Still some work to do

So, last weekend's race went so-so. I felt pretty good overall, but my classic technique was again a limiting factor. Not sure exactly what the issue is, but I just don't feel like I get anywhere near the power or speed when I'm classic skiing compared to skating. Anyways, it's still a work in progress, so I'll keep plugging away at it. I ended up 1:20 behind the winner (Chad again). It's a strange thing classic skiing, but I do enjoy it, even though I feel I should be better at it, so I'll keep trying to improve as I have a couple very big classic races later this winter. I'm not ashamed to say however, that I'm relieved that my next several races will all be on skate skis.

Up next, are three NorAm Cup biathlon races in Jericho, Vermont on 28-30 December. The timing of these races is good and bad. The good part is that I can race in three high-level races at a great venue without having to use any vacation time (we have a shutdown for the holiday week). The bad news is that I'll have to do my best to be disciplined over the next week when it comes to all the holiday meals, parties and other events we have upcoming. I'll have to continuously remind myself of the old adage "there's not much you can do to improve your fitness in a week, but there's a lot of things you can do to hurt it." It shouldn't be too bad though, and I'm definitely looking forward to these races. Following the races, Nancy and I are going to spend New Years up in Vermont with some other friends, so that should be a great opportunity to get in some additional training, while also having some relaxing fun with some close friends in an absolutely beautiful part of the world!

Fact Finding in the Tug Hill Plateau

Tomorrow is the annual "World Famous Osceola Christmas Race" in the Tug Hill Plateau north of Syracuse. I'm not sure that it's world famous, but it is a very well attended race in New York State and is typically the first JO Qualifier, so there are always a lot of high school racers out. The other reason that it might not actually be World Famous, is that no one actually calls the race the World Famous Osceola Christmas Classic, it's simply called the "pie race".

The race is always held the Saturday before Christmas, is 5km for all classes regardless of age, and the winner of each category receives a homemade pie. The top 3 in each age group also receive homemade pottery and the proceeds from the race benefit the Camden High School Ski team. Chad has won this race five years in a row or something, and swears by the homemade chocolate pie that he brings home to his wife every year. It's definitely a cool tradition and RNR is bringing a big squad up there tomorrow to hopefully come home with some pies, pottery and podiums!

I've done this race a couple times in the past, but this year will be a classic technique race, so it will add a different twist. Hopefully my race re-cap is more positive than that of my last classic ski race. The first race of the year is always a bit of a crapshoot to know what to expect, and when you factor in that it's my weaker technique historically and will likely be the shortest race I do all winter, I'm not sure what to expect. However, doing a low-key race like this is much more relaxing than, for example, having your first race of the year be in the Olympic Trials (as was the case last year). If I come away from the race and my technique allows me to push my aerobic capacity (i.e. if I'm able to get my heart rate up where it typically is in a skate race), then I think I'll get a decent indicator of the improvements in my classic skiing that I've been trying to make, and wherever that leaves me on the result sheet will also be a good indicator of my fitness level. So thats the goal for tomorrow - to get some feedback.

Speaking of goals, I'm going to try to approach every race this season with a specific goal for that race. For some races, this might be winning, or top ten, or good shooting, or skiing uphills strong, it depends on the race. The reason for this is pretty simple - I would like to get to the end of the year and not look back on 15 races and just see where I placed in each race and not be able to clearly see what I need to work on and what areas need more focus. Results can mean many different things, for example, I would say that last year the Lake Placid Loppet (7th place) or the NorAm Cup races in LP (8th and 9th place) were my best races of the year and the NYSSRA championships (5th place) may have been my worst. If I only look at the results sheet, I don't get an indicator that will help me improve as a skier.

I feel pretty good about the training I've put in through the fall and especially the past month, so it's time to see what's under the hood so to speak and stop speculating on this blog about where I'm at, time to do some fact-finding.

Does this make us a family of "Yellowjackets"?

