Not Just A Fencer

I can also make the one-handed catch in the high stakes of a flag football game. Please also note the look of awe in the background. *pats self on back*



(Thanks Chris for taking the picture!)

Later during the game, my roughly 10-year-old shorts were nearly ripped in two by an overzealous defender, leaving me to walk off the field holding them around my waist to keep myself decent in mixed company. Fortunately I was wearing clean underwear that day, because I think quite a few folks got to see a good portion of it.

Ready? Fence!

Sunday marked my long delayed return to fencing. I fenced off and on for about two years in college, but hadn't picked up a foil in around seven years. A club opened up just down the road from us, and I decided to give it a shot. So, I took classes for a few months, and I took my meager skills on the road to scenic Ada, Ohio, for the 2006 Ohio Northern University Fencing Open.

Fencing tournaments have two stages. The first stage is the pools, in which small groups of fencers compete in a round-robin format. The results from the pools are used to seed the competitors for the direct elimination (DE) bracket. In this part, it's one loss and you're done for the day.

My goals were three: Score a touch, Be competitive, and Win a Bout. Two out of three isn't so bad, I guess. I started off pretty tentative in my pool bouts. Instead of going after my opponents, I let them come to me, which didn't work out so well. I lost my four pool bouts 5-2, 5-1, 5-0, and 5-2. I had accomplished my first goal of just scoring a touch, but I wasn't able to keep the score close in any of my bouts.

Unfortunately, the results of my pool bouts put me at the bottom of the barrel for the DE bracket. The #1 seed had a first round bye, so I wound up fencing the #2 seed, who had already beaten me in the pools. However, I now realized I had nothing to lose, and could fence more aggressively.

After falling behind a couple points to start the bout, I found myself able to stay with my opponent. 3-1 turned into 5-3, and to 7-4. At the first break, I found myself only down 10-6! I was pretty excited that I was able to keep things respectable against a quality opponent.

After the break, I scored the first touch to bring the score to 10-7. Unfortunately, my opponent was prepared with some tactics I haven't learned to counter at this point, and rolled off five straight points to close the bout at 15-7. A loss, perhaps, but I count it as a moral victory, and fulfillment of my second goal: to be competitive.

As for the third goal of winning a bout...well, that will have to wait until another day. I think I learned some things Sunday that will help prepare me for the next tournament I enter. The current plan is for a local novice tournament on May 27 to be my next challenge.

Testing...testing...

Hi everyone! Just wanted to serve notice that I'm going to be posting again after a long absence. Got some new and hopefully interesting things going on, which should be posted this evening.

Weight for me!

So I'm not allowed to run. And I can't really bike yet, or be on my feet to exercise. So that means if I want some exercise, I have to use...my upper body!

Dun-dun-DUN!

The other day, I was playing with my niece and nephew, and they were trying to push me across the room, while I tried to push them back. I was letting them win (honestly!), and after one victory, Shelby said in a singsongy 4-year-old voice, "I'm strong, 'cause I'm four." She then made us compare muscles, and declared that mine looked the same as hers.

So, it's off to the gym during lunch for Dave. Yesterday I lifted over 200 pounds. No, not at the same time.

Columbus Marathon 2005

It wasn't as fast as I had hoped, but I made it!



For a few weeks, it was very much in doubt if I'd even get to start this marathon. Because of the pain in my foot, my doctor was hesitant to clear me for the run. We agreed to see how I felt after a few weeks of only cross-training. I decided my foot felt good enough to give it a shot, so I signed up for the marathon two days before the race.

I trained with the MIT (Marathoner in Training) group in Columbus. I'm glad I joined the group, as it really helped get me out for the long weekend runs. The 20 mile training run was the longest I managed, so I didn't quite know how my body would react to the full marathon. I ran with a group of four during the training, and all four of us started the race together.

For the first mile, we pretty much stuck together at a little over a 9 minute pace. Once we hit the first water stop, though, it became difficult to stick with each other in the crowd, and we broke down into two pairs. The first 7 miles or so kind of flew by. We saw some areas of Columbus I've never been through, and saw some very big houses! I guess the mayor was out on the corner at one point, but I must have been zoned out, because I totally missed him.

