First Year of PT School

Alright I know its been quite some time and I'm sure everyone is curious to what I've been up to. Well here you go; I am hoping to update this baby at least once a week starting now...

Most notably is the completion of my first year of physical therapy grad school. To say this year wasn't challenging would be a blatant lie. I pretty much cruised through my undergraduate studies without a real challenge with the exception of a few classes so this year was a punch to the gut of reality. Every single week this spring semester classmates and I stared blankly into the face of at least 2 to 3 exams every week and polished it off with 7 exams over a three day period. 10 different classes will make a man crazy in some regards. Hence, why I am writing my first post in months at 4:30 in the morning: my sleep schedule is severely off. I could go on and on about all the things that I've learned this year ranging from gross anatomy to pharmacology agents but I'll spare everyone as even I'll admit some is somewhat irrelevant.

Besides school I had the privilege this past year to coach the Collins Women's Little 500 team. It was a great experience for my personally and I think the girls showed a lot of determination to get this thing rolling, no pun intended. A small group of friends who maybe were getting a little bored or felt their college experience was getting a little stale decided, "what the heck let's restart this Collins team from the ground up?" With no equipment, bikes, clothing, or any idea of what to expect they jumped in head first and tried to float. When I thought about it and the challenge that it presented, along with a way to stay involved in the race that really shaped my own personal college experience I committed to be a coach. In the beginning I wasn't expecting much and just wanted them to enjoy the experience. With that being said I told them I was going to push them hard in workouts and I wanted them to fully commit to this endeavor. That they did! Sparing all the details there were many emails, texts, and phone calls with questions about workouts, pit selections, quals, and pretty much anything that one could possibly think of concerning this event.

Spring series weren't exactly a huge focus for us. Maybe dating back to my days with the Cutters and a little bit with the idea that they've only been riding for a month and a half I didn't think going full blow into these events would heighten spirits, etc. Nothing spectacular to speak of outright but they held their own flying under the radar and ultimately we had a great first quals run and qualified for the 25th running of the women's little 500 in the 18th position. We're in!

The day of the race I remember sitting around all day thinking about the strategy that I had in mind all the while trying to not think about the rain that was sure to come. Secretly I wanted it to pour though as I figured it would help a team of rookies that wouldn't necessarily know what to expect. Boy did that define their race more than I thought as everyone rode spectacular and finished all 100 laps and a tremendous 7th place. It was absolutely incredible to experience it from the perspective of coaching and to watch a group of individuals come so far in such a short amount of time. To think they went from not even having bikes at the end of January to placing 7th? Come on  that's awesome! Looking forward to working with the ladies in the years to come if they decide to keep me around (I've got at least one more year on my contract and received a sweet signing bonus of an Upland growler and some cookies!) We're losing Megan who will be studying abroad next year in France. Hard shoes to fill as she was voted Rookie of The Year by her riding peers but they're up for the challenge and should be fun to see if we get some new riders interested in carrying on the tradition.
 Here's a link to their blog. http://collinscycling.wordpress.com/

Labor Day Weekend

Welp another weekend is in the books and to be quite honest it was a good one! Not a whole lot of studying so it will most definitely be a long week ahead but that's alright I enjoyed myself. After class on Friday I drove up to Lansing, Michigan to take part in the weekend festivities of my dear cousin Drew's marriage. The wedding was great. Kind of hot but it didn't rain and everything turned out nicely so without a doubt an overall success! Everyone looked wonderful and I got to see a lot of cousins, family, and friends that I haven't seen in quite some time so that was awesome.

Stayed at my aunt Bunny's on Friday night and just hung out, went and got ice cream and caught up on general family gossip, etc. Wedding Saturday and then drove home early Sunday afternoon in hopes of getting some studying done. Well one thing after another with a nap sandwiched in between didn't allow for much but I did finish up my homework for the week so nothing but studying for this guy til next week's first round of exams. Should be interesting.

Most people think of labor day as one of the last holidays of the summer before the weather starts to cool and the leaves turn colors. I definitely did some laboring today: the kind where you're stuck behind a brushhog clearing out paths and what not at grandpa's house. Wasn't so bad cutting down trees and such especially since the weather was so beautiful and I got a little cash too which is always nice. Then home to celebrate my stepbrother Aaron's birthday. The big 14. Makes you feel old and sadly I'm starting to feel it as my shoulder is aching as of late and my metabolism just doesn't seem to be functioning as well either for some reason...