Nancy finished graduate school last weekend and is now the proud owner of an MBA from the University of Rochester. This is a great accomplishment and she's been working very hard towards finishing it.

Now that we both have MBA's from the Simon School, as does my Grandfather, I think that the U of R has overtaken all other schools in either of our families for combined degrees.

We had a very different name for their mascot during my baseball-playing days at RIT, which cannot be re-printed here. But now that we will both be receiving alumni newsletters and requests for donation from the U of R, maybe I should start embracing my Yellowjacket pride.

On second thought, I might not as well.

Full-on winter

Winter has made it's way to Rochester. We've been receiving a few inches of snow each day for almost the last week. I skied at Mendon Ponds last night and the coverage was excellent, it was mid-winter trail conditions. My first ski was last Saturday at the Lima Country Club on some pretty thin snow. It was a lot better than roller skiing, but last night was the first real ski in good conditions on groomed trails and I was reminded in about the first 5 minutes (after I got used to the length of my real skis compared to my roller skis) why I am so passionate about cross country skiing.

Now that winter is here, it's time to get ready for all of the following idiosyncrasies associated with ski racing and training in the Rochester area:

- More miles will be put on my car in the next four months than the other 8 months of the year combined...by a lot.

- training in the daylight is limited to Saturday's and Sunday's only.

- eating dinner at 9pm on weeknights seems early.

- I will have a runny nose until at least March.

- My attic is fully converted into a waxing hut and already seems like a disaster and I've only waxed each set of skis once.

- The drying rack in our bathroom is always completely full and our boot dryer is the most valuable appliance that I own.

- I will mentally thank Gore at least 4 times a week for developing "Windstopper" technology. I think whoever named Chicago the "windy city" had never visited Rochester.

- The proportion of meals that involve peanut butter will be at least 50%. This is mainly out of convenience, but it has always been a staple in my diet...good thing I'm not allergic.

- My co-workers will ask me, at least weekly, if I do triathlon or if I have any recommendations on alpine skis for the children. Neither of which I have any clue about.

There are probably a lot of others, but that's a quick list anyways. I'm excited!

Getting antsy...

This should come as no surprise, since most of my posts over the past month have at least mentioned skiing in one way or another, but I am getting pumped for ski racing to start. I haven't been in a competitive event for about two and a half months. Last fall, I competed in a serious of running races through the fall, but I intentionally did not do any of those this year. Over the spring and summer, I logged a good amount of training and racing (due to more consistent bike racing) and decided to take a break from competition and really try to focus on consistent training. It's been nice to take a break from having my weekly training plan revolve around some type of event. I am also hoping that doing more strength and specific-ski training in the fall will pay dividends this winter (I guess we'll see). For the most part, it has been consistent (with a few hiccups due to workload and travel), and as far as I can tell, things seem to be going well. It's tough to know until you get out there and race though.

This time of year is really tough. Mother Nature seems to be teasing us big time - the weather has went from - windy and cold, to sunny and 55, to pouring rain and 40, to wet snow all in the last week. We now have about an inch of snow sitting on top of semi-frozen ground, which is basically useless. It has, however, eliminated roller skiing as a viable training option, so it's been back to running, bounding, treadmill incline intervals and box-jumps until we get more snow. That routine is getting old, especially when your buddy in Buffalo sends you pictures like this (taken this morning):

Anyways, I'm trying to be patient and I know it's only a matter of days before I'm on skis, and it won't be long before I'll be pinning a race bib on and getting after it!

An interesting way of telling time

Happy Thanksgiving! Can't believe it's actually Thanksgiving 2010 already. My nephew Colin is 1-year-old now, and it seems like he was born about 15 minutes ago...I have way too many things to be thankful for to list here....So, instead of that, I'm going to simply quote my buddy Kevin in describing his recent trip home from Tajikistan, which provides an interesting twist on the skewed reality that we both have with regard to telling time during international travel:

"Well, I left my hotel room during the 2nd quarter of the 4pm set of NFL games on Sunday and got home just in time for the 4th quarter of the Monday Night Football Game, so everything went pretty well." (that was all the same day)

That's what international travel can be like...

