I should post funny quotes that college athletes say. Here is my favorite one from all-time. I will just say that they are a male cross country runner.
"I'm just like Plaxico Burress, I like to shoot myself in the foot"
You can't get any better than that. You really can't. Rick Reilly would really appreciate that one.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Running Photo
In this case it's after busting his ass up a hill for the last two-tenths of a mile of a 5k. Most people look like this after an eighth of a mile.
I can't count how many runners that I have seen that look like this at the finish line. I have seen some with their eyes rolling in the back of their head. That's not fun to look at. You sort of wonder if they are headed to the hospital.
Others look like they could run for another five miles. Some sprint to the finish. Others waddle back and forth with pained looks on their faces as they pray that Tonya Harding comes out with a baseball bat to take out the person chasing them down.
In any event, it's time for a post. And maybe I'll put up more photos, because I really have no place to put all the ones I take.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Inspired Again
This past weekend I ended up in Winston Salem to watch the Southern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships.
I watched both Saturday and Sunday and enjoyed the free food and amenities that came with my pass. I chatted with the students I work with during the week that weren't competing and got some time to speak with coaches when their kids were not competing.
Cross Country and Track athletes are not the most extroverted athletes you meet. They are the most like normal college students among college athletes. They generally lay low and stay out of the limelight.
I love track and cross country because it's so simple. You run as hard as you can until the race is over. The fastest time wins. You can tell how much effort went into preparation easily.
I don't think track and cross country get enough respect for all that they do. They can't ever get satisfied or complacent. They always need a new P.R.
The best part of Saturday was the 3,000 meter race and it featured one woman who I was rooting for named Ally.
Ally is a senior and is the fastest girl on the team. She's also a New Englander, which I love. She was wicked fast. She ran a 9:34:97 to complete 3,000 meters that day. Her quickest time ever by about six or seven seconds. She had finished in the top two or three many times in various events before, but had yet to win a championship.
As the race unfolded I knew Ally would do well. I knew she should finish in the top three runners. I hoped for better. I started watching from one of the turns. As the laps were winding down and Ally was in the lead pack I decided to move myself, and my camera, towards the finish line.
I just had an inkling that moving towards the finish line would be a good idea.
I was proved correct.
With a few laps left Ally was solidly in second. She maintained a consistent gap between herself and the leader. You got this feeling that Ally would pull it off and win. Then she lost some ground. All of a sudden some doubt entered into my mind. Could she pull it off?
She answered any doubt quickly. She charged back and then on the back stretch made a convincing move towards the lead with a lap or two to go that she would not relinquish.
The best part of everything was that she was smiling as she was finishing her race. I saw this all through out my camera lens. It was awesome to see and great to capture. There was a happiness and joy on her face as she finished that reminded me of why I do work in college sports. It was a form of pay.
It's hard not to get excited by a performance like Ally's. One in which she wins her first individual championship. One in which she flashed a huge confident smile. It was an expression that seemed to show that she had given it her all and won.
I may have read her expression wrong. She of course was happy, but I won't ever know what exactly made her so happy.
I do know that her winning gave me energy and enthusiasm. It was a shot of adrenaline and a great reminder of why I do the job I do. I'm so glad I was able to support her and watch and capture such a great moment.
I watched both Saturday and Sunday and enjoyed the free food and amenities that came with my pass. I chatted with the students I work with during the week that weren't competing and got some time to speak with coaches when their kids were not competing.
Cross Country and Track athletes are not the most extroverted athletes you meet. They are the most like normal college students among college athletes. They generally lay low and stay out of the limelight.
I love track and cross country because it's so simple. You run as hard as you can until the race is over. The fastest time wins. You can tell how much effort went into preparation easily.
I don't think track and cross country get enough respect for all that they do. They can't ever get satisfied or complacent. They always need a new P.R.
The best part of Saturday was the 3,000 meter race and it featured one woman who I was rooting for named Ally.
Ally is a senior and is the fastest girl on the team. She's also a New Englander, which I love. She was wicked fast. She ran a 9:34:97 to complete 3,000 meters that day. Her quickest time ever by about six or seven seconds. She had finished in the top two or three many times in various events before, but had yet to win a championship.
As the race unfolded I knew Ally would do well. I knew she should finish in the top three runners. I hoped for better. I started watching from one of the turns. As the laps were winding down and Ally was in the lead pack I decided to move myself, and my camera, towards the finish line.
I just had an inkling that moving towards the finish line would be a good idea.
I was proved correct.
With a few laps left Ally was solidly in second. She maintained a consistent gap between herself and the leader. You got this feeling that Ally would pull it off and win. Then she lost some ground. All of a sudden some doubt entered into my mind. Could she pull it off?
