Uncommon Cat

New Year’s Observations

2011-01-02T22:05:00.001-05:00

HOW DO YOU VIEW A CALENDAR YEAR – Vertical or Horizontal?

Each year around November or December, I’ll start thinking ahead to the first few months of the new year but then dismiss the thoughts because it seems far off. I think this is because near the end of the year I feel like I’m at the bottom of the year and just biding my time until the new year comes. Then in January, I suddenly realize that February is only a couple weeks away and I feel like I need to scramble because it’s not the far off I thought it was in December! I wish I saw the months as one continuous timeline without regard to the year but I guess I’ve looked at too many calendars and my brain thinks about it top to bottom. Does anyone else have this bottom (December) and top (January) of the year feeling or am I unique?

GOOD LUCK FOOD

I don’t know much about the stories behind many of the good luck foods people suggest eating on New Year’s Day but there is definitely a variety! Typically, while growing up we always ate sauerkraut and pork which I assume was from our German heritage. Since getting married it has been hit and miss if I’ve eaten any good luck food at the beginning of each New Year. Also, living in the south has introduced a few more items to the New Year’s food list choices as well – greens (collards or other) and black eyed peas.

However, I got myself into some trouble this New Year’s Eve 2010. Thinking I would look up a recipe for sauerkraut and pork on Epicurious, I got drawn into clicking on the many other New Year’s recipes and found myself with 3 dishes (sauerkraut, greens, black eyed peas) to make on New Year’s Day. The trouble came when I wasn’t in the mood to cook yesterday so I didn’t start until around 6pm which meant I didn’t finish until 10pm! Am I the only one that finds these great recipes to try then it takes me twice as long as the time stated on the recipe to make them? Maybe I’m just overly ambitious or too much of a perfectionist in the kitchen. The recipes aren’t really difficult, just involved. Oh well, the recipes I chose turned out to be real keepers since they made less than delicious food taste quite delicious!

Hoppin’ John Salad with Molasses Dressing
(I took a risk with this recipe because it involved spicy things and slimy okra which I’m not a fan of either but the risk paid off!)

Sauerkraut with Apples
(I like the “sour” of sauerkraut but I know a lot of people are not a fan. This recipe does a good job of mellowing the “sour” taste.)

Brown Butter Creamed Winter Greens
(I believe this may be the first time I have ever fixed collards, or any fresh greens for that matter, from scratch. The best compliment came from Kendall: “I didn’t even need any vinegar!”)

Happy Holidays 2010!

2010-12-28T17:14:00.001-05:00

I hope everyone is having a good end to 2010 and is looking forward to a great 2011. I am! I don't really make resolutions, however, I do have some ideas and plans I would love to see come to fruition next year but they won't be without hard work. So, cheers to hard work and accomplishments in 2011!

A few updates I've made to this blog in recent months haven't been noticeable in the form of posts so I thought I'd mention them.

New color scheme - I like the new themes available. But, as you may have noticed, I keep playing with them and maybe I'll eventually settle on one I like! (Unless you read this in an RSS feed then you probably haven't noticed any changes here.)
Two new tabs at the top for pages I created - About Me and Bucket List. I think they are pretty self explanatory and may be fun to take a look at and I hope to keep them updated.
New sidebar widget for a new blog I recently setup on Tumblr - a micro-blogging platform that I like because it's great for quick little posts like sharing a link or photo. If you're friends with me on facebook, you'll see my Tumblr posts there as well.

Happy Holidays to you!!

LED Wall Project (Nerd Alert!)

2010-08-24T15:25:00.001-04:00

As you know, I am not a nerd. But, I like to surround myself with nerds to boost my self esteem. Just kidding! Kinda… Recently, by the law of proximity, I became part of a project that became a minor internet celebrity of its own. I am now either loved or hated as the “dancing banana girl”. Not sure if I should be proud or embarrassed!

WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT

The LED wall idea came about as a thought that wouldn’t it be cool to have a display on a wall in your house where anyone in the world could come to a website and leave a drawing or message. If you’re lucky, the video may be online and you will get to make your own drawing and then see your drawing live! To learn more about the LED wall, be sure to click through the Why?, How, and Credits links. If you have a few minutes, watch the video at the bottom of this post or the one on the How page which nicely sums up the project visually. As of a month after the video was posted, it has received well over 13,000 views!

(Beware: Not all people on the internet have the same good taste as you so some drawings may be deemed offensive. You have been warned!)

NOTORIETY

The project was found and featured on a few popular “nerd” websites including:

Hack a Day (Web-enabled LED pegboard)
ioBridge News and Projects (Send Drawings to the LED Wall via the Web)
Makezine Blog (LED Wall looks cool, is large)

MY CONTRIBUTIONS

Tested LEDs to be sure they worked.
Hot glued LEDs onto the giant pegboard.
Sorted and labeled wires after they were all soldered. There were a LOT of them.
Acted silly while wearing a banana costume.

I also brought cookies I’d made which were quickly devoured by all the male cookie monsters in attendance.

Maybe I am a nerd, at the very least I’m sure I’m one for enjoying hanging out with everyone while this project was assembled!

(LED Wall from kennyc on Vimeo.)

Triathlon Training 2010: Week 10

2010-08-23T14:54:00.001-04:00

DAY	SCHEDULED	ACTUAL	COMMENTS
Monday	OFF	OFF	I was out of town the first half of this week so didn’t really do anything but it’s supposed to mostly be a rest week anyway so I didn’t worry too much.
Tuesday	Swim: 500 yards Run: 30 min	OFF	See Monday comment.
Wednesday	Bike: 15 miles	OFF	See Monday comment.
Thursday	OFF	DDR	I played the Dance Dance Revolution game on the computer with Kendall for a while which is definitely a workout unto itself.
Friday	Swim: 200 yards Run: 15 min	Volleyball	Played volleyball for a couple hours. A great workout and one of my favorite sports to play.
Saturday	RACE DAY!	OFF	Intended to do the triathlon today but it didn’t work out.
Sunday	OFF	Swim: 400 yards (10.5 min, 2.6 min/100 yds) T1: 3.5 min Bike: 12 miles (1 hr 8 min, 5.6 min/mile) T2: 2.5 min Run: 5k/3.1 miles (45.5 min, 14.7 min/mile) TOTAL: 2 hrs 10 min	The swim went really well, I think it was the first time I swam continuously for the required distance. The transition from swimming to biking was probably less than ideal since I had to deal with a backpack and getting out of the pool complex which wouldn’t be a factor in a real race. My legs only felt a slight bit like jello but that feeling quickly disappeared once on the bike. The biking went well too. Didn’t have to deal with traffic too many times thankfully. I could really tell the longer trail rides I’d been doing had helped. The next transition was much easier since I was mostly dropping things off and didn’t have to deal with a packing things like pool keycards and goggles into a backpack anymore. The run was more of a walk and the most difficult part as expected. Not to mention it was last. I’d trained the least for running so anticipated it wouldn’t go nearly as well as the rest but I knew I would be able to walk at the very least. I could tell my muscles were getting tired. My calf muscles got really tight and my lungs started burning and heart rate increasing when I tried to run so could only do that in very short bursts. I did it!

Overall Thoughts:

The saying goes you can do anything you put your mind to. It’s easy to believe it when you’re not trying to do anything. It’s harder to believe when you’re working to achieve something. But, it feels oh so good when you actually do something that took work.
I never signed up for the official triathlon because I did not feel prepared enough especially for the running portion and I also did not have a proper bike. I ride a knobby tire mountain bike instead of the smooth tire road bike. So, I saved my money and made my own triathlon around where we live. I’m lucky enough to have a neighborhood pool I could use to do this.
It was hard BUT, at this point, I’m ready to do it again! Am I crazy? Yeah, probably. The schedule has been a great motivator for me to do regular exercise which was one of my main goals. Now I don’t know what I’m going to do because I’ve gotten used to training as part of my life. Maybe I’ll try to do an official one or start training for longer lengths! For sure I need to work on running more at the very least.

Here is the Google spreadsheet I made to track my progress.

Triathlon Training 2010: Week 9

2010-08-17T23:44:00.001-04:00

DAY	SCHEDULED	ACTUAL	COMMENTS
Monday	OFF	Whitewater Rafting, Lake Swimming (All Day)	Out of town doing lots of non-training but great exercise.
Tuesday	Swim: 600 yards Run: 30 min	OFF	Travelling and tired.
Wednesday	Bike: 15 miles	OFF	Wasn’t feeling well.
Thursday	Swim: 600 yards Walk: 45 min	OFF	Feeling a little better but got busy and didn’t do anything. :(
Friday	OFF	Bike: 12.5 miles (1 hr 6 min, 5.28 min/mile)	Not quite as good of a time as I had been doing but it went well.
Saturday	Run: 60 min	OFF	I intended to go run but I don’t like running because it’s the most difficult and least fun for me. So, I made the worst decision and was lazy.
Sunday	Bike: 20 miles Walk: 30 min	OFF	Another good intentions day that just didn’t happen with too much other stuff going on.

Overall Thoughts:

While biking, I tried out another exercise app on my phone called Endomondo and I really like it. Simple to use, elegant interface, but maybe doesn’t have quite as many details as the app, My Tracks, that I had been using.

Here is the Google spreadsheet I made to track my progress.

Triathlon Training 2010: Week 8

2010-08-11T12:10:00.001-04:00

DAY	SCHEDULED	ACTUAL	COMMENTS
Monday	OFF	OFF	Hey, look I did what the schedule said to do.
Tuesday	Swim: 500 yards Run: 30 min	Run: 32 min (2.5 miles, 12.8 min/mile) Swim: 500 yards (15 min, 3 min/100 yards)	Running is hard lol. I’m finding the beginning of any exercise is the most difficult until I find a rhythm or settle into it a little then it gets less difficult.
Wednesday	Bike: 15 miles	Bike: 10 miles (49 min, 4.9 min/mile)	I had a limited amount of time to bike so I made the best of it and did pretty well!
Thursday	Swim: 600 yards Walk: 45 min	OFF	I was doing well following the schedule until today, oops.
Friday	OFF	Swim: 600 yards (18 min, 3 min/100 yards)	At one point, early in training, I remembered thinking I’d NEVER be able to swim this distance. But, I’ve done it and in a respectable amount of time!
Saturday	Run: 50 min	OFF	Got busy doing “more important” things to prepare for an upcoming trip so didn’t get any exercise in today.
Sunday	Bike: 20 miles Walk: 30 min	Swim: 600 yards (18 min, 3 min/100 yards)	Didn’t intend to do anything this day because I would be travelling. But, my sister-in-law was in town and wanted to swim so I managed to get some exercise in which was great!

Overall Thoughts:

It’s less than 2 weeks until the triathlon that we intend to try. But, we have not signed up because we only have one bike and Kendall has been working hard without success yet trying to find us road bikes.

Here is the Google spreadsheet I made to track my progress.

The 7 Link Challenge

2010-08-05T21:38:00.001-04:00

After enjoying first reading about this challenge on a travel blog (Life After Cubes) I regularly follow, I read about the source of the challenge and decided to give it a go even though I really don’t have a very robust blog!

My First Post: The beginning of a blog... (8 January 2009)
I had FINALLY made a blog! It was something I’d contemplated making for so long and I finally went for it. I still have so many ideas about things to post but rarely do the ideas get past the inside of my head. I need to get better at that! The photo a day idea dwindled because I generally posted my photos on my facebook account and most of the people reading my blog would have already seen them.

The Post I Enjoyed Writing the Most: Olympic Opines
This is really a series of posts but I was so excited watching the Olympics! I kept trying to make my thoughts concise enough to fit on my facebook status updates but I had too much to say and was getting frustrated trying to make it work. Also, these posts brought life back to my blog after a several month hiatus.

A Post with a Great Discussion: Triathlon Training: Week 1
Not too many of my posts even have a discussion so I went looking for the ones with the most comments. 3-4 comments was the most I found so thank you to anyone who has commented! This post was my first of several detailing my triathlon training efforts now covering two summers. I’ve really enjoyed the occasional encouraging comments that have appeared under these fairly boring and statistical training posts.

