anyone help me out with the bike? Something to buy, or should I be looking at Keirin Culture?

eh hem

2009-02-24T20:47:00.000-08:00

swim.bike.run.

not. pulled an audible on the workouts today, big mistake, I'm going stir crazy right now

Been studying for this exam for too long. I'm sick of it.

I find solace in Stone Cold,

"the darkest part of the night, is just before you see the light." this line really isn't theirs, but they say it better than anyone else.

while I'm plugging, let me introduce Philip, or Big Red. he's working on a better name, any ideas? Not everyone can be blessed with the brilliance that is "backhand." EDIT: hmm... is alliteration contagious?, someones skills maybe rubbing off

...even Timbaland started small, and in Virginia Beach, who knew that?

Rest Well.

NPRatVT

2009-02-23T18:34:00.000-08:00

NPR shows up for a scoop on a co-ed Pritchard Hall.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101062974&ft=1&f=2

"...because Pritchard is going to change!"

hahahaha...who is this?

BTW, that story about throwing a vending machine out a window is NOT "folklore." Ever wonder why there are no vending machines above the first floor!

We roll hard.

BlacksburgClassic

2009-02-22T09:17:00.000-08:00

Blacksburg Classic 10 miler, 2^nd place on the day.

Number 517, (Billy?) and I were in 2,3 for the entire race. I was able to drop him in the last mile after a few surges on downhills, but I didn't make my move early enough to get to number one who came into the finish chute just before me. Tech Triathlon had a huge showing, making up five or so in the top ten or fifteen in both the men's and women's races.

Thanks for the sun, and the stories.

Rest Well.

TrackClub

2009-02-15T16:36:00.000-08:00

Let's get this rollin!

This morning I was on the tready warming up for the swim, and a sophomore here at school named Aiden, approached me to talk running. He is starting a track club at VT, and is simply looking for people interested in competing, it sounded like the focus would be the cross country season next spring.

I have some family in Bloomington, Indiana, home of IU, and last time I was in town visiting I met up with a group of runners that pretty much did the exact same thing he's trying to pull off here. These guys/girls were part of the Indiana Track Club. The track club that has access to a lot of the university's varsity facilities, travels and races as a team, and has structured training throughout the year as a team.

The ITC has expanded to youth, and masters runners as well.

There are so many fast runners on the triathlon team, if we get together with Aiden's squad we could really make something good happen.

So if you're on the triathlon team, look for an email on the listserv from Aiden, if you're not, email me if you want some more info.

Rest Well.

Lame

2009-02-13T09:49:00.001-08:00

No bands I'm interested in ever come to Blacksburg. Then the one time a DJ who's ok, and I'm kinda interested in books a show here, the ticket sales open while I'm stuck in a lecture, and are sold out within twenty five minutes.

We've got the lantern, but it hasn't brought any of the bands I want to hear. Living in Richmond is so much more interesting if your looking music/art/food, although the sports here are solid.
(UNC, Duke, FSU to round out the bball season, I'm praying to the lottery gods right now)

I've had a two week break from serious training, which meant I had a lot more time for hanging out, and while it's been fun, I realize that without training I would probably just be really bored living here. Looking for NEW stuff to do, is not easy, and frequently I just get sick of whatever scene I'm stuck in here.

I ran the Blacksburg classic ten mile course yesterday and put down some really solid times for the second half. As long as it's not windy/cold next weekend I think I can do something good.

Rest Well.

Subtle

2009-02-09T19:06:00.000-08:00

Curling my moustache and hatching a plan...

Unfortunately JZ had a mechanical and had to finish with the B's, but I'm pretty sure he knows what I'm thinking about in the picture.

Maybe next year. jk

Owen Cup Pictures and Report

2009-02-09T18:40:00.000-08:00

Owen Cup was Saturday.

Here's some pictures compliments of Matt Phillips.

http://picasaweb.google.com/labratmatt/OwenCup2009?pli=1&feat=directlink#

As for my ride it went pretty well. I rode pretty conservatively knowing the group was pretty strong and the course would take its tole on me. A few times during the first and second laps I thought about attacking, or bridging to some people up the road but I was feeling good and I wanted to keep it that way as long as possible. Just kept thinking about that last lap.

On the last lap the legs got heavy. I finally got kicked off the back right at the end of the last roller on Tabor before Sandy Ridge. Really should of held on until Sandy Ridge and tried to get some recovery, but that's a lesson for next year I guess.

The ride back on Blacksburg was windy and lonely. All I really wanted to do was take a nap. I got to the top of Harding took a deep breath and cruised through campus just enjoying the weather and then back to my place, I was seventh on the day.

