James D. McCurdy

What a summer so far!  Since June 1 rolled around, I’ve been super busy.  I’m taking several classes this summer – a statistics class, auditing Organic I, and seminar.  Somewhere in there I’ve managed to keep up my triathlon training.  My swimming has suffered due to Organic Chemistry meeting at 11:30, when I normally swim on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  On top of it all, I’m still working on what seems like a massive, and overwhelming, dissertation.

On June 2, I met with my committee to finalize a dissertation topic – “Sustainability of Legume Inclusion in Warm-Season Turfgrass Swards” – and to talk about my objectives for the next THREE to FOUR years!  The morning of the meeting I was up early and at work setting up the projector and finishing the slide show.  As a token of my appreciation, I bought Panera bagels and coffee.  Overall the meeting went well, with just some minor changes to some of the project methods.

This past weekend I took a trip up to CT for my first Half Ironman distance tri.  It was too short of a trip – left Atlanta Friday evening; few back Sunday night.  Good news is:  I was first overall amateur, 16th male and 17th overall – I was ‘chicked’ by Merinda Cafrae (a chick).  It was a fun 1.2 mile swim, a grueling 56 mile bike, and a tortuously hilly 13.1 mile run .

The tri was at Quassy Ammusment Park on lake Quassapaug.  It was certainly a very pristine lake compared with what I am used to around here; meaning I could see more than a few feet deep.   During the swim I tried to stay on the two leaders feet, but they were zig-zagging all over the place.  I finally swam alone for what must have been a quarter mile.  Then another swimmer took the lead, so I had a nice draft the last few hundred meters.

The bike was as hilly as any ride I’ve done.  It was truly unrelenting.  I think it was so hilly that the flattest part was a three mile climb.  Then the run….  The run was as hilly as the bike but with two miles of gravel roads and a lot of well needed shade.  There were aid stops about every mile, at which I usually drank Pepsi or water.  The Pepsi really helps get sugar into my system quickly.

Anyways, enough war stories.  It was a good weekend.  I’m glad to be back home.  I’ve worked today – mostly on statistics.  I am really sore; so sore that I’ve had to make sure not to moan or groan in public while walking down steps or standing from a chair. Anyways, all is good.

Jay

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks.  Vicky and I drove to St. Petersburg, FL on Friday the 23rd for St. Anthony’s Triathlon — what would have been my first triathlon of the year.  But I got food poisoning from one of the many things I ate while on said trip.  I started vomiting at 22:00.  Every single time I thought to myself:  ”this will be over by morning; I’ll still be able to race…”  But at 04:00, while heaving the half bottle of Gatorade (you guys should sponsor me) I had managed to down over a nauseous fifteen minute period, it began to dawn on me:  ”I may not be able to race on a completely empty, cramped stomach…”

Nevertheless, Vicky drove me to the race site.  I put on my man face (and tights) and made my way to transition.  I was going to race no matter what.  But within 100 yards of the car, it quickly became apparent that I was through.  As the waves lapped against the beach, and the wind blew salty sea breezes through my hair, I was leaned, and at one point prostrate, beneath a palm tree heaving with all my might.

Fortunately I got my bike out of transition before race start.  Then, while I lay in the back of the car vomiting in plastic grocery sacks, Vicky drove us the nine hours back to Auburn.  Plug for Vicky:  don’t know what I would have done without her on this trip. I was completely incapacitated.

By 16:00 I was dehydrated and unable to keep anything down.  At the suggestion of my medical advisor (Aunt Kay), I went to the ER for an IV (a story by its self).  They had me in a room within an hour, which must be a record.  I got seen prior to about three patients complaining of chest pains, at least two children requiring stitches, and one boy with a fish hook stuck in his foot.

Also bizarre:  Talladega (NASCAR) was blaring from three flat screen TV’s in the waiting rooms.  Everyone was going wild, even the kid with the fish hook in his foot was yelling for “Jr.”

