TicketsSept. 11, 2006
Throughout the 2006-07 school year, select UC student-athletes will share their experiences on and off the field with Bearcat fans through CATSblogs. These student-athletes will take you in to the life of a Bearcat and share their struggles and triumphs. Fans can email questions or comments to their favorite CATSblogger here! Be sure to include your name and hometown.
Nichole Leslie is a junior on the cross country and track & field teams. She is a health sciences major and works as a student assistant in the UC compliance office.
September 27, 2006
Well essentially I am done with classes for the week! I don't have classes tomorrow, but I am going to work all day in the athletic office. I do have two classes on Friday's, but we are leaving for Notre Dame at 7:30am so I will not be able to go to them. Lucky for me my professors are very understanding and are working with me. I do have a lot of reading to do, which I plan on doing in the van on the way to .
It was a gorgeous day today, and to cap it off we had a nice run. Coach has backed off of us a little bit, and I can already tell its helping. We run at Notre Dame in two days and it is a fast course, so we need to be ready to move. The meet itself is broken into a blue and gold division. There are 14 ranked teams in the blue race; however we are in the gold race. This is the race we should be in, but it is always a fun challenge to race the best of the best. Only nine people can run varsity in this race so it will give us a sneak peek of our possible team at conference. We do have some people that are not racing, or as coach would say "on the way out." This is a little disappointing, but there is still time before we need to be performing, and performing well.
Well the storms are rolling in, and I should be getting to bed......
"Desire is the key to motivation, but it's the determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek." Mario Andretti
Until Tomorrow, enjoy today Nic
September 25, 2006
It's Monday again and actually almost Tuesday. Today was my busiest day of the week. I had four hours of class, during which time I did not see sunlight. I have all my classes on East campus, and there are no windows in the classrooms or labs. After tomorrow we will be done with five days (in my case four) of classes. So far not too bad. I really enjoy having the same people in all of my classes; I even have a permanent lab partner, my friend Brandon. Although classes are not that bad, I spent Sunday doing homework.
Okay that's not all I did! Friday night Kevin Schwartz provided the food, while Eric's sister Emily and her friend cooked us all dinner. This wasn't the standard pasta dinner either. We're talking ham, mashed potatoes, rolls, green beans, and cookies. It was delicious! After that a few of us attempted to go to the Blessid Union of Soul and Sister Hazel concert on campus. It got canceled due to lightening and pouring rain. Luckily the night was not ruined. Tommy and Graham had everyone over to their dorm room to watch Wedding Crashers. They were great hosts, they provided popcorn and snacks. Saturday my awesome roommate and I ran some errands and then my dad and brother, along with his friend JP came down for the soccer game. The Bearcats did beat Syracuse in case you're wondering. Sunday I did indeed hit the books, and watch some football. My boys (the Patriots) let me down last night and got crushed! However they are ready for next weekend's game against the Bengal's.
Running is going really well in case you were wondering. Friday we had a tough workout at Salaway Park. I felt really relaxed and comfortable which is great for a workout. I was happy...but my legs were shot! I put in over 60 miles last week including some easy runs over the weekend. But Coach was not letting up, today we had a tough 11 x 700 workout at Eden Park. It was actually one of the best team workouts I have ever been apart of. Coach gave us the idea to have someone different lead each one. This really helped me! It was so nice not to have to lead every repeat and have someone to chase down. The workout today helped make me a stronger runner and a smarter racer. I am looking forward to a great race on a fast course at Notre Dame on Friday.
"Pain is temporary, pride is forever."
Until tomorrow, enjoy today. Nic
September 20, 2006
Today was day number one of the school year, so far not too bad. I actually had my first 50 minute class today, actually two. Neither of them was too bad, I am excited to dig into them actually. But we can cross off day one of my third year without a glitch.
We were back to having 3:30 practice today which was great! Unfortunately, that doesn't mean coach gave us any break. He is really working us hard. We got in nine today, and had to go up the ever famous Clifton hill. I did have an awesome run with Megan. We started off easy with the group and worked into it, but by the last four miles we were really working hard. It was a well ran run for us both.
After practice we had an all athlete program, Catapult. Mike Thomas addressed us on what catapult is. His plan for UC athletics for the next five years is for each sport to win a Big East title. I think it is a lofty plan, but one each team can strive for. We were also introduced to a lot of the administrators, which included the people I work for in the compliance office. We were informed about safety, My Space and Facebook, had a guest speaker, and sang the fight song. They had food for us when we were done, and if we wanted we could tour the new athletic facilities. To cap off the welcome party, the men's soccer team won 3-1, which I watched from the comfort of my own room.
Another day lies ahead tomorrow, and although I do not have any classes, I will be working.
Until tomorrow, enjoy today Nic
Tomorrow is the big day...classes start AGAIN! I am excited about this year because all of my classes are directly related to my major. I have some of the syllabi, and they don't look too bad. The only thing I am worried about is that I will be missing my classes on Fridays often for meets. To make it worse I have a lab on Fridays! Lucky for me I have a great friend Brandon who is in all of my classes and will take good notes for me.
Another plus about starting school is the fact that practice is at on campus. I am so glad I don't have to drive to practice anymore! Although I could use a day off, my legs are a little tired. Yesterday, we ran a hard 10 miles along the river. I was glad there was good scenery and a drizzle, because we were pushing the pace. We came back today with our first igloo workout of the season. It was a hard one though, but one of the best ones I've had. During the workout we got in 10 miles, and a mile warm-up and cool-down, for a daily total of 12. It was a great workout for everyone. I was most impressed with how well Tamara did in her first igloo; they are definitely not my favorite. We have some easy runs and another workout this week, so it should be a fun one. Well I should be getting ready for class tomorrow and getting some sleep.
"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing." -Abraham Lincoln
Until tomorrow, enjoy today Nic
I had a busy week, but a great weekend! Coach pushed us really hard this week at practice. Three tough days in a row, and my legs were dead. He was working us hard this week because we had the weekend off of racing. I would have rather had a meet, but it was nice to have the weekend off. There are not many weekends throughout the year that we are not racing, so I figure I should enjoy them while I can. It felt so good to get in some solid distance runs Friday thru Sunday. I was in for the weekend, so it was nice to get in some new runs.
Besides running this weekend, I did enjoy the break. Saturday I got to see Central Michigan play at the Big House. It was an awesome experience, and I actually was part of history. It was the first time they had a lightening delay during a game, lucky for us we made it under the stands before the rain came. It turned out to be a nice day; I just wish Central would have won. To make up for their loss however, the Patriots came from behind and pulled off a win. Well it's time to get ready for another week, only ten days until school starts.
Until tomorrow, enjoy today Nic