Rowing

I completed the Concept 2 Holiday Rowing Challenge the day before yesterday (and Kim has been pestering me to post about it to the blog nearly every hour since). I also set a PR in the half marathon to do it. Since Thanksgiving I have been rowing four out of every five days for an hour. I planned on rowing this way so that I could complete the challenge before we get on a plane for the east coast with enough cushion in case I couldn’t row some days for unforeseen reasons.

Concept2’s rowing ergometers have been the industry standard for some time. They have sliding seats like rowing racing shells and use a flywheel to simulate the resistance of oars. Last fall Kim and I purchased a Concept 2 rower to help us stay in shape and to help keep my blood pressure under control. I had used their rowers at the gym before and liked them. One advantage that Concept2’s ergometers offered when introduced was that they measure work (this is what ergometer means) so the work that was done on one machine could be directly compared the the work done on another machine. You can imagine how this information might be useful.

Throughout the year Concept2 offers team and individual rowing challenges to keep people motivated. Some are only a couple days long, others run for whole months. To participate you upload your rowing results to their website. The Holiday rowing challenge runs from Thanksgiving to Christmas. If you complete 100 kilometers you get your name in an online honors board, a downloadable certificate, and a downloadable iron on transfer. If you complete 200 kilometers you get all of the above plus a holiday challenge pin.

They also have awards for rowing different distances. Once you have rowed one million meters cumulatively you win a prize. You also get prizes for 5, 10, 15, and 20 million meters. There are also incentives for single distances. If you row a marathon you receive a pin. Not only do you get a pin for rowing a marathon, but it seems that you can get one every year. I don’t know why pins are so motivating for me, but they are.

One of the special things about the Holiday Challenge is that Concept2 donates 2 cents for every kilometer you row until you reach 100k after which they will donate 4 cents. This year the money is going to Vermont Disaster Relief Fund, American Red Cross Disaster Relief (International) or Unicef Emergency Relief Programs. Last year all the charities were water related. As of this posting Concept2 will donate $14,428.52 and they hope to donate $30,000.

Pet Project

Our poor dog is not a fan of cold weather or rain.  As I have mentioned before he is happiest basking in the sun or in front of a hot fire.  When it rains or when it is really cold he will pause at the door and Cliff and I have to coax him to go out as we know that he probably really has to go to the bathroom.  If it is raining he rushes towards low lying shrubs and bushes and nestles himself under them (no matter how low lying) before he can go to the bathroom.  He must have shelter as he is that finicky about getting wet.  It is the funniest thing.  We have a rain coat for him which helps to keep him warm and dry.   He just hates being cold.  He is a warm weather dog.

Cliff and I have been really crafty lately.  We are both knitting projects and I got some nice wool sweaters from the thrift store for a felting project.  I have been feeling really confident in my crafting abilities recently so I decided that I should make Rudy a sweater from some felted blue and gray argyle.  We hoped that it would help to keep him warm and make him a little less cold and grumpy.

Cliff and I started the project last night.  After playing around with simply putting Rudy's arms through the actual sweater holes (hehe) I got down to business.  While I was busy "designing" Cliff made himself some felt inserts for his slippers.  He is really happy with them.  He thinks I should do the same so that I will stop pining for Wicked Good Slippers from L.L. Bean.  Rudy wasn't a big fan of the fitting portion (as he wanted to curl up and sleep on his bed) so it took me two different sessions to complete the project.  I finished this morning and he likes it!  I'm pretty excited.

He looks so handsome.  I reused the leather wrapped buttons from the original sweater as the fasteners for the neck piece and the part that wraps around his chest.  To help him look even cuter I added a collar.  He has worn it all day and it is still holding together and looking good.  I am considering this project a success.

Shines Like Silver

For the past few days we have been experiencing some pretty intense fog.  Like today some areas will be experiencing less than 1/4 mile visibility all day.  Since we are up in the hills you bet that we are seeing the fog and not seeing much else.  

The past day or so we have seen some pretty cold temperatures at night.  Last night got down into the high 20s.  When we woke up this morning not only did we see the normal frost on the ground but everything else frosted over as well (hoar frost Cliff tells me).  Everything looks like silver.  The spider webs.  The chicken coop fencing.  The trees.  It is so pretty!  Cliff got really excited this morning when he opened up the curtains and saw it.   We just wanted to share.  Oh the little things....

Go Ducks!

Get excited sports fans as the Ducks are headed to the Rose Bowl.  Non sports fans please hang in there with me as I promise I will try to make this interesting and not painful.

I wasn't really a football fan until we moved to Eugene in 2006.  I had watched countless Super Bowl games.  Some I watched for the actual game like when I was little and the Redskins were playing and we had family over to the house to watch.  Then in College I watched several more as that is what you do if you are a marketing major at Emerson.  Oh the papers.  The thought still makes me cringe.  Even after watching these games I didn't really understand what was going on and to tell you the truth I didn't really care.  With this said,  all of this changed when we came west.  Living in Eugene makes it kinda hard not to be a Ducks football fan and I wanted to share my top ten reasons why you should be one too.

1) The whole town is decked out in green and yellow....all the time.  Driving into Eugene in 2006 I was met with billboards with players on them.  How cool would that be to be a college athlete and have your face on a billboard?  You go to the bank or grocery store or really anywhere on a Saturday (or many other days for that matter) and every staff member has their Ducks gear on as well as the patrons.  It is really lovely to live some place with that much school spirit.