Rest Well

ThereGoesMyHero

2009-02-08T19:34:00.000-08:00

Canadian Rider Has Made Unorthodox Climb to the Top

Matthew Staver for The New York Times

By JULIET MACUR

Published: February 7, 2009

Here's the link to the NY Times article, I love it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/sports/othersports/08cycling.html?_r=2&ref=othersports

Rest Well

Pictures

2009-02-08T18:00:00.000-08:00

Owen Cup was Saturday, awesome weekend catching up with people, and trading stories.

Here's some pictures compliments of Matt Phillips

http://picasaweb.google.com/labratmatt/OwenCup2009#

LiveFast

2009-02-06T20:04:00.000-08:00

uhhh lots going on this week

I was in the library Wednesday night and in my path to collecting a book I found this huge collection of maps

all of them where of places on the east coast, but it was a huge collection with some of them dating in the early 1900's, it was neat to see downtown D.C., Richmond, and New York at that point in their development

I looked at them for almost an hour

Owen Cup's tomorrow, who feels like terring legs off? "theres beauty in the breakdown," that's a
Frou Frou lyric

I'm not really in a "killer" mood right now, I've made the good decesion to stay in tonight and I just wrote one the popiest songs for the band, I'll throw it at them when they get back

Rest Well.

The "Best" Way

2009-02-01T18:55:00.000-08:00

I read an interview with Taylor Phinney recently. One insight he had really stuck with me.

On riding the pursuit in the Olympics, Taylor said, "it sucks so much and it’s so hard. It’s sort of like stabbing yourself in the legs and you have to figure out what the best way to stab yourself is."

It seems a lot of cycling is like that, you want to hide behind someone, keep your nose out of the wind, but if you're there to race, then inevitably you're there to hurt.

Here's the whole Velonews interview http://www.velonews.com/article/86485.

Awesome ride today, thanks for the laughs, and the sun.

Rest Well.

Photos

2009-01-31T08:42:00.000-08:00

Finally got a hold of some pictures from the Hokie Open in the fall. I'm also going to hop in the Blacksburg 10 miler coming up in late February.

That one should hurt a little more than this race.

Rest Well

rock.and.roll.

2009-01-26T18:50:00.001-08:00

I'm in a new band. Jim and Kyle both my roommates are in it too. Stay tuned for shows, probably at our place, maybe an open mike on campus.

We're still thinking of names, possibilities include backhand, deathstar, and blitzkreg.

This band will be for fun, small sets, small egos.

Rest Well.

Van Jones The Green Collar Economy

2009-01-25T18:45:00.000-08:00

Just watched the CSPAN Q and A. Finished his book faster than anything I read over break, although I don't have Fox Soccer Net at school, and sadly I have to pay for the movies I rent too.

But his book was really well written, and his explanations of the technologies and policies that will be needed to pull our country away from dependence on oil, natural gas and coal are clear, and convincing. He's a Oakland based civil rights activist, and a lot of his motivation is based around green jobs to fight poverty, as well as pollution.

The "green collar economy" plan: Electric cars, smart appliances, and a clean, efficient grid.

Open landscapes. VA, FL

2009-01-12T14:42:00.000-08:00

Passing time

2009-01-12T14:33:00.000-08:00

The hot tub was nice, right on the water it only took about fifteen seconds to run from the hot tub to the ocean, we did this a couple days until, we started just hoping in the pool. This hot/cold to another level.

Steven and I also had a few rounds of twenty questions to pass the time on the ride back. I'll post the video later, here's round 1.

Good food

2009-01-12T14:22:00.001-08:00

The best meals of the week. First Frink's take on steak and eggs, Thursday night. Steven enjoyed Frink's meal as well. I was hoping to savor the dessert, but he really started put it down. Frink made a fruit and granola vanilla yogurt. I had to match Steven's pace if I wanted my share. In the end I didn't have it, and Steven took control.

The week ended on a perfect note when my dad threw down some beef stew last night.

The next few days

2009-01-12T14:18:00.000-08:00

The first couple days of the trip

2009-01-12T14:10:00.000-08:00

Florida

2009-01-12T14:02:00.000-08:00

Driving through NC right now, Steven’s trying hard to stay awake. He won’t say so but it’s obvious. Why else would anyone be playing Moby right now? I’m about a couple hours from home. He tells me one song will “give me a heart attack.” He’s right I want to open my door and jump out of the car.

That was from Friday night, I also wrote down a bunch of things to write about, but I really don't feel like it so I'll just post the list.

I swam in a pool that tasted like sunscreen and tanning oil.

I watched JZ spend five dollars at a snack machine while he waited for me to swim.

I fell over after trying to ride off the road to pee. Note: this is the beach if it’s not paved, it’s probably sand.

