So I guess this week isn't going to be so bad after all. The transformer arrived this morning right on schedule so the crew set up the huge 165 ton crane and got right to work. But the company that owns and operates the transmission lines in the area didn't want an outage at the substation where this work is going on so now we have to wait until Monday to get the unit set at Blackhawk Sub. So He** Week starts next Monday, sorry for the false alarm.
I realized this morning as I was buying a coffee how much paper products I waste whenever I use a paper cup and cardboard heat cozy thing. I've heard it time and time again how you should use your own mug whenever you get coffee, but for some reason it struck me like a bolt of lightening and really sank in this morning. So from now on, when I buy coffee or get some from church, I'm just going to have them fill up my travel mug. Some coffee shops actually charge you less money if you do that, so it's just a good deal all around.
Got our piano tuned again yesterday. Since it hasn't been tuned in 8 years they suggested doing it twice this month because after the first time, the strings stretch a lot so it goes out of tune very quickly after a week or so, which I could totally tell. So they came yesterday afternoon and it sounds perfect and should last about a year now hopefully before we need to get it tuned again. Amber and I are each going to buy a piece of music, learn it and perform a little concert for each other. Amber wants me to do the theme from Phantom of the Opera. I'll probably have her do a classic like Fur Elise or something.
Played Kubb again last night for our final life group of the semester. Got rocked again. I was on a team with Buck and we just couldn't knock anything down. For the second game I had beer and brats in my belly which didn't help a thing. Hopefully this dry spell ends soon. Gotta start winning!
This will be the first Wednesday in many months where we have nothing going on. We had our last book group of the spring last week until the fall. I gotta mow the lawn and make a little dinner, should be a pretty relaxing night I hope. Then tomorrow is our 4th softball game. I'm craving a win very badly! Go Blue!!!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Summer is (unoffically) here!
After such a beautiful weekend, it's hard to believe that we're still over a month away from the official start of summer. Memorial Day weekend is the start of summer for me and it couldn't have started out any better.
Amber and I had a nice dinner at Fresco, which is the restaurant on top of the Overture Center, on Friday night. It was very nice, casual dining, great view and fair prices. Although, the menu selection was limited.
Saturday morning, my uncle picked me up and we drove to the Alliant Energy Center to pick up our race packets for our race on Sunday morning. After that, Amber and I went to the farmer's market, bought a hanging plant as well as a tomato and basil plants. It hurt so bad carrying that potted plant back to the car. Saturday evening, I met Mr. Camann, Buck and Gary for an intense game of Kubb in Gary's backyard, we grilled kabob's and had a few choice beers. Kubb is a Norweigan game that is too difficult to describe here, but it was an awesome lawn game involving wood blocks and wooden dowels that get tossed at one another. Meanwhile, Amber and her friends had a movie night at our place.
I got a good night's sleep, then on Sunday morning, I got up bright and early for the race. My uncle picked me up once again, drove to Alliant again and then took a bus up to Capital Square which is where the race started. The temp. was perfect and hardly any wind, great day for running. Steve did the half marathon and I did the quarter. It was Steve's first race ever, but he did great, crossing at 2:10. I crossed at 47:59 for the quarter which was about what I was expecting, but I could've done better. My average pace was 7:20/mile, but I was averaging 7:03's for the first 6 miles, then came crashing down the last half mile. Gotta work on that! After that, I went home and then Mr. Andrew W. Dobbins, aka "Midget Todd", aka "Dawg", aka "Old Man Dobbins" dropped on by after a 5 month absence from the State of Wisconsin. It was great to see him in the flesh once again. It'll be a great summer! Then, no Saturday evening, I had to work the sound board at B-Hawk which was easy because everything was set-up from the morning services. Then after that, Amber and I went to Qdoba on State for some late dinner, then we walked to the Union to grab some ice-cream. We got caught in that storm on Sunday night. It probably wasn't a good idea to walk out in the open with an umbrella with a severe lightening storm overhead. Oh well, we're alive.
On Monday, we went to Bratfest with a few friends. Boy, it was sooo packed compared to Friday. Luckily we found a shady spot under a tree and played Domino's for a bit. I tried the "Double Johnny" which is two brats crammed onto a burger bun. It was tasty! They broke the world record once again, so I'm glad to say I was a part of it! On Monday night, my uncle called up and wanted to go fishing, so I drove over to his house in Lake Mills and we hooked up the boat and got out onto the lake at like 8:30 and fished until 10:30 or so. It was a perfect, warm, clear, calm night. The starts were great. We caught 4 rock bass and 1 large mouth bass. We cleaned them as soon as we got back to his place!