Have a good week everyone. Don't know about everyone else but looking forward to fall and more importantly thanksgiving break so i don't have class for a few days!

Week 2

Getting ready to start week 2 of PT school. Had a good weekend and was fairly productive so I'm feeling a whole lot better about this PT school thing. Coming to realize that there is going to be little time for fun though as most of my weekend was devoted to completing homework and studying the human body until I wanted to rip my eyes right out of my skull.

Looking forward to this weekend and heading up to Lansing, Michigan to go to my cousin Drew's wedding. Haven't seen all my cousins for a while so it will be nice to see everyone for sure. Also hoping there's an open bar because I have I feeling I'm going to be ready for a drink, or a dozen of them after week 2...

Worn Out

    As most of you probably know I started my Doctor of Physical Therapy degree quest at Andrews University this week. I knew going into the program the high expectations, excellence within the program, etc. etc. and boy did they really hammer it home this week to our class! Taking 18 credit hours at any institutional level is impressive in my mind but the degree of difficulty has definitely stepped it up a notch. The sheer volume of material that I learned, or should I say was suppose to learn this week is appalling. Honestly having class from 8-530 everyday is tiresome. Then on top of that you have anywhere from 5-10 chapters to read for various classes per week. Included in that is studying for pop quizes, trying to keep yourself sane by doing something you enjoy, but other than that absolutely nothing. The dean of the school said on the first day of class, "Kiss your social life goodbye." Sadly he was right. When I leave class at the end of the day I'm just mentally drained and need to unwind so i joined a gym in south bend and finally got back in the water. Ideally I'd rather be outside riding but let's face it 2 hour rides everyday are not going to bode with with my schedule so at the gym this week I've just been swimming and a little work on the concept 2 rowing machine. Next week I'll throw in some interval work on a bike just to give me an excuse to keep shaving my legs. Also piggybacking that is the fact that the hilly hundred is looming in the distance a little more than a month away. Have to train appropriately to hit my peak heading into that weekend.
     Well that's about all that anyone is going to read on this thing for the next 3 years: me bitching about school and possibly the 40 minute one-way commute up there. Feel free to send me any cool Cd's they'd be appreciated. Not only are my week trashed but now my weekends will be devoted to digesting all the material and sifting through it distinguishing what's worth studying for practical exams. Yay.

US Pro Criterium Championships

Ever since word got around that Eric would be racing for Bissell this summer there was controversy. Now 6 months later the kid is stirring the pot up in the higher ranks as well! It may sound stupid and you can think what you want but ever since Eric and I went to race in the Gateway Cup races last year in St. Louis I knew he had what it took to compete at the next level. Fresh off his 2010 US Pro Criterium Championship "Hollywood" Hollaway got his ass handed to him by Eric in heads up sprints two days in a row and I thought I was going to have a heart attack because the god damn announcer wouldn't give Eric the credit he deserved in those sprints. Now I don't think there will be any arguments after today's impressive showing as Eric brought home the coveted Stars and Stripes jersey.

Eric edging out Brad Huff at the line to take the win. Me cheering in the background like a mad man! I knew it before the announcers! Photo taken by Jonathan Devich


When I woke up this morning I had a weird feeling. I literally woke up 1 minute before my alarm went off, went upstairs to get some coffee and it was gone, checked the weather and looked like rain; nothing was going right. Said goodbye to my sister as she headed off to college and jumped in the car for the lonely 2.5 hour drive to Grand Rapids to watch the race. Once I got there I ran into Eric's parents at a coffee shop and while we were enjoying our less than spectacular java drinks I told his mom, "I've got a good feeling about today." She quickly responded, "I like good feelings!"

The race started and Kelley Benefit Strategies and Bissell seemed to be battling the whole time sending guys up the road with no real luck. About half way through the race the clouds started to roll in and I immediately felt the temperature drop about 10 degrees. The official cut the race by 20 laps or so and informed the riders there would only be 10 laps to go but needless to say once it hit 3 to go Mother Nature had other plans as wind gusts ripped over barriers and the stage. They postponed the race and when it finally restarted there was to be 30 laps to the finish. Now at this point everyone should be thinking, "I wonder if I should bet the farm on this Eric Young fella because from past experience he doesn't get beat much after a rainy restart?"