Anyways, big things coming up soon - ski season getting into gear (trips to Vermont, LP, and likely Utah on the agenda, hopefully some W's and maybe even some OK classic skiing), Nancy's finishes grad school in two weeks, holidays, big bucks, etc, we'll see, but many many things to look forward too...

A few pics and a new PR!!

Here are some pics from the wine tour that Kevin and I took our Georgian friends on a couple weeks ago. Any time that Kevin and I are in Tbilisi, Temuri and Ivane not only make us feel at home, but also include us into whatever they have going on with their friends and/or family. These visits have really taught both of us a lot with regard to the importance of the time that you spend with your friends and family. With that in mind, we felt it was appropriate, during their visit to Rochester, to take them on a wine tour in the beautiful Finger Lakes Region with some of our close friends and family. Some pics:

Ivane, Kevin and I. One very successful businessman and two aspiring businessmen.

Nancy, Jason and Anne (Jason's girlfriend).
Ivane and I. For some reason, Georgians don't seem to smile too often in pictures, but believe me, Ivane was very happy on this particular day.

Kevin, Nana (Ivane's sister) and Kate (Kevin's sister).
Right to left - Anne, Temuri, Alice (Temuri's wife), Nana, Brendan, Alice's friend (She's a Georgian living in Toronto, so she came down for the weekend to visit), and Jason.
Nancy and I with Temuri and Alice.

Overall, it was a great day spent with friends and family. According to the famous Georgian philosophy, time spent with friends and family doesn't make you any older. I truly believe that none of us aged that day (although, I will say that my liver may have needed a little recovery).

In other news, the Romanians left yesterday, and that was also a great visit. I am continuously amazed by the great friendships that I've developed over the years and developed a few new friends over the past several days.

Final note, I have been very (cautiously) curious about my fitness level going into ski season given that the past month has been spent hosting customers and getting slammed with other work. My weekly training volume has been a little bit down and my weekly sleep hours have been very much down. I have been working out a lot, but also spending too much time in bars and restaurants with customers. Given that, I figured, for better or worse, I needed to get a baseline, so yesterday, I did a roller ski time trial on a course by my parents place (it was opening day of deer season, so I went hunting first thing). After reviewing my training log, my previous PR on this course was 22:57 (coincidentally on opening day of deer season in 2009). Yesterday, I was happily surprised to see 22:08 when I passed the "school bus stop ahead" sign that marks the finish. Not sure what that means, but it definitely gave me a nice mental pick-up going into the final weeks of training before the snow flies and it's time to break out the spandex!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Wow...I think in early October I wrote that things would calm down and return to a normal routine, that couldn't be farther from the truth unless this is my new "normal" routine, in which case, life will be one long endurance race....I do not remember a time in my life where I have had this little down time - it's been a never ending string of "leave the house at 730am and get home at 10pm, rinse, repeat" since I got home from the Ukraine a few weeks ago.

A couple notable events of the past few weeks are:

- I hosted a visit to Rochester from my friends Temuri and Ivane from Georgia. They were here on business, however, we did make time to do some wine tasting in the Finger Lakes region two Saturday's ago. I'm not sure they were impressed with the wine, but I'm positive they had fun and enjoyed our time together.

- Last weekend was my good friend Knodel's 30th birthday party. It was held in a bowling alley in Buffalo, NY. As such, I bowled for the first time in like 10 years. It was a good time, and I wasn't as embarrassing on the bowling alley as I thought I would be, although Nancy did beat me the first game.