I watched Tim hunt most animals he saw. Land, marine, nothing is out of his territory. Although he did spare the rat tail of the obnoxious guy who kicked us out of the hot tub. That thing was alive! Ehhhh

I learned not to trust following Steven and JZ on the bike, we hit sand fast on the second day, and all showed some pretty impressive handles to stay up. If this was Navy Cycling’s vacation this incident would have caused fatalities.

We all eat too much cereal. Really you have no idea.

I iced in the ocean every night, and got a couple of the guys hooked on hot/cold, which kept us feeling fresh.

JZ and I taught Frink a few things, who Riyanna and TI are, why they’re hot and what “in check” means. He taught us how to cook with a fantastic meal the last night. Good on ya Frink.

Steven revealed the mental game for staying sharp on an interval. Pretend Phil Ligget and Paul Sherwin are commentating on your ride, accents optional.

I played Harry Potter, finally finding a couple good nights of sleep.

Rest Well.

Maui Roads

2008-12-29T14:59:00.000-08:00

check out the video Ryder posted on his blog on Dec. 8

http://www.ryderhesjedal.ca/

pretty neat. somehow Laird managed to get his shirt off

WhatsWithThat KidsHead

2008-12-28T19:04:00.000-08:00

Legs are sore, eyes are heavy. Another week passes.

Some highlights, some mistakes, most certainly the "butchering" I did on my haircut on Christmas Eve. A little champagne and too much confidence left me with one of the poorest haircuts I've ever had.

I forgot to put the right gauge on the clippers, and the moment I touched the side of my head with them, "Bzzt." Oh shit. I just looked in the mirror, ad then debated about doing the same thing to the other side just to, you know even things out. jk.

My brother thinks it's hysterical, calls me "patches."

On the bright side when I'm down in Florida I won't be talking about talking to girls. In fact, I think girls will be talking about talking to me.

Daring eachother to ask me "What is wrong with your hair, did you have some sort of operation, are you sick, why is it a triangle, can I touch the "patch."

Oh well, at least I don't have any job interviews over break.

This weeks training was highlighted by some fitness tests and of course, swimming. More paddles.paddles.paddles. I'm gonna be RIPPED, come Spring!

I also got to find some meaning in the saying "you can always do one more." QCASSIDY has a run with Denton in "Once a Runner." The intervals just keep piling on and on, and after Cassidy completely blows on the last one, Denton announces he has another set to run, and another and...

Well this morning during the swim I counted wrong, and after what I thought I finished the set, I was feeling satisfied, my arms feeling like jello, sinking in the water. I was asked "Did I interrupt your break?" by the coach. "GET ON IT!" he says. And I'm off for another round, painfully slithering through the water. But hey I thought of Cassidy, and got it done, and thats it.

Rest Well

Oh for all the shit I'm getting from my brother, I need some revenge. So I posted the most ridiculous photo of him at the beach this summer when we thought it would be funny to go "merman."

back in Richmond

2008-12-26T19:38:00.000-08:00

Home is great. Training is going well., just putting in some work making sure I don't get dropped by SG (bike racer)when I go down to Florida for some training early January.

This trip is looming, and I have to make sure I don't completely kill myself, so just a little bit of hard stuff, which is usually the fun stuff. Keeping in mind that spot on the Owen Cup loop where JZ thinks he will drop me (is this inevitable?), and that jackass who always plays "Sally Save Up" so he can toast me at the end of masters.

And about the hard stuff. If the hard stuff wasn't the fun stuff then whats the point of any of the stuff cuz the racing is certainly not going to be a taste of easy stuff.

It sucks when people complain about sets and times and intervals, (unless they are really fast of course, and the 1:10 on the 10x100 is just "annoying.") They've earned their right to complain. Everyone else, shut up. It's late, I need to chill.

Anyway not much of an update because A.) it's simply too late B.) I'm taking my blogging to the next level, just not this time

Rest Well.

WalkTheWalk

2008-12-13T17:59:00.000-08:00

One of the things I share with my roommates is the fact that we lived on the same hall our freshmen year. As such, we enjoy many of the same jokes about school and friends. We share stories about the professors and students we know.

There's the prof with the man crush on my roommate.

The one who looks lost all the time.

There's the elusive "Steven Seagal," a student? who must have lived near us freshmen year. He got his name by ALWAYS sporting skintight underarmour tank tops no matter what the weather, black sunglasses, an occasional bandanna, and black cargo pants with black tims. And yes, "Steven Seagal," had a pony tail.

What made him so "Seagal" was his ability to surprise us. "Steven Seagal" didn't walk by you on the drillfield, or sit down next to you in class. He broke through a bush next to you, or jumped out of a tree by the bus stop. Putting you in total shock, and laughter at the same time.