A Post on Someone Else’s Blog I Wish I had Written: My Last Day... (from Location 180)
There are many posts I wish I had written but this one is probably the most current I’ve felt that way about. I’ve been thinking about writing a similar post because I can relate very much to most everything in it. But, I am not the most gifted with words, so I spend too much time thinking about what and how to write my thoughts and not enough time actually writing. Instead of writing my own post, I think I’ll keep this post saved to go back and read in the future as a reflection of my own experience.

My Most Helpful Blog Post: Old Camera/New Camera
This category was difficult for me to decide upon because there’s not much I’ve written that would qualify as “how to” or helpful. I considered my post about how I would train for the triathlon or my thoughts on the Olympics but I already have links to them in another category. Yes, there are actually two posts, so I kinda cheated. But, I think the old and new camera comparison was helpful for many of my 2009 posts. People always like to know with what, how, and where photos are taken. BTW, I still recommend the Canon PowerShot SX110 IS to people on a regular basis. You may send me a commission via PayPal. ;-)

A Post with a Title I Am Proud of: Tropical Fish Salad
For this post, I combined two normal phrases (tropical fish and fish salad) to make one longer phrase that makes sense but also makes you scratch your head over what it might mean.

A Post I Wish More People Had Read: Rage Against the Machine
The title of this post also tied for winner of the previous category. It’s a pretty funny story and photo so I thought I’d put it under this category.

What is your favorite post of mine? Are there any blogs you read that you would recommend to me?

Triathlon Training 2010: Week 7

2010-08-02T16:15:00.001-04:00

DAY	SCHEDULED	ACTUAL	COMMENTS
Monday	OFF	Swim: 400 yards (11 min, 2.75 min/100 yds)	I planned to do 500 yards but we arrived at the pool near closing time so decided to leave it at 400 yards so the lifeguard could go home!
Tuesday	Run: 30 min	OFF	Busy working.
Wednesday	Swim: 500 yards	Run: 32 min (2.3 miles, 13.91 min/mile)	Longest run time (14 min), length (32 min), and distance (2.3 miles) so far. This whole ~13 min/mile has got to go down eventually, I don’t like it. Today was a good example of what time you do the activity doesn’t matter, just get it done. We finished the run after 11pm I think.
Thursday	Brick… Bike: 30 min Run: 10 min Walk: 20 min	Brick… Bike: 26 min (5 miles, 5.2 min/mile) Run: 10 min Walk: 16 min (R/W: 1.7 miles)	My biking seems to be leveling off or I’m becoming more consistent anyway. I suppose that’s good. This was the easiest transition from biking to walking/running so far. Legs felt a little weird but not nearly like they used to.
Friday	Swim: 500 yards	OFF	Long day. Long week. Time for a rest.
Saturday	Run: 50 min	OFF	Lazy Saturday.
Sunday	Bike: 20 miles Walk: 30 min	Bike: 1 hr 50 min (20+ miles, 5.5 min/mile)	I found the opposite end of the American Tobacco Trail from last time and rode north this time. I intended to go 15 miles but after I missed some mile markers I realized I’d have to go at least 17 miles so just decided I would try and go for the 20 miles. It went really well until I thought I was going to die during the last 3+ miles. I found my limit I suppose you could say but had no choice but to keep going…tis the problem with a there and back scenario. But, I did it and was in pain shortly thereafter but nothing some ice couldn’t fix and I surprisingly feel fine the day after.

Here is the Google spreadsheet I made to track my progress.

Triathlon Training 2010: Week 6

2010-07-26T12:27:00.001-04:00

DAY	SCHEDULED	ACTUAL	COMMENTS
Monday	OFF	OFF	Travelling
Tuesday	Run: 30 min	OFF	Tired from the travel so rested.
Wednesday	Swim: 400 yards	Swim: 400 yards (15 min, 3.75 min/100 yds)	I’m finding it difficult to keep track of the number of laps I’ve done. May need to come up with some sort of counting system like where I move a marble on the pool deck after each lap is completed.
Thursday	Brick… Bike: 30 min Run: 10 min Walk: 20 min	OFF	Went to REI to learn about road bikes.
Friday	Swim: 500 yards	OFF	Too tired. I know – lame excuse.
Saturday	Run: 45 min	Brick… Bike: 5 miles (26.5 min, 5.3 min/mile) Walk: 12 min (0.7 miles, 17.14 min/miles)	Got lots of sleep so back into it but aiming to take it easy since didn’t do much in the last week. Installed a cool app on my phone that helps me track distance, time, and other stats.
Sunday	Bike: 15 miles Walk: 30 min	Run: 25.5 min (1.9 miles, 13.42 min/mile)	First real run since nearly a month ago when I busted up my toe. Decided to alternate 1 minute running/walking, aim for 20-30 minutes, and see how it felt. Went much better than expected! Continuing to bike and swim kept up my fitness level in general I think.

Overall Thoughts:

There are four weeks until the triathlon that I haven’t signed up for yet but plan to soon LOL. Also, briefly discussed doing a triathlon in September as a relay team. I think that could be fun.
Learned that getting a road bike will cut down my time a LOT. That’s exciting news! I thought I was doing pretty well before so maybe I’ll be awesome later on! Kendall is looking into them for us so hopefully will have one soon.

Here is the Google spreadsheet I made to track my progress.

Here is the same week last year. It is the last week I blogged about but actually didn’t do any of the training that week.

Triathlon Training 2010: Week 5

2010-07-20T09:10:00.001-04:00

DAY	SCHEDULED	ACTUAL	COMMENTS
Monday	OFF	OFF	Recovering from sore neck/shoulder muscles related to the long bike ride yesterday.
Tuesday	Run: 30 min	Swim: 400 yds (12 min, 3 min/100 yds)	Keeping a better pace but still stopping briefly at the end of every length (25 yds). I can tell I’m being challenged because the last 100 yards or so my body does not want to keep the proper form which starts wasting energy.
Wednesday	Swim: 400 yards	Brick… Bike: 28 min (5.5 miles, 5.09 min/mile) Walk: 19 min (1.1 miles, 17.27 min/mile)	My legs started out feeling weird after just getting off the bike. I walked 2 minutes then ran 1 minute but my heart rate felt too high so I just walked the rest. It’s good to get an idea what the transition will feel like. I made a mistake by not having water available between the bike and walk portion.
Thursday	Brick… Bike: 30 min Run: 10 min Walk: 20 min	Swim: 400 yds (12 min, 3 min/100 yds)	I’m not sure if I did 350 or 400 yards because I lost count of my laps (14 vs 16). I barely paused at the end of each pool length and when I got to 14/16 I was at 12 minutes which was the same as Tuesday so I feel like it was most likely the total I needed to do.
Friday	Swim: 400 yards	OFF	Travelling
Saturday	Run: 40 min	Walk: A LOT	Spent about 10 hours walking and standing around an amusement park. Counts for something right!
Sunday	Bike: 15 miles	OFF	Rest and recovery day

Overall Thoughts:

If I had to attempt a guess at how long it might take me to complete the triathlon (swim 400 yards/bike 12 miles/run 3.1 miles), I think I could maybe do it in just under 2 hours.
My toe is still messed up but think it’s healed up enough that it’s not painful to run so I plan to get back into it. Since I’ve had about two weeks off from running it might be interesting but I’m hoping since I continued with swimming and biking it won’t be too horrible.

Here is the same week last year.

Triathlon Training 2010: Week 4

2010-07-12T07:44:00.001-04:00

DAY	SCHEDULED	ACTUAL	COMMENTS
Monday	OFF	OFF	Did a few strength training exercises.
Tuesday	Run: 20 min	Walk: 20 min	It is painful to wear closed toe shoes because I tore my toenail while swimming the other day. I decided walking in flip flops was better than doing nothing until my nail grows back out.
Wednesday	Swim: 300 yards	Swim: 300 yards (11 min, 3.67 min/100 yds)	Slow and steady wins the race…probably more like finishes the race. I think I’m slowly figuring out better technique but somehow have lost the ability to breathe from either side.
Thursday	Brick… Bike: 30 min Run: 10 min Walk: 20 min	OFF	Received unexpected company this evening so did not get out to do my first brick (back to back exercises instead of doing them at different times during the day).
Friday	Swim: 400 yards	Bike: 28 min (5.2 miles, 5.38 min/mile)	Only had time to do half of the brick but something is better than nothing. I wasn’t feeling too well when I started but there’s something to be said for endorphins because I felt better afterwards!
Saturday	Run: 40 min	Swim: 400 yards (13 min, 3.25 min/100 yds)	I’m feeling more relaxed in the water and starting to realize if I keep a slow steady pace then I don’t really need to stop and rest every time I get to the wall.
Sunday	Bike: 12 miles	Bike: 12.3 miles (1 hour 2 min, 5.04 min/mile)	I wanted to go explore the other end of the American Tobacco Trail but even though it’s only 10 miles away it takes about 25 minutes to get there. Instead I just drove several circles around our neighborhood.

Overall Thoughts:

This is about the time I started slacking off last year. I have a busy weekend coming up but hoping to do what I can to work around it. Beyond that I don’t think I have as many plans as last year so I’m hopeful.
I have plugged all my data from last year and this year into a Google Spreadsheet so I can get a better visualization of my progress in each of the three disciplines. If you are interested, my stats are here.
I think I’m actually starting to believe I can do a triathlon. I don’t have 100% confidence by any means but I have greater than 50% confidence now and that’s a good feeling.

Here is the same week last year.

Triathlon Training 2010: Week 3

2010-07-05T12:23:00.001-04:00

DAY	SCHEDULED	ACTUAL	COMMENTS
Monday	OFF	Run: 22 min (1.7 miles, 12.94 min/mile)	5 minute walking warmup and cooldown with 1-1.5 minute running alternated with 1 minute walking. Almost 8 minutes of running total. Getting better!
Tuesday	Swim: 300 yards Run: 20 min	OFF	Planned to swim but it was thunderstorming when I got home. Also, was dealing with some personal issues and didn’t feel up to snuff.
Wednesday	Bike: 8 miles	OFF	I need to catch up on sleep or take naps because I’ve been too tired to want to do much. We’ve been having lots of storms and rain so makes it more difficult to get out and do stuff. I keep forgetting instead I could do My Fitness Coach on the Wii.
Thursday	Swim: 300 yards Walk: 30 min	OFF	It appears I’m doing the opposite of what I should be doing each day. Unfortunately, it is much too easy to get off track, here’s to hoping I get back on track.
Friday	OFF	Swim: 300 yds (13 min, 4.3 min/100 yds)	Swimming is like riding a bike, you can do it after significant time off but it takes several tries before you find your rhythm again.
Saturday	Run: 40 min	Volleyball: 2 hrs Swim: 100 yds	Today was an unconventional workout day since it’s a holiday weekend and friends were involved but I still think it should count for something!
Sunday	Bike: 10 miles	OFF	My excuse (pathetic it may be) is: it was a holiday, I have many sore muscles from volleyball, I have a bruised achilles tendon from getting hit by a grocery cart, and I have a toenail torn in half from a push off the swimming pool wall gone wrong. =D

Overall Thoughts:

I finally sign up for a triathlon and days later I get an email stating they had to change the date due to construction on the facility where the swimming was going to be held. Unfortunately, the new date does not work for me but I will get a full refund which is nice. Now I think I will aim for the one in August which Kendall will be able to do with me and it will give me more time to train too. The August one also matches the training schedule I’m following so it would work out great!
So far it seems I am taking more days off instead of the 2 scheduled. Soon the schedule will go to 1 day off so I need to figure out how to make the schedule work better for me.

Here is the same week last year.