Just a great weekend overall! Time for He** Week part two. Stay tuned.
Amber and I had a nice dinner at Fresco, which is the restaurant on top of the Overture Center, on Friday night. It was very nice, casual dining, great view and fair prices. Although, the menu selection was limited.
Saturday morning, my uncle picked me up and we drove to the Alliant Energy Center to pick up our race packets for our race on Sunday morning. After that, Amber and I went to the farmer's market, bought a hanging plant as well as a tomato and basil plants. It hurt so bad carrying that potted plant back to the car. Saturday evening, I met Mr. Camann, Buck and Gary for an intense game of Kubb in Gary's backyard, we grilled kabob's and had a few choice beers. Kubb is a Norweigan game that is too difficult to describe here, but it was an awesome lawn game involving wood blocks and wooden dowels that get tossed at one another. Meanwhile, Amber and her friends had a movie night at our place.
I got a good night's sleep, then on Sunday morning, I got up bright and early for the race. My uncle picked me up once again, drove to Alliant again and then took a bus up to Capital Square which is where the race started. The temp. was perfect and hardly any wind, great day for running. Steve did the half marathon and I did the quarter. It was Steve's first race ever, but he did great, crossing at 2:10. I crossed at 47:59 for the quarter which was about what I was expecting, but I could've done better. My average pace was 7:20/mile, but I was averaging 7:03's for the first 6 miles, then came crashing down the last half mile. Gotta work on that! After that, I went home and then Mr. Andrew W. Dobbins, aka "Midget Todd", aka "Dawg", aka "Old Man Dobbins" dropped on by after a 5 month absence from the State of Wisconsin. It was great to see him in the flesh once again. It'll be a great summer! Then, no Saturday evening, I had to work the sound board at B-Hawk which was easy because everything was set-up from the morning services. Then after that, Amber and I went to Qdoba on State for some late dinner, then we walked to the Union to grab some ice-cream. We got caught in that storm on Sunday night. It probably wasn't a good idea to walk out in the open with an umbrella with a severe lightening storm overhead. Oh well, we're alive.
On Monday, we went to Bratfest with a few friends. Boy, it was sooo packed compared to Friday. Luckily we found a shady spot under a tree and played Domino's for a bit. I tried the "Double Johnny" which is two brats crammed onto a burger bun. It was tasty! They broke the world record once again, so I'm glad to say I was a part of it! On Monday night, my uncle called up and wanted to go fishing, so I drove over to his house in Lake Mills and we hooked up the boat and got out onto the lake at like 8:30 and fished until 10:30 or so. It was a perfect, warm, clear, calm night. The starts were great. We caught 4 rock bass and 1 large mouth bass. We cleaned them as soon as we got back to his place!
Just a great weekend overall! Time for He** Week part two. Stay tuned.
Friday, May 23, 2008
He** Week is Over
I'm glad this work week is over. Half of my project is complete and we got it done just before the weekend, which was out deadline. We wanted the substation back in service for the memorial day weekend because there is usually pretty high load. Everything was rolling along smoothly until Wednesday afternoon when I tried to connect the new communication panel to the network and made the whole thing crash. It turned out one of the addresses of a component was causing it fail for some unknown reason. It took us 2 days to figure it out, but in the end we just changed the address and everything works peachy now. I commissioned the sub at about 9:30 this morning and was out by noon. Next week starts the next phase of the project where we set the new transformer on it's pad, finish wiring it up , then tie that into the network and commission it. It'll probably be ready for load in the beginning of June. It'll be nice to have a long weekend to take a break from all this!
Went to Bratfest for lunch today, it has become a beginning of summer staple. I'm sure we'll be there every day this weekend. Such cheap food! And over 52 bands are playing.
Close game at softball last night, but we ended up losing 9-8 in extra innings. Every game so far has been tight and a ton more fun than last year. We're definitely in the right league, it's challenging and we're hanging in right with the other teams. The game next week is on my birthday so we'll have to win for sure!!
Should be a fun weekend. Amber and I are going to try a new restaurant tonight, not sure which one yet, then we're going to see the new Indiana Jones movie. Saturday morning I'm picking up my race packet with my uncle. I'm doing the Madison Quarter Marathon on Sunday. Then we'll stop by the Farmer's market and get some yummy food, then buy some plants for the house. Sunday morning I have the run, then I'm working sound at B-Hawk in the afternoon. Monday probably hit up Bratfest again and get some stuff done around the house.