If you placed the wager you were right! Of course that's a very vague recap from a spectator point of view but that was a race that I will never forget as Eric charged toward the line dead even with Huff with the most intense look of desire I've ever seen. Mind you I've been riding with Eric a while so I've seen him at both his worst and his best. When he nudged in front of Huff right before the line I started jumping, screaming, crying, bleeding (I just got my wisdom teeth pulled and my sockets where the teeth used to be exploded and bled  everywhere!), hugging complete strangers, texting friends/teammates and I'm sure many other noteworthy things in celebration. It seemed as though someone just handed me a million dollars.

So here's to you Eric to a job well done today and this summer thus far. I wish you nothing but the best and I know deep down this is just the beginning. Glad to say you're part of the Cutters family and I know you ride with passion for all of us and many others. Keep it rollin Hazelbear

PS: I bet Ryan Kiel sleeps like a baby tonight

It's Been A While

For all three of you who have read this sad excuse for a blog I apologize for not writing in a very long time. In my defense though I find this blogging site somewhat ridiculous because you are not allowed to have a GMail email account associated with your blog. What happens when that's your primary email source? Anyone know any loopholes around this?

Ever since I stopped writing on this there really hasn't been much to write home about other than a giant party. Needless to say I had a great summer. Never went grocery shopping and ate out damn near every meal and partied like a rock star. Loved every minute of it but I'm definitely ready to get back to a little regularity and schedule. Starting class on Monday up at Andrews. Looking forward to making this progression into professional school.

Helped move Elliot down to Bloomington and it was bittersweet knowing that i can't go back to bloomington unfortunately. Grace is also leaving tomorrow for  Valpo so I will be the king of the castle rightfully so!

Had a great trip out to Colorado to visit mom and had a tremendous time. Went to the Royal Gorge Bridge, took the train down the Arkansas River, hiked Pike's Peak, conquered the Incline, 7 Falls, Cripple Creek, and rode a bit and most importantly had a giant bear digging through the trash.

Heading up to Grand Rapids tomorrow to watch Hazel compete in the US Pro Criterium Championship. Wishing him a safe race and hopefully he will be able to bring home a stars and bars jersey!

The Next Stage

This last week was big; in fact it was huge in terms of my future. Only weeks prior have I decided that my chances at attending graduate school this year were slim at best and I was losing faith. I decided that my best career choice during my year off would be to study for the board examination to become a personal trainer and work at a gym that I used to work out at in the summers of high school. So I ordered some study materials and started the process. Finishing up at work I headed home to study a bit before going riding later in the day with a few friends. I really wasn't feeling the whole studying process and a bit tired so I decided to take a little nap; go figure! I easily passed out within 5 minutes and low and behold was woken up by my obnoxious ring tone only 30 minutes into my nap. Now if you know my sleeping habits at all you know exactly how hard it is to wake me up so the fact that the phone ringing woke me up is a miracle in itself. I rolled over and grabbed my phone and didn't recognize the number. I throw my phone back on my nightstand and was just going to ignore the call being the screen er that I am. For some reason that I still don't know myself I reached for the phone again and answered. It was a sweet lady on the other side and I immediately thought it was one of the Red Cross people calling again asking, or better yet, begging for me to give blood even though I've repeatedly asked to be taken off the list. (Note: I support giving blood but while training for bike racing its a terrible idea that I found out the bad way) Then she introduced herself as Dixie Scott and the lights went off in my head because I recognized that name from my interview about a month ago for grad school. "Zachary, I've got some news that may be of interest. We'd like to offer you admission into the Doctoral Physical Therapy program here at Andrews University." I about hit the ceiling with excitement!
   
Now that I've got a plan in place for the final stage in my journey toward becoming a real adult I feel like my life is finally taking shape in the direction it was suppose to go. To say I wasn't worried before this phone call would be a drastic understatement. For now just trying to figure out some financials as I see lots of dollars accumulating in the red (debtcity) and enjoying the last month here in Bloomington before I leave this great town back to the grassroots before starting class on August 22nd.