Around mile 7, my foot started aching a little bit. I'm not sure if it was the uneven roads, or just the stress of running. It's possible my gait changed a little bit. More on that to come.

Mile ten brought us back into downtown, and I got to see Meredith and my family for the first time during the race, which was a nice boost. At this point, I was still feeling great. Miles 10-13 took us on a loop through German Village, south of downtown, and I got to see everyone again around the halfway point, which is back in the city. We crossed the halfway point at 2:02, on pace for a great time and with plenty of energy.

The middle part of the marathon goes up High Street for over five miles, and is a gradual uphill most of the way. This stretch started okay; however, that would change at mile 15. Suddenly, I felt my IT band *twang* across the outside of my knee. I stumbled pretty badly, and had to pull over to the side of the road. I tried some stretches and started running again, but I couldn't finish the mile running. To that point, I had run the whole way, water stops and all, so it was discouraging.

For the next 11 miles, I was only able to manage short bursts of running until my knee flared up, and I'd have to pull over again. The most frustrating part was that we were keeping such a great pace to that point, and I had to watch the 4:15 pace group pass me, and then watch the 4:30 pace group pass me. There was just nothing I could do.

So, I walked and ran all the way home to the finish line, averaging over 12 minutes a mile. It was strange feeling so...not tired towards the end of such a long run. That didn't make me any less glad to see my family at mile 26, and to turn the corner down to the finish line. I saw my watch nearing the 4:45 mark, and sprinted down to the tape, despite my knee's protests. I crossed the line at 4:44:18, and could say I had run a marathon.

I'm not ruling out another, but for now it's time to heal up.

Thanks to Meredith and my immediate and extended families for their support on the track, to John, Gretchen, and Katie for training with me, and to everyone else who helped me in my training or came out for the race!

Marathon Success!

I finished my first marathon yesterday in 4:44:18! Details to come.

Injured...again.

Here's the bad news: I have yet another injury. This time, it's a stress reaction in my foot. (Specifically, my cuboid bone)



My doctor isn't thrilled about the prospect of me running a marathon on it, but it's either that or throw away all this training. I really want to get through at least one of these things, with all the work I've put in. However, I haven't been able to run consistently for the last month. So, I'm nervous about how this marathon is going to go; moreso because I've never run one before.

In more upbeat news, my four-year-old niece is moving. Or so she's convinced.

"We're moving. Tomorrow. They're tearing down our house."

Um, does your Mom know about that?

"Yes. We're moving. Tomorrow. They're tearing down our house."

Turns out her neighbors are moving, and nobody's house is getting torn down tomorrow. :)

Quad Script Ohio

At Meredith's request, here's a picture of the alumni + varsity bands doing the quad Script Ohio.

Also, if you've never seen a script performed, here's a link to a video of the regular single Script Ohio. (Low bandwidth link here)

Football and Such

OK, pictures of the trip probably won't happen till after the weekend, now that I think about it.

This weekend is the alumni game for Ohio State, which means my return to Ohio Stadium as part of the alumni marching band. I'll be part of the great scarlet horde of musicians you'll see if you happen to tune in to the OSU-Miami game on Saturday.

We also are headed up to Cleveland for a concert of all Star Wars music narrated by Anthony Daniels (C3P0) on Sunday. If you know me, it should be obvious whether I'm excited for that or not.

And now, if you'll excuse me...*turns on his OSU music*

Triumphant Return

We're back from NYC!

Both Meredith and I finished the half-marathon, albeit not near PRs. Central Park is a lot hillier than expected, and it was very hot and humid. So, I was happy to just get through it - definitely the most difficult race I've done to date.

Rather than recap the trip separately from my wife (who was also there), I'll just redirect to our journal of the trip at her blog.

I'll probably post more about it in a bit, but I have work to do right now. :)

Lots (200+) pictures from the trip, so I'll pick out some highlights and post them.

One Week

One week till we leave for NYC on vacation! And it's about the right time for it.

I just got a 32-page requirements document for our next round of development at work, and it feels like about two years' job. Just overwhelming.

Laugh Track Guy was sadly not at spinning class this week. For entertainment, I had to settle for our spinning instructor's wildly inaccurate sense of rhythm.