My sister, Katie, had an interview in Madison today so hopefully that went well. My phone is dead so I haven't had a chance to call her.
Mr. Dobbins will be returning back to the promised land after 5 months in CO this weekend. We welcome his return!
Went to Bratfest for lunch today, it has become a beginning of summer staple. I'm sure we'll be there every day this weekend. Such cheap food! And over 52 bands are playing.
Close game at softball last night, but we ended up losing 9-8 in extra innings. Every game so far has been tight and a ton more fun than last year. We're definitely in the right league, it's challenging and we're hanging in right with the other teams. The game next week is on my birthday so we'll have to win for sure!!
Should be a fun weekend. Amber and I are going to try a new restaurant tonight, not sure which one yet, then we're going to see the new Indiana Jones movie. Saturday morning I'm picking up my race packet with my uncle. I'm doing the Madison Quarter Marathon on Sunday. Then we'll stop by the Farmer's market and get some yummy food, then buy some plants for the house. Sunday morning I have the run, then I'm working sound at B-Hawk in the afternoon. Monday probably hit up Bratfest again and get some stuff done around the house.
My sister, Katie, had an interview in Madison today so hopefully that went well. My phone is dead so I haven't had a chance to call her.
Mr. Dobbins will be returning back to the promised land after 5 months in CO this weekend. We welcome his return!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Working for the Man
Man, this week is nuts. That one project that I blogged about earlier is finally kicking off in full force. I won't have much time to blog this week, let alone be by a computer. But at least it's a great week to be outside, this weekend looks to be beautiful as well so we gotta take advantage of that. I ran the Green Bay 5k and did pretty well, I'm excited to do some more shorter, faster races this summer. This Sunday I'm either going to run the Madison half marathon or quarter marathon. Alright, I gotta get to work, keep it real!
Friday, May 16, 2008
Longshots Win Game 12-11 With a Walk-off Walk!!
..but first things first. The title of my blog is "Working Hard to Get My Phil", for those who don't know, this is a play on a lyric from Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" ..."Working hard to get my fill, everybody wants a thrill" And since I'm a big Phil Collins fan, I always loved that line, cuz I was always working hard to get buy new Phil or Genesis albums back in High School, etc. Well that's cleared up, on to bigger and better things...
In an amazing display of awesomeness, the Longshots had their first victory of the season last night with a 12-11 nail biter over the Overdogs. I won't bother with a long summary of the game, because you can find it at our 3rd baseman's website...his name is Ed. But I can talk about a few highlights: First Baseman, Chad, sliding into home plate for the tying run in the 5th barely making it in, 2nd Baseman, Mr. Arty "The Meat" McMeatmaster III attempting to throw a ball from 2nd to 1st trying to make a double play but instead drilling the base runner (who was their pitcher) at point-blank range in the left arm, me getting intentionally walked to set-up a force out when the game was tied 11-11 in the top of the 7th (only 7 innings), the next batter, Chad, who was really hoping to get a big hit to drive in the winning run, but instead got walked which drove in the winning run. There was so much nervous excitement, a well played game. I'm pleased with everyone, great pitching, hitting, fielding. Let's keep this ball rolling! After the game, a few guys and our wives went for ice cream at TCBY to celebrate. It was just a great night all-around.
Later that evening, I met Camann, Jen, Bree and a few other friends at Cafe Montmarte for a Chris Koza show. Man, is that guy good. Before the show, Chris was hanging out at the bar talking to Jen and Bree, I nervously walked up to him and said something like "Hey Chris, my name is Mike, I've just recently became a big fan of your music, I love 'Patterns' and 'Friend of a Friend'...I was wondering if you could pay "Foothills" tonight, it's my favorite song of yours." And he said "Yeah, I was thinking about playing that one, actually" I kind of thought he was humoring me, but, lo-and-behold, he played "Foothills" for the third song and he said that it was a request. Go me! Oh, the opening band's keyboardist had a Roland RD-700 which is the same keyboard I talked about in my last post! It sounded great, I'm glad I got to hear it in a live setting. After doing some more research, I found the RD-300GX which is $1000 cheaper than the 700GX and still sounds just as great, just a few less features. I may go that route and save some bones!
I've decided to not run the GB half this weekend, but I am going to run the 5k. I'm actually pretty excited about it. I want to run it fast. I still get to finish inside Lambeau Field and see Jay, Turner and some other friends run it. Amber made signs and I think she has some cheers so I'm excited to see/hear those. Then on Sunday afternoon we have 2 grad. parties to attend, one in GB and one in Madison. Busy weekend!
