Football by another name

I've attended exactly two professional soccer games in my life, one in Kansas City and one in Osaka.  Well, assuming all the transactions went through as promised, I will add another one to that list in June 2014.

That's right, folks, Sam and I will be going to a World Cup game in Salvador, Brazil next year.  I'd better start following soccer and learning Portuguese!

Throwing stones

Two years ago, Sam and I joined the La Crosse Curling Club and made curling our winter activity.  As we've improved in skill, so has the club improved in participation, competition, and quality of facilities.

This video is from that first year, when my form was horrible, the houses were painted on, and everyone was just happy to be out on the ice, no matter that it was mostly uneven.

Olympic Curling is coming up soon in Sochi 2014.  Check it out!

winter running series, complete

Today was the Valentine Heart Throb 5k Race, the last of the Winter Running Series races.  It was a great race for me, and a pretty decent one for Sam as well.  The temperature was about 29 degrees, but the 12 mph winds made for a little cooler feeling and a slightly more difficult first mile.  Here's our results.

Sam (22:05)
26/222 overall, 23/71 men, 2/16 age group
Sam improved his time over last race, but wasn't as fast as his December race.  Despite this, he placed again.  That's three ribbons for Sam in three races.

Laura (24:14)
49/222 overall, 12/121 women, 5/48 age group
I improved my time again by another minute and a half, but once again did not place in my age group.  I really think that women ages 30 to 39 are the most competitive.

At the end of the series, times from each of the three races are added together and the top total finishers are awarded prizes as well.  Neither Sam nor I placed in the top three, but we did both place in the top ten.

Sam (total 1:06:25)
10/82 overall, 10th male finisher

Laura (total 1:18:17)
28/82 overall, 6th female finisher

I started this series with two goals.  The first was reasonable - to improve my time each race.  The second was a little unreasonable - to beat Sam.  I absolutely accomplished my first goal, and with greater success than I had hoped.  I went from running 9:07 min/mile in the first race to 7:47 min/mile in the last race.  I can only say I accomplished the second goal if I stretch and say I finished higher overall in the women's series than Sam did in the men's series.

I am very encouraged by my progress in these races and am going to start looking for another in March and April so that I can continue the improvement trend.  I won't be bold enough yet to put an exact goal time out there, but will just continue to work toward finishing each race faster than the last.

results

It seems like my training has paid off and Sam's holiday break has caught up with him.  In this morning's 5k race, I improved my time by 2:30, and Sam worsened his time by 1:00.  The weather was cold (20 degrees), but there was no wind and the roads were clear.  All in all, I thought it was pretty decent winter running weather.

Laura's results
25:46 (8:18/mi): 52/198 overall, 14/124 women, 6/46 age group

Sam's results
22:46 (7:14/mi): 24/198 overall, 18/73 men, 2/18 age group

Officially, Sam won his age group because the first place man in his age group also finished first overall, therefore bumping Sam up.  That's his second blue ribbon in a row.  Now he's shooting to get all three.

I'm just happy to have improved my time, and I'm looking to bring it down another minute next month.

the start

I had half a post written yesterday for the last day of nablopomo.  I did not get it finished.  So let's forget all that, and talk about something else.

Today was the first of our series of 5k races, the Jingle Bell Run.  The weather was a cloudy 39 degrees with a slight wind.  241 runners and walkers completed the race, and Sam and I did pretty well.

Laura's time: 28:17 (9:07 per mile average)
Actual splits: 9:29, 8:40, 9:10, 0:50 (ish)
Place: 107/241 overall, 15/57 in age division

Sam's time: 21:54 (7:03 per mile average)
Place: 26/241 overall, 1/13 in age division

I had meant to either just run 1.5 miles, or run the whole race at 10 minute per mile pace in order to work my legs and feet back into this running thing.  The competition got the best of me, however, and I went a little faster than I probably should have.  I have to say I felt pretty good.

Sam said he felt like he was really slow and his legs were heavy.  Ha.  He approximately tied his best 5k time and finished first in his age division.  Perhaps that experimental shot of espresso prior to the race had something to do with it.

upcoming

In two days it will be November, and as usual, I am going to attempt to participate in the National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo).  This means that I'll be posting something here every day for the month of November.