"Up for 8...7..6........4.3...and down for 4...and up!"

Somebody needs to buy the boy a metronome. He also had the amusing:

"Now give me some speed!"
*10 seconds later*
"Be sure to put on some resistance, I don't want you going too fast on this one."

Patio and Late Bloomers

One of our giant Canna flowers.


Canna close-up.


I think these are flax?


Meredith's Gerbera daisies on our front porch.


Landscape around the patio.


Lythrum flower and patio background.


Magnolia tree and hydrangeas by the patio.

His Own Laugh Track

So. Meredith and I went to spinning class on Tuesday for the first time in a while. Most of the crowd was new to us, with a couple exceptions. There's this one guy in the class with that haircut. You know, the one where the hair is just slicked up and back? I don't know exactly how to describe it. Imagine a guy with his shirt half open and a gold chain around his neck. Now imagine his hair.

Anyhoo...

This guy was talking and attempting to flirt with some of the girls in the class. And every time he'd crack a (usually not very funny) joke, he'd laugh loudly and obnoxiously right along with it.

Here's a true-life example:

Spinning Instructor Mike's Girlfriend: "We just got back from a camping trip."

Laugh Track Guy: "Oh, did you get hurt?" (She had band-aids on)

SIM'sG: "No, just got some mosquito bites."

LTG: "Mike, I've never heard anyone call you a mosquito. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"

SIM'sG: *uncomfortable silence, looking away*

And on and on it went throughout the 15 minutes before class started.

*Sitting on bikes chatting, general low murmur*
*Guy wanders class, offering help setting up bikes for various women*
*Weak joke/thinly veiled pick-up line*
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

I don't get it. I just don't get it.

Murderball

Murderball is another name for Wheelchair Rugby, also called Quad Rugby. It's also an inspiring movie that documents the lives of the USA national Quad Rugby team.

It was not a "boring" documentary by any means. Over the 2 years shown in the film, you see the changes brought on by tragic circumstances in the players' lives, and the way this sport affects them. One of the more touching scenes of the movie involves the interaction of Mark Zupan, one of Team USA's best players, with a man recently injured in a motocross incident.

On the whole, this movie doesn't pull any punches. Murderball shows life as it is for the players in almost every detail. It shows the likeable and unlikeable, and gives the viewer a greater understanding of both the sport and the men who play it.

I found it inspiring to see the challenges overcome by the people featured in this movie. I hope to apply that inspiration to my own training, and get past the trials of the next few weeks. So far, so good - one daily run down for the week.

15 going on 17

I did my first 15 mile training run this Saturday. For the most part, it went pretty well. I found that, even up to 13 miles, I could run the distance pretty easily, but this one really seemed long.

About 14.5 miles in, I got a scare. Suddenly, I felt a shooting pain in my left foot when I tried to push off. I stopped to walk (not that I had much choice). After trying and failing to start running again a few times, I just limped back to the parking lot.

For those readers not familiar with my history, last year I was sidelined with stress fractures to both shins, and Meredith also had two stress fractures. Naturally, that was the first thing my mind went to. I wasn't able to push up on my toes at all without serious pain.

Fortunately, it's feeling much better today. Perhaps I just pinched a nerve, or it cramped up and I strained it, or something. Thank goodness...I didn't need another injury-shortened training season.

The other good news: only four longer runs left till the marathon in October! I feel like the finish line is approaching, and I feel pretty ok about it so far. We'll see how I feel when it gets closer, and more "real"...

New Albany Summer Classic

This Saturday was the New Albany Summer Classic, a 10 miler/5k race - I did the 10 miler. It started about 5 minutes from our house, which was a nice change. The morning was relatively nice, if a little warm. Meredith went out for a 3 mile pre-run, and I laid in my car and listened to some music to calm my nerves.

My intention for the race was to run around a 9 minute mile. I often have trouble pacing my first couple miles, but at the first mile mark, I was right at 9:00. Over the next couple miles, I got a little ahead of my pace.

At one point, I was following a guy who sounded like he was going to lose a lung, or cough up his stomach, or something. The sounds he was making were making me feel sick, just to hear them. I made sure to pass him as quickly as I could.