Triathlon Training 2010: Week 2

2010-06-28T09:26:00.002-04:00

DAY	SCHEDULED	ACTUAL	COMMENTS
Monday	OFF	Swim: 200 yards (8 min, 4 min/100 yds) Run: 26 min (1.9 miles, 13.7 min/mile)	Swim stroke mixture for the win! I have to stop briefly after each 25 yards because I’m winded but hopefully I can get past that eventually. After I left on my run I couldn’t remember if it was supposed to be 20 or 30 minutes so I did somewhere in between. Still alternating every minute but starting to kick up a notch with longer running periods. I don’t like hills.
Tuesday	Swim: 200 yards Run: 20 min	OFF	Ugh, not a good day. Decided catching up on housework and such was more important for my sanity.
Wednesday	Bike: 6 miles	OFF	Not enough sleep means not enough energy to exercise.
Thursday	Swim: 300 yards Walk: 30 min	Bike: 6 miles (34.5 min, 5.75 min/mile)	Had my first equipment incident, somehow popped the chain off when changing gears. But, I was able to pull it back on then wiped my fingers in the grass and continued on my merry way.
Friday	OFF	Swim: 300 yards (15 min, 5 min/100 yds)	Tried applying some of the techniques I’ve been reading about. Requires more concentration but I can definitely notice how they will help once I “master” them.
Saturday	Run: 30 min	OFF	Didn’t intend for this to be an off day but got distracted doing other things.
Sunday	Bike: 10 miles	Bike: 9.7 miles (57 min, 5.88 min/mile)	Explored part of the American Tobacco Trail in Durham. It was nice to be on an actual trail intended for bikes, less traffic to look for even though there were still several road crossings. Also, since it was an old railroad path it is much flatter terrain which I like a lot! I get a workout on the roads around our neighborhood because they’re somewhat hilly.

Overall Thoughts:

Since unplanned activities come up a lot, I’ve decided to just do something on the schedule when I have time even if it is not the right day. So when unplanned activities do come up I won’t be stressing about missing training. I’m so smart thinking ahead! ;-)
I think I’ve convinced a friend to be my mentor/coach/motivator/fill-in-the-blanker. Words of wisdom and advice from someone that has done this before cannot be a bad thing. I kept trying to convince Kendall to do this for me but he seemed more interested in just doing the training with me than dealing with all the other stuff. Perhaps that is wisdom on his part, I dunno, lol.
Motivational words I received: “you know what whining is like right?”, “its like a rocking chair, you spend energy but get nowhere”, “its all a mind set”, “if you feel down or not good enough, go be awesome”, “so, quit whining and go be awesome”
I was reminded of a book I picked up last summer at a used bookstore about swimming, Total Immersion, that might be helpful for me to read. The book has been added to my lunchtime reading material pile so I’m hoping to get some tips for long distance swimming while trying to conserve as much energy as possible. Something I am failing at in general right now!
I am officially registered for the She TRIs Wilmington triathlon. Eeek!

Here is the same week last year.

Triathlon Training 2010: Week 1

2010-06-21T11:18:00.001-04:00

I am not starting at the true week one in the plan because my target triathlon date in August is one week less than the plan I want to follow so I’m just going to start in week two. Hopefully this will not be an issue since I have been running once or twice a week and playing volleyball for a few hours about once a week for the past couple months. Last year I had literally been doing nothing before I started in on the training plan so I *think* I’ll be alright.

DAY	SCHEDULED	ACTUAL	COMMENTS
Monday	OFF	Swim: 200 yards (10 min)	Wow, it’s amazing what comes back to you! This was so much better than when I started last year. However, I am obviously out of shape. I was slow, huffing, puffing, and had to use a mix of breast, back, and freestyle strokes. But, I have confidence I will get better and that’s all that matters. I’m excited for a good start and the good feelings that came along with it.
Tuesday	Swim: 200 yards Run: 15 min	Run: 20 min (1.3 miles, 15.4 min/mile)	More like a 5 minute run since the time includes a 5 minute walking warmup then alternating 1 minute running with 1 minute walking. I didn’t mean to go 20 minutes but I went farther in distance than I intended and also had our 2 dogs with me to deal with. Note: I did the swim part the previous day because I knew I would not get around to doing both on the same day. Learning to adapt!
Wednesday	Bike: 6 miles	Bike: 6 miles (39 min, 6.5 min/mile)	This was not as easy as I had hoped and my quads were BURNIN’! I did find a new route which helps keep me entertained with new scenery. I got tired of seeing the same stuff last summer. The mountain bike I’m using is not designed for roads plus has some technical issues like a noisy chain/gears so may need to look into getting a better bike.
Thursday	Swim: 200 yards	OFF	I was feeling lazy and my shoulder muscles near the base of my neck were feeling pretty sore so I decided to adapt the schedule to suit how I felt.
Friday	OFF	OFF	Got busy doing other stuff and didn’t do the swim workout from yesterday like I planned to. Bad.
Saturday	Run: 20 min	Run: 23 min (1.75 miles, 13.1 min/mile)	Like before, 5 minute walk warmup then alternating 1 minute run with 1 minute walking. Felt pretty good while running this time so that was encouraging! I was in Wilmington and the run was over much flatter terrain than around my usual area. Elevation changing is good for training but doing well on flat ground really gives a confidence boost.
Sunday	Bike: 8 miles	OFF	Planned to swim today but was travelling and then had a migraine when I got home so wasn’t feeling up to doing anything. Ugh. I want to try so hard not to skip workouts but I’m not off to a great start!

Here are week 1 and week 2 from last year.

Triathlon Training – Round 2(010)

2010-06-17T09:33:00.001-04:00

Since I did not get the opportunity to suffer the abuse of completing a triathlon last summer, I am back for more! Wait…what? Opportunity? Suffer? Abuse? More? I think I meant to say I never finished what I started last summer so I’m attempting to try again this summer. =) I feel like I’m far ahead of the curve in starting this year since I have a less vague idea of what I need to do than last time.

Again, I’m planning to post my progress here to hold myself accountable and hopefully keep encouraged to continue. I am following the same plan but I am starting about three weeks later than I did last year so I may have to slightly modify the schedule to work with the triathlons I’m tentatively thinking about doing. I haven’t signed up for anything yet but the 3 triathlons I am currently eyeing are:

Saturday, July 31 – She TRIs Wilmington (Women Only) – Wilmington, NC – 200 yard swim, 10 mile bike, 2 mile run
Saturday, August 21 – Sportsplex Super Sprint – Hillsborough, NC – 400 meter swim, 12 mile bike, 5k run
Saturday, September 25 – Wilmington YMCA Triathlon – Wrightsville Beach, NC – 1500 meter swim (with the current), 12 mile bike, 5k run

Here is what I had to say last year at this same time.

Olympic Opines

2010-03-05T23:58:00.000-05:00

Alpine Skiing - Ladies Slalom:

After the first run of two, a pair of German sisters were in 2nd and 4th and hoping to both end on the podium. Unfortunately, the one in 4th place DNF'd on her second run but her sister ended with the gold!
The Americans did not have a great showing here, Lindsey Vonn DNF'd very shortly after starting her first run.

Short Track Speed Skating - Men's 500m:

Apolo Ohno's descriptions of this event are much better than anything I can come up with. It really is forty seconds of all out sprint craziness. This race definitely lived up to that on the last turn with 2 racers going down, the winner staggering across the finish line and ultimately spinning around, and the other getting disqualified.
The final consisted of two Canadians, a South Korean, and American Apolo. Unfortunately, Apolo was in fourth place immediately off the start and had a difficult time just trying to keep up with the sprinting pack.
On the last turn, Apolo tried to cut to the inside and put his hand up so as not to run into one of the Canadian skaters who ultimately fell. Not sure the reasoning other than because Apolo's hand was on him when he fell, Apolo got disqualified and the Canadian was given bronze. Kendall said using the laws of physics and watching the slow motion replay it isn't possible that Apolo made him fall.
Ok fine I'll be gracious like Apolo and acknowledge that I have to accept what the referee calls but I have a large "BUT". My issue is twofold. First, why is the referee a Canadian when there were two Canadians in the final, the referee should be from a country NOT represented in the final. Secondly, the other Canadian that got gold made contact with the South Korean when he fell but was not disqualified for what looked to me to be a very similar situation to Apolo's. Also, the South Korean grabbed the Canadian's skate when he fell probably not on purpose but nonetheless why was that not a cause for being disqualified as well.
Anyway, it was a spectacular finish with the gold medal Canadian crossing the finish line first but very off balance. Apolo crossed second but was DSQ'd. After falling, the South Korean slid his feet across the finish line in third. The final Canadian got up and crossed the line in fourth so it would be considered that he finished the race.
Fun to watch but I don't agree with the outcome. But, must say I have great respect for how Apolo handles himself. He did not sugarcoat his disagreeing opinion but he accepted the outcome anyway.

Short Track Speed Skating - Women's 1000m:

The lone American in the final here is named Catherine so I was routing extra for her! =) Turns out she is really good too and finished with a silver. Yay Catherine and team USA!

Short Track Speed Skating - Men's 5000m Relay:

On the same night and probably within an hour of the men's 500m final, Apolo is back on the ice with the rest of the U.S. four man relay team.
The organized chaos was very close throughout the entire race with U.S. holding down 4th place until...Apolo. He's my speed skating hero lol! Apolo made a pass near the very end to secure bronze and pushed his foot way forward and around another skater when crossing the line in an attempt for silver. Alas, it wasn't quite far enough but the U.S. earned the bronze and Apolo earned his record 8th medal. The most medals for a Winter Olympian! The Michael Phelps of the Winter Olympics perhaps?!?

Alpine Skiing - Men's Slalom:

Bode did pretty much the exact same thing Lindsey did in this event and DNF'd near the very top of the course on his first run.
If anything else monumental happened, I've forgotten it!

Snowboarding - Men's Parallel Giant Slalom:

Didn't know this snowboarding event existed, not to mention it's also an Olympic sport!
The snowboards used in this event are a slightly different shape than the ones you typically see on the slopes. Longer and narrower I believe.
The course is two slalom courses side by side that are mirror images of each other. Two snowboarders compete at the same time then switch courses and the times are added together.
For the second race, there is a delayed start corresponding to the amount of time the slower snowboarder was behind in the previous race. One racer attempted to time his gate opening and failed causing him to fall spectacularly and be delayed even further in his start while he got back up. Needless to say, he did not advance.

Long Track Speed Skating - Men's Team Pursuit:

There are two teams of three skaters on opposite ends of the ice competing at the same time. The skaters on each team stay together and take turns leading and drafting off each other.
The American team of one veteran and two relative unknowns unexpectedly found themselves in the gold medal race with the Canadian team but ultimately ended up with the silver.

Bobsled - Men's Four Man Team:

It had been 60+ years since the U.S. got the gold in this event and now the U.S. and the four man "Night Train" team have earned gold for the U.S. once again.

Figure Skating - Exhibition Gala:

Probably the only exhibition of the Games allowed from any sport but I think it's partly monetary motivated and I love it and I'm glad they do it. The top 5 of each discipline got to perform.
Not much to say but it is really worth watching the entire thing if you want to see the best of the best skate in a much more relaxed atmosphere while still doing difficult and creative skills!

Ice Hockey - Men's:

Well I didn't really watch this entire gold medal game, only saw clips of it. But, I feel like this summary of the Olympics would be incomplete without mentioning its supposed epic-ness.
The Canadians and Americans were in the gold medal game on Canadian soil. Both teams had decimated the competition leading up to this game and the U.S. had already beat Canada once in an earlier meeting during the Olympics. The U.S. tied the game at 2-2 in the final seconds of the game causing it to go into overtime. Eventually, the Canadians scored the game winning goal and the host country could not have been more ecstatic!

Closing Ceremonies:

Loved how the beginning poked fun at the malfunction of the torch in the Opening Ceremonies. A very appropriate way to address and acknowledge what had happened.
Overall I was a bit disappointed that the Closing Ceremony festivities because they did not live up to the entertainment of the Opening Ceremonies. There seemed to be more speeches, "boring" singing, and the props just seemed cheap like from a parade. It wasn't bad but it just wasn't up to what I was expecting.

Other Notes:

The U.S. won the most medals of the Olympics with 37. This is a record for any country in a Winter Olympics. It's also the first time the U.S. finished the Winter Olympics with the most medals.
Canada won the most gold medals with 14! This is more than the silver and bronze medals they won combined.
I'm glad they changed the Summer and Winter Olympics back in the early 1990's to have one be every two years instead of in the same year.

Up next...Sochi, Russia 2014!