I plan on booking a trip to North Carolina this afternoon for our 3rd Anniversary in August. We have quite a few friends and family that live there so we'll visit them and then hit the coast, go to the Smoky Mountains, etc. We've been talking about doing this for a long time so I'm glad we're finally going to do it!
Tonight we have mini-golf and frozen custard for the monthly Blackhawk Young Marred Couples event that we're co-leaders of. It's always a fun time. Some great people we've met being in this group. The winning couple will get free ice cream!
That's all for now, stay tuned...
In an amazing display of awesomeness, the Longshots had their first victory of the season last night with a 12-11 nail biter over the Overdogs. I won't bother with a long summary of the game, because you can find it at our 3rd baseman's website...his name is Ed. But I can talk about a few highlights: First Baseman, Chad, sliding into home plate for the tying run in the 5th barely making it in, 2nd Baseman, Mr. Arty "The Meat" McMeatmaster III attempting to throw a ball from 2nd to 1st trying to make a double play but instead drilling the base runner (who was their pitcher) at point-blank range in the left arm, me getting intentionally walked to set-up a force out when the game was tied 11-11 in the top of the 7th (only 7 innings), the next batter, Chad, who was really hoping to get a big hit to drive in the winning run, but instead got walked which drove in the winning run. There was so much nervous excitement, a well played game. I'm pleased with everyone, great pitching, hitting, fielding. Let's keep this ball rolling! After the game, a few guys and our wives went for ice cream at TCBY to celebrate. It was just a great night all-around.
Later that evening, I met Camann, Jen, Bree and a few other friends at Cafe Montmarte for a Chris Koza show. Man, is that guy good. Before the show, Chris was hanging out at the bar talking to Jen and Bree, I nervously walked up to him and said something like "Hey Chris, my name is Mike, I've just recently became a big fan of your music, I love 'Patterns' and 'Friend of a Friend'...I was wondering if you could pay "Foothills" tonight, it's my favorite song of yours." And he said "Yeah, I was thinking about playing that one, actually" I kind of thought he was humoring me, but, lo-and-behold, he played "Foothills" for the third song and he said that it was a request. Go me! Oh, the opening band's keyboardist had a Roland RD-700 which is the same keyboard I talked about in my last post! It sounded great, I'm glad I got to hear it in a live setting. After doing some more research, I found the RD-300GX which is $1000 cheaper than the 700GX and still sounds just as great, just a few less features. I may go that route and save some bones!
I've decided to not run the GB half this weekend, but I am going to run the 5k. I'm actually pretty excited about it. I want to run it fast. I still get to finish inside Lambeau Field and see Jay, Turner and some other friends run it. Amber made signs and I think she has some cheers so I'm excited to see/hear those. Then on Sunday afternoon we have 2 grad. parties to attend, one in GB and one in Madison. Busy weekend!
I plan on booking a trip to North Carolina this afternoon for our 3rd Anniversary in August. We have quite a few friends and family that live there so we'll visit them and then hit the coast, go to the Smoky Mountains, etc. We've been talking about doing this for a long time so I'm glad we're finally going to do it!
Tonight we have mini-golf and frozen custard for the monthly Blackhawk Young Marred Couples event that we're co-leaders of. It's always a fun time. Some great people we've met being in this group. The winning couple will get free ice cream!
That's all for now, stay tuned...
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Time to get the ball rolling
After an inspiring conversation with Mr. Camann a few days ago, I realized I need to get cracking on doing some song recording. I have tons of song snippets on a few cassettes, but I have never gotten around to make a proper recording. There has always been something holding me back from recording; lack of proper equipment, lack of confidence, being too shy to share what I've made with other people; and I get easily discouraged when things aren't going along well. But these are things I just have to get over.
I was thinking about buying a set of piano mics and then running a cable over to the computer to record. This would be the cheapest method. But what I really want is a proper stage piano with the effects, different sounds, monitors and the works so things will sound more professional. I was looking at keyboards last night on-line and the one I really want is the Roland RD-700GX but it has a pretty hefty price tag at about $2400. But I think it would be worth it since I know I would use it all the time and probably have it forever. In addition I would need software for recording, monitors, case, stand so things would add up quick. It will definitely be an investment; it's an expensive hobby to say the least!
I've been doing a lot of playing on the piano lately and have some great chord progressions and melodies that I need to develop better. For some reason, things always sound better when I'm playing at night. I have this method of when I record something on my cassette player, I wait a few days and then listen to it again, if I still like it, it's probably pretty good, if I don't like it I record over it. It's a little quality control. Eventually I'll have to let someone else's ears take a listen too.
