'ello

new blog. new chapter.
Thought it would be a great time to start up a new blog, one that has some more longevity to it. Something a bit more constant and enduring than "pete @ dev camp" or "blm4x @ u23s" - a blog not necessarily or exclusively about the rigors of training and making weight, but one about my life. This will undoubtedly include many entries on rowing and training and eating and thinking I'm fat etc. etc. however I intend "chasing elation" to encompass my life in whole - the macro, not the micro.

As of right now this feels like sort of a mass email, something of an update for those I love and care about, a way of communicating that can be read by everyone. but maybe an email list is better. though maybe this way is more for me than just you, because if I was writing to you, all of you, I don't think I would be as open to hashing/figuring things out as I can be here.

So there you have it. part blog, part letter, part diary.

Let's recap the day shall we?
Woke, around 7 despite less sleep that I would have liked. Can't seem to override the body's internal alarm sometimes. Read a bit of James Fray's "Bright Shiny Morning" which has been a rather interesting book thus far. It is so far a series of vignettes with a few threads beginning to show themselves more than once. There's a couple in there that basically empties their bank accounts and peaces out for California. Bob, this reminds me of you, always dreaming of doing these things but deciding that we're too well off to just up and leave like these kids. For me I think it's the escapism that I like the most. The ability to live without responsibility is a wonderful impossibility. At the very least you have to be responsible for your health.

When it was finally time for breakfast...845. second sitting. paying customers come first. I gobbled down some delicious home cooked goodies. oatmeal w/ raisins and strawberries and dates, a chocolate chip muffin, and a pumpkin one. too much, hard to resist such awesome things when they're at your fingertips. At 11 I had a massage with Kimberly Howell who is the on staff masseuse here at craftsbury. We had a good chat while she took care of my naked butt. Ha. A bit of pain in the Sit bone area left me bare cheeked at the table, but Kimberly did a great job of making me comfortable, and there wasn't really any awkwardness. Kind soul to give a 22 year old guy a 50min long but massage for nothing. Wouldn't even let me buy her a bottle of wine. Too kind.

This is another reoccuring theme of Cbury. People here are so nice. There has been tremendous hospitality toward us rowers. Some of which I struggle to believe. They put us up in a sweet apartment of our own, above the main office, we're provided 3 awesome meals a day, over 60k of sweet xc ski trails, exercise facilities etc. And we need to put in 15hrs of work per week. Pretty good deal.

So, post massage, 60' ergo, and stretch, nice. Then Lunch. Another delicious meal and a bit of a chat with the dining hall staff. I offered my services if they needed help, I think it would be fun to work in the kitchen. Think it would be a sweet way to meet some other people here, learn how to make some yummy stuff, and see what the inside of a kitchen that cooks for 100 people every day looks like. Perhaps I'll get the chance while I'm still here.

After lunch, Jon and I drove down to Concept 2 to pick up our new hr monitors, which thanks to their generosity and us being on national teams this year, were at a $100 discount. Only 50 bucks each. Too good to pass up. The drive was as most afternoon drives are here: beautiful.

We made good time on this trip, It was starting to look like a 3 hour round trip when we looked at google maps and the time we assumed we would spend in the factory, however we mad it back in time enough to grab a slice of pizza from the green ski team who were firing up some sweet pies from the center's outdoor pizza oven. Fucking awesome.

After that, I helped Larry with his fitness class. This is essentially a circuit training class for 50-70 somethings who live in the craftsbury area. Great group. Full of joy and truely excited about their training. They love using their bodies, and that I think is the primary focus of this class, to encourage a healthful enjoyment of one's body. Larry does a good job of accomplishing this.

After class, another wonderful meal. Surprise surprise. Pete=spoiled. Seriously. Food spoiled. Nature spoiled. It's safe to say I'm enjoying my time here. I also think that writing about it has made this more evident to me. Naeem would be proud scald. Anyway, it's getting late ish, gonna hit the hay soon. Lets do this again soon.