Olympic Opines

2010-03-01T14:04:00.000-05:00

Alpine Skiing - Ladies Giant Slalom:

The course was VERY foggy, I'm sure the cameras made it appear worse than it really was but still it was bad enough they postponed the second run until the following day.
Lindsey Vonn crashed half way down the course so DNF'd. She broke her finger! This girl is either awesome or gets injured, seems to be no in between for her. She literally goes for broke, ok that was a bad pun LOL.
Apparently, more than one skier can be on the course at a time. Reminds me a bit how they run autocrosses. Fellow American Julia Mancuso was following Lindsey so got yellow flagged to stop due to the safety issue with Lindsey's crash. Julia did get a re-run but it did not go as well as she hoped putting her in 18th. She was quite upset and as the defending Olympic champ I'm sure that's not the run she'd been hoping for.

Cross Country Skiing - Men's 4x10km Relay:

Much more exciting to watch than I anticipated. It's a lot like any other kind of race but with different scenery and footwear. The sport in general looks grueling or maybe just an excellent workout!

Long Track Speed Skating - Ladies 5000m:

The Czech woman that won the first gold for her country (either in this sport or Winter Olympics in general, I can't remember which) in an earlier event during this Olympics earned a second gold in this event!

Bobsledding - Women's Two Man (Final 2 Heats):

The U.S. sled #2 managed 2 more clean runs to stay on the podium and finish with a bronze. The gold and silver went to two Canada teams.
There were a few scary crashes during this event. If I had to slide down an ice track I would definitely choose bobsled because at least you have some kind of protection. Kendall proposes a lid or hatch for the top so when they flip there's more protection than just a helmet as well as it being more aerodynamic lol.

Short Track Speed Skating - Men's 500m Qualifications:

The Americans are doing well at crashing just before qualifying so they don't get to advance. I suggest lessons from Apolo Ohno. However, Apolo does advance along with one other American.

Short Track Speed Skating - Ladies 3000m Relay:

There are four teams in the final with all 16 athletes on the ice at once. Definitely organized chaos! When they tag the next person to go they give them a push. Each teammate must do 1.5 laps I think and after that, it's totally up to them when they trade off. That's my basic understanding but I could be wrong!
The U.S. trailed behind after a number of laps and ended in 4th. However, a sketchy pass made by a South Korean caused them to be disqualified so the Chinese were moved into first and USA got the bronze! The South Koreans at the rink and around the world were not happy and the judge had to later be pulled from the competition for his safety! Yikes people, it's a sport, not life and death!

Freestyle Skiing - Ladies Aerials:

The Chinese gymnastics background is so very helpful. Heard a coach say they already know how to do the tricks properly, just have to teach them how to ski! Several of them finished near the top.
But, it was an Aussie that came away with the gold! They're pretty decent at gymnastics too.

Alpine Skiing - Ladies Giant Slalom:

Julia redeems herself on the second run of the slalom but still no medal and finished in 8th.

Nordic Combined - Men's Large Hill/10km CC:

This was an individual event. There were two U.S. men in the top 3 along with an Austrian all battling for gold. Everyone else trailed a fair distance behind.
The U.S. men managed to finish gold and silver, first ever medals for the U.S. in this event and they got two!

Freestyle Skiing - Men's Aerials:

Craziness after watching the women because they do even more flips and twists.
Noticeably different from the women was a ton more crashes on the landings. Nothing scary, they just didn't stay vertical after landing.
One American did a trick he calls the "Hurricane": 3 flips and 5 twists! It helped earn him the silver medal.

Figure Skating - Women's Long Program:

Excellent job to the top ladies especially for giving it their best. Made it very enjoyable to watch.
I was very glad Joannie Rochette of Canada turned in another great skate and held on to the bronze medal. So touching and impressive to see someone perform that well under those kind of circumstances.
Most impressive to me was American Mirai Nagasu. If she continues to compete like this, the future of American figure skating is definitely bright! She improved from 6th to 4th!
Rachael Flatt also skated really well but didn't score as highly as I expected and dropped from 5th to 7th which kind of surprised me.
The Japanese did really well too, they're fun to watch. The silver medalist competed two triple axels with one in combination with another jump making her the first woman to ever land three triple axels in a competition!!
Kim Yu-Na of South Korea is in such a category of her own and deservedly won the gold!

Olympic Opines

2010-02-26T15:11:00.000-05:00

Ski Jumping - Team Event:

Not much different from the individual events. They just add all the scores together.
Americans did not make it into the finals.
Tried to figure out why there are little plants all over the place peeking out of the snow. Maybe it is to measure distance but it's kind of odd.
It's nice to see countries do well that you normally don't hear about at the Summer Olympics. Such as Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

Freestyle Skiing - Men's Aerials Qualifications:

This is like ski jumping meets diving. Crazy acrobatics! Like go up a ski jump to launch yourself high enough to do 2-3 flips with 2-3 twists then landing upright.
A couple of Americans made it into the finals.

Figure Skating - Ice Dancing Free Dance:

Wow, the teams were on top of their game! Lots of best scores for the season and jobs well done. I enjoyed this final dance a lot.
The top four teams were from three different countries but all train together in the USA. Well kind of, the Canadian team trains with one American team and the Russian team trains with the other American team. So odd how sports work these days with where they train, live and who they compete for.
The Canadians so badly wanted to win a gold at a home Olympics, well, they have 5 now! And that's half of their total medals so far.
The standings did not change from the previous round of dances so the gold went to Canada, silver to the US National Champions, and bronze to Russia. The other American teams remained in 4th and 11th.
This is sort of related but the 2011 US Figure Skating National Championships will be in Greensboro, NC. I want to go to at least a couple events since I did not go when I was a poor college student living in Atlanta a few years back.

Alpine Skiing - Men's Giant Slalom:

No American medals this time but still fun to watch. Bode got off course so DNF'd. I think the physical intensity from competing in a number of events already finally caught up with him.

Nordic Combined - Men's 4x5km Team:

A sport that I know the U.S. won it's first ever medal in a week ago in the individual version but that is about it.
Apparently, this is the first time the U.S. has had a competitive team and was actually in contention for the gold but ultimately finished with a silver!
I'm surprised but the cross country skiing portion is kinda fun to watch! It's kinda like cross country running but on skies in snow. Beautiful scenery!

Bobsledding - Women's Two Man (Heats 1 & 2 of 4):

Once again the Germans were being touted as the country most likely to dominate. Also, competitive teams from Canada and the U.S.
One U.S. team won the silver medal in the 2006 Olympics and is hoping to improve to gold. However, it's the U.S. team #2 that is in silver medal position after two heats while the prior silver medalist is several positions back.

Long Track Speed Skating - Men's 10,000m:

The longest distance for long track and the speed skating loving country of the Netherlands was hoping for a repeat gold. However, something unusual happened. The lead skater headed for his repeat gold was well ahead of everyone when his coach told him to go the wrong direction! Since two skaters are on the track at a time they alternate between the inner and outer lanes. The skater was going the right direction when his coach pointed to him to get in the other lane which he does at the last second then gets DSQ'd! He was very frustrated and rightly so!

Freestyle Skiing - Women's Ski Cross:

This was the last race of the cross events and Canada gets yet ANOTHER gold! They now have more golds than their other medals combined.
No Americans made it to the final races.
I'm glad these events were added to the Olympics because they're fun to watch.

Figure Skating - Women's Short Program:

THE event of the Winter Olympics. I had mixed feelings coming into this event which has always been my favorite. Not really sure why but maybe because the Americans do not have much hope for a medal and I'm not that familiar with the top skaters.
Really enjoyed that the majority of the skaters had clean programs and turned in personal bests.
Mirai Nagasu of the U.S. was the first of the likely top skaters to go. Her score put her into first place and would actually hold for quite a while ultimately landing her in a very respectable 6th place going into the long program. Her spins caused enough force to make her finish with a nosebleed!
The other American and current U.S. champion Rachael Flatt finished in 5th. So impressed that even though the U.S. only qualified two skaters instead of the usual three, they still finish both skaters in the top 6 after the short program.
Joannie Rochette of Canada made me cry! Her mother unexpectedly passed away just two days prior to this event. She skated with so much heart and emotion. I'm not sure she was focusing too much on turning in a competitive performance so it was so so neat to see the Canadians support for her and for her to perform so well. She is definitely a skater that would have been competing for a medal before this sad circumstance so it was great to see her still do her best!
The Japanese probably have the strongest team of skaters in the world and finished 2nd, 4th, and 11th. Including one woman who is the only female competing a triple axel AND does it in combination with another jump!
South Korean Kim Yu-Na is the closest to a figure skating prodigy I've ever seen. Great talent! She's a huge celebrity in her country, so much so, that she now trains in Canada to get away from the media and pressure. If she does as well in the long program as she did in the short, she definitely deserves to win the gold.

Olympic Opines

2010-02-23T12:22:00.001-05:00

Figure Skating - Ice Dancing Compulsory Dance:

Don't believe I've ever watched the compulsory dance but every team did the exact same dance of tango romantica. A bit redundant but definitely a good way to equally compare the teams. This was the first of three dances each team will perform.
Americans got off to a great start placing 3rd, 4th, and 14th so there is definitely a possibility of at least one medal!
Dancing with the Stars has made me appreciate ice dancing so much more than I ever have in the past.

Alpine Skiing - Men's Super G:

Go Bode! Americans are really starting to dominate the skiing medals picking up 2 more (silver and bronze).
The more I watch the skiing events, the more I like them. Wouldn't consider myself a huge fan by any means just yet but I have a healthy respect for their speed and skills.

Skeleton - Women's:

Not sure why you would ever do this sport but it's the opposite of luge (laying on the sled with feet first) with head first while laying on your stomach. Oh and your hands are behind you not in front of your head so my protective instincts would be going crazy!
An American finished 4th, the worst possible place to finish in my opinion since it's so close to a medal.

Ski Jumping - Men's:

This sport looks like more fun to do than to watch. Would love to have that feeling of flying! Not so sure about the speed and heights...

Alpine Skiing - Women's Super G:

Lindsey and Julia are back! Probably other Americans competing too but they aren't getting the same media attention so I forget about them.
Julia went first and made an unfortunate mistake veering almost off course so lost time and finished 9th.
The early competitors were at a disadvantage due to the course being mostly shaded so it's hard to see the texture and other changes in the snow. I can definitely understand this from my minimal experience, it really can make a big difference especially the faster you are going.
Lindsey had a great run. Not much emphasis on her shin anymore but I still imagine she's in pain from it. She earned a bronze to go with her gold. I think overall she has to be happy with the outcome of this Olympics especially after not knowing if she would even be able to compete when the Olympics started.

Short Track Speed Skating - Men's 1000m:

Glad the judges watch closely the actions of the athletes and disqualify or qualify to the next round athletes as necessary according to what happens. I don't always agree but it's such a volatile sport as Apolo Ohno has mentioned. Guess you have to take the good with the bad. Don't think JR Celski should have been DSQ'd in the quarterfinals but oh well.
Apolo Ohno is so intense to watch because he likes to start in the back of the pack and move up near the end and then really make big moves at what seems like the last possible seconds. I don't bite my nails but I might start before the Olympics are over!! A bronze medal for his effort. Think he could have won and I think he thought the same if it weren't for the nudge by a Canadian that made him slip. But, a medal is better than no medal!
When the final race started with the 2 Canadians out front, Apolo in the middle, and the 2 South Koreans in the back, I predicted it would finish the complete opposite and I was right! Maybe I should be betting on these races. ;-)

Long Track Speed Skating - Men's 1500m:

The leg muscles on these athletes are giant!!
I think this sport is most similar to the longer distance track events and short track speed skating is similar to the sprint track events in the Summer Olympics.
Go USA for getting another medal!

Figure Skating - Ice Dancing Original Dance:

This dance was to be a country or folk dance. Quite a variety danced including Jewish, Moldovian, Aboriginal, and Indian. It was amusing to see not just an American team do a country dance but also a British and French team as well.
USA continues to have strong performances. Placing after this dance is 2nd (moved up one), 4th (stayed the same), and 11th (moved up 3).
Think the original dance might be my favorite of the 3 dances each team performs. They seem more lively, energetic, and entertaining.

