Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Survivor
I didn't make a video AGAIN this year. But I was in Ann Arbor for work last week and I happened to catch a commercial that said they would be hosting open casting calls at the Ann Arbor Art Fair Thursday and Friday, so I decided it was a sign...After we got done Friday afternoon I headed down, turned in my application, and made a video. It wasn't nearly as cool as the real video I had been imagining, but let's face it--I will be a procrastinator for the rest of my life, so the chances of me making a video next year are no better than this year. At least I'm in the pool of millions of other people who want to be on the show. I'm sure they'll call...any day now...probably Jeff Probst himself...so don't tie up my phone lines, ok?
plodding along
I finished my first Olympic distance triathlon on Sunday. Officially, an Olympic tri consists of a 1.5K swim, a 40K bike, and a 10K run. Of course, it's difficult to make the bike course match that exactly, so give or take a mile.
I had a blast! I finished in 2:42, which was faster than my goal, and put me 5th out of 11 in my age group. I really like this distance; I had time to kind of settle into a rhythm in all the legs, although maybe too much of a rhythm in the swim because my time was SLOW! I did get my goggles kicked (or pulled...I'm not really sure what happened) off my face, so there was some time dedicated to trying to tread water with just my feet while putting the goggles back on my face (you try it!). Luckily, I was almost done when that happened, so when the goggles started letting in water because I couldn't get a good seal while in the middle of the lake, it wasn't a big deal and I just kept going.
One more tri for the summer...and then if I can get my knee back to some level of normalcy, the marathon in October.
I had a blast! I finished in 2:42, which was faster than my goal, and put me 5th out of 11 in my age group. I really like this distance; I had time to kind of settle into a rhythm in all the legs, although maybe too much of a rhythm in the swim because my time was SLOW! I did get my goggles kicked (or pulled...I'm not really sure what happened) off my face, so there was some time dedicated to trying to tread water with just my feet while putting the goggles back on my face (you try it!). Luckily, I was almost done when that happened, so when the goggles started letting in water because I couldn't get a good seal while in the middle of the lake, it wasn't a big deal and I just kept going.
One more tri for the summer...and then if I can get my knee back to some level of normalcy, the marathon in October.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
back to the baby gate
Lexi is the most horrible dog ever! (I'm sure that there are some that are worse, but I've never met them.) I bought another baby gate at Target last night in an attempt to limit her to only the kitchen during the day when we're not home. Unfortunately, the other dogs will suffer in her containment because they will have to stay in the kitchen, too, but I'm pretty sure they sleep all day, so it's probably not a big deal.
We abandoned the baby gate idea several years ago after she finally broke the baby gate we had. I think she chewed on it until it fell apart. In any case, she could jump over the baby gate at a normal height and if you raised it high enough that she couldn't jump it, she could shimmy under it. But, 30 pounds and a bad hip later, I'm pretty sure she won't be able to do that anymore. We tried other alternatives such as blocking the door with the dog cage. She climbed on top and over--leaving her free to roam the house and the other dogs stuck in the kitchen distraught because they couldn't get out. We also tried leaving her in the cage during the day, but there is a lot of barking involved in that because she's pissed that she's in a cage, and we feel sorry for our neighbors. So, it's back to the baby gate--we'll see how long it lasts this time!
We abandoned the baby gate idea several years ago after she finally broke the baby gate we had. I think she chewed on it until it fell apart. In any case, she could jump over the baby gate at a normal height and if you raised it high enough that she couldn't jump it, she could shimmy under it. But, 30 pounds and a bad hip later, I'm pretty sure she won't be able to do that anymore. We tried other alternatives such as blocking the door with the dog cage. She climbed on top and over--leaving her free to roam the house and the other dogs stuck in the kitchen distraught because they couldn't get out. We also tried leaving her in the cage during the day, but there is a lot of barking involved in that because she's pissed that she's in a cage, and we feel sorry for our neighbors. So, it's back to the baby gate--we'll see how long it lasts this time!
Monday, May 21, 2007
Adventure Racing
If you take the title literally, we definitely excelled at the adventure race yesterday. Taking the rules of the competition into consideration, we were at the bottom of the pack.
9:30 am Pre-race briefing. We are given a copy of the rules, a card to punch our checkpoints (CPs), and a map. A very primitive topo map. This was when I began to think we might be in over our heads. How do we find a check point in the woods? I've never used a compass before.
10:00 The race begins: Well, we came in first at one thing--I was the first person out of anyone in a boat. Woo Hoo! In short order we learned several things. 1. Sitting in the middle of canoe results in several things--shoulder cramps and swam ass. Sorry, Beth! We also learned that I cannot steer a canoe with any sort of reliability and that we cannot travel in a straight line to save our lives. An hour and five minutes later, we were out of the water with 4 CPs punched (ahead of one team).
11:05 The mountain bike begins. A little background--the bike was the part we were least worried about. Although none of us had really done any mountain biking (minus the trip to Alum Beth and I took Tuesday and the crash course Betty had with Chet on Saturday), but we had done our fare share of road biking. We planned to knock out what we estimated to be 8 miles in an hour an a half. Hah! We might have been a little naive in thinking that the trail would be well marked and not require much map reading. Early into the ride, flew past a group of four women that were pulled off after a wreck (we did check to make sure they were ok). Then we got lost. Fast forward about three more hours, after we passed the group of four two more times and took another wrong turn, we made it back to base, leaving us with about 45 minutes to hit at least one check point to make the race count.