Both scenarios are true by the way.

And after such impressive entrances he always just walked right by you, never even glancing at you as you stared him down, wondering "Who the hell are you?"

Of course any student will know the "Beat Box Kid." The name says it all. He walks around campus with one hand on his mouth beat boxing. It usually sounds like the same beat, but I don't really know, I don't beat box.

We often ask ourselves does he have conversations, does this go on in class, when does he eat?

To get an idea of just how big this guy has gotten on campus I'll share a story. I was at the bus stop waiting to go home. A girl sitting on the bench next to me was one the phone, and seemed to be doing most of the talking. It starts with the low steady thump of the beat "Beat Box Kid," is spitting. Then he's in sight, walking up the same sidewalk the bus stop is on. His eyes are pointed down at the ground. All the eyes on the sidewalk are pointed right at him. While he passes us, I smile, and my imagination runs with images of him sitting in the back of a quiet classroom struggling to keep his beat going without alarming the professor.

But I'm brought back to earth when the girl next to me yells into her phone. "WAIT, I can't hear you. That F**ing Beat Box Kid just walked by."

Another classic is "IPOD guy". IPOD guy wears high fashion clothes and WALKS THE WALK. He's also one for sunglasses, usually the shutter shades that Kanye made popular in the "Stronger" video. Ohh, and of course "IPOD guy" doesn't settle for a back pack, but well, a man purse.

"IPOD guy" came on the scene with his tenacious walk last year. He started small, I heard about him over dinner one night but hadn't witnessed the passion that was THIS walk until later in the Fall.

Most likely the walk stems from the music he's listening to. (if you hadn't gotten it, he always, always wears an IPOD) I saw him downtown, at dinner on a Friday night with the IPOD in!

As to what music he's listening to, I don't know. Be my guest to try and walk next to him and listen in. If you think you can match stride with a runway model, you're wrong. He's lost me on numerous occasions.

Now on a different tangent, both sorta related. My hair has gotten pretty long and needs a buzz. I wanted to put one of those lines in the front of the buzz that black guys used to wear. I don't know what it's called so I go online to look at a few hairstyles for men. Suddenly I'm introduced to the picture that accompanies the "shaved" hairstyle. I'm sure it's "IPOD guy's" dad.

If you know "IPOD guy" you realize how good this is.

Rest Well.

Break by Numbers

2008-12-01T13:06:00.001-08:00

Over Thanksgiving break:

2-devoured apple pies
1-road race entered
3-times I was told by my brother I have no "social life"
2-chances to rant about all the things I hate about Jason Mraz
1-"Blue Hoods" reunions
33-hours in a car
1-race lost in a sprint
1-morning of leaves
2-guitar "lessons" given
3-small epiphanies
4-Sopranos episodes watched on the tready
2-snowballs
2-shutdowns
6-games of 21 (bball)
1-Santas meet

Rest Well.

CirclesOverSquares

2008-11-16T17:53:00.000-08:00

I haven't done it in awhile, but in high school, I could dance. While riding today I realized cycling is just like dancing. Dancing on the pedals, a swift stroke. Dancing up and down hills, dancing over mountains. Moving to the rhythm of the road.

Respect

2008-11-14T18:42:00.001-08:00

The market.

I'm addicted to this show. Wall Street Warriors.

Good "reality" tv. The second season is filmed just after the New Year. Subprime mortgages had already killed the housing market, and the crisis began to spread.

Watching Lance and Jim, two brokers pick up new accounts, assuage their clients, and make a long bet on SanDisk that has cost them millions is the most interesting of the profiles.

In the most recent episode I watched, Jim and Lance were pounding the phones, and busy with SanDisk financial statements. All to come to the conclusion that the stock is undervalued. They bought the stock at $44, the stock hit a high of $59, on the day the episode was filmed the stock was trading at $36. That was in February of 2008, the stock continued to fall, and during it's descent never again even came back near $36. It now trades at $7, with a 1yr projection of $14.

In short, I've learned a couple things from this show.

A successful hedge fund manager is interviewed at the beginning of one of the seasons.

Number one. His advice for junior traders is "once you make a profit, never give it back." Lance and Jim got greedy, and they paid the price for not respecting the markets.

Number two. No matter how professional, how educated, the markets are a craps shoot.
No one knows what the hell may happen right now. Unless you're playing with someone else's money, you shouldn't be investing.

Rest Well.

Hokie Open. Power Animal

2008-11-08T10:09:00.000-08:00

Hokie Open this morning. 6k cross race on the Virginia Tech course. The field was made up of agroup of VT runners, some runners from smaller schools like Radford, some guys from the triathlon team, and a few unattached runners.