2) Chip Kelly.  I don't know a whole lot about other coaches but I am constantly impressed with him.  He is innovative, straight forward, humble, and you can see that he really cares about his players.  You never see him yell at a player.  Instead you see a hug, a pat on the back, or a smile.  He never seems to be shaken up by a player.  He also seems to be a really classy guy.  I read a story that an angry fan wrote him a letter after the Boise State fiasco game in 2009.  The fan was so upset by their performance and by their star athlete punching a Boise State player that he requested a refund of his travel expenses (a total over $400).  Chip Kelly wrote the guy a personal check and sent it to him in the mail.  The guy was apparently so shocked that he sent the check back but only after taking a photo for posterity.  He really does seem to be a solid guy.  Also, he seems to have an unlimited selection of fresh Oregon visors.  I love that he wears visors.

3) The players and pace keep things interesting.  Cliff even watches games!  That is huge.  He even knows names and can recount plays that occurred in past games.  It is just really fun to watch the Ducks play.  Chip Kelly is nuts and you never know if the is going to call a two point conversion (sometimes with no real need to do so) or go for it when they are 4th and 9.  LaMichael James always seems to find a hole and manages to spin and roll off defenders like it is no problem at all.  They catch interceptions all the time.  It is just so fun to watch!  The whole team is solid.  Also, how often do you see other teams have several touch down drives in under two minutes?

Photo from greenwichtime.com

4) The Oregon mascot Puddles the duck.  He is awesome.  Not only does he do pushups every time the Ducks score but he is also quite a character (well as much as one can be when they are in a huge mascot outfit).  A few years ago he got into a little skirmish with the Houston Cougar mascot.  Dad and I were at the game and I won't lie...the fight was enjoyable.  You can watch it here on YouTube.  My favorite part is at the end when he kicks over their cheerleading cone.  I know that it is not very sportsman like but...come one....they're mascots.  Also, he has "Andy" written on the bottom of his foot just like all of Andy's toys in Toy Story.  Come on....how could you not love him?

5) Team spirit makes my day.  Probably my favorite moment of the entire season occurred last week during the Civil War game with Oregon State.  The Ducks had a large lead so they swapped in their second string offensive line in the 4th quarter.  When the second string folks scored a touchdown on the Beavers the camera person showed the sidelines and Darron Thomas and LaMichael James were flipping out.  They were so excited.  Honestly it looked like they peed their pants.  The camaraderie is truly wonderful to watch.  Seeing people so happy and proud makes me tear up.  Those who have watched the movie Rudy with me know that I am a mess when it comes to team spirit and people being proud.  It makes me so happy.  Watching the Ducks is no different.

6) Autzen stadium is a crazy place.  First off it looks like this huge stadium in the middle of nowhere (it is on the other side of the river away from the main part of campus).  All around the stadium you see beautiful, beautiful hills and buttes.  It is loud.  Oh man is it loud.  When we first moved here Dad took Cliff and I to the Oklahoma game.  It was so loud that it gave Cliff a full on migraine almost immediately.  He spent a majority of the game in the concession area with his head between his legs.  We didn't want to see him sick so we left early and watched the rest from a nearby pizza place (Track Town Pizza...amazing).  It is seriously that loud.  Cliff will never go to another game with me because it is honestly that loud.  In fact, it was named the second loudest stadium in the country.  LSU is apparently worse but they have over 30,000 more fans in seats.  Crazy.  It is a loud place but it is a lot of fun.  Also, they sell kettle corn which makes it a winner in my book any day.

7) I always get a little emotional before spectator events (musicals, sporting events, parades, etc.).  I honestly will start to tear up a little when a marching band starts to play and fans go crazy.  Why?  Who knows.  Events just make me a little weepy...but in a good way.  The beginning of a Duck game is pretty epic.  First everyone is going crazy and then the Duck rides out on a freaking motorcycle.  Football players are running, cheerleaders and flipping all around, those big green Oregon flags are flying down the field, and the Duck is on a motorcycle.  I love it.  Dad loves it.  It is awesome.  I know this is really an odd thing to keep going on about but I don't care because it is that cheesy and amazing.  I have been to three games and every time I take a video of the opening.  I would love to post one but they are all too large to embed so please go here to see the event in all its glory. 

8) After every Ducks win there is always someone in the neighborhood that sets off green and yellow fireworks.  It happened in Springfield three years ago and it happens here in Eugene almost every Saturday.  Our gun shy dog is not really a big fan of the practice but he is slowly getting use to it.  Seriously, the game ended over an hour ago and there are still fireworks going off around town.  Insane.

9) The fall is already an amazing time but when you add in college football it becomes even better.  In Williamsburg, I would tailgate and hang out with family before the Old Dominion games.  Here Cliff and I get settled in and eat pizza, chili, and other amazingly bad for you foods.  Oregon also has some nice micro beers which makes a meal a little more enjoyable.  It is a bit chilly outside and it just feels right.  Food and football go together.

10)  College football is just fun.  It has surprised me how much I have enjoyed becoming a football fan.

Thanks for letting me geek out a bit tonight.  Hope I didn't bore you too much but I was overwhelmed with school spirit and wanted to share.

Go Ducks!