Other than that, big softball game tomorrow night versus the Overdogs, it would be pretty nice to get a win! Then mini-golf on Friday, then off to Neenah/Green Bay for the rest of the weekend. Still nervous about the GB Half on Sunday. It'll be another game-time decision if I run it or not. No point on risking injury, I guess. I'm loving the new Death Cab album, it's really growing on me fast. Rolling Stone gave it 4 stars and Pitchfork only have it 6.0 out of 10, but they hate anything popular. I should do a proper review of it, but I don't have the patience to write any more right now. Later!
I was thinking about buying a set of piano mics and then running a cable over to the computer to record. This would be the cheapest method. But what I really want is a proper stage piano with the effects, different sounds, monitors and the works so things will sound more professional. I was looking at keyboards last night on-line and the one I really want is the Roland RD-700GX but it has a pretty hefty price tag at about $2400. But I think it would be worth it since I know I would use it all the time and probably have it forever. In addition I would need software for recording, monitors, case, stand so things would add up quick. It will definitely be an investment; it's an expensive hobby to say the least!
I've been doing a lot of playing on the piano lately and have some great chord progressions and melodies that I need to develop better. For some reason, things always sound better when I'm playing at night. I have this method of when I record something on my cassette player, I wait a few days and then listen to it again, if I still like it, it's probably pretty good, if I don't like it I record over it. It's a little quality control. Eventually I'll have to let someone else's ears take a listen too.
Other than that, big softball game tomorrow night versus the Overdogs, it would be pretty nice to get a win! Then mini-golf on Friday, then off to Neenah/Green Bay for the rest of the weekend. Still nervous about the GB Half on Sunday. It'll be another game-time decision if I run it or not. No point on risking injury, I guess. I'm loving the new Death Cab album, it's really growing on me fast. Rolling Stone gave it 4 stars and Pitchfork only have it 6.0 out of 10, but they hate anything popular. I should do a proper review of it, but I don't have the patience to write any more right now. Later!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Hello Monday
Ahh Monday, back to the grind. Already a good start to the week, I had coffee with Anthony this morning at 7 which started things off on the right foot.
My sister, Katie, was in town this weekend for an interview/informational meeting she had with Trek Bikes on Friday. She seemed very excited so hopefully she can pursue that further. We went out to dinner with her as well as my aunt, uncle, and cousins on Friday night, then watched "American Gangster"...great movie, violent, but Denzel is fantastic!
Saturday we went to the Farmer's Market and a car show on State St. They had cars from the 1920's all the way to the 70's. The DeLorean was pretty sweet! (I need 1.21 Gigawatts!) After that I put up our patio blind. We have all our blinds up in our house now, finally we have privacy! I also mowed the lawn, weed whacked, etc. Then on Saturday night, we met some friends at Barriques near the capital for some wine, coffee, beer, cheesecake and a rousing game of Domino's.
Sunday was a pretty lazy day, I finished reading a book for this book club I'm in with some guys. "The City of Ember"...very cool book and a quick read. It's the first in a three-part series. Then we had church in the evening and I made Margarita pizza for dinner, super yummy.
I am going to attempt going for a run tomorrow most likely to see how my leg is feeling for the half-marathon this Sunday. I'm having my doubts about it. I could probably finish it, but at what cost do I want to risk injury? I've got some thinking to do over these next few days. Regardless, we are still going to go to Green Bay because we have a grad. party that afternoon and we have some friends running the half.
Tonight is the semi-annual Blackhawk Study Day where the college kids come to church and have free food, fun, tutoring, studying, etc. I'll be volunteering and doing whatever they need me to do. I tutored last semester. And they have a great worship service at 9pm that is good fun. About 700 students show up for this so it's pretty big.
New Death Cab album coming out tomorrow so I gotta pick that up. I already have a pirated copy, but I have to get the real thing so I can support the band! Plus I like to have the album artwork. It's a really great album, I'm really excited for their show on June 3rd! Also, the new Coldplay album will be nuts, I heard a few tracks and am impressed so far!
Other than that, a pretty typical week and it's time for me to get to work!
My sister, Katie, was in town this weekend for an interview/informational meeting she had with Trek Bikes on Friday. She seemed very excited so hopefully she can pursue that further. We went out to dinner with her as well as my aunt, uncle, and cousins on Friday night, then watched "American Gangster"...great movie, violent, but Denzel is fantastic!