I had narrowed this year's theme down to two options:

1. Pictures of Millie
2. 20-minute workouts in my house

I have decided to go with the second for a couple of reasons.  First, Sam says that I already post too many pictures of Millie.  Second, I have been struggling with scheduling my day in such a way as to be productive with work, get sufficient exercise, give my dog attention, and fit in everything else that needs to be done.  My real goal for the month of November is therefore to make a schedule that includes all these things and stick with it.

Part of that (and the real test) is going to be to get up every morning at the same time and do some sort of random workout using whatever I have in my house.  Some of it will be Ultimate-specific as I use this as a trial for winter workouts for the team I coach.  Others will be as silly as lifting weights with soup cans.  I will then post my workout.  Feel free to follow along and tell me what you think and/or provide suggestions.

television debut

Guess who's on TV about homebrewing?  That's right.  We are.

grechaninov

Just in case you're planning a trip to La Crosse, my choir is performing Grechaninov's "Passion Week" at St. Mary of the Angels Chapel on February 11th and 12th.  It is an intense piece of Russian church music with incredible bass lines and surprising chord progressions that will sound amazing in the acoustics at the chapel.  In addition, I'm in the small group performing one of the movements!

DAY 8
Bring temp of mash down to 55 deg
Add 7.30 oz koji to mash
Add 1.5 cups R-O water to mash
Set aside 1.25 cups R-O water in refrigerator

tiny poetry

Anna at Mochimochi Land is an amazing knit toy designer who creates fun creatures often inspired by Japan.  In addition, pretty much every week she knits a tiny object and has a caption or poetry contest inspired by her new creation.

This week she created a tiny yeti, and opened up a poetry contest.  And this week, I won!
Go check out my winning entry and the other fun big, small, and whimsical things Anna knits!

wedded

nablopomo 2010

Monday begins NaBloPoMo, National Blog Posting Month, and once again I am going to participate. I've found it is easier to have a theme of sorts for the month, and this year I am going with Food. At the bare minimum, I'm going to tell you what I eat every day. I hope to also get some recipes and pictures up as well.

It really is a shame that our last CSA is next week, because we've had some really great inspiration this summer from the fun, local food we've received. With luck, we'll continue to be inspired by something, and you won't have to read about all the fake lunchmeat sandwiches and pita pizzas we've been eating.

light-headed

In 2005, I decided that I wanted to cut my hair and donate it to Locks of Love. Of course, I love my long hair, so I went with the minimum amount you can donate, which is 10 inches. I freaked out before it was cut, and then decided that while I didn't mind the shorter length, I would prefer longer hair.

Three years later, a long, hot summer of Ultimate was upon me, and I decided I should make donating my hair a regular every three year thing. So again, I cut off 10 inches of my hair.

It must have been the water, because my hair grew fast, and lately my neck was starting to complain when I put my hair up in a bun. So two years after my last big cut, namely, today, I went in for another round. Even though I should be used to it by now, I was nervous. But all went well, and I have again succeeded in starting the summer off with just longer than shoulder-length hair. I feel so light!

go, anna, go!

It's Patriot's Day in Massachusetts, which means it's Boston Marathon Day!

My friend Anna is once again heading out in her purple spandex and a singlet with my father's name (among others) to run her 5th Boston Marathon for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training. She has been diligently training in the mountains of Lesotho (South Africa-ish) for the last seven weeks, and from what I can tell, she is ready to go!

You can follow her progress starting around 10:30am (ET) at the Boston Marathon Athlete Tracker website. Her bib number is 23489.

You can also still donate by going to Anna's Team in Training Page.

Good luck, Anna! I'm sure Heartbreak Hill will be nothing to your Lesotho-trained legs!

go, anna, go!

For the fifth year in a row, my good friend Anna is running the Boston Marathon for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She runs in memory of my father who died of leukemia and other friends and relatives who have died from a blood cancer or are currently fighting one.

This year, she will be completing her marathon training while in Lesotho in southern Africa doing a medical internship. She promises to send pictures of her trip and updates of how her marathon training is going far away from the familiar streets of Boston.

Please consider supporting Anna as she runs for a cause that is particularly meaningful to me. Her dedication over the years is awesome and inspiring. You can read her letter and donate at her Team in Training website.

island hopping

After almost three and a half years, it is finally happening. I am finally getting back to Japan!