Alpine Skiing - Men's Super Combined:

Bode Miller finally gets gold. Nice way to work up to it: first event - bronze, second event - silver, third event - gold! He's also got 2 more races yet!
I'm still not sure what I find so engaging about the skiing but each race I watch I like it more and more. I'd never want to ski that fast because it looks so insane not to mention painful when you wipeout!

Freestyle Skiing - Men's Skicross:

This sport made it's Olympic debut on the same course as snowboardcross.
I was expecting to be as intrigued by this as I am with the snowboarders but I wasn't. Not sure if it is because there were no Americans in the final races or the race just seemed more close and aggressive with the snowboarders than it did with the skiers. I still liked it, just wasn't as enthralled.

Long Track Speed Skating - Women's 1000m:

Similar thoughts on this as to the men's 1500m above but no American medal at this event.

Bobsledding - Men's Two-Man:

The bobsleds look huge on the track after watching luge and skeleton.
The Germans are awesome in any sport on this track. They are dominating it kinda like the Americans are dominating the alpine skiing events.

Olympic Opines

2010-02-22T10:08:00.000-05:00

Alpine Skiing - Women's Super Combined:

A definition since I didn't know what this was at first. Super Combined is one run downhill and one run slalom with the times added together to determine the winner.
The 2 American medalists from the downhill, Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso, were back to try for a second medal.
Lindsey rocked the downhill again and Julia was also in medal contention again. Go USA!
Unfortunately, Lindsey caught her ski tip on a slalom pole and wiped out.
Julia was able to ski a clean slalom and won her second medal AND became the most decorated U.S. female alpine skier ever!

Snowboarding - Women's Half Pipe:

After watching the men, I felt like this event would not be as exciting since the women do not perform skills as difficult as the men but I was pleasantly surprised.
Even though they did not medal, the Chinese were unexpectedly good. Perhaps this is due to the face the Chinese generally do well at acrobatics.
Thought it was cool that an Australian got the gold and she deserved it!
There were a LOT of falls, more than I would expect at the Olympics. But, pressure did work for one American, Hannah Teter. In an interview, she said she fell on all her practice runs. However, she stayed upright for both her competition runs and won the silver!
The U.S. got silver and bronze. Silver went to the 2006 Olympic champion and bronze to the 2002 Olympic champion!

Figure Skating - Men's Long Program:

Glad to see the U.S. National Champ redeem himself a bit. Had a shaky start but got better as his program went along and was able to move himself from 15th after the short program to 9th.
Florent Amodio (Brazilian born French skater) is just really unique and fun and entertaining to watch, I'm looking forward to seeing him skate in the future and hope he continues to improve.
USA and Japan are definitely the best in the world right now. All 3 skaters from both countries finished in the top 10 and 1 from each medaled! And all of this included a meltdown, a few falls, and a skate lace coming undone in the middle of a program!
The Russian jumping bean did his thing and jumped but had several shaky landings that I think cost him the gold. I hate to say I'm glad he didn't win but really his overall program just did not have the same artistic, quality, and "it" factor that I think a winner should possess. I have read some interesting interviews from him and his coach about the progress of figure skating and I just don't agree with them. Figure skating is about more than just jumping.
I'd heard that Johnny Weir said he knew he couldn't win because he didn't have enough points in his program but I almost wish he could have medaled because he did so awesomely well.
Evan Lysacek! If the Olympics ended now, I'd be happy! I've had my Olympic moment where everything happened like I'd hoped it would. It was so awesome to see hard work pay off and everything come together when it counted. Yay Evan and go USA!

Olympic Opines

2010-02-18T10:49:00.000-05:00

I'm really enjoying these Olympic Games more than any others in the past. I feel like I know more about the various sports at this point in my life but also, I'm learning a lot about the others I didn't which makes them more interesting to watch.

Snowboarding - Women's Snowboard Cross:

I wonder what it is like to have so much media attention centered on a "small" mistake you made four years ago. A lot can change in four years including your competitors abilities so why are you expected to win the gold and anything else is considered a failure? Gotta say I love the way Lindsey Jacobellis handled the media with a true laid back snowboarder attitude! The silver she got in Torino was NOT a failure and a 5th place finish in Vancouver is not either. I would have loved to see her win, like the media, but that's the nature of the sport and competing in the Olympics period is an accomplishment! I'm definitely a Lindsey fan.
Yay for Canada getting their second gold at a home Olympics, maybe now they'll stop talking about how it's never been done before. It's only a few days in so maybe they can make up for others they never earned in the past.
I used to think if I ever got to compete in the Olympics, I would want to do figure skating or gymnastics. Now that I know how hard those sports are and my own physical limitations/capabilities, I think it would be fun to be a snowboardcrosser...is that a word?!?

Figure Skating - Men's Short Program:

Definitely one of my top most anticipated Olympic events. For the first time, I'm more excited for the men's and ice dance over women's and pairs. I'm sure this largely has to do with the talents of the U.S. athletes but I'm finding it's also because I enjoy those performances more.
The men seem to have less falls (especially on quads) these days and are more artistic and entertaining to watch than they used to be. Quads are cool but when there are so many falls attempting them, they are not so cool to watch.
There were so many champions (National, Olympic, World, European, etc) competing, it was hard to guess who might come out on top. But, I knew it would come down to whoever could stay on their feet and skate clean with very minimal mistakes.
Thoughts on stand out athlete performances: I'm not a big fan of the skating style and look of the last Olympic champ from Russia, Evgeny Plushenko but the dude can skate, or at least, jump well. The Japanese men have a unique presentation I like and serious talent. The Brazilian born French skater (can't remember his name now) is still an up and comer but really enjoyed his unusual skating style. I was disappointed the super talented U.S. champ Jeremy Abbott wasn't able to skate a clean program (no falls but popped jumps) but I very much enjoy following his positive outlook on twitter. American Johnny Weir never fails to entertain and was glad he skated so well! Perhaps my favorite skater, Evan Lysacek, lived the Olympic short program I'm sure any athlete dreams and hopes to have. So fun and exciting to watch hard work pay off like that. Keeping my fingers crossed for him in the long program!

Short & Long Track Speed Skating - Men's Long 1000m Finals, Men's Short 1000m Qualifications, Men's Short 5000m Relay Qualifications:

Another repeat Olympic gold medalist and another American gold in the men's long track 1000m. Yay!
Apolo Ohno was back to qualify for the 1000m (and 5000m relay). He's so fun to watch because he's so good at the sport. But, I get so nervous watching because I so want him to do well haha! Bronze medalist in the 1500m from a few days ago and fellow American JR Celski also qualified.
The relay looked a bit like mass confusion at first but was intriguing to watch. Each athlete of the three person teams go a lap and a half before switching off. So, there is a continuous chaotic motion as teammates try to keep pace to be ready for the switch.
South Koreans are definitely strong speed skating competitors. There were 4 countries attempting to qualify for 2 spots in the relay. One country wiped out and took another country down with it effectively taking them both out of the competition. So, the U.S. and South Korea qualified without a problem and with less pressure. However, speed skating has a ton of rules that attempt to make it as fair as possible I imagine and probably to prevent it from becoming a demolition derby so the country that got taken down by no fault of its own received an advance and qualified as well.
Looking forward to seeing the final for the relay event, well, the 1000m too.

Alpine Skiing - Women's Downhill:

Lindsey Vonn FTW! So much hype and talk of her injury leading up to this event it was again so fun to see someone live up to their potential and accomplish their goal. So impressed by what she went through and was able to do.
Major props to fellow American Julia Mancuso for claiming silver. Go USA!
It's scary when skiers crash going around 70mph down an icy course! Thankfully none were seriously injured.
What I've learned about following a racing line in motorsports has a very interesting parallel in several winter sports including downhill and snowboardcross. Apexing is important but not done as often as you would think.

Snowboarding - Men's Half Pipe:

Shaun White...he has some serious skills!! It's one thing to win by putting the competition to shame but to do it so obviously even to inexperienced viewers is really amazing! He does crazy hard tricks and makes them look easy but what I liked best was the massive height he is able to achieve. Oh and it's really crazy that Red Bull has built him his own private half pipe to train on!
Another double medal event for the U.S. and not who I expected to get the second medal but it was well deserved! The U.S. is definitely the best country in this event but it's good to see other countries do well too.
I had high hopes for former Dancing with the Stars competitor, Louie Vito, earning a medal but it wasn't meant to be but 5th is nothing to be ashamed of for sure! I thought he did a great job but wasn't scored as high as I thought he should be but what do I know about scoring in snowboard half pipe!

Olympic Opines

2010-02-16T18:11:00.000-05:00

Hello blog, nice to see you again!

I was trying to briefly share my 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics thoughts so far on facebook but I exceeded the character limit. So, I will post my less than brief thoughts here where I can type lots and keep a journal of the happenings. I'm not much of a sports fan EXCEPT for the Olympics, they are my Super Bowl, Final Four, World Series, Stanley Cup, etc.

Opening Ceremonies:

Before the ceremonies, it was shocking and sad to hear about the death of the Georgian luger, Nodar Kumaritisvili. I unintentionally watched the video of his fatal crash. While I feel the loss of control was the athlete's "fault", I do think there was a design flaw in not protecting the large concrete and/or steel beams that ultimately caused the fatal impact.
In the aftermath of Nodar's death on the morning of the Opening Ceremonies, I was glad to see the Georgian team decided to march in, after hinting they may withdraw, and carry on in their teammates memory. The IOC appropriately dedicated the Opening Ceremonies to him and lowered the flags to half mast. The Georgians were so somber marching in but the standing ovation by the crowd brought tears to my eyes. The one minute of silence in a large packed stadium was enough to give you chills. Very appropriate tributes to the memory of this athlete and the spirit of the Olympic Games.
I loved how the Opening Ceremony began with a video of a snowboarder dropping in at the top of a mountain then making his way down. He boarded through a maple leaf made from people standing with torches that lit up as he passed by them. Finally, inside the stadium, he snowboarded down a hill and jumped through the middle of the Olympic rings. Now that's an entrance!
Interesting factoids...this Winter Olympics has 82 countries represented versus the 200+ in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Also, there are around 2600 athletes versus 11,000!
The Jamaican bobsled team did not qualify to the 2010 Olympic Games! A well known oddity for a Caribbean country.
A surprising number of athletes represent a different country then where they were born, currently live, train, and other "unusual" situations. Examples include an Austrailian skier that was born and raised in Vancouver. An American ice dancer that was born and raised in Canada. But, most unusual is probably a figure skater that renounced her Japanese citizenship to gain Russian citizenship!
I totally called who would light the Olympic torch -- Wayne Gretzky!
The mechanical failure of 20% of the Olympic torch was interesting, makes me more curious what goes on behind the scenes especially in those type of situations that are on such an international stage.

Short Track Speed Skating - Men's 1500m:

I'm a fan of Apolo Ohno but that's about where my knowledge of speed skating ends! So, I was pleasantly surprised how much fun it is to watch. Reminds me a bit of track events but on ice and more intense.
The finals consisted of 7 athletes of which 3 were South Koreans and 2 were Americans that could potentially team up with fellow countrymen to hold off the competitors. This looked to be the case with the Koreans about to go 1-2-3 on the podium before 2 of them took each other out, giving the Americans a 2-3 finish and Apolo a tied record for most decorated Winter Olympian with Bonnie Blair, another speed skater! I highly recommend finding this race and watching it.
The backstory given on athletes before a race does so much in drawing you in and making you care. American JR Celski's bloody injury at the Olympic Trials was intense to see but I'm sure it made winning the Olympic bronze medal all the more special to him!

Freestyle Skiing - Ladies' Moguls:

My knowledge of freestyle skiing was doing lots of skiing down a hill and off a ramp to do lots of flips and twists before landing. My knowledge of moguls was a bumpy hill and a place to be avoided especially when you're on a snowboard after I experienced a painful face plant near Lake Tahoe a few years back. So, what is freestyle moguls?! Well, I learned it was bumps, a ramp to do a trick, more bumps, another ramp, and a final patch of bumps that is scored based on speed, technique, and tricks.
This was more fun to watch than expected. Think human pogo sticks on steroids with a few flips and twists thrown in.
The U.S. got its first gold of the Olympics in this event courtesy of Hannah Kearney. Her hair was too cute, it was braided then the tips tucked into her helmet to look like pigtails.
This event was another 2 medal event for the U.S. with Shannon Bahrke claiming the bronze. She has pink highlights in her hair and a really fun personality to watch.
Felt bad for the Canadian silver medalist because she won the gold at the 2006 Olympics and Canada has never won an Olympic gold on home soil so she had a lot of pressure.