Saturday we went to the Farmer's Market and a car show on State St. They had cars from the 1920's all the way to the 70's. The DeLorean was pretty sweet! (I need 1.21 Gigawatts!) After that I put up our patio blind. We have all our blinds up in our house now, finally we have privacy! I also mowed the lawn, weed whacked, etc. Then on Saturday night, we met some friends at Barriques near the capital for some wine, coffee, beer, cheesecake and a rousing game of Domino's.
Sunday was a pretty lazy day, I finished reading a book for this book club I'm in with some guys. "The City of Ember"...very cool book and a quick read. It's the first in a three-part series. Then we had church in the evening and I made Margarita pizza for dinner, super yummy.
I am going to attempt going for a run tomorrow most likely to see how my leg is feeling for the half-marathon this Sunday. I'm having my doubts about it. I could probably finish it, but at what cost do I want to risk injury? I've got some thinking to do over these next few days. Regardless, we are still going to go to Green Bay because we have a grad. party that afternoon and we have some friends running the half.
Tonight is the semi-annual Blackhawk Study Day where the college kids come to church and have free food, fun, tutoring, studying, etc. I'll be volunteering and doing whatever they need me to do. I tutored last semester. And they have a great worship service at 9pm that is good fun. About 700 students show up for this so it's pretty big.
New Death Cab album coming out tomorrow so I gotta pick that up. I already have a pirated copy, but I have to get the real thing so I can support the band! Plus I like to have the album artwork. It's a really great album, I'm really excited for their show on June 3rd! Also, the new Coldplay album will be nuts, I heard a few tracks and am impressed so far!
Other than that, a pretty typical week and it's time for me to get to work!
Thursday, May 8, 2008
World Series or Bust?
OK, perhaps my slogan for this year was a bit ambitious. It looks like it is going to be the later part of the slogan that is going to ring true, unfortunately. The pitching and hitting are killing us. Still, there is a ton of season left, and the Brewers have surprised me many times before, so I'm not getting too worried yet...
The day is finally here, our first softball game! Thursday night lights, baby! We had three solid practices, broke in the new bat and glove and now it's time to shine. I sent out the batting order and lineup this morning to everyone and I think it's going to be a good one. Stay tuned with thoughts on the outcome of our first game...
My knee has been holding up great this week. Although, I have a small case of tendinitis in my right foot which is getting better. I had the same thing in my left foot last year after I ran my first half of the season. I'll do a few short runs next week to gauge whether or not I should run the Green Bay Half.
It's been a pleasure to work outside this week. The weather has been great. My project at our Blackhawk Substation has started and we have been re-wiring the internals of a transformer. Should be done by next week hopefully.
Anyway, time to go and sit in a dark room, get my game face on, visualize the Longshots winning, and rock the socks off of "Data Gold".
The day is finally here, our first softball game! Thursday night lights, baby! We had three solid practices, broke in the new bat and glove and now it's time to shine. I sent out the batting order and lineup this morning to everyone and I think it's going to be a good one. Stay tuned with thoughts on the outcome of our first game...
My knee has been holding up great this week. Although, I have a small case of tendinitis in my right foot which is getting better. I had the same thing in my left foot last year after I ran my first half of the season. I'll do a few short runs next week to gauge whether or not I should run the Green Bay Half.
It's been a pleasure to work outside this week. The weather has been great. My project at our Blackhawk Substation has started and we have been re-wiring the internals of a transformer. Should be done by next week hopefully.
Anyway, time to go and sit in a dark room, get my game face on, visualize the Longshots winning, and rock the socks off of "Data Gold".
Sunday, May 4, 2008
It's a Miracle!!
Man, what a weekend! It all started out on Friday after work when I headed to Wyalusing State Park to camp for the night before I cheered on Shawn during the Prairie du Chien Half Marathon on Saturday morning.
I got there at about 6:15 and it was sooo windy on top of the bluffs. There was a tornado watch up when I got there but it luckily expired soon after. It took me about 40 min. to set up my little tent which normally takes 5 min. by myself.
After I set up camp, I drove around and explored the park for a while. This park is where the Wisconsin River meets the Iowa River. Beautiful. My site was overlooking the confluence of those rivers.
After that I headed to town to grab something to eat. I found this little grill/pub called Mulligans (original) and decided to eat there. Once inside I noticed the Brewer game was on and they were up 4-0 in the 5th vs. the Astros. I quickly watched them lose that lead.
Knowing I wasn't going to run a race tomorrow I ordered a nice dark beer and had a big pasta dinner of tortellini, garlic bread, and French onion soup. Then I had another beer. I rolled out of there at like 10:00. I realized I was close to Iowa so I decided to take the bridge over the Mississippi and roll into Iowa just because. I drove inwards for a bit and then turned around to head back to camp. I got back to camp at about 11:00 and decided I should get some sleep since I was to wake up at 5:30 or so to meet Shawn at like 6:30ish in the morning.