3:15 We go in search of the CP. We decided to tag along with the group of four ladies who we passed on the bike. We figured that while we were faster, they had managed to navigate their way through the whole race course without getting lost. And, at this point, all we wanted to do was hit one CP. We punched our card at the CP behind the cemetery and hoofed it back to base on the road (there was a path through the woods that was much closer, but we no longer had any faith in our ability to follow a trail, so we opted for the longer, but sure route). The group of four took the path and beat us back, but we probably wouldn't have found the CP without them, so we didn't care.
9:30 am Pre-race briefing. We are given a copy of the rules, a card to punch our checkpoints (CPs), and a map. A very primitive topo map. This was when I began to think we might be in over our heads. How do we find a check point in the woods? I've never used a compass before.
10:00 The race begins: Well, we came in first at one thing--I was the first person out of anyone in a boat. Woo Hoo! In short order we learned several things. 1. Sitting in the middle of canoe results in several things--shoulder cramps and swam ass. Sorry, Beth! We also learned that I cannot steer a canoe with any sort of reliability and that we cannot travel in a straight line to save our lives. An hour and five minutes later, we were out of the water with 4 CPs punched (ahead of one team).
11:05 The mountain bike begins. A little background--the bike was the part we were least worried about. Although none of us had really done any mountain biking (minus the trip to Alum Beth and I took Tuesday and the crash course Betty had with Chet on Saturday), but we had done our fare share of road biking. We planned to knock out what we estimated to be 8 miles in an hour an a half. Hah! We might have been a little naive in thinking that the trail would be well marked and not require much map reading. Early into the ride, flew past a group of four women that were pulled off after a wreck (we did check to make sure they were ok). Then we got lost. Fast forward about three more hours, after we passed the group of four two more times and took another wrong turn, we made it back to base, leaving us with about 45 minutes to hit at least one check point to make the race count.
3:15 We go in search of the CP. We decided to tag along with the group of four ladies who we passed on the bike. We figured that while we were faster, they had managed to navigate their way through the whole race course without getting lost. And, at this point, all we wanted to do was hit one CP. We punched our card at the CP behind the cemetery and hoofed it back to base on the road (there was a path through the woods that was much closer, but we no longer had any faith in our ability to follow a trail, so we opted for the longer, but sure route). The group of four took the path and beat us back, but we probably wouldn't have found the CP without them, so we didn't care.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
"mountain" biking
I rode the Level 1 Trails at Alum Creek yesterday for the first time and it was AWESOME. I know it's not really mountain biking because we are in Ohio after all, but riding over the logs and jumps they have set up is a total rush! I can't wait to do it again (like this weekend at our adventure race). I did fall once and bruised my leg, but nothing major...maybe in a few months, I'll do the level 2!
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
I guess I haven't written in a while...
This is why I hate blogs. I haven't written anything in over a month and I don't really feel like I have anything interesting to say, yet I feel obligated to write.
I'm trying a new training routine that involves 6 days on, 1 day off, with one day of two workouts. It sounds overwhelming, but I'm trying not to think about that part and just give it a try. If my body stages a revolt, then I will go back to 5 days on with 2 days off.
I signed up to play ultimate frisbee this summer. I'm pretty excited, but I don't know ANY of the rules/how to play/how to throw/etc. I guess it's trial by fire...
Some friends and I are going to try a couple adventure races this summer which I'm pretty geeked up about. One is in downtown Columbus, so it's much more urban than most adventure races and the other is at a state park close to Athens, so that will involve more off-roading. Basically, it's a combination of canoeing, mountain biking, running, hiking, and orienteering, with the potential for other surprises sprinkled in just for fun. These two races take 6 hours each (there are others that take anywhere from 8 up to multiple days). I've never done anything like this before, but I'm anxious to give it a try and since you compete with a team, I won't be the only one suffering through!
So, I guess this summer will be about trying new stuff. I'm going to do two Olympic Distance Triathlons and if my body will let me, I'm going to try to run the marathon in October. And, just so I don't get too bored, I'm playing softball three nights a week :) You're only young once, right?
I'm trying a new training routine that involves 6 days on, 1 day off, with one day of two workouts. It sounds overwhelming, but I'm trying not to think about that part and just give it a try. If my body stages a revolt, then I will go back to 5 days on with 2 days off.
I signed up to play ultimate frisbee this summer. I'm pretty excited, but I don't know ANY of the rules/how to play/how to throw/etc. I guess it's trial by fire...
Some friends and I are going to try a couple adventure races this summer which I'm pretty geeked up about. One is in downtown Columbus, so it's much more urban than most adventure races and the other is at a state park close to Athens, so that will involve more off-roading. Basically, it's a combination of canoeing, mountain biking, running, hiking, and orienteering, with the potential for other surprises sprinkled in just for fun. These two races take 6 hours each (there are others that take anywhere from 8 up to multiple days). I've never done anything like this before, but I'm anxious to give it a try and since you compete with a team, I won't be the only one suffering through!
So, I guess this summer will be about trying new stuff. I'm going to do two Olympic Distance Triathlons and if my body will let me, I'm going to try to run the marathon in October. And, just so I don't get too bored, I'm playing softball three nights a week :) You're only young once, right?
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Life lessons
Things a thief does not want from your wallet:
- your drivers lisence (apparently my twin did not steal my wallet)
- your debit card (really? who knows...)
- all business cards
- CPR certification
- empty check book
- Krispy Kream gift certificate
- proof of car insurance
- coffee card with one punch in it
- starbucks card (not a coffe person, huh?)
- post-it notes to myself
- coupons
- blood donor card from the red cross
Things a thief does want from your wallet:
- a pre-paid discover card, not yet activated
- cash
- change
- little plastic piece that goes on the end of my ipod
- all video rental cards
- charles penzones card (sorry--it's empty)
- my punch cards for dog food
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