Freestyle Skiing - Men's Moguls:

Similar to the women's but faster and trickier.
Canada earned their first Olympic gold medal at a home Olympics.
The Australian silver medalist and 2006 gold medalist was actually born in Vancouver!
Another U.S. medal - bronze!

Figure Skating - Pairs Short Program:

I feel like of the 4 figure skating events, this one had the weakest U.S. field. However, I was very pleased to see both sets do a personal best job! 10th and 14th of about 20 couples.
The Chinese are so good and so great to watch. Definitely routing for Shen & Zhou to win. At age 31 and 35, it's amazing how well they're still competing after 18 years and have such great artistry and synchronization on the ice.
Saw some interesting costumes -- a Ukrainian woman in a body suit and a German couple with clown makeup!

Long Track Speed Skating:

Way less exciting than short track. Only two are racing at a time with specified lanes kinda like track events.
The track is HUGE, they must build special rinks. Short track is done on the same rink as figure skating.
Very cool when an athlete wins the first gold medal ever at an Olympics for their country (Czech Republic)!

Snowboarding - Men's Snowboard Cross:

This is probably one of my favorite events to watch after figure skating. It's actually quite similar to motocross or even speed skating with 4 boarders racing on a course at a time.
In 2006 was the first time this event was in an Olympics.
Seth Wescott, a NC native and gold medalist in 2006 repeated as winner!! He had a rough start but squeaked by in the end by about a half a snowboard length. I think it's pretty awesome he's doing what he loves and is intending to compete again in 2014 at the age of 37. "Old" by most Olympian standards.

Figure Skating - Pairs Long Program:

Again the Americans are not competitive at the medal level but gave really great personal performances.
Shen & Zhou were able to hang on to the lead and finally after 4 Olympic Games and 2 Olympic bronze medals to win the gold and deservedly so. They also ended the Russian/Soviet domination of the Pairs Olympic gold medal since 1964!
The 3 Chinese couples finished 2-3-4 in 2006 and finished 1-2-5 in 2010. Same 3 couples, 4 years between Olympic competitions, so impressive to do that well!

Other Notes:

U.S. alpine ski star, Lindsey Vonn, severely bruised her shin a couple weeks before the start of the Olympics and it had been very sketchy whether she'd even be able to even compete. But, some extremely lucky bad weather caused her events to be postponed and now it looks like she'll be able to compete! Go USA!
Currently, Switzerland has the most golds -- 3. Also, those are the only 3 medals they have earned so far. I wonder if their motto is "Go Gold or Go Home". ;-)

Wow that was a lot! I plan for there to be more as the Olympics progress.

Connesstee Waterfalls

2009-07-31T10:58:00.000-04:00

The photo above is actually only one half of the waterfalls, behind me in this photo was the other half. They are twin waterfalls from two creeks that join together. These waterfalls are not located in Pisgah National Forest. From what I researched online, the waterfalls were privately owned but the owner allowed the public to view them. Wow, that was really nice of him! In the last couple of years, it appears he has turned them over to a land conservancy which is currently trying to get loans from the state to turn the waterfalls into a park for the public. I really hope they can get this done soon as the waterfalls are really gorgeous and access to them is currently in a state of disrepair.

Looking Glass Waterfall Wedding Photos

2009-07-30T10:54:00.000-04:00

Just downstream from the waterfall, a small group was doing some wedding photography. I know their photos will turn out absolutely gorgeous but it really was entertaining just to watch. From my observation, I would guess this was the bride's idea, the groom was going along with what she wanted, and the photographer was like "OMG, what have I got myself into" as he did not look comfortable trying to walk in the creek.

Looking Glass Waterfall

2009-07-29T10:53:00.000-04:00

Looking Glass waterfall is one of the most photographed waterfalls. However, I do not remember if that was the most in Pisgah National Forest, NC, East Coast or where! It is a very beautiful waterfall and I of course could not let it fall from the list of most photographed.

Moore Cove Waterfall

2009-07-28T10:50:00.000-04:00

Moore Cove Waterfall had a cave (cove?) behind it. You can see Mom, Dad, and Daniel walking behind the waterfall. Pisgah National Forest allows backpackers to camp anywhere in the park as long as it's a specified distance from any road. There were remnants of campfires under this cave and I thought that was probably a really neat place to camp, a bit damp but dry in comparison if it rained.

Moore Cove Waterfall Trail

2009-07-27T10:47:00.000-04:00

A bridge next to the trailhead to Moore Cove Waterfall.

Creek to Sliding Rock

2009-07-24T11:00:00.000-04:00

This is the creek that led to the Sliding Rock Waterfall. Looks innocent enough, doesn't it?

Sliding Rock Technique

2009-07-23T11:04:00.000-04:00

Some people had interesting ideas on how to slide down the rock. I think some people thought they had a great idea but once they got to the bottom I wonder if they were rudely reminded that this is not a manmade fiberglass waterslide but rock!

Sliding Rock Waterfall

2009-07-22T10:22:00.001-04:00

The view of Sliding Rock Waterfall as you're waiting in line.

Sliding Rock Waterslide

2009-07-21T10:45:00.000-04:00

This is Sliding Rock Waterfall in Pisgah National Forest. It is $1/person to get into see this waterfall but the park itself does not have an entrance fee! The park has lifeguards stationed at this waterfall and the wait was about 30 minutes to slide down the waterfall. It was a beautiful day probably around 90 degrees but the water was only 48 degrees!! Definitely shockingly cold but as soon as you got out the air felt so warm you did not even need a towel!

Cabin Creek

2009-07-20T10:56:00.001-04:00

My parents rented a cabin beside this creek near Brevard, NC in the western NC mountains. Daniel and I stayed with them for a couple of days and visited the area. This area of NC is known as the Land of Waterfalls and I had no idea NC had all these beautiful waterfalls! (Photos to come in the days ahead.) I'm really impressed with NC's variety of natural features from the mountains to the coast.

Grandpa's Silly Grandchildren

2009-07-17T10:20:00.000-04:00

Photo Credit: Kendall

I love my sister and brother, they're the greatest! We all seem to share the same silly sense of humor. This is in front of the door to the barn our Grandfather built from scraps of another old barn. Very impressive and I'm sure it will be standing for a very long time to come!

Grandpa's Farm

2009-07-16T10:16:00.000-04:00

Grandpa's Field of Wildflowers

2009-07-15T11:02:00.000-04:00

Grandpa's Sky

2009-07-14T10:15:00.000-04:00

The sky above my Grandpa's farm on Father's Day.

Grandpa's View

2009-07-13T11:26:00.001-04:00

For Father's Day, I gathered with my Mom's family to scatter the ashes of my Grandfather on his farm in Ohio. He wanted to be buried on his farm, so, we chose the top of this hill behind the house and barns with a beautiful view. I'm sad and I miss him but it makes me happy to know he is at a place he loved.

Wilton Cake Decorating Course 2: Grand Finale Cake

2009-07-10T09:42:00.000-04:00

This is a 6" 2-layer cake. The basketweave sides and rope border at the bottom were done with buttercream icing. The birds were done with colorflow icing and the flowers were done with royal icing. Colorflow and royal icings are very similar to each other and dry hard because they do not have butter like buttercream which keeps the icing softer (and edible). The flowers are pansies (purple & yellow), daffodils (yellow), daisies (white with yellow center), primroses (pink with yellow center), violets (small purple), and apple blossoms (small pink).

Wilton Cake Decorating Course 2: Class 2

2009-07-09T09:10:00.000-04:00

Royal icing: violet leaves, violets, and apple blossoms. Colorflow icing: birds.

Closeup of violet.

Closeup of apple blossom.

Wilton Cake Decorating Course 2: Class 1

2009-07-08T09:09:00.000-04:00

Rosebuds, stars, chrysanthemums, grapes, bows, shells, smiley faces, and sweet peas.

GA Aquarium: Manta Ray

2009-07-07T09:03:00.000-04:00

Photo Credit: Kendall

The manta ray was one of my favorite animals of the entire aquarium. It was so large I probably could have laid comfortably on its back as it carried me gracefully through the water.

GA Aquarium: Sawtooth Shark

2009-07-06T09:04:00.002-04:00

Photo Credit: Kendall

The largest tank in the aquarium has a clear tunnel at the bottom that you walk through. This is the view of the underside of the shark as you are looking toward the surface of the water. I'm not sure of the exact depth but it's fairly significant.

Ages: Under/Over v. Down/Up

2009-07-02T15:09:00.007-04:00

I've noticed when referring to a persons age that signs, menus, and such often read: 17 & Under or 18 & Up.

Why is it never: 17 & Down or 18 & Over??

It's almost always a mix of these two groups of opposites instead of choosing one group and being consistent!

GA Aquarium: Jellyfish

2009-07-02T09:06:00.001-04:00

Photo Credit: Kendall

Triathlon Training: Week 7

2009-07-01T22:03:00.000-04:00

Monday Schedule: OFF Actual: OFF Tuesday Schedule: Run: 30 min Actual: OFF Wednesday Schedule: Swim: 400 yards Actual: OFF Thursday Schedule: BRICK: 30 min Bike/10 min Run/20 min Walk Actual: Comments: Friday Schedule: Swim: 400 yards Actual: Comments: Saturday Schedule: Run: 40 min Actual: Comments: Sunday Schedule: Bike: 15 miles Actual: Comments: Overall Thoughts:

How did it get to be week 7 already?!?! I still feel like I'm at the level of like week 3 maybe 4.
I think this week is turning into a miserable failure and perhaps I should just call it a rest week.

GA Aquarium: Sea Turtle

2009-07-01T09:00:00.003-04:00

Photo Credit: Kendall

GA Aquarium: Observation Bubble

2009-06-30T09:01:00.000-04:00

Triathlon Training: Week 6

2009-06-29T15:10:00.001-04:00

Monday Schedule: OFF Actual: Tumbling (~1hr) Comments: This was Kendall's last night at tumbling and our instructor wasn't even there. =( Next week will be my last. Didn't really do anything special, just worked on the same things I had been like landing front tucks on my feet and doing cartwheels on the beam without falling off. Near the end of class, I was inspired by the climbing rope so I found a large mat to stand on and made a rope swing into the foam pit. It was fun! I said I was working on my upper body strength. =) Tuesday Schedule: Run: 20 min Actual: OFF Comments: My last cake decorating class for course 2 was tonight and I didn't have time to run. Hopefully can start getting back on track tomorrow. Wednesday Schedule: Swim: 300 yards Actual: Swim: 300 yards (~20 min) Comments: My brother is in town so he came with us and did pretty well himself. I can tell it has been a while since I last swam but I made it. After just a couple of lengths of the pool, I thought there would be no way I could make the entire 300 yards but I did! A triathlon is not for the swift but for the steady because you can do lots more than you think you can even if it is at a slower pace than you would like to go. Thursday Schedule: Brick Workout: 30 min bike/10 min run/20 min walk Actual: Brick Workout: 30 min bike/10 min run/20 min walk Comments: I will have to look up distances later as my gps did not work for some reason, grrr. The run part was really supposed to be done like this: 2 min walk/3 min run/1 min walk/3 min run/1 min walk but ended up more like this: 2.5 min walk/1.5 min run/1.5 min walk/1.5 min run/1.5 min walk/1.5 min run. I ran about 1.5 minutes less than I was supposed to but for the first back-to-back workout I thought it went fairly well. Legs were a little weird during the 2 minute transition walk but seemed to figure it out soon which is much better than when I first started biking several weeks ago. Friday Schedule: Swim: 400 yards Actual: OFF Saturday Schedule: Run: 40 min Actual: Hiking: 2+ miles Comments: Visited western NC and hiked a couple of trails to waterfalls. Sunday Schedule: Bike: 12 miles Actual: OFF Overall Thoughts:

The intensity has been kicked up a notch but I'm not really participating due to schedule conflicts. Hopefully this will change soon.
I made the mistake of looking at results from last year of one of the triathlons we are considering. I found my current times to be near the bottom or worse. Granted I am only halfway through the training calendar, that does leave time for improvement.
I was reminded that my goal is to finish without worrying about placement but I have to admit it would be icing on the cake to not finish in last place!

