Jersey #9: Kentucky's Journey

So it's been a few days since my last post, but that's because I'm here at home...and since other people actually live here I have other things to do rather than sit in front of a glowing screen all day....

However, a few fun things have happened since my last post, and because of the different environment here (i.e. not being alone) I've had a little time to reflect on how that affects my training, lifestyle, etc.

Although living alone in Iowa, going to school, and training for rugby can be pretty boring at times, there are some benefits. For example, at school, I'm rarely likely to miss a workout, eat badly for several days in a row, or lose focus on my goals. However, I'm very likely to be really stressed, be extremely anti-social, watch tv WAAAY too much, check facebook like 4 million times a day, and to just generally drive myself nuts with self-criticism. On the other hand, being back at home surrounded by family, old friends, and the occassional rugby friend who flies all the way in from New Mexico (yay Jill!!) has kept me very busy. I have been social, fairly happy, only watched tv moderately, and best of all had some time to practice rugby and train a little with Jill (we totally made up some amazing back-row plays and are WAY excited). However, there are drawbacks to this lifestyle as well. I eat too much crap, have a tendency to go out and drink with friends which impedes me from working out the next day (hangover + sprinting = ugh), and just generally lose some of the focus I have when I'm alone....

What I really wish is that, at least while I'm here, I could find a way to mesh the good parts of both lifestyles. For instance, continue the discipline with my workouts and nutrition, while still spending time with friends and family. While going out occassionally for drinks is fine, so much so that it interferes with my rugby goals is definitely not cool - so maybe some of those nights I could be happy with just spending a few hours with friends and then heading home to bed. And when I get back to school in Iowa, perhaps I could curb my psychoticness by spending more time with friends (in a non-alcoholic way), curbing my tv time, and generally trying to enjoy myself a little more. The balance is hard to find in life....Obsessive seems to be good for my game, bad for my head...any thoughts?

Other than this hermit vs. social butterfly conflict, I was excited to find out today that in a couple weeks I am finally going to meet up with a very prominent USA Weightlifting coach and competitor to work on technique in Olympic Lifts. He and I have been corresponding by email for the past couple of years after I contacted him initially to find someone willing to give me some training on the more complicated lifts (Clean, snatch, etc). He managed to hook me up with one of the Univ. of Ky strength and conditioning coaches who trained me once or twice a week for free on his own time for a couple months, which helped me tremendously with my technique. Since my move to Iowa, I have kept in contact with both men, keeping them updated on the rugby world (one was an old UVA Rugby player so he knows the game), and letting them know about my successes and struggles along the way. I am very excited to meet up with them both after all this time, and will report back on what I learn in my session (I am promised that I will be taught some "secrets" to speed and will get my 40 time to where I want it to be)!!

In the meantime, it's late and the folks are returning from a Christmas party, so I should head downstairs and greet them.

I wish a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Fantastic Festivus (ever seen Seinfeld?) to all!!!!

Rugby Love

P.S.

C-A-T-S, CATS!! CATS!!! CATS!!!!.....UK over UMASS 82-68 tonight...How 'bout them Wildcats?!?