Rantings by Nick Buraglio

This week I received a Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Jack McVicker. Having trained in bjj since about 2002 under Jack, it was a very great honor to receive this promotion. Training with the high level guys that I work with several times a week certainly helps progression of skill and technique, of course having great instruction doesn’t hurt either.

In this image are (left to right) Rob Andres, Jack McVicker, Peter Roubal, Me (Nick Buraglio)

So, since bjj.org is pretty much gone and their “Instructor Lineages” page has gone with it, here is the progression of my rank:
Helio Gracie => Rickson Gracie => Wellington “MegaTon” Dias => Jack McVicker => Me (Purple Belt).

Several people have mentioned triathlons to me in the last 2 weeks, which has me thinking…..could my injury riddled body, damaged from years of skateboarding, distance running, boxing and submission wrestling handle another triathlon?
I have not participated in one since 2006, and really not trained properly for one since 2005…..I have also not run any event runs or races since 2007 (or run at all since 2007 due to my very beat-to-hell back). Could I participate, perhaps not quite as competitively, in something like a sprint tri?
I should be able to train very little and still have no issues with something like a sprint….at least in my mind. The last event run I ran I did without training at all and finished respectably.

My limitations are annoying me lately. No more boxing. No more running. No more skateboarding.
Maybe I lived too hard, was too hard on my back and knees….who knows. I guess maybe I used up all of my “activity capital” when I was younger.
I did get the ol skateboard out the other morning and kicked around, just to prove that I could still at least do a few tricks cold. It was also a decent excuse for messing with iMovie 09. Here are the results:

My back didn’t hurt too bad when I was done. I may try and do the local sprint tri this year. It’s short enough and easy enough that I can probably do it with minimal prep and and it may just satisfy my need to prove to myself that I’m not totally falling apart.

I always enjoyed watching Evan Tanner fight and really liked his aggressive style.  He had a great ground-and-pound game but was a much more well rounded fighter as well as an interesting person than what most MMA fans saw.  Anyone that read his personal blog on any regular basis saw that he was both a charismatic and gifted person and troubled individual. I never had a chance to meet him in person but the game and the world will surely miss such a unique individual.

This is probably the WORST thing I’ve seen in a LONG time. I like the look on the jiu jitsu grapplers faces as he tries his sorcery on them. Not even pathetic, just sad…….

A few friends and I did the CU Across the prairie ride yesterday. The weather pretty much sucked, raining on us the majority of the ride. Sice the weather was so bad we opted to do the 47 mile route as opposed to the Metric century like last year. I must say, this year the ride was much less of a “Scenic” route than last year, and I, overall, was a little disapointed. Last year it seemed really well run with more SAG vehicles (that I saw at least), more stops and MUCH better directional markings . On more than one occasion we saw cyclists going the wrong way. The markings were in very inconsistent places making is fairly difficult to navigate given higher speeds and/or rain in your eyes. Maybe I was just less tolerant because of the weather, but the widely ranging placement of the markings was very annoying to me. A few of the roads were freshly graveled which also made for a very unpleasant stretch. High pressure tires and gravel roads don’t mix well. Obviously the planners have no control over when which roads get resurfaced, nevertheless it was still not a fun few miles of road.
Overall it was still a really fun ride, I plan to do it again next year and would never recommend against it. Hopefully weather will be a little more cooperative.

I did the “24th annual” Champaign Park District mini-triathlon again this year. It’s a very short sprint triathlon that the Champaign Park District puts on every year, it’s usually pretty fun, being very short and very close to my house. I had originally planned on training for this at least a little, but alas, I didn’t. Overall I did ok, placing 83rd overall out of 350 with a final time of 48 minutes and 01 seconds. Not terrible I guess for not having trained anything but cycling since the sullivan triathlon. Total results can be found here.
The swim was a bit different this year. They had us start in the lazy river, which was, in my opinion, too shallow. I would estimate that 80% of the participants just walked though that part. After that, swimmers had to exit the water, run to the pool and finish in there. It was very odd and I think many didn’t like it. Personally, I didn’t care since thats my least favorite part anyway. We’ll see if they do it that way next year, I suspect that they’ll get rid of the lazy river leg of the swim.

Some of Team Remarkable:

Well, the MS150 is done. Day 2 started pretty crummy. Rain, cold and general lack of enthusiasm on the general rider population was obvious. I was trying to be pretty upbeat, but it’s my belief that many riders (with the exception of team remarkable) just didn’t go out. We started a little late, around 0730 or so, about 15 minutes in the rain cleared and it dried up, but it stayed overcast mahing for a really nice ride. We opted for the 75 miles on day 2 as well, there wasn’t much wind at all and the 75 mile route had sparsly placed riders. Many that ride opted for the 35 mile route. Rebecca did the 35 mile route as well and I think she sprinted through it because she was done in a really quick time. When we stopped in Rollo, I decided that I would partake in the “famous” burgers with a fried egg on top. WOW! I don’t eat a lot of red meat but that burger with an egg was GREAT. I took a pic of it. The ride laster a little longer since we all had ridden the day before. One mile before the finish, SAG came by and told us that because of lightning that had been sighted (dark clouds had rolled in) that we had to be SAG’d in. My cousing Jeff tolf the guy that we only had 1 mile left and we were going to ride it. He said “I can’t force you” so we all rode right around him and into the finish as it started to rain. It was a great experience and I plan to raise money and ride as long as I am able.
Special thanks to all who donated!

Next year I’m planning on doing the century (100 miles) on day 1 and none on day two. If my fund raising goals are met, I’ll be riding with a RED mohawk. Stay tuned!

Well, after my whirlwind trip to Tampa for a SCinet meeting and several hours of delays in the airport, including a delay that should-have-but-somehow-didn’t cost me my connecting flight back to C-U, I’m rested and ready to ride the MS150. My back is still a little stiff and crooked from the muscle I pulled like 2 weeks ago, but I did a few 35 mile training rides and everything seems to be ok.
I’m curious about staying in the NIU dorms, I never lived in a dorm in college (thankfully) and neither did Rebecca. we’ll see how well that works out. Weather is looking fairly good for DeKalb for the weekend, with cooler temperatures and a slight chance for a shower on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. All systems are a go, I just need to give the bikes a “once-over”, get a new pair of cycling gloves and pack everything into the vehicle. All systems are a go. More to come as the weekend shakes out.

I snapped this pic with my treo on a nice little ride I took over about 15 miles east of my house. It was a calm day, not too much wind and not too hot. A very enjoyable ride. If only every day could be like that, now that it’s >90 degrees. What happened too all the 70 degree days?

I’m doing the MS150 bike ride again this year. It’s creeping up and I have not done any training other than short rides since my triathlon in Sullivan on May 6th. Weather has been crummy, and my new steed has been sitting in the garage begging to go for a decent ride.
But thats really not what the MS150 is about.
Along with Team Remarkable we hope to raise some good money for MS research. Rebecca and I are both riding along with many other family members. We ride for my cousin Mark Buraglio, who was diagnosed with MS in 1995. All donations are tax deductable and they all go to a great cause.

To donate to me just click here.
To donate to Rebecca click here

Every donation helps.