I got settled into bed, but the wind was still howling. It was soo loud. I was certain my tent was going to tear apart in the middle of the night. I just couldn't sleep since it was so loud. I should have had ear plugs. I think I only got 3 hours of sleep.
5:30 came soon enough so I got up, headed to the shower, got dressed in my running stuff since I was planning on warming up with Shawn. I put on my winter jacket since it was cold, windy and rainy. I stopped at a BP to grab a big 16oz. coffee to keep myself warm as I watched the race.
Once I got there I met Shawn and his old roommate, Matt, in the parking lot. We got out and walk to the starting area to grab our goodie bags. We noticed that nothing was set-up yet. No starting line or anything. We asked where our champion-chip's were like last year, but they said they weren't doing that this year. Whatever.
Shawn and I then did a short warm up, a little stretch, and then back to the starting line area. I didn't really think my knee would hold-out so I decided to not do the race for sure. There was still about 30 min. to start time and man, it was cold! I went back to my car, grabbed the coffee started to drink a lot of it. Now it was getting close to starting time. I decided to just start the race and then drop out at the first mile and walk back to the starting line to meet Matt.
I quickly finished my coffee, a lady sang the star-spangled banner, and the lady started the race. We were off! I was still in my winter jack since I was only going to run a short distance.
Well, at mile one I felt pretty good, we were running at 7:38 pace which was good. My jack was flapping in the wind too much so I took it off and wrapped it around my waist. My keys were still in my pocket and being very loud. I kept running with Shawn and got to mile 2, still felt OK, decided to take a it a few more; still OK. Now we're at mile 6 and the wind was in our faces, the rain pelting us, we see Matt parked alongside the road and he said he was driving around trying to find me. I took off my jacket and gave it to him. Big load off my back!
The next thing I know were already over the big hill in the race and at mile 8! I started to think I could make it! Shawn didn't want to say anything. I told him I was certain I would be dropping out soon. We were averaging about 7:35/mile! Mile 10 rolls around and, heck, it's no-turning-back time. Although by now, I felt my legs were getting very tight due to a lack of proper stretching and warm-up, not to mention no water, just coffee in my belly and a few beers the night before. I almost threw up coffee at mile 11.
I told Shawn I was going to take 'er easy from then on in. So I slowed up a bit and Shawn kept on hauling. The last 2 miles were rough. I think I was averaging 10 min/miles. But only 7 people passed me in that time.
Mile 12! I see the finish line! Almost there! I kick it into high gear, Shawn and Matt are cheering, and I was home! Victory! Gloriousness! That was something I never that would have happened. I was so happy. A miracle for sure.
I grabbed a bunch of food and we went our separate ways since it was so cold out. Back to my tent for a quick nap then back to Madison.
So now, I have confidence I can probably do the GB and Madison Half's coming up.
Ok, this post has gone long enough!
I got there at about 6:15 and it was sooo windy on top of the bluffs. There was a tornado watch up when I got there but it luckily expired soon after. It took me about 40 min. to set up my little tent which normally takes 5 min. by myself.
After I set up camp, I drove around and explored the park for a while. This park is where the Wisconsin River meets the Iowa River. Beautiful. My site was overlooking the confluence of those rivers.
After that I headed to town to grab something to eat. I found this little grill/pub called Mulligans (original) and decided to eat there. Once inside I noticed the Brewer game was on and they were up 4-0 in the 5th vs. the Astros. I quickly watched them lose that lead.
Knowing I wasn't going to run a race tomorrow I ordered a nice dark beer and had a big pasta dinner of tortellini, garlic bread, and French onion soup. Then I had another beer. I rolled out of there at like 10:00. I realized I was close to Iowa so I decided to take the bridge over the Mississippi and roll into Iowa just because. I drove inwards for a bit and then turned around to head back to camp. I got back to camp at about 11:00 and decided I should get some sleep since I was to wake up at 5:30 or so to meet Shawn at like 6:30ish in the morning.
I got settled into bed, but the wind was still howling. It was soo loud. I was certain my tent was going to tear apart in the middle of the night. I just couldn't sleep since it was so loud. I should have had ear plugs. I think I only got 3 hours of sleep.
5:30 came soon enough so I got up, headed to the shower, got dressed in my running stuff since I was planning on warming up with Shawn. I put on my winter jacket since it was cold, windy and rainy. I stopped at a BP to grab a big 16oz. coffee to keep myself warm as I watched the race.