The only downside to the race was on the way back. There was a spot we turned right on the way out, and I expected to turn back the way we came. However, there was another spur on the course I didn't know about, which took a little wind out of my sails.

From keeping track on my watch, I noticed I was consistently gaining time against my intended pace, and when I got to the finish line, I had done a 1:26:50. That's an 8:41 pace, so I was pretty happy with my result! I ran this 10 miles at about the same pace as the 5 miler earlier this summer, so maybe this training stuff is paying off after all...

Go Speed Racer, Go!

So, I've noticed something in our neighborhood, and by Meredith's parents' house. There seems to be a breed of people who love hopping on their motorcycles and riding back and forth and up and down neighborhood streets. There are a few hypotheses for this behavior. (Or behaviour, to sound more academic.)

1. They truly enjoy the feeling of speed and freedom, with the wind whipping through their generally non-helmet-covered hair. They are oblivious to the annoyance factor.

This hypothesis is disproven by the gunning of the engine when they pass folks walking down the street.

2. They think they look impressive, and want to show off their ride.

This is all well and good. However, the bikes I usually see doing this are not the big impressive growling bikes you see at...well, usually at Quaker Steak and Lube on Wednesdays.

These bikes have roughly the pitch of a dentist's drill. Or kind of like a balloon when you stretch the hole as you let out the air. It's the equivalent of me going up to someone, saying "I can shout in an impressively loud manner!", and then going, "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee".

3. They are training for the new 5000m Suburban Motorbike competition in the 2008 Olympics.

I can only assume this is the case, and I, for one, shed a little tear every time I see these patriots in action.

So next time you see one of these bikers cruising the streets, don't get annoyed. Get supportive and give them a big old "USA! USA!" chant.

On your mark...

Reset... (As our 3-year-old niece says)
GOOOOOOO! (As our 2-year-old nephew says)

I officially ran the farthest I've ever gone (by 0.08 miles) yesterday. My training group did 13.2 miles, which is just over a half marathon. We came in around 2:00 (2:10 counting water stops), which is just a little slower than I need to be going to hit my 4:00 goal for the marathon in October. I'm pretty sore today, but the good news is that this weekend's run is only 10 miles. Plus, my shoes didn't get so wet this week that my running mates commented on the strange noises emanating from them. So I've got that going for me. Which is nice.

Meredith and I cleaned up the driveway a bit yesterday of all the sand and gravel we had from the patio project. We put it in our trash can, which is kind of a no-no. I wouldn't worry about it too much usually, but it's so heavy I can barely lift the front end to roll it down to the curb. I'm just envisioning the garbage truck trying to pick it up, and the arm snapping off or something. I just know we're getting in trouble for this one...

We got some plants to landscape our backyard yesterday, and we're having topsoil delivered today. Tomorrow, we get our tree delivered. The end of this project is in sight!

Patio pics!

The new patio!


Another view of the new table.


Our gladiolas finally flowered!


A close-up view.

Busy busy busy

Sorry it's been such a long time between posts. We've had a lot going on in the last couple weeks. Meredith swam/biked/ran her big triathlon, and did great! We got to see the sights of Muncie, Indiana - our favorite was the one-armed statue of Larry Bird outside a gas station.

The patio is almost done.

It was a struggle with the paver company, though. Here's what happened.

Thursday: Dave calls company, transferred to someone who can answer his questions about the weird angles produced by their blocks. Guy says "We carry corner blocks like you need", and that though they usually don't take returns, they'll make an exception because the recommendation of their employee was so bad.

Friday: Dave gets off work early, he and Meredith drive 40 minutes to go get the materials. They tell the woman at the store what the guy said, and she looks like they've grown extra limbs. "We don't sell anything like that", she tells them. She snaps, "You can go out in the lot and look at the material yourselves." After going out to the lot, an employee out there says they can split the blocks we have to produce the square corners needed for the project.

Monday: Dave calls the closer location, they say they can split the blocks there. Dave heads over there after work, explains his predicament. Goes out to get his blocks split, and the guy out in the lot says, "Why don't you just buy the corner blocks? We sell them pre-made."



But now we've got everything in place, and our furniture arrived yesterday. Pictures soon!