She answered any doubt quickly. She charged back and then on the back stretch made a convincing move towards the lead with a lap or two to go that she would not relinquish.
The best part of everything was that she was smiling as she was finishing her race. I saw this all through out my camera lens. It was awesome to see and great to capture. There was a happiness and joy on her face as she finished that reminded me of why I do work in college sports. It was a form of pay.
It's hard not to get excited by a performance like Ally's. One in which she wins her first individual championship. One in which she flashed a huge confident smile. It was an expression that seemed to show that she had given it her all and won.
I may have read her expression wrong. She of course was happy, but I won't ever know what exactly made her so happy.
I do know that her winning gave me energy and enthusiasm. It was a shot of adrenaline and a great reminder of why I do the job I do. I'm so glad I was able to support her and watch and capture such a great moment.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
2014
I should probably write something this year.
I have a new laptop, but I'm strangely not using it now.
I actually went the entire Bowl Season this year without watching a bowl. I didn't watch the National Championship. I watched nothing. I just didn't care.
Increasingly I stay away from ESPN as well. I love the channel. I flip to it a lot, but I get bored quickly and easily with redundant stories about things that don't really matter. I just want highlights, not obscure debates about the historical significance of every other news story.
My favorite station is CNBC. It's free of B.S. It gives business news, which is really the news that matters. I want to get better at finance and accounting. I want to understand how people buy and sell bonds. I love American Greed and The Profit. I just love CNBC. It's my favorite channel by far.
The older you get the more important money becomes. Money does not buy happiness. I believe that. But Money does give you power. Money gives you options.
My professor in my MBA class, (yes I am a student again) made the point that status is shown differently in different cultures. Sometimes it's not money, but the amount of people that work with you. The similar thing is that all status symbols help show power.
Back to money. Money allows you to travel and fly to see friends. It allows you to retire and enjoy life. Allows you to afford to have kids and to buy a home. Money is important. The things that affect it have become increasingly important to me.
Instead of watching a bowl game, I read a book on Hetty Green. She was a fascinating and strange women. She was once the richest women in the world, and was known as the Witch of Wall Street.
I'm trying to work on reading about Rockefeller right now. It's a great read, but it's hard to find time to read 700 pages while working and in class.
I love working in sports. It's rewarding to help students in the classroom and to start their careers. There is a part of me that wants to help myself though. I think that this year will be a good year in the sense that I think that I can finally afford to live. I won't need to feel guilty about getting away or going out.
I love track and field. I wish I could run again though. This plantar fasciitis sucks, although I think I'm starting to recover.
I was happy to go home for a little bit for the holidays. I felt really cold weather again. I even tried ice-skating for half an hour on our pond when it was negative one. I also did a fair amount of cross country skiing.
I'm alive and rooting for the Seahawks in a match-up that doesn't evoke much passion to me.
I have a new laptop, but I'm strangely not using it now.
I actually went the entire Bowl Season this year without watching a bowl. I didn't watch the National Championship. I watched nothing. I just didn't care.
Increasingly I stay away from ESPN as well. I love the channel. I flip to it a lot, but I get bored quickly and easily with redundant stories about things that don't really matter. I just want highlights, not obscure debates about the historical significance of every other news story.
My favorite station is CNBC. It's free of B.S. It gives business news, which is really the news that matters. I want to get better at finance and accounting. I want to understand how people buy and sell bonds. I love American Greed and The Profit. I just love CNBC. It's my favorite channel by far.
The older you get the more important money becomes. Money does not buy happiness. I believe that. But Money does give you power. Money gives you options.
My professor in my MBA class, (yes I am a student again) made the point that status is shown differently in different cultures. Sometimes it's not money, but the amount of people that work with you. The similar thing is that all status symbols help show power.
Back to money. Money allows you to travel and fly to see friends. It allows you to retire and enjoy life. Allows you to afford to have kids and to buy a home. Money is important. The things that affect it have become increasingly important to me.
Instead of watching a bowl game, I read a book on Hetty Green. She was a fascinating and strange women. She was once the richest women in the world, and was known as the Witch of Wall Street.
I'm trying to work on reading about Rockefeller right now. It's a great read, but it's hard to find time to read 700 pages while working and in class.
I love working in sports. It's rewarding to help students in the classroom and to start their careers. There is a part of me that wants to help myself though. I think that this year will be a good year in the sense that I think that I can finally afford to live. I won't need to feel guilty about getting away or going out.
I love track and field. I wish I could run again though. This plantar fasciitis sucks, although I think I'm starting to recover.
I was happy to go home for a little bit for the holidays. I felt really cold weather again. I even tried ice-skating for half an hour on our pond when it was negative one. I also did a fair amount of cross country skiing.
I'm alive and rooting for the Seahawks in a match-up that doesn't evoke much passion to me.