Ten minute warm up, and "hot stuff." I'm at the start line, toward the right behind the VT XC team. Without enough time to think the race was on. Focus. Leg turnover. Breath. Not that heavy, you're embarrassing yourself.

Sitting about 8-10 at 2k, holding onto a guy who was cut from the VT team. I'll call him "Billy," I think that's right. He was running steady and brought me through the first mile in 5:10.

"Well, that's a little faster than I've run in awhile."

Focus. Power Animal. Unleash the power animal.

I dreamt of the plains last night I felt the earth beneath my hooves
I felt the dust fly into my nostrils
I ran...

At 3k Billy gapped me and I put in a pathetic effort over a set of hills that lead us back toward the finish line for the second lap. Chris Brown, comes through running not all that fast but pretty smooth. I sit on his feet for a little, and we turn onto the second loop.

Chris Clarke joins us and pushes the pace through 4k. It's me Chris Clarke and Chris Brown, with the race up the road. I think we were toward the back of the pack, but I'm not sure.

A steady hill to lead us past the plantation a second time hurt the motivation a bit. I was gapped from Chris Clarke and Cameron Hanlin (who's ready for a great marathon next weekend in Richmond), made his way up, and looked stronger than me. I turned the corner at the cornfield and cruised down the hill.

Chris Brown made a strong move by me when we crossed the creek before 5k, he said something to pick me up, but when I tried to hop on his feet I was already gapped.

I caught up to their group at the bottom of the last hill, but the legs weren't really turning at that point. I need to get that bread and butter leg speed back. After the back stretch I saw Chris Brown put in a kick on someone, and I got fired up for the finish.

I came by Chris Clarke a little late, and had too much kick and not enough time to use it. Chris recently won the Lynchburg Ultra Series so it wasn't really anything to write home about as the guy's warm ups are probably longer than my long runs.

On the women's side Nicole Pederson raced to fifth with a smile on her face (I don't think it stops,) and Amanda and Karrie? rounded out the field.

All in all a fun effort. Nice Morning, completed by a solid breakfast, where everyone had to dash to go help time a home VT swim meet against Clemson.

These kids don't stop.

Below is a picture of Chris from Big Lick, he beat all the triathletes today, and got us all into this race. Good on ya Chris.

btw. the power animal is a joke.

Rest Well

Smack.Goes Without Saying.

2008-11-07T16:34:00.000-08:00

Ice. Read. Shower. Write.

Staying on top of things this afternoon.

Today was not a very autumn sort of day. Sun blanketed the drillfield, and although the leaves are all in full color, and it should be chilly, the weather decided to match my mood.

Tuesday closed with me exhausted and sleepy. Wednesday rose with a victory.

As my mom wrote me, "Si, se puede!"

My feeling now is confidence. I am confident that Barack Obama will lead our country through the financial crisis. He will change our energy policy, and hopefully we will make progress in handing over more responsibility to the Iraqi military.

The troop surge is short term, (WHY? "Nearly 80 people (Iraqis plus coalition troops) are dying per day, and the U.S. cost of the war may exceed $1.2 trillion." MIT News but I don't see long term stability with our current strategy.

Must read the MIT News report. See the bond prices, really interesting.

As Stone Cold says "The darkest part of the night, is just before you see the light." Yea, John! He's the guy in the picture above.

I was in a band with these guys in high school, they're still killin it.

Show in Charlottesville, November 22 at The Outback Lodge.

Food Not Muck

2008-11-03T16:23:00.000-08:00

"All I've seen are the commercials, and I'm like, I guess both these guys suck."

This is a comment from a friend of mine. This year an incredible amount of money has been spent on negative advertising during the Presidential campaign. As Campbell Brown wrote in Food banks instead of campaign ads in mid October there's certainly more important things to be spending money on.

Negative advertising really doesn't win any votes either. The WSJ has an article on the subject that I found in Brown's commentary. The article titled Ready, Aim, Backfire: Nasty Political Ads Fall Flat, reports that although McCain has run a higher percentage of negative advertisements he's still not reaching voters.

Good News. Schools turning up. I'm finally starting to see the bigger picture in the work. Rather than tests, professors mention jobs, what I will be expected to understand, and who I am competing with. I try to keep in mind some advice I heard, if you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss, they don't have tenure.

Tomorrow Eoin and some cyclists might come to "Trainer and a Movie." This week I will show Kill Bill on Tuesday and Wonderboys on Thursday while spinning on the trainer for about an hour. My hope is that after all the boring trainer rides facing the sun shining outside my window, I will be hardened up for winter, and ready to brace the weather. As John Delong said, "There is no outside."

Rest Well.

Punked

2008-11-02T17:21:00.000-08:00

Quebec comedy duo pranks Gov. Sarah Palin.