Sam and I will be spending three and a half glorious weeks in my favorite foreign country this summer, and it will be wonderful. Ramen, temples, tonkatsu, trains, yatsuhashi, Kamogawa, and every other thing I remember from years ago, plus new and exciting things!

another no-no

Don't ever accuse your cashier of putting her hand in your bulk bag of wheat germ.

If you had clearly labeled your bulk item, she wouldn't have had to untie the twist tie to search for the hidden number. Did she then stick her hand in, grab some of the food, and taste it to find out what it was? Um, no. That would be ridiculous.

So don't ask her if she did. You might be sorry.*


* This should in no way imply that I or any cashier at my workplace actually punish customers for their ridiculousness. Just don't expect a smile next time...

next stop, hawaii

My YMCA has a winter program called "Indoor Ironman Challenge." If you sign up, you have the month of February to complete each of the Ironman Triathlon Distances - 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run. I signed up, and came up with a training schedule that gets me to the goal by gradually increasing in difficulty over the course of the month at a rate I think my out-of-shape body can handle.

Interested in joining me for a winter tune-up? Here's my schedule:

Week 1: swim 21 laps, run 5 miles, bike 20 miles

Monday: 10.5 lap swim*
Tuesday: 1.25 mile run, 5 mile bike
Wednesday: 1.25 mile run, 5 mile bike
Thursday: 10.5 lap swim
Friday: 1.25 mile run, 5 mile bike
Saturday: 1.25 mile run, 5 mile bike
Sunday: rest

Week 2: swim 21 laps, run 6 miles, bike 25 miles

Monday: 10.5 lap swim
Tuesday: 1.5 mile run, 6.25 mile bike
Wednesday: 1.5 mile run, 6.25 mile bike
Thursday: 10.5 lap swim
Friday: 1.5 mile run, 6.25 mile bike
Saturday: 1.5 mile run, 6.25 mile bike
Sunday: rest

Week 3: swim 21 laps, run 7 miles, bike 30 miles

Monday: 10.5 lap swim
Tuesday: 1.75 mile run, 7.5 mile bike
Wednesday: 1.75 mile run, 7.5 mile bike
Thursday: 10.5 lap swim
Friday: 1.75 mile run, 7.5 mile bike
Saturday: 1.75 mile run, 7.5 mile bike
Sunday: rest

Week 4: swim 21.5 laps, run 8.2 miles, bike 37 miles

Monday: 10.5 lap swim
Tuesday: 2 mile run, 8.75 mile bike
Wednesday: 2 mile run, 8.75 mile bike
Thursday: 11 lap swim
Friday: 2 mile run, 9.75 mile bike
Saturday: 2.2 mile run, 9.75 mile bike
Sunday: rest

*2.4 miles is 84.5 laps in my Y's pool. Also, I'm no good at swimming, so I kept the swimming amount constant throughout the month. The increase in difficulty will be how many of those laps I use a kickboard for versus how many I actually swim.

top ten

Top Ten things to do in the check-out line at the grocery to ensure the cashier will put your tomatoes, eggs, and grapes at the bottom of your bag underneath your milk.

10. Don't read the directions on the card swipe machine.

9. Talk to your friend behind you in line, ignoring everything going on with your groceries.

8. Have the cashier ring up $100 worth of groceries, realize you have only $50, and then ask the cashier to take off this one, that one, maybe that one too...until you get it down to $50.

7. Unload your groceries, push your cart into the walkway, and leave it there when you go.

6. Leave your groceries to go get that one thing you forgot, even though there's a line behind you.

5. Tell the cashier, "They did it for me at another store..."

4. Hand the cashier a granola bar your small child has been slobbering on as you shopped.

3. Hold out your hand full of change and expect the cashier to pick out the amount you owe.

2. Come over to the cashier's side of the lane and attempt to use the phone without permission.

1. Talk on your cell phone.

a list of new things

Well, it's about time things started happening in the new year.

1. I went cross-country skiing. It was awesome.

2. I got a translation job! I will be translating Japanese patents into English. Not thrilling subject matter, but I will be using my education and working from home. Bonus!

3. I'm going to Las Vegas this weekend. I plan on winning lots of money so I can ditch above job and travel the world. Yep.

4. I got an aloe plant. This is not that exciting, but it is new.

And that's about it.

a light dusting

We take a break from regularly scheduled photo blogging to bring this announcement:

It's snowing!!

And now I go enjoy the first snowfall of the season before I get tired of the cold, the wind, and shoveling my sidewalk.