Georgia Aquarium

2009-06-29T09:07:00.000-04:00

Pemberton Place: "Green" Roof

2009-06-26T09:07:00.000-04:00

This building was between the World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium. The rooftop was literally a green roof with plants and flowers growing. Reminded me of the trees and bushes growing around the top of Carrabba's restaurants.

World of Coca-Cola

2009-06-25T09:08:00.000-04:00

Centennial Olympic Park: Olympic Ring Fountain

2009-06-24T08:59:00.000-04:00

I managed to catch the water spurts in mid-air during a show coordinated to music. The rest of the time you can walk through and play in the fountains. Kids especially love this free entertainment!

Audrey + Zane Wedding: Lydia Lionesses

2009-06-23T08:55:00.001-04:00

Sisters-in-law having fun in the field after the wedding.

Triathlon Training: Week 5

2009-06-22T11:31:00.000-04:00

This week is not going to follow the training calendar due to schedule conflicts. The goal is to try to do activities similar to the previous week and just do what we can, when we can. Monday Actual: Tumbling (~1 hour) Comments: Really worked my quads and they're letting me know about it. Definitely seeing some small improvements to my tumbling which is exciting. Also, started learning a new skill: an aerial (a cartwheel with no hands). June will be our last month taking tumbling classes after almost three years. The gym or rather the management of the gym we go to has handled several situations poorly and we have decided it's just time to move on. Not sure if we'll get back into tumbling somewhere else eventually but for now we are not going to continue. Tuesday Actual: OFF Comments: My muscles are definitely sore after the workout from tumbling. I'm thinking now that training for this triathlon is actually easier than trying to be a gymnast at my age. At least triathlon training has yielded very little pain so far! Wednesday Actual: OFF Comments: I did lots of laundry if that counts for anything. :) Walking is getting easier now but WOW! I must've done a super workout at tumbling because my quads have been so angry. Thursday Actual: OFF Friday Actual: OFF Saturday Actual: ~10 hours of walking/standing Comments: We went to the best roller coaster park in the world: Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH. Sunday Actual: OFF Overal Thoughts: I hope next week goes better than I'm expecting! The training intensity is getting kicked up a notch.

Audrey + Zane Wedding: Lydia + Zack

2009-06-22T08:54:00.001-04:00

Audrey + Zane Wedding: Feather Rain Departure

2009-06-19T08:58:00.001-04:00

Audrey + Zane Wedding: Wheat Grass Table Decor

2009-06-18T08:51:00.001-04:00

Audrey + Zane Wedding: Reception in a Barn

2009-06-17T08:52:00.001-04:00

Audrey + Zane Wedding: In a Field, On a Farm

2009-06-16T08:47:00.001-04:00

Audrey + Zane Wedding: Introducing the Mr & Mrs

2009-06-15T08:49:00.000-04:00

Triathlon Training: Week 4

2009-06-15T08:42:00.001-04:00

Monday Schedule: Swim: 300 yds, Run: 20 min Actual: Tumbling: 1 hour, Run: 15 min (~1.2 miles, ~12.5 min/mile) Comments: For possibly the first time ever, I had "too much power" at tumbling while I worked on round offs and front tucks! I had a good night in general including a few consecutive cartwheels on the high beam without falling off. After we got back from tumbling, we decided to run. We skipped the 5 minute walking warmup since we just got back from the gym. I increased my run times between walking as well to something like 1 min then 1.5 min then 2 min then back down. Tuesday Schedule: OFF Actual: OFF Wednesday Schedule: Bike: 8 miles Actual: Bike: 7.3 miles (~45 min, ~6.2 min/mile) Comments: I don't like hills and I'm starting to get bored with my route. I would like to find a different location that is more flat but probably not likely since our surrounding area is the most convenient. Thursday Schedule: Swim: 300 yds, Walk: 30 min Actual: Swim: 300 yds, Walk: ~30 min Comments: We walked to and from our neighborhood pool but I'm not sure how long that took so we'll just approximate it to the 30 minutes though I'd guess it might be closer to 20...maybe. My swimming is improving! Breathing is easier and doing it from both sides. Stroking is getting smoother, longer, and more rhythmical. I probably did 70% freestyle too. I read a couple of articles with some techniques that definitely helped me out. Friday Schedule: OFF Actual: OFF Saturday Schedule: Run: 40 min Actual: OFF Comments: I did go for a walk on the beach which is more difficult than walking on a sidewalk. Kendall went for a 10 minute run down the beach. Maybe our meager efforts count for a little bit even if they weren't the right amount and the sand added difficulty. Sunday Schedule: Bike: 10 miles Actual: OFF Comments: I had time but I was lazy. =( Overall Thoughts:

This upcoming week will most likely not follow the schedule because we have other plans that will only allow us to keep up with about half of what is necessary this week. We do have at least an extra week before we would do a triathlon so I think this will work out ok as long as we do what we can when we can.

Audrey + Zane Wedding: With this egg, I thee wed...

2009-06-12T08:05:00.000-04:00

Kendall's cousin Audrey got married May 16th in a field on her grandparents farm in GA. The wedding was gorgeous and so fitting of the couple. Their wedding rings were placed inside of an egg with feathers.

Triathlon Training: Week 3

2009-06-08T08:46:00.000-04:00

Monday Schedule: OFF Actual: Tumbling: 45 min Comments: I am continuing our weekly tumbling class. Time will tell if the triathlon training has any effects on my tumbling abilities. I hope so! Tuesday Schedule: Swim: 200 yards, Run: 20 min Actual: OFF Comments: I have decided to start taking my cake decorating course again and that takes up all my time on Tuesday evenings. So, I may change from Monday to Tuesday being my off day. Not sure yet if I'll just flip the Monday/Tuesday activity or push the entire schedule forward a day. Wednesday Schedule: Bike: 6 miles Actual: Swim: 200 yards Comments: Kendall is back participating with me again, yay! I did a stroke mixture but this time I did the breaststroke with my head underwater. Before I was doing it with my head above the surface but I need to get used to less oxygen from breathing only after a few strokes. I did have an improvement in my freestyle breathing so I think I am figuring it out which is exciting! We did not get the 20 minute run part in (see notes at the bottom). Thursday Schedule: Swim: 300 yards, Walk: 30 min Actual: Run: 20 min (~1.5 miles, ~13.3 min/mile) Comments: We have taken 2 days to complete Tuesday's schedule, not sure how to get back on track but I'm sure I'll figure something out. Running is getting easier which is exciting! Also, it was raining but we went anyway, that's dedication right? I think next will try 2 min run/1 min walk rotations. Running or swimming are the easiest in the rain so we don't have to worry about WD40-ing the bike to prevent rust when we finish. Friday Schedule: OFF Actual: OFF Saturday Schedule: Run: 30 min Actual: Volleyball: 2-3 hours Comments: I had great fun playing until my hands and wrists literally could not take anymore abuse and I suppose I'll continue to pay for it for a few days! Sunday Schedule: Bike: 10 miles Actual: Bike: 10 miles (~57 min, ~5.7 min/mile) Comments: Biking is getting easier and my legs feel less like jello when I finish. My quads are definitely where I feel it the most but they're trying hard to get stronger! Overall Thoughts:

I have not figured out how to do the days with two activities in one day. I do not think they are to be done back to back as you do something later in the program called bricks where the activities are done back to back. The goal is probably to do one in the morning and one in the evening but that is NOT going to happen. I have contemplated doing the walk/run part at lunchtime because I would have time. However, I get so sweaty and I think it would make the rest of my day uncomfortable without having a shower available.
We need another bike.

Triathlon Training: Week 2

2009-06-03T09:02:00.002-04:00

Monday Schedule: OFF Actual: Walk: 2 miles Comments: Was out of town this day but did walk 2+ miles around a racetrack. Tuesday Schedule: Swim: 200 yards, Run: 15 min Actual: My Fitness Coach (Wii) Core Body Workout: 30 min Comments: Waited too late to swim or run. Something is better than nothing. Wednesday Schedule: Bike: 6 miles Actual: Bike: 6.1 miles (~45 min, ~7.4 min/mile) Comments: Brought a Camelbak with water this time and it made a HUGE difference. Can really feel my quads working hard. Explored a nearby neighborhood using gps once again to track how far I had gone. Thursday Schedule: Swim: 200 yards Actual: Swim: 200 yards (~15 min) Comments: Pool water has warmed a bit so was a little easier getting in this time! I swam a stroke mixture again of: 25 yds breast + 25 yds side + 50 back + 100 free (not in that order). Friday Schedule: OFF Actual: OFF Saturday Schedule: Run: 20 min Actual: Run: 18 min (~1.3 miles, ~13.8 min/mile) Comments: Walking warmup of 5 minutes then alternated run 1 minute, walk 1 minute for the rest. This was a little easier this time so that leaves me hopeful some of this work is starting to pay off a little! Sunday Schedule: Bike: 8 miles Actual: Bike: 7.8 miles (~52 min, 6.7 min/mile) Comments: I pushed myself a little harder than previous times on the first three miles thinking "yeah I'm getting better at this". Big mistake! Got a little nauseous but kept going MUCH slower as the wind felt nice. Body got back in balance by the time I finished but I was pooped. I ended up taking the last two miles through the flattest parts of the neighborhood that I could find. I'm glad I was able to push through without ending up on the side of the road to meet the goal for the day. Overall Thoughts:

Need to work in a day or two of strength training at some point. The goal is strength for endurance not bulk.
Kendall was sick this week so did not participate with me. I'm proud of myself for getting out and doing it alone. I seem to have some fear of that but glad I'm overcoming it. I don't think it will be too difficult for Kendall to pick back up with me since he's in better physical shape than I am.
Breathing while swimming is still an issue but I'm hoping it will get better with practice. I'm also considering a swim lesson or two to help with breathing and any other issues I may have.
I learned that completing the activity is more important than how quickly you finish it. Trying to push myself just leaves me tired which is not helpful when endurance for the distance is key.

Triathlon Training: Week 1

2009-06-02T09:12:00.000-04:00

Monday Schedule: OFF Actual: OFF Tuesday Schedule: Run: 15 min Actual: Run: 20 min (~1.5 miles, ~13.3 min/mile) Comments: Found a local park nearby with a 0.5-mile fitness trail to run at that is quite nice. I really did not do much running as I am out of shape. I was supposed to walk 5 minutes then alternate run 1 minute and walk 1 minute for the rest. But, I found I could only run at most for 30 seconds then walk 1.5 minutes! This is going to be a long road. Wednesday Schedule: Bike: 5 miles Actual: Bike: 4.75 miles (~42 minutes, ~8.8 min/mile) Comments: Kendall came with me but on rollerblades and said he would like to join me in this triathlon adventure as he needs to get into better shape also. Yay! We explored our neighborhood and he had gps tracking setup on his phone so we knew where we had gone and how far! Very helpful if you decide not to follow your original planned path mid-way through the trip. Learned that cycling without bringing water along is a TERRIBLE idea! Agua es muy importante! Thursday Schedule: Swim: 200 yards Actual: OFF Comments: Went to Dick's Sporting Goods store to buy swim goggles. Friday Schedule: OFF Actual: Swim: 200 yards (~30 minutes maybe not sure) Comments: The pool water was chilly! Kendall opted to jump right in and was finished with 300 yards before I finally inched my entire body in. I wasn't sure I could remember how to swim with my head underwater. The suggested swimming stroke is freestyle but I did a combination of breast, side, back, and free to complete the distance. I learned I need to work on breathing as I am sucking in more water than air so resorted to lifting my entire head up and out of the water. Saturday Schedule: Run: 15 min Actual: OFF Comments: Was lazy and did not do anything. Shameful! I felt really bad about it too and had a grumpy attitude because of it. Sunday Schedule: Bike: 5 miles Actual: OFF Comments: Out of town this day. Overall Thoughts: Side effects I'm already noticing: more energy, higher body temperature (especially at work where I'm usually freezing), and hunger!! Read that if you skip a day of training to let it be water under the bridge. It's important to just keep going and not to worry about making up the missed activity. Also, try not to miss more than one day in a row. It is important to reinforce the habit of exercising and it's more difficult to do so when you skip more than one day at a time.