- Following the 30th B-Day party, I met the Ogbornes (Ron is a good buddy from Penfield), at the Sabres game, which was a lot of fun. They live out in Arizona now, so we don't get too many opportunities to see them, so the timing of the game with the 30th B-Day party worked out perfect, and the Sabres won in OT to top off a great day with a variety of old friends.

- I'm now in the middle of hosting a delegation from Romania. They are many of the same guys that I spent a week with in Washington, DC last year, so it's been good to catch up with them, and to show them around the area a little.

Other than these events, it's been "sipping water from a firehose" at work and it doesn't seem like there's an end in sight.

One of the positive's from the past few weeks is that I've managed to re-institute a morning workout regiment. When I was in college, we had baseball practice at 6am for about 6 weeks each year during the winter. I absolutely hated "6am's" and swore I would never put myself through that again for any reason. This is a tactic I've used when on the road for work, but have never had to consistently implement while in Rochester, but the last few weeks, I have managed to get in some quality workouts in the pre-dawn hours. I'm still not sure that it would ever be sustainable for me as a long-term training regiment, but for short periods of time, it has been re-assuring to know that when things get hectic for a few weeks, I can manage to keep a training schedule and obey my alarm clock, even when it reads 545am and it's 35 and raining outside.

I have some good pictures from the events mentioned above, hopefully I'll have a chance to post them soon.

Mental training refresher

This morning I met a few buddies out at Bristol Mountain for some "ski walking" intervals. Essentially, we start at the bottom of the steepest slope they have and hike to the top with ski poles. Today, we did four intervals, which pretty much thrashed my legs (which was the point). Additionally, it was about 38F at the bottom, so probably 32 or so and windy at the top. Towards the end of our workout, snow flurries started to fly, my hands were legitimately cold, and I couldn't wait to take a long hot shower when we got home, and I loved it. All excellent signs!

This might not apply to everyone, but the wind, cold and snow flying on top of Bristol was a great mental pick-up considering I've spent the better part of the last two weeks investigating different ways to utilize to incline function on treadmills from the Soviet era in order to simulate ski training as closely as possible. I'll take the wind and cold over the mind-numbing training methods I've managed to get myself through recently. There is something to be said for the mental toughness that can be gained from forcing yourself through treadmill training, but skiing is about being outside and going up real hills, not the ones that can be simulated by cranking up the incline on a treadmill. Great workout - beneficial from the waist down and possibly more beneficial from the shoulders up.

Back in Rochester

As I type this, it's 6am and I've been awake for the last two hours, thanks jet lag.

I made it back to Rochester late Thursday night. It was a good trip to Kharkov, Ukraine, but it's good to be home. It took four flights (which I think is the first time I've had that many flights in one day) and 26 hours to make it home, but everything went relatively smooth all things considered.

I didn't get many pictures from the Ukraine, but here's one of myself, Denis and Voldemar. Denis is originally from the Ukraine, so it was nice to have someone with us with a little local knowledge. This was taken at a restaurant where I ate wild boar, which was very good.

We also had an absurd amount of perogies.

After a couple weeks overseas, where the only English TV channels are usually BBC and CNN worldnews, I'm usually looking forward to watching ESPN when I get home. However, one benefit from the lack of anglo-speaking TV channels is that I do read books when I'm on the road (shocking, I know). I finished an entire book on this trip, which is also a first for me. I read Where Men Win Glory, by John Krakauer. This was the 4th book I've read by Mr. Krakauer and it was an exceptional book about the life of Pat Tillman. Tillman made headlines earlier this decade by choosing to leave the NFL to join the military following the events of 9/11. In 2004, he was tragically killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan. The book traces Tillman's life, which was substantially more complicated than it would seem at first glance, then goes into the decision to leave a life of luxury and happiness, the events that led to his death and a well-researched account of the events following his death where the government attempted to turn his tragic death into positive PR (which is all the more disturbing considering that Tillman refused to give a single interview following his decision to leave the NFL, and by all accounts wanted no attention or special treatment). His journal entries during his time in the military were very interesting and revealing about Tillman's unique outlook on life. It was a very good read, that almost anyone would take something away from.