This is classic.

See the story and radio clip here : TheStar.com (Toronto Star online).

Rest Well.

Go Paula

2008-11-02T15:35:00.000-08:00

Paula Radcliffe won the NYC Marathon today. She's probably one of my favorite runners. There's so much talk about stride length, lean, toe strike, and cadence in running, but here's a runner who just goes out and SUFFERS. No finesse, just hard running. I was smitten after she limped through the finish line at the Olympics this Summer.

It seems like some athletes are able to extend their careers in sport today. The NY Times has a good story about the trend here. It seems that slowtwitch muscles, and the big engine required for some efforts in endurance sports (cycling, running, swimming) don't diminish until the athlete is in their early forties, and I've still had some wompings from masters swimmers and cyclists who are older than that.

I'm racing the Hokie Open here in Blacksburg this Saturday. My goals are to be happy with my effort, and have fun. The team I'm racing with should be fairly strong so a few of us may run the course this week. My run mileage is really low right now so no real expectations. Long run last week was fifty five minutes on the tready.

Don't forget to vote Tuesday.

Photo Credit: three60

The Look

2008-11-01T17:05:00.000-07:00

JZ called me out last night.

“At Owen Cup I’m going to turn around and look you in the eye, and then I’m going to ride you right off my wheel.”

JZ putting “the look” on me, can I let that happen?

No

Rest Well

Going

2008-10-28T07:29:00.000-07:00

Check out this article by David Brooks of the New York Times, titled "The Behavioral Revolution."

It's a piece explaining how some of the decisions were made leading up to the financial crisis, and how we perceive information to make decisions and justify our choices.

Off to class, this morning I ate breakfast like Phelps, you've heard the menu.

Rest Well.

Just wanted to say hi.

2008-10-24T13:37:00.000-07:00

Went out for a SAYG ride a couple of hours ago, it could have been great. I was well dressed (it's raining), had some new music to listen to from "The Never." I was ready for a nice slow ride, admiring all the things you can't take in when you ride anything other than very, very slow. It's like you're in another world on the bike sometimes. Your view is confined to the wheel in front of you, and if you're really pro you always keep one eye on the powermeter. "Watts, Watts, Watts."

Todays ride was different. Maybe its the riding on the rollers, but the tires were not holding up. Two flats in two hours. One on the way out of town, that I fixed fairly quickly, and one just outside of campus next to 460. I was on the side of the road sitting on my bike in the rain hoping someone would give me a ride. I try to get a few drivers attention while they're stopped, getting ready to turn onto Prices Fork to head back toward campus. I got a lot of friendly waves. It seemed the more frantic I acted the more enthusiastically they waved back at me.

I found the situation kind of amusing. I was soaking wet, and could really only laugh at myself. Were the driver's waves a legitimate response, or were they just trying their best to not to acknowledge that yes, I was asking them for help, and no they weren't interested?

I was reminded of a recent "Car Talk" show, where the advice was given to a man who needed a warranty extended by the dealership he purchased a troublesome Nissan from. The man was instructed to call the corporate office and say "I'm in trouble, and I need your help." It's a simple, clear statement.

It's the line that saved me this afternoon.

For some reason the two times now I have stranded with my bike the savior has fit the same profile. Soccer mom's whiz by in their SUVs, with bike racks on the back of course, (the soccer moms are the most enthusiastic wavers by the way.) It's the old farmer with tools in his truck, probably on his way home from work that gives me a ride. The guy with hunting/NRA stickers who I expect to give me the finger as I signal to him.

So the man stopped in an old red pick up. I knew I may only have one chance. "I'm in trouble, and I need you're help." He said he would give me a ride, and the guy drove me right to my doorstep.

Sometimes I feel like I really can't count on anyone, but I realized I really can't count anyone out.

Rest Well.

Be cool

2008-10-19T15:29:00.000-07:00

On my way home from campus I heard an interview on WUVT of Queen Harrison, the VT hurdler and 2008 Olympian. She spoke about her history in the sport, competition in NCAA and the Olympics and how she stays motivated and focused in training.

Really interesting. She talked about how variety in training helps her stay fresh and tuned up when the season comes around. Recently she's been focusing on shorter events like the 200, and she even has time for a little basketball. It's all about having a little fun everyday. This has been my focus over the past month, and it's really paying off. In the pool I feel so much stronger already, but I'm still trying to hold back a bit. It's hard getting walloped everyday by the "distance crew." Today was made especially exciting by my lunch before practice. 2 strawberry poptarts and 2 espressos. Good call eh.

