Things To Do

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?

NIRCA Regional Champs

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

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

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

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.

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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

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.