Slacking

Well the last two weeks have involved very little training due to Recognition, midterms, and Spring Break but I'll be back on the bike before long.  Being back at school after an amazing trip home for break is a bummer, but I'm in the final stretch of this school year, with just 15 lessons left until finals.

Over break, I was able to see family and friends, and catch up on life with everyone close to me.  I ate out way too often and didn't really work out, but oh well.  Just yesterday, my brother and I took my dad out for a day of fun for his birthday.  Coop surprised him with his visit, but the surprises continued on.  After lunch, indoor go-kart racing, and a movie, we came home to my dad's 60th surprise birthday party.  As it turns out, he had 0 idea of the party, and was truly blown away with everyone there.  I'm certain he had a great time, and I'm glad I was able to be there with him for his 60th Birthday.

Along with being home with friends and family, I had the distinct opportunity to ride in an F-16 fighter jet in Phoenix this last Thursday.  Very few people will ever receive a ride, and I know how lucky I am to be given the chance.  I rode in the back seat of the plane during an actual mission, so "Twitch" my pilot, wasn't able to do the maneuvers I had been hoping for; oh well.  We did however roll inverted a few times, pulled 6 G's, had a full afterburner take off, and best of all, I didn't throw up...  The hour and a half I spent in the air was probably the best 90 minutes of my life.  I will remember my flight for quite some time, and now have something tangible to work towards.

I'll get back to the training this week, no worries.  Hope everyone's doing well, take care!

Matt

Week 5, Changes are made

So for the first 4 weeks of my training, I primarily stuck with biking and biking alone.  However, lately I've been mixing in different, smaller workouts with the biking to hopefully return better results in the long run.  I've been doing lots of ab workouts, along with some running after my biking. I've been running some mid paced miles after biking, along with wind sprints during intramural days when I opt to not ride.  Running was near painful the first time I tried after biking, but it's getting a little better.  My ab workouts are also getting more intense as time goes on.  I'm now to the point to where I can do 150 straight sit-ups without anyone holding my feet - good, but I still have a ways to go. Here's the excel sheet for this week...

Some excellent news came my way earlier this week.  I will be getting a ride in an F-16 this Spring Break, just two weeks down the road.  I'm beyond excited and will hopefully come back with some amazing pictures and one amazing story.  I will be required to be in Arizona for 2 or 3 days to get the flight, but I'm staying with my Aunt and Uncle, which should be fun in and of itself.

The cold is on its way back in, with snow expected for the next two days.  And to think, people were saying we were coming out of the Dark Ages already with our 60* temps of last week.  The Dark Ages is the period of time between New Years and Spring Break, where it is always cold, and never sunny.  Spring Break historically marks the end of the Dark Ages, but snow through the end of April wouldn't surprise anyone.  Mid-semester has come and gone quicker than ever.  It's hard to believe just three months from now, college will be half over.  They say time flies when you're having fun, but it seems to also fly when you're bored out of your mind.  I guess that means time always flies??

Just this past Friday, the Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, came to speak to our school.  Everyone was expecting him to touch on the new Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy and how it should be implemented here.  We also thought he was going to cover the Air Force's draw down in numbers, which includes cutting over 400 students permanently here at the Academy.  He didn't talk about those, and really only covered two main points.  The joint operation will continue in full force, which everyone already knew, and that Lockheed Martin has signed a $350 Billion contract agreeing on 2,400 new F-35 Fighter Jets to be produced in the coming years; that I didn't know.  For a reference point, currently there are under 1,200 F-15's in service, and only 168 F-22's ever made.  Adding 2,400 new fighters to the current fleet the Air Force currently has will allow members of the classes of 2012 and 2013 with the perfect opportunity to fly a fighter.  I'm quite happy about that.

Well, just two weeks and I'll be back in wonderful California, relaxing with friends and family.  It's really the only thing keeping me going for right now.  Hope everyone's doing well, I'm sure I'll see you all sooner or later.  Take care!

Matt

When the temps get below negative, everything freezes...