BTW Virginia Tech lost to Boston College last night. Already some students have found a new target. Glennon's out, but Tyrod was the focus of the criticsm on the WUVT sports show after the Queen Harrison interview. Really guys, Tyrod's now 9 and 1 as a starter, and is playing with a brand new group of receivers, all red shirt or true freshmen. Give him a break, focus on the o line, as usual, and the receivers. Placing blame on another quarterback isn't going to get the team anywhere.

After being so impressed with Queen, and having heard that Tyrod is also a really down to earth guy, I found this. If you're a VT student it's worth a view, I'm really proud that he choose Virginia Tech, and I'm looking forward to the future.

Rest Well.

Wassup Rocka

2008-10-18T18:30:00.000-07:00

Pinned down at this mornings swim, as usual a lot of kick, as usual I was the last of the distance crew to finish the main set (so I guess I didn't pin down, I was just there). I keep telling myself it's not the right time of year. The swimming has been the only consistent thing right now, I'm on the tready for thirty minutes three days a week, and three rides of an hour on the rollers.

My roommate brought a cold back with him from fall break so that's kinda put me down this week. I'm coming around though, wishful thinking maybe.

Epic soccer game Thursday night, and maybe some basketball tomorrow. Right now it's about finance homework. It's nice being in recession proof college. I feel safe, for now. Guess who was on campus recruiting last week. Freddie Mac. I really can't imagine what that interview might be like.

"So Sam, thanks for speaking to me today. Don't be intimidated, I know how you fell, actually I just put my resume out again, but YOU may have a solid future here."

Did you know Wachovia was one of the top five firms recruiting VT business students last year. Maybe I don't feel so safe.

Rest Well.

Feeling Small

2008-10-13T15:13:00.000-07:00

It's a big wide world. I forget sometimes.

Here's a link to photographs by Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

His exhibit, Earth From Above is made up of 4' x 6' prints of images taken with an extremely powerful satellite. Not only is the scale of the prints overwhelming, but the color and textures are beautiful.

The weather is abnormally warm. A class that usually splits my day in half was canceled so I just sat outside of D2 with some guys that lived on my hall freshmen year . The university radio station WUVT is running "Radiothon," so we got to hear a lot of great indie music, while people watching and enjoying the sun.

They visited some friends from their high school at Georgetown, and had a good observation about friends. You know you have good friends when you don't see them for awhile and still feel like you know them. It's like although they've changed, and you've changed you both still know each other and can relate to each other.

Listening to Robyn, I think she's a big deal in Sweden, so hot right now.

Rest Well

Kinda of a Big Deal

2008-10-12T19:38:00.001-07:00

Our planet.

In this upcoming election both candidates have openly said that global warming is a man made problem and each has different solutions.

Here's both plans.

http://obama.senate.gov/issues/environment/

http://www.johnmccain.com/informing/issues/65bd0fbe-737b-4851-a7e7-d9a37cb278db.htm

I'll post my thoughts on who really has solutions later. Right now it's about being informed.

I don't want to be training with a gas mask on in twenty years. Dave Zabriske said "exhaust is the new second hand smoke," I agree.

Rest Well.

Done Done

2008-10-12T16:38:00.000-07:00

Two beautiful days.

Saturday morning. Two breakfasts, on the road to visit a high school friend at JMU.

Friday night was a failed cookout.

Our charcoal grill is fun size, and simply can’t stay hot long enough to allow veggies and different rounds of chicken, and burgers to cook.

So I threw in the towel. For some reason we had two George Foreman’s in our kitchen, so the decision was made to put burgers on the Foremans and cook the rest of the chicken on the grill.

I replaced my hamburger bun with the grilled eggplant, and packed the burger full of veggies (mixed greens, squash, avocado, and tomatoes.)

The drive to Madison took a couple hours. We left after swim practice, which included 1300 yds of kick in the main set, so I was done done. Given that I haven’t had a bike for the past three weeks though this isn’t really a big deal as the legs have been fresh this past week.

I talked JZ into going, although he’s saving his game for RunBikeSlam next weekend.

JZ is someone you want on these trips, he’s outgoing enough to meet people, and he’s low maintenance. His dinner/breakfast needs were fulfilled with a big box of strawberry pop tarts.

My friends schedule at JMU made me so jealous.
Linguistics
Italian
Dante
Negotiation
Plato’s Republic

What a stud. He gave us a tour of campus, and showed us a good time that night.

Anyway I’m back in Blacksburg. The sun just set and the night is cool. I’m listening to Bon Iver’s “For Emma, Forever Ago,” and thinking about the upcoming week.

Rest Well.

Respect

2008-10-07T21:01:00.000-07:00

I will learn to love the treadmill.