Summed up, that was the worst race day experience I’ve ever had…  Worse than flatting two years in a row at Chattanooga (cursed)…  Worse than being knocked unconscious and scraped up road-racing… and even worse than the Rebel Man Triathlon in Ole Miss, which was bad for many reasons…

On a positive note:  I’m still alive and kickin’… driving up to Knoxville for REV 3 triathlon this weekend.  It’s the first in a series of three (Olympic, Half IM, and Full IM).  I’m registered for the Half and have considered the Full.  Only time will tell.  Training is pretty good — if anything I’m under-trained.  But overall I’m healthy.

Additionally, I finished the Spring semester with two finals today.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo,

Jay

Long story short, my phone crapped out a couple of nights ago. I was doing an easy spin on the bike trainer when Joe Tuck called. After we had talked (really he talked and I mostly gasped between phrases), my phone flipped out. It flashed and beeped and vibrated like it had never done before. It officially died about two hours later.

So I got a new phone, a smart-phone, a droid. I also got “data” on my phone. I can now check my email without opening the computer in the morning. Now I find that I’m easily distracted; my eyes are drawn to the screen. I check the weather, email, twitter (as you can see from the new widget to the right, I’m now tweeting).

But life goes on. I’ve got most of my contacts. Hopefully this is a long term relationship. My last phone lasted more than 3 years.

Call me.

Jay

Spring has arrived in Auburn! I saw my legs today for the first time in over two months. No more leg- or arm- warmers, no more tights; it’s on.

I’ve spent the last four weeks trying to get some research started – wrong time of year to do that. And I’ve trained harder and longer this winter than in winter’s past.

I guess my life’s a mix and match between grad-school and training. My boss says “everyone’s got dragons to slay,” but none of us grad students quite know what that means. I think it means something about taking care of business so that we can have extracurricular activities.

So I’m slayin’ some dragons. This week we’re applying spring preemergence trials. Preemergence herbicides prevent germinated seedlings from becoming full sized plants – usually weeds in lawns. One can quite literally smell dinitroanaline herbicides all around town. It’s a wonder there’s not an activist student union against herbicide application on campus. There are huge movements throughout the nation (and globe) against such intense management practices. A couple of interesting reads (and websites) are Turf Wars, the Daily Green, Less Lawn, and LawnReform.org

Slayin' Some Dragons

It’s complicated, but my project lies along the same line.  It revolves around the idea that not all weeds are bad, particularly leguminous weeds such as the clovers (Trifolium spp). When it comes to purposefully including legumes in lawns, there’s a lot of good ideas floating around but very little data, especially in warm-season turf…

So we’re looking to change that by quantifying carbon and nitrogen sequestration within these systems and comparing them with mono-stands of turf.

At least that’s the plan.

For now, I’m “in clover,” which basically means good pasture.

Jay

It has been so long since I’ve written.  That’s not to say I haven’t been busy.  So I’ll use this post as an update and review the previous year. 

Last January Vicky and I spent two weeks together in England.  I had a vacation from my job in Hong Kong; she had a few days off for holiday but worked while I explored York.  We rang in the new ye ar with friends in Leeds.   We saw Stonehenge, Hadrian’s Wall, and I spent the better part of a week exploring the surrounding country side, including a day trip to the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) in Bingley. 

In April, Mom, Dad, and Vicky met me in Beijing.  It was a joy to explore such a vibrant and exotic locale.  We returned together to Hong Kong where I entertained for a few days. 

I returned to the States in time to celebrate fourth of July.  Dyer is a fantastic place on the fourth.  The crew and I decorated a City Lumber truck for the Dyer Station Celebration Parade.  Our theme:  Christmas in July.

I celebrated my 25th birthday on July 21st then Mom and I visited Auburn, AL to look for suitable housing.  We visited well over fifteen before settling on a nice place near downtown Auburn and within less than a mile of my work. 

Vicky arrived in early August, so we spent a few days catching up in Dyer and packing all of our belongings into the old Tahoe –- there were five bikes between the two of us. 

We arrived in Auburn in the heat of summer, but it was no match to what I had experienced in Hong Kong over the previous months.  It was nice to finally be settling into a routine.  I was able to hire a triathlon coach and really build my time for some late season fall racing.  I did well at some local races (1st at Brett Robinson Alabama Coastal) and mediocre at larger venues (5th Local Elite in Dallas). 