Anyways, the book report is over. Now it's time to get back into some type of normal routine. It's 38 degrees out right now and I can't wait for the sun to come up so I can go roller skiing. Winter seems to be right around the corner.

It turns out there's more to this city than traffic jams

I've spent the past week in Bucharest, Romania. I've been here a few times now, but each previous trip had been very much in and out, with no down time. In past trips, my biggest takeaway from the city is that the traffic is AWFUL. There are way too many cars in this city. It literally can take you an hour to drive five miles. However, the last few days have given me a greater appreciation for the city's history and people. Since I'm going to the Ukraine next week, I was here over a weekend, which enabled me to actually experience a little bit of Bucharest's sights. Some of our local partners were gracious enough to show me around the city.

A few days ago we visited the House of Parliament, which is the second largest building in the world (volume-wise) following the Pentagon. It was originally built to be the home of the last communist dictator here. Obviously, he wasn't that popular of a leader considering he built this massive, extravagant building when there were many Romanians struggling to find enough food to survive. Due to this, many Romanians have mixed emotions towards the building. Following the revolution and overthrow in 1989, the government determined it would be cheaper to finish the building than demolish it, so they turned it into the House of Parliament.

Today, I also visited the Museum of Villages in Bucharest. The cultural center replicated authentic houses, art and music from different areas throughout Romania and put them all in one place in central Bucharest. It was very interesting and highlighted Romania's diverse cultures.

Below are some pictures.

This is one of the meeting rooms in the House of Parliament.

This is Bob (a co-worker) and I on one of the many massive hand-made carpets.

This is Alexandra, who works for our local partner, but also played tour guide for Bob and I on this occasion.

The second oldest church in Bucharest.
This picture is from the Museum of Villages. I think they're playing some Transylvanian bluegrass (it sounded like it anyways).

This contraption is what some regions in Romania use to make Palinca (the local moonshine made from plums or apples).

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Here's a close-up shot of the Tomb. They do a ceremonial changing of the guard as well.

Here's the oldest church in Bucharest.
This is Gelu and his family. He also works for our local partner and was my tour guide for the Museum of Villages. Gelu will be visiting Rochester with some customers in a few weeks and I'm looking forward to re-paying some of his hospitality.

Gelu insisted that I take a picture with this woman at the Museum of Villages. She's from Transylvania region. Notice that my hands are placed firmly on all my valuables. I've heard that these folks can be "light fingered".

This is the Revolution Memorial. It's in the middle of Revolution Square and is across the street from where the aforementioned dictator left Romania for the last time via helicopter which signaled the end of the communist times in Romania.

Tomorrow morning I'm flying to Kharkov, Ukraine for a few days, then home later this week. I've never been to Kharkov, so I'm sure it will be a new experience.

John's blog

My younger brother Johnny just started a blog - http://johnmaynard.blogspot.com/

Quick intro, he's lives in Philly, also travels a lot, loves craft beers, and is getting married next fall. He has some very unique opinions on music, politics and sports. Check it out.

He's much smarter and more insightful than I am, so I have the utmost confidence that he will be dropping a lot of great things on the blogosphere world...

Natalie and Shaun's wedding

Last weekend Nance and I went down to Norwalk, CT for Natalie (the maid of honor in our wedding) and Shaun's wedding. The wedding was absolutely perfect in almost every way. Great weather, great people, great food, etc.

With Nancy being in the wedding, I did have a decent amount of down time. I was able to go for two long roller skis and managed to hop a train into NYC for an afternoon of beer sampling with my buddy Jeff and his girlfriend Erin (both sales reps for Sam Adams). Shaun played football at Bowdin, and Nat played Field Hockey with Nancy at Colgate, so there were no shortage of former NCAA athletes there.