From tumbler to triathlete?

2009-06-01T09:07:00.000-04:00

For the last few years, my exercise regiment has been essentially nonexistent. During college, this was not a big deal as I was consistently hiking all over campus to classes several days a week. Since I have been married, life has become much more sedentary. For one hour, one day a week, I spend time at a gym learning the basics of tumbling, gymnastics, and trampoline. I have fun but it falls far short of any recommended minimum of exercise in a person's life. So, the next logical step is to consider a triathlon! Actually, that's probably not logical. A 5k, 10k, half marathon or any other running event has been a consideration for quite a while. I thought it sounded easy enough to train for and be rewarding in the end to know what I had accomplished. I'm not saying a running event is easy to do but it's something that requires minimal equipment and can be done just about anywhere. Unfortunately, my interest just never got off the ground as it sounded boring. A couple of months ago, I learned that a friend was going to attempt a triathlon. This sparked my interest because instead of just running, you swim, bike, AND run. After much research, hemming, hawing, waiting for our neighborhood pool to open, and mental preparation, I am now two weeks into a sprint distance triathlon training program for beginners recommended to me and found at: Tri-Newbies Online. Is this the best choice for a beginner? I have no idea but at least I'm no longer sitting at home nearly as much. I work with a woman that was a personal trainer in a prior career so I did have her look at the program and she thought the details and plan looked good and thorough. Also, if I have questions, it's great that I have someone to ask as I am not very familiar with the fitness world. The point of me announcing all of this here is that I've read when you announce your plan to the world, well, friends and family at least, you will feel like you're being held more accountable for your actions. I probably should have mentioned I was going to do this earlier but wanted to make sure I was going to really go for it before having to feel guilty for not actually following through with my plan. So, now when it gets difficult, my dear blog readers, it will be your responsibility to encourage me. ;-) My plan is to post updates of how I'm doing. Most updates will be tedious and boring but it will also be a way for me to keep track of what I have done. Oh, the goal is to just complete a triathlon regardless of final placement. I have not actually signed up for one but I am eyeing a couple sometime in August.

NCAA Women's Gymnastics Southeast Regional

2009-05-15T14:55:00.001-04:00

As we were leaving, this sign was at an intersection on NC State's campus. The sign amused us because at the bottom it has advice regarding railroad crossings but there was not a train or railroad anywhere around!

NCAA Women's Gymnastics Southeast Regional

2009-05-14T14:54:00.001-04:00

The first and second place teams qualified to the NCAA Women's Gymnastics National Championships.

1st Place: University of Georgia (red and black) 2nd Place: Pennsylvania State University (blue)

NCAA Women's Gymnastics Southeast Regional

2009-05-13T14:43:00.000-04:00

Courtney McCool competing on the balance beam for the University of Georgia. She scored a perfect 10.0! Courtney was also a 2004 Olympian with the other Courtney.

NCAA Women's Gymnastics Southeast Regional

2009-05-12T14:44:00.000-04:00

Courtney Kupets competing on the balance beam for the University of Georgia.

NCAA Women's Gymnastics Southeast Regional

2009-05-11T14:46:00.000-04:00

Courtney Kupets warming up on the uneven bars for the University of Georgia.

NCAA Women's Gymnastics Southeast Regional

2009-05-10T14:49:00.000-04:00

Courtney Kupets competing on the floor exercise for the University of Georgia. She was a 2004 Olympian.

NCAA Women's Gymnastics Southeast Regional

2009-05-09T14:47:00.000-04:00

A University of North Carolina gymnast competing on the balance beam.

NCAA Women's Gymnastics Southeast Regional

2009-05-08T14:28:00.000-04:00

University of Georgia team huddle between event rotations.

NCAA Women's Gymnastics Southeast Regional

2009-05-07T20:23:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, April 4th, Kendall and I attended the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Women's Gymnastics Southeast Regional Competition at NC State University in Raleigh. The competition was to qualify two teams to the NCAA Women's Gymnastics National Championships. Gymnastics is my favorite sport so this was an awesome opportunity I enjoyed to the fullest!

We took a lot of photos, well, Kendall took most of them as I was mostly watching the four ring circus. We quickly learned that gymnastics is not an easy sport to photograph as I imagine most sports are probably not as well due to the speed of things happening. I think I am only including photos I took but it is possible some were by Kendall.

There were six teams in the battle to qualify for Nationals as well as a handful of individuals from schools that did not qualify a team to Regionals. The teams represented were: University of Georgia, Pennsylvania State University, University of Nebraska, West Virginia University, University of North Carolina, and North Carolina State University. My favorite moment was getting to see UGA (the defending National Champion) compete with two past Olympians (2004) and each score a perfect 10.0!!

Wilton Cake Decorating Course 2: Postponed

2009-05-06T12:16:00.001-04:00

Alas, only 3 people signed up for the course and the requirement is 4 in order to teach the class. Technically, there were 4 but one was a store employee and they are not allowed to count them toward the class roster. So, the class has been pushed forward a month to June when, hopefully, enough people will be signed up. Therefore, there will not be any cake photos this month unless I decide to practice which I suppose would be a good idea!

A SMART car, a Maserati, a Canon, and a Fire Truck

2009-05-05T13:49:00.000-04:00

I have had several missed photo ops in the last couple of weeks. Since I do not have any photos to show, words will have to do. Three of the four opportunities that come to mind, I was driving so really I suppose it would not have been safe to be taking photos anyway! Kendall and I carpool to work, so, I pick him up on the way home each afternoon. In the short distance between our work places, I seem to have a unique siting fairly often. I have seen a blue and white SMART car, a red Maserati (a cousin to the Ferrari), and an SUV. Well, the SUV was not the interesting part but what it was pulling...a trailer! Ok, that's not the interesting part either but what was on the trailer. Imagine driving down the road and someone passing you by when it registers that the thing right beside you on the road is a canon! Now a canon is not an unusual site to see but when it's not at a historic battlefield or at a museum but a mere few feet from you at eye level speeding along, it is a bit surprising! The fourth opportunity is also vehicle related. This morning at work the fire alarm went off! We evacuated but not before grabbing purses, cell phones, and umbrellas. Why is it always raining when there is a fire, fire drill, or fire alarm? Some of us wanted to go get breakfast but alas we stood around under the tree for quite a while wondering if the fire department would ever come. Eventually two fire trucks showed up and at first drove past our building before eventually coming in the back way! It was a bit scary how long it took them to get there and also I was surprised at the number of people that went back inside before we got the all clear. This is not what we learned in school! While we were standing around outside I thought about taking a photo of the fire truck but decided against it as I didn't want people to think I was weird. After walking around and in and out of the building several times we were given the all clear to reenter the building. I thought the all clear would involve a firefighter saying "it's safe for you to all go back in now" but no instead he said "get back to work" then laughed! Apparently, a smoke detector malfunctioned setting the entire system off resulting in us needing to stand outside for nearly an hour this morning. There are a couple office suites around ours that are being renovated and we were blaming the workers for setting it off on accident but guess our hypothesis was incorrect.

Carolina Hurricanes Sandcastle - Side 2

2009-05-03T17:42:00.000-04:00

Carolina Hurricanes Sandcastle - Side 1

2009-05-02T13:45:00.000-04:00

While at Crabtree Valley Mall getting lunch one day, I saw this sand sculpture dedicated to the local Carolina Hurricanes professional hockey team and the Stanley Cup.

Wilton Cake Decorating Course 1: Class 4

2009-04-29T07:52:00.000-04:00

Last night, I went to the last class in the Course 1 series. I did not have time to make a cake before class so I do not have a photo. We completed learning to make the Wilton rose, a sweet pea flower, and a bow. It was probably just as well that I did not make a cake because my icing was not of a proper consistency making it difficult to do anything BUT the instructor said I had the proper technique so that is all I really care about since I can fix the icing later. I see some experimenting in the future! Wilton also sells premade icing at stores so I may give that a try in Course 2. Speaking of Course 2, I signed up to take it, continuing on where we left off. I was only the second person signed up so I'm hoping at least a couple more will so they won't cancel the class. If I make a cake each week, I will continue to take photos and share my experimental masterpieces here. ;-)

Wilton Cake Decorating Course 1: Class 3

2009-04-24T22:35:00.000-04:00

This is the cake I decorated during class 3 of 4. We learned how to do shell borders, flowers, and a clown. You're supposed to buy a clown head topper but I was cheap and made up my own with what I had available.

I attempted a 2 layer cake but didn't use enough cake release in the pan so half of it was stuck inside when I dumped the cake out. So, I made a single layer cake instead with cake crumbs for snacking on later as the second layer. First time I tried the chocolate icing as well and it was yummy.

Wilton Cake Decorating Course 1: Class 2

2009-04-22T22:46:00.000-04:00

After YEARS of wanting to take cake decorating classes, I have FINALLY signed up for the Wilton Cake Decorating Course 1 at Michael's. It's a 4 week, 2 hour, once a week class. Now, I am learning the proper technique to decorate a cake and it has been very fun so far. The first week was just instruction and demonstration. This photo is from the second week when we got to start decorating. I brought a brownie instead of a cake to decorate and this is what I made! Smile! =)

P.S. Kendall and I started eating it before I got around to taking a picture. Yum!

First Kart Ride

2009-04-20T18:46:00.000-04:00

Can you say gleeful?

Racer Kendall

2009-04-18T08:02:00.003-04:00

...then you need this:

He is quite excited about this new hobby he has taken up. A happy husband makes for a happy wife!

The blue is attributed to Blue Goose Racing.

Go Kart

2009-04-17T07:52:00.000-04:00

If you buy this...

Rage Against the Machine

2009-04-16T07:51:00.000-04:00

This long hanging vine plant on our mantle tempted our iRobot. The attack did not go well. Roomba stopped, beeped and flashed it's orange warning light that it needed assistance. Roomba put up a good fight but ultimately the plant won. LOL! The mess was not fun to clean up as that was supposed to be what Roomba was doing but it was still quite amusing to see the result. Unfortunately for this plant, it gets yet another pot as it's life is difficult having many interactions with the floor (ie this is not the first time it's been knocked on the floor nor will it be the last but it lives on).

Stefan + Celeste Wedding: Leaving to Honeymoon in Puerto Rico

2009-04-15T09:47:00.000-04:00

Stefan + Celeste Wedding: Cakes

2009-04-14T09:44:00.000-04:00

Stefan + Celeste Wedding: Chandelier

2009-04-13T08:43:00.000-04:00

Rabbit Hole Cupcakes

2009-04-12T07:44:00.000-04:00

Tampa, FL at Night

2009-04-11T09:40:00.000-04:00

Visiting Gma in New Port Richey, Florida

2009-04-10T08:57:00.001-04:00

(L to R: LaVonna, Kendall, me, Gma) Or more hopefully to some... (L to R: Sister, Husband, Cat, Alice)

Brandon, Florida Farmer's Market Onions

2009-04-09T08:56:00.000-04:00

Disney World Epcot: Pansies

2009-04-08T09:33:00.000-04:00

Disney World Epcot: Lion King Pumbaa Topiary

2009-04-07T09:32:00.000-04:00

Disney World Epcot: Only One Person Quote

2009-04-06T09:00:00.000-04:00

Disney World Epcot: Mother Earth Quote

2009-04-05T08:59:00.000-04:00

Disney World Epcot: Chinese Acrobat Human Hula Hoop Slinky

2009-04-04T08:37:00.000-04:00

Disney World Epcot: Chinese Acrobat Pot Balancing Act

2009-04-03T08:38:00.000-04:00

Disney World Epcot: Chinese Acrobat Wine Glass Balancing Act

2009-04-02T08:35:00.000-04:00