Vicky and I are doctoral candidates at Auburn University.  She is studying biochemistry and molecular biology; I am studying Agronomy and Soils.  School work has been slow.  My project,  Sustainable Warm-Season Turfgrass Sward Compositions (working title), deals with the evaluation of biodiverse turf swards, mainly clover plus bermudagrass.  Here it is the beginning of 2010, and I’ve barely gotten the project off the ground.  There’s plenty waiting for me once I’ve returned back to Auburn. 

Vicky and I have enjoyed nearly two weeks back home in Dyer, TN.  We’ve spent time with family; we’ve gorged ourselves on holiday treats.  I even stacked some sod one day – ah, the glories of manual labor.  Last night Vicky and I brought in the new year Dyer-Style with our friends Justin, Allyson, Tori, Jeff, and Nathan. 

As I write this, we’re about to partake in Mom’s annual New Year’s Day lunch.  There will be black-eyed peas, cabbage, and hog jowl, all of which are supposed to bring good luck in the new year.  I hope all who read this are well. 

Happy New Year!

Jay

Autumnal:  Belonging to or suggestive of autumn; produced or gathered in autumn; past maturity or middle life.

Autumnal is a word I’ve always liked.  The ‘null rolls lazily from my tongue.  The word autumn then, is by default also a nice word.  That ‘mnnn sound could only be improved by slapping a ‘null at the end of it.  Wikipedia reviews the word Autumn well.  Many North Americans say Fall.  I associate Autumn with the color change of many deciduous trees and plants, football, and most of all with the harvest of crops.  Growing up on a farm, the year was always built around reaping what we had sown earlier in the year. 

The entire season is a long episode of A Prairie Home Companion – slow and relaxed like Garrison Keiller’s voice. 

Despite having been sick this week, likely with the swine flu, I have enjoyed the weather.  It’s been cool in Auburn, with morning temps having been less than 55 at least twice.  The cool, moist air makes early-morning bike rides a bit tougher to wake up for.  This is my first weekend in Auburn in more than a month.  I’ve had some good races; I even won one.  I got 6th in my Age Group at World’s in Australia, 21st overall.  It was a fun week but the race was flat, fast, and there was lots of drafting on the bike – finished the bike with about 20 to 30 guys from my age group.  

Vicky and I spent a fun weekend at the Gulf Coast.  We travelled down with the Auburn University Triathlon Team.  They paid for our travels and room and were great company.  We raced the Brett-Robinson, Gulf Coast Triathlon.  It had an awesome ocean swim.  I’ve honestly never swam in that rough of seas, so that was a fun experience.  I had a strong bike in some wicked cross-winds then went out hard on the run. 

But the hard work is almost over.  Thankfully, my last race is next weekend.  My body seems ready for some rest.  Hopefully I can shake the rest of whatever’s got me down right now, and I can pull out a third overall in the Elite Amateur group. 

Well, that’s it for now.  I hope you’re all snug in your warm, autumnal sweaters. 

Jay

The last three weeks have been a whirl wind.  Vicky arrived on July 28th, the evening of Nashville’s Music City Triathlon, in which I was third overall. It was a downtown venue with plenty of hills on the run.  A quick aside:  despite a mere third, two press releases followed.  One in the Tennessean, where I was mentioned only in passing.   And one that was produced by the UTM sports department.

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As the Gene Autry and Aerosmith songs go, I’m back.  I’m back in the saddle again.  I’ve put in some decent mileage on the bike since returning from China.  And yes, I’m a bit saddle sore. 

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Hong Kong has been a blast.  I can’t say enough about the great people I’ve met.  I’ve learned an enormous amount about growing grass.  I can speak a little Cantonese.  And I’ve made some life-long friends.  But I’ll be headed back to Dyer for the 4th of July, then off to Auburn University to pursue a PhD this August. 

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Ah, the joys of training in Hong Kong.  It has rained, almost without stopping, since Thursday.  

This is what I rode in this morning.  And yesterday, I swear it must have rained three or four inches during my hour and a half long run.  I believe monsoon season has officially started.

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