Here are some pictures:

There's the beautiful bride and her Dad. He's a huge Flyers fan. Other than that, he's a really great guy.

I was sitting on the aisle, so I had the perfect camera angle for the first kiss.

Nancy being escorted out by one of Shaun's teammates from Bowdin.

Natalie and I.
Two best friends.
Nancy and I.

I'm headed to Romania tomorrow and most likely Ukraine the following week. I have done some incredible workouts in the past couple weeks, so I hope to make a post about those at some point soon. Until the next time though, Nastrovia.

Bike season over...wedding season almost over

I cleaned my bike yesterday and put it in the attic for what is likely to be the entire winter. Looking back on my bike season, it was a good one, even though I didn't have too many results to write home about. As really my first season racing with a team and attempting to focus a little more on biking over the summer, it certainly wasn't without frustration, however, it was a very good learning experience. I feel like I focussed enough on biking this year to realize that I'm not focussed enough in general on anything. In the past year, my training hours have been split almost exactly equal between running, biking and skiing (counting roller skiing hours). While the overall volume has left me relatively fit, the lack of focus might be holding me back, especially when it comes to bike racing. Another takeaway from my bike season is that I need to improve my explosiveness. While I may never be a great sprinter, I shouldn't be as much of a train-wreck sprinting either, and given that many of the races around here are going to come down to a sprint at some level, I need to improve this aspect of racing in order to really ever come up with good results. I think that improving my fast-twitch explosiveness would be beneficial to my skiing as well, so I'm putting a little more emphasis on strength training, especially between now and ski season.

Left to Right - Rick, my, Jason, Chad, Dylan, Phil and Michel (who came up with the sprint win on this particular night).

Being on a team was great, and it was awesome to see my teammates do so well over the course of the season. We managed to win the GVCC team prize for total wins throughout the season. We also had a few very notable performances in some big weekend races. It certainly adds an entirely new dimension to the sport compared to previous years.

So, while I am looking forward to ski season and the snow flying, I am also planning on ways to train a little differently to build on the bike season we just completed and look forward to a lot more racing next year with my Solo Break Racing teammates.

This weekend coming up is Natalie's (Nancy's maid of honor) wedding in Fairfield, CT. This will be the last wedding of 2010 for Nancy and I, and while it has been a fun summer, I'm looking forward to a little less chaotic October and November. I guess only time will tell if it will truly be less chaotic.

two week recap

I can't believe it's fall already. It seems like 10 minutes ago that I was reluctantly taking the ski box off the top of my car and putting the bike racks on. Last night I left work and it was dark outside (granted I did stay late, but still, a sign that headlamp season is basically here).

Over the last two weeks I've had four bike races (none of which went particularly well), one 127 mile charity ride (which was great) and one RIT alumni baseball game (much better than expected)...mixed in around that was work (going a thousand miles an hour) and as much roller skiing and running as possible. Needless to say, I'm worn down right now, but getting worn down from doing too many great things isn't anything to complain about.

The charity ride mentioned above was the Highlander Cycle Tour. The event coordinator is a co-worker and also a lunch-time running partner of mine. This was the 11th year they've held this great event in the Southerntier south of Rochester. There are several options of routes that people choose based on ability, but the route I did was 127 miles with over 14,000 feet of climbing, which is comparable to a mountain stage of the Tour de France. Many people that live in Rochester forget that, just south of Rochester, the Finger Lakes region has some very steep hills and beautiful scenery. This years ride included going up and down the hills around Bristol, Canandaigua, Keuka and Naples. It was over eight hours of riding for me, and took some people over 12 hours to complete the ride. I had a good group of guys that I rode the majority of the time with. The weather couldn't have been better and, as always, the event was very well run and raised a lot of money for charity!

