Wednesday, March 27, 2013

First Race Back!

So good to be back!
This past saturday, we had our first outdoor track meet at Augustana! I was finally cleared to start racing, which means that this was my first race since conference for cross country, which was in October. Being injured has been pretty miserable, and there were even times where I thought about just giving up. Saturday morning came along, and we were pretty worried about the weather, but luckily it was mostly sunny, with just a little wind. My race wasn't until 4 in the afternoon, so I had some waiting to do! Like always, it was great to get to watch all of my other teammates race, and support them.

Awesome having a close friend supporting me at my first meet back<3


 At this meet, I was honestly more nervous than I have been in a very long time, what if my leg got worse? What if I couldnt even finish the race? What if I got last? When that gun finally went off and the race started, all of those stupid thoughts just became so trivial. In the past three months, I forgot how great it feels to race.  When I looked around during my 3k, I saw so many people cheering me on;  teammates, parents, coaches, and I realized how lucky I was to be a part of this team. Whether I am racing for a win, or racing to beat my own time, I know that I will always have  this great team and coaching staff behind me one hundred percent. I look forward to the rest of the season, and getting back into shape!
Until the Next Adventure, Ryan Rey




Still have some work to do!

 

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Formals

Best looking family ever!
     One thing that is really exciting about the spring here at Coe is all of the different fun events! We have our Pres Ball, we have a giant concert, graduation, earth day dance and each greek organization has a formal. These past two weeks, I was lucky enough to get to go to two different Formals. The first weekend was my Formal, at the Clarion in Cedar Rapids. We all went swimming early (where i got to show off my life guarding skills). Afterwards we all got really dressed up, and went to a great dinner and dance. I loved getting to hang out with all of my brothers and their dates. Overall, after that formal we all learned two things, Phi Taus clean up really nice, and no matter what when you put 32 brothers together, we are going to have a great time!
Dinner table!
Kayliee











The next weekend I was lucky enough to get invited to the Alpha Sigma Alpha formal. This formal took place at the Marriot in Coralville, and unfortunately at this one, we didnt get to swim:( My teammates and I came straight from a track meet, and made it just in time for a great dinner. It was again a great night, with alot of great friends, and I already cant wait for formal season next year!
Best Friends since day 1
Until the Next Adventure, Ryan Rey





The 2 best tour guides in Coe history!

Monday, March 11, 2013

Spring Break, Red Lodge Montana

      

The Whole Group!

Chair Lift!
  This past week was spring break, and for me, that meant an adventure to a whole different side of the country. I travelled to Red Lodge Montana with thirteen other Coe Students. I was a little nervous, as this was the first spring break that I wasn't going to be spending with my family. We began our 19 hour roadtrip on friday at 4 and drove through the night, arriving at about 10 the next day. The car ride there was an adventure, and it was cool getting to bond, while planning some awesome events for the next week.


Skiing day 2!
       Once we got to Red Lodge, we got set up, and then took a much needed nap. That night, we all looked at the stars; It is amazing how many you can see out there, with no lights of big cities!    The Next day, we went skiing for the first of three days on this trip. Growing up, I loved skiing, but it has been about 7 years since the last time I went. Needless to say, I was a little rusty, but once I got my feet back under me, I was ready to go! (I only hit one tree).
Yellowstone sign!
         Other than skiing, We also took day trips to beautiful places like Yellowstone National Park. Don't get me wrong, I love Iowa, but no matter how hard you look you will NEVER be able to find places as beautiful as yellowstone. We saw some beautiful mountains, and were about a foot away from a group of buffalo! At the end of our trip to Yellowstone, we ended up getting our car stuck in about 2 feet of snow, but after digging and digging, we were finally able to get out.
Teamwork at its best
  What really sticks out for me about this trip was the fact that everyday, we all sort of split off and did our own things during the day, things like skiing, or hiking, or going to yellowstone, or just hanging out at the house and relaxing, but at the end of every day, we all met up again and hung out the whole night together. We all just played cards, and took turns cooking dinner, by the end of the week, it was clear that we all became so much closer, by simply spending time together.
       
The way back, EXHAUSTED
Unfortunately, at the end of the week, we did have to leave, and come back to school. We packed up our bags, cleaned up the cabin, and began our drive back. Like I said, the drive was about 19 hours and on the way back, everyone was so tired and grumpy!(we did listen to alot of Miley Cyrus) We made some stops in places like Wall, South Dakota,and tried our best to avoid a crazy snow storm! When we FINALLY got back to Coe, I did a little thinking about the whole week. I know I'm gonna miss the beauty present in Montana, the mountains and the Stars        More importantly, I started this week really homesick, missing Plainfield and my family, but this trip really openend my eyes. I was lucky enough to be surrounded by family every day on this trip; great, caring, friendly people who take me into their home for a week, help pick me up when I ski into a tree, hold my hand when we are driving through 2 feet of snow, and even put up with me in a car for 18 hours. I know that as classes start tomorrow, we wont all be seeing each other all the time; but what I learned in Montana is th
at whether its stars or family, just because you cant always see them, doesn't mean that they wont always be there, when you need them the most.
Until The Next Adventure,
Ryan Rey



Family



Monday, March 4, 2013

The Return and a great concert!

Now that indoor is over, I have officially been injured and unable to race for a whole season:( Fortunately, during the last few weeks, I have been able to slowly ease back into running, as well as doing other cross training activities, like biking and swimming. One thing that is great here at Coe is how proactive our athletic training staff is. Thorughout my whole injury,  the trainers have all been great about working with me and heating and icing and getting me healthy as quick as possible. I hope to be able to keep running, and get into racing shape by March 23rd for our first outdoor meet, where I will race a 5k at Augustana.
First time running!!
G-EAZY

This week was also awesome, because I was lucky enough to get to go to a concert in Iowa City. Iowa City always has great concerts, and is only about twenty minutes away from Coe. This time, I went with a few friends to see G-Eazy. After our concert, we also got Chipotle!! The only bad thing about Coe is that there is no Chipotles anywhere in town, so the clsoest one is in Iowa City. Overall it was a great concert to cap off an even better week, and I know that next week (Spring Break) will be even better!
Until the Next Adventure,

Ryan Rey

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Conference Weekend

Junior Shea Devine, running
 his best time ever in the Mile
Senior Marcus Haustein long jumping at his
 last ever indoor conference meet
This weekend, the whole team travelled up to Dubuque for our alst outdoor meet of the season, the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletics Conference meet! This is the meet that we trained all indoor season, and I knew coming in that we were going to have a great meet. We had alot of great times and seasonal bests run, including Stefanie Wright, setting a school record in the 200! Even though we didn't finish as a team where we wanted to, it was a great weekend to get to show off all the work we have put in. Even though I was still unable to suit up and run, I have never been prouder to be a member of this Kohawk team, we put our best effort in from start to finish, and that is always something to strive for. I know that we are setting ourselves up greatly for the outdoor season, and I know that come March 23rd, we will be ready to run our first outdoor meet of the season!

Kate Worthington, running hard in the last event of the day!