30 minutes three days a week, looking for inspiration...found it

Rest Well

Survival of the Fittest

2008-10-05T16:56:00.000-07:00

Friday my MGMT professor pulled together Frank Beamer, Seth Greenberg, and Pete Hughs (V Baseball Coach) to speak to our class about leadership, and how each has managed their player’s and organizations to be successful.

Each coach had their own approach, as Greenberg said, “your style of leadership has to fit your own personality, you have to be comfortable in your own skin.” But on the whole, a lot of their ideas were identical.

Three likenesses between the programs: people, relationships, and trust.

Greenberg had an analogy for success in the first respect.

As a note, perhaps some of this is cheesy, but I’ve been an athlete/sports fan my whole life so the coach speak is second nature, just “another language.”

Anyway “You’ve got to have the right people on the bus.” You want to be leading the right people (in Greenberg’s case, attitude is not as important as talent is, no matter what he says. I was respectful enough not to ask how Jeff Allen snuck on his o so holy bus) It is up to the leader to choose whom to recruit, so the team reaches their goal. “They have to be in the right seats.” No brainer. Different people are suited to do different things well, but it really takes effort, often times through mistakes to find out what these skills are.

Secondly, all the coaches preached about relationships. Without speaking with their player’s I really can’t say for sure how much effort these guy’s put into this aspect of leadership. I can see building relationships to be difficult in a sport like football, with a season of fourteen or so games, and a roster of one hundred guys.

But it’s true that people don’t care how talented you are until they know you care about them. No one is willing to follow until they have a relationship/connection with the leader.

So once you have that initial relationship you need the trust there to really commit. I’m reminded of hypoxic set’s in the pool over the summer.I would swim 25-50 no breath, and hell yeah it hurt, but when the coach said up. I did the set.

My first week back at school, at the end of a Sunday masters swim the coach had us go off the blocks and sprint to the wall, followed by rest and a no breath, free return to the block, 25yds. I couldn’t do it but once. I was racing that weekend and didn’t trust that the coach had everything in line. Trust was missing.

Here’s a few things to think about.

If you have a problem, ask yourself, how many people live in China?

Answer, 1.3 billion. So no matter what happened to me 1.3 billion people don’t give a s**t.

Courtesy of Pete Hughs. He better know how to HTFU.

Boom Sucka

2008-10-02T22:12:00.000-07:00

TV on the Radio has a new album out. "Dear Science". Funky dance beats, cool harmonies (they have two singers Kyp Malone and Tunde Adebimpe), and some seriously confusing song lyrics. Does anyone know if "DLZ" was written about the US, or a lover. Anyway, it's fun to think.

This album is a lot more focused than "Return to Cookie Mountain." Some many moments of "RTCM" where filled with frantic overdrive and near rambling, but "Dear Science" really cleans up the sound, it's focused, but still pure to the music I love.

Photo Credit:100/6

Rest Well.

Playoffs

2008-10-01T12:26:00.000-07:00

First playoff game tonight. Patrick, make me swift.

First time back in the pool last night with the team. Cut the swim short for water basketball. I learned not to challenge the VT Womens Water Polo team to play. I think one of the girls tried to drown me. Maybe I'm just a poor sport.

Rest Well.

Hear good music.

2008-09-28T18:12:00.000-07:00

Share good music.

Justice - DVNO (LA Riots Remix)
Ratatat - Cherry (In Digital Form Remix)
Kanye West - Stronger
The Rolling Stones - I'm Free
Thom Yorke - Eraser
Coldplay - Death and All His Friends
Justice - Sure You Will
Cut Copy – Going Nowhere
MGMT (The Management) - Kids (original version)
MGMT (The Management) - Just Becuz
MGMT (The Management) - Hot Love Drama
MGMT (The Management) - Money to Burn

Rest well.

Hanging out

2008-09-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

is what we do best.

Soccer game in the rain, with no worries and just a smile on my face, chasing the ball in circles.

During the first half I tried to tackle a player near our sideline. Unfortunately right as I began to leave me feet, I realized I had no idea how to execute a tackle. It was clumsy, my brother would laugh at me.

I kinda just jumped in the air with both my feet pointing down, like a spear aimed at the ball. It was successful, if technically flawed. I have a big bruise.

Besides soccer I've been thinking about this past season. This season was neither a success or a failure. It was. I learned a lot, and realize it is part of the process. I now want to turn to other things, finding energy in the mountains, and cool afternoons exploring the fields and farm roads past 460 on my bike. I will be at the Gorge next weekend, for climbing and exploring. It will be among other things a source of inspiration. Nights by a fire, and afternoons on the river, show me an inner love of adventure and play.

Finally coming around I feel some hope for next season. Hope is a great place to be.

A difference

2008-09-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

I'm now a part of the internets. This will be exciting.