This past weekend was our annual RIT baseball alumni weekend. The weekend includes a golf outing, a baseball game at Frontier Field and a barbecue following the game. This year most of my college teammates were able to make it back, so it was great to see everyone. It does turn into a pretty exhausting weekend, but this year was a big success as usual. One highlight for me was catching for my good buddies Joey and Lucas. Lucas still throws really hard and has control issues, which made catching a little exciting, but it was fun to be out there with everyone again. I caught four innings total, which was ok at the time, but I was more sore the day after the game than I was the day after the 127 mile ride described above. I guess I'm not exactly built for catching these days!

The bike races mentioned above - let's just say I'm ready for ski season. Although it is great to see the team doing well and this has been a great summer on the biking front overall, and I'm already looking forward to next season.

Changing seasons...

I can declare that fall has arrived for all of the following reasons:

- I had to grill using a headlamp this week.

- There have been three days in the last week where the sun hasn't come out and the temperature didn't get above 60F. There have also been two days in the last week where the temperature topped 90F...so, it's all over the map, which is pretty much how Spring and Fall go in Rochester.

- I had my first roller ski in long sleeves last weekend, and last night, I rollerskied in the cold rain and was excited about it.

- I've been receiving a massive amount of e-mails from my college buddies about alumni weekend (3rd weekend in September every year).

- Sam Adams Summer Ale has been replaced by Oktoberfest at most local bars by now.

- The NFL season starts tonight. Might be unrelated, but I also had a massive craving for chili yesterday.

So, I have bike races tonight and tomorrow night and then I'm riding the Highlander on Saturday, which is a great charity ride in the hills south of Rochester. After that, I'm not sure how often my bike will be coming out. I've already started mixing in a lot of roller skiing and some trail running. Within two weeks it'll be headlamp workouts-only on weeknights. So, I'm already looking forward to the snow flying, but I do love fall in this area.

Whirlwind

Since my last post, it's been go, go, go, full gas. Everything in the last two weeks has been so unique and amazing that each deserves a specific blog post. The problem however, lies in the fact that I haven't quite cracked the code on the creation of a 27 hour day (although I've proposed this several times to the powers that be), and haven't had time to update.

I had a good week in Georgia. I'm always taken aback by the culture of the people in Georgia. Somehow, as very small country sandwiched geographically between so much awfullness (I think I just made that word up), the people of Georgia have sustained a culture that dates back to biblical times, including a unique language and alphabet. They've sustained this culture while being occupied by six different countries. The thing that has always struck me the most is the warmth of the people there. This was my 4th trip to Georgia and there are two very important cultural phenomenons I've picked up on. First, they believe that every minute you spend with family and friends doesn't extend your lifespan, which leads to a lot of long dinners, etc, but it is a great philosophy. I've never heard a Georgian speak of any stupid reality TV show, or TV at all, when you spend time with Georgian, they want to know about YOU and everything you have going on in your life. Which is an incredible breath of fresh air compared to some of the BS we have going on culturally. Second, they trust people until they've given a reason not to. I've read "Three Cups of Tea", of which, the premises is that in Islamic culture, once you have 3 cups of tea with someone, you become part of the family. In Georgia, if you participate in one proper Georgian toast, you are immediately a friend and they will do anything for you. It's very difficult to describe to people how close I've become with several friends in Georgia over the last year. I feel very fortunate to have been exposed to the Georgian culture and I am luckier to have met some of the people I've met there. Here are a couple photos while I was there.

This is Irakli, he's an awesome guy and I consider him a very close friend. In the background, the presidents house is lit up.
This is a shot of an area of Tbilisi that they're currently renovating and making into a commercial section of town.
Here's a closer shot of the old church, which was first opened 1800 years ago (not a typo, OLD), when the capital was moved to Tbilisi.