Once I got there I met Shawn and his old roommate, Matt, in the parking lot. We got out and walk to the starting area to grab our goodie bags. We noticed that nothing was set-up yet. No starting line or anything. We asked where our champion-chip's were like last year, but they said they weren't doing that this year. Whatever.
Shawn and I then did a short warm up, a little stretch, and then back to the starting line area. I didn't really think my knee would hold-out so I decided to not do the race for sure. There was still about 30 min. to start time and man, it was cold! I went back to my car, grabbed the coffee started to drink a lot of it. Now it was getting close to starting time. I decided to just start the race and then drop out at the first mile and walk back to the starting line to meet Matt.
I quickly finished my coffee, a lady sang the star-spangled banner, and the lady started the race. We were off! I was still in my winter jack since I was only going to run a short distance.
Well, at mile one I felt pretty good, we were running at 7:38 pace which was good. My jack was flapping in the wind too much so I took it off and wrapped it around my waist. My keys were still in my pocket and being very loud. I kept running with Shawn and got to mile 2, still felt OK, decided to take a it a few more; still OK. Now we're at mile 6 and the wind was in our faces, the rain pelting us, we see Matt parked alongside the road and he said he was driving around trying to find me. I took off my jacket and gave it to him. Big load off my back!
The next thing I know were already over the big hill in the race and at mile 8! I started to think I could make it! Shawn didn't want to say anything. I told him I was certain I would be dropping out soon. We were averaging about 7:35/mile! Mile 10 rolls around and, heck, it's no-turning-back time. Although by now, I felt my legs were getting very tight due to a lack of proper stretching and warm-up, not to mention no water, just coffee in my belly and a few beers the night before. I almost threw up coffee at mile 11.
I told Shawn I was going to take 'er easy from then on in. So I slowed up a bit and Shawn kept on hauling. The last 2 miles were rough. I think I was averaging 10 min/miles. But only 7 people passed me in that time.
Mile 12! I see the finish line! Almost there! I kick it into high gear, Shawn and Matt are cheering, and I was home! Victory! Gloriousness! That was something I never that would have happened. I was so happy. A miracle for sure.
I grabbed a bunch of food and we went our separate ways since it was so cold out. Back to my tent for a quick nap then back to Madison.
So now, I have confidence I can probably do the GB and Madison Half's coming up.
Ok, this post has gone long enough!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Guilty Pleasures #1
As I was picking up some catering at Qdoba for lunch yesterday I heard a song I really liked but I wouldn't have wanted anyone to know. This has prompted me to start the occasional "Guilty Pleasure" post about music and things that, up until now, I wouldn't admit I liked. Here we go:
1. Shakira - "Don't Bother" - There is something about this song I really like. It doesn't have the usual Latin/dance flavor that her other songs do. This is just straight ahead pop-rock. It has a tasteful synth line running through the song too. It's on my iPod and I listen to it on the plane whenever I travel for work. Below is a link for the video, which I have never seen before.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL0xp6XIp0Y - it's Shakira so don't be surprised.
2. 80's and early 90's Madonna.
I'll admit it, I have both of Madonna's Greatest Hits CDs and her Like a Prayer Album. I really like her late 80's, early 90's stuff. I'm not a fan of her recent stuff at all. It really doesn't get any better than "Like a Prayer", the original, not the remix; the choir, the rocking guitar, the hand clapping beat!
I'm sure I'll have more later. But until then, have a good laugh.
I was also rocking out on the piano last night and even broke out the old tape recorder to lay down a few song snippets. I'm back, baby!
1. Shakira - "Don't Bother" - There is something about this song I really like. It doesn't have the usual Latin/dance flavor that her other songs do. This is just straight ahead pop-rock. It has a tasteful synth line running through the song too. It's on my iPod and I listen to it on the plane whenever I travel for work. Below is a link for the video, which I have never seen before.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL0xp6XIp0Y - it's Shakira so don't be surprised.
2. 80's and early 90's Madonna.
I'll admit it, I have both of Madonna's Greatest Hits CDs and her Like a Prayer Album. I really like her late 80's, early 90's stuff. I'm not a fan of her recent stuff at all. It really doesn't get any better than "Like a Prayer", the original, not the remix; the choir, the rocking guitar, the hand clapping beat!
I'm sure I'll have more later. But until then, have a good laugh.
I was also rocking out on the piano last night and even broke out the old tape recorder to lay down a few song snippets. I'm back, baby!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)