When I left Tbilisi, I flew direct to Philadelphia. Nancy was going there for a bridal shower for her close friend Natalie. Since, my younger brother John and one of my closest friends Scott both live in the Philly area, I flew there, so I could see them both, Nancy and keep her company on the drive back to Rochester. Friday night, John picked me up at the airport and I went out in Media, PA with him, his new fiancée Theresa and a couple of his buddies. It was a very fun night. Saturday, we got up and headed over to Scott's house for a BBQ with his family and a few of his friends.

Here's a shot of Scott with his 3 month old daughter Adalyn. Didn't get many pictures of Philly, but it was a great weekend.

Following a overly long drive back to Rochester last Sunday, I finally got home. I had a semi-normal, although busy, week at work.

Yesterday was Chad and Libby's wedding. Chad's one of my regular training partners and over the last 3 years, he's quickly become one of my closest friends. Chad and Libby have been dating since high school (and people think Nancy and I took it slow). That included Chad going to Clarkson and Libby going to BC, and yet they made it work and both ended up back in Rochester. Anyways, I couldn't be happier for them. I will say that there were a lot of fast skiers at the wedding. More importantly there was a lot of love all around! Here are some pics from what was an awesome night.

There's the happy couple!!
Here is all of the RNR and SBR attendee's with Chad and Libby. Left to right - Rick, Jason, Frenchy, Libby, Chad, me, Shannon.

Frenchy and his wife Susanna.
Nancy and I.
Rick and Shannon (getting married next fall).
This pic is me and three of Chad's buddies from College. I met Erik (left) at Chad's bachelor party. He's from Norway originally, great guy. These guys all brought their A-Games for Chad's big day, great hanging out with all of them. There was a notable absentee from the Clarkson crowd at the wedding, named Sam. He's a biathlete that we know well and Chad used to live with in college. He's currently serving the Vermont National Guard in Afghanistan. The best man (Chad's brother Derrick) did a great toast which included mentioning Sammy. We're all praying he get's home safe and is kicking our arses again on snow soon!

Overall, it's been an amazing whirlwind!

Cucumber Season in Warsaw

I've been to Warsaw, Poland somewhere around a dozen times and truly love this city. However, this past week has been a new experience. This is my first time here during the summer months as typically most of my customers go on holiday for the better part of July and August. This long summer vacation is very common throughout the better part of Europe, but one of my Polish friends, Andy, informed me that these summer months are referred to as "Cucumber Season", and even used it in a sentence, by responding to this question from me, "Andy, when will we know the status of that order?" with (in a deep voice and thick Polish accent), "Most probably three or four weeks after cucumber season ends." In any event, I've gained a new appreciation for Warsaw in the summer, this city truly comes alive in full force during the summer months. People are everywhere enjoying the great weather and the historic beauty of the city. I got some time today to walk around a little and snap a few photos:

There's a statue on almost every street corner in downtown Warsaw, here's one of them.

Here's a church close to the hotel. There was a wedding going on there today.

This is the entrance to the University of Warsaw.
Another church.
Statue in front of Church.
This is a snapshot of the Warsaw Hotel, which was the only building in this section of town that wasn't completely destroyed during WWII. They are currently refurbishing and are planning to re-open it to guests in the next few months.
This is the presidents palace. There's a controversy currently going on right now centering around the wooden cross in the foreground. I'm not sure on all the details, but it's a tribute to the recently deceased former president and some Polish citizens want it moved to the church where his funeral took place and some want it to remain where it is. In any event, there were a lot of protesters and news cameras in front of the palace.

This is a shot of "Old Town" Warsaw, which is a big city square. Very vibrant atmosphere.
This is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Poland. It's also currently being refurbished, hence the fence around it.
Random fountain in a local park.
Cultural center donated in the 1940's by Stalin. I could question the irony behind the person donating it, but in any event, it's an immense building in the center of town.

All in all, it's been a very busy week (until today), but very productive. I'm looking forward to heading to Tbilisi tomorrow and also can't wait to get to Philly to see John and Scott next weekend. I also heard that Nancy and I may have a new couch, which I'm looking forward to seeing!