October 31’st and it is snowing to beat the band in Loserville…aka “Peoria, IL”.
Ah, good old climate change…larger variation in the weather. Burning hot summers (ok, this one wasn’t that bad) and abnormal weather like this (more typical of late November/early December for us)
Yoga, then 40 laps of the outer lane of the Riverplex track (7.3 laps to the mile; splits are 1.096 miles, total is 5.48 miles:
12:14, 11:38, 11:34, 11:22, 10:52 for 57:41 for almost 5.5 miles (160 seconds over a 10 minute pace average, just slower than a 10:30 average. The fitness teacher who taught the class in the classroom that the track loops around said that the class was cheering for me..that made me laugh.
Bravo. One can persuade, nudge, etc. But one doesn’t have to “off with their heads” all of the time, or even most of the time.
Workout notes: yesterday, yoga, then 4 miles on the treadmill: 5.2-5.6 acceleration workout (to 20 minutes), then 6.1-6.4, 6.7-7.0 and gave out at 38:35; made it to 4 at 40:35, then walked 8 laps in 14:25 to get 5 in 55.
7.0 was too much for me to sustain..got a lot of work to do. Weight: 188
Today: weights only; pull ups (10-10-10-10-5-10), rotator cuff, bench: 10 x 135, 1 x 185, decline: 10 x 165, goblet squats: 6 x 25, 6 x 50, 6 x 60, 6 x 70 (great depth first 3 sets, decent depth on set 4), hex dead: 6 x 175, 4 x 225, 1 x 235, military: standing dumbbell: 10 x 45, 45, 40, rows: 3 sets of 10 x 110, 2:30 plank, headstand.
Winning this election should be easy for @TheDemocrats. Just be less crazy than Donald Trump. Are you guys seriously struggling with this? pic.twitter.com/M8VxRT2s6E
Saturday: I went to the Indiana State at Illinois State game; it was raining hard and 45 F.
LOL,,the FCS game (Indiana State at Illinois State) I attended listed 8500 at the game (tickets distributed). It was played in heavy rain and 45 F temperatures. Here is a kickoff shot and a second half shot ..and it was 7-7 at that point. pic.twitter.com/gPwQaSAF2L
The game ended up 24-7 Illinois State, but it was much more competitive than that for the first 3 quarters. In the first half, it was field position with Indiana State getting somewhat the better of it. Finally the Redbirds got a drive to go up 7-0. But a fumble put the Sycamores in business at the Redbird 34; they had success with the wildcat formation.
Second half: the Redbirds got one drive and a field goal to go up 10-7. But as the 4’th quarter came on, the Sycamores were driving; at the 15 they fumbled and the Redbirds recovered. A 77 yard touchdown run from the star Redbird running back put them up 17-7, and a fumble on the kickoff lead to a short field and the insurance touchdown.
Meanwhile, Illinois was winning 24-6 at Purdue in another rainy game; this game, the Illini went up 17-0 and held on.
The game was simple; the Broncos mostly owned the first half but were limited to field goals. In the second half, they finally got a touchdown to lead 13-3..note that the Colts had missed a field goal. A second field goal cut it to 13-6 but then ..finally, the Colts drove for a TD..but MISSED the extra point.
It seemed bleak when the Colts punted with 3:30 to go..but the defense got the ball back. And what do you know…a drive..assisted by a lame personal foul got the Colts in position for a 52 yard attempt..which was good.
Photos:
The last photo is the winning field goal, which came with 22 seconds to go.
Saturday: 6.3 mile run (just over 10K); 1:16. This was PRIOR to the downpour.
Sunday: off
Monday: 5K walk after weights: rotator cuff, pull ups: 15-15-10-5-5, 5, military presses: 2 sets of 15 x 50 seated, supported (dumbbells), 10 x 40 standing, rows: 3 sets of 10 x 110 machine, bench: 5 x 135 pause (sore shoulder), 5 x 135 incline, 10 x 135 decline, goblet squats: 6 x 25, 6 x 50, 6 x 65 deep, 2:30 plank,
I am trying to build leg and core strength and it is a struggle:
pull ups (good; 5 sets of 10)
rotator cuff
bench press: 10 x 135, 2 x 185 (no spotter), 5 x 155 pause bench
decline: 5 x 175
goblet squat: 6 x 30, 50, 60 (good depth), 70 (parallel..maybe not much more)
military press 6 x 50 standing (dumbbell), 10 x 45, 10 x 200 machine
rows: 3 sets of 10 x 110 machine
hex dead: 6 x 175, 6 x 205
This was enough to tire me out; I skipped walking. Weight: 188 (as usual)
I think that I let my overall body get far too weak.
Yoga, then a jog to the Goose loop (.36 miles per loop), 5 x goose loop hard, with a goose loop walk/jog as recovery. 36:05 total time (11:08 pace) with the loops being done: 3:24, 3:17, 3:12, 3:12, 3:07 (16:12 for 1.8 miles, or a 9 minute average..lord have mercy, that was slow. ) I attempted to lift the knees and some semblance of turn-over.
Yes, this was outdoors 40’s..after yoga and I did 1.2 out/back to get a total of 5.64 miles.
At least it was a pretty morning and I got in a workout. And I can only get faster..I think.
I could set a goal of 2:50 for these, but the weather is not likely to hold out that long and I am likely to be on the indoor track before too long.
One of the things I love about football is having something fun, but inconsequential to think about and to predict. And yes, Illinois upset Wisconsin last week..by 1 point by a field goal…at the end of the game. Illinois lead for only the final play..the one that counted.
How Illinois did it:
Fan reaction
Yes, many of the fans stormed the field:
But the reaction of the older fans around me was kind of like mine: stunned silence….not knowing HOW to process it. Reason: if you are older and have followed the Illini for 10 years or more…you probably never believed that the Illini were going to win…you just knew that they’d fumble on that last drive, miss the field goal, bad snap, etc.
The disinterested football fan would have guessed that the team in gray was making the plays needed to win the game on that day….but the experienced Illini fan was waiting for the “other shoe to drop”; this time it never did.
So what now?
Let me make this clear: that while the Illini were outgained 420 to 315, Illinois deserved to win this game. Why?
1. Red zone defense: 4 times the Badgers had to settle for a field goal attempt (and they made 3), and once they turned it over.
2. Offense: the Illini found seams in the tough Badger defense; the line does a decent job of run blocking. And in passing: they burned the Badger secondary in one and one coverage.
Mind you, the Illini missed a field goal, surrendered one touchdown on a fumble, and had a touchdown called back on an inconsequential “lineman downfield” penalty; it was a deep sideline route and an interior lineman lunged at an interior linebacker who was 30-40 yards away from the play. It was a correct call, but it was also an unforced error which did not contribute to the touchdown.
So it wasn’t as if the Illini were “lucky”; they did NOT get every bounce or every break..far from it. They made the plays to win the game.
But that game is over and now we move forward. What now?
1. The defense still gives up a lot of yards. After a 2-0 start, they’ve given up:
480 yards, 34 points to Eastern Michigan (got 464 themselves)
674 yards, 42 points to Nebraska (to 299)
487 yards, 40 points to Minnesota (to 248)
489 yards, 42 points to Michigan (to 256)
420 yards, 23 points to Wisconsin (to 315)
You aren’t going to win many games if you keep getting outgained by such massive amounts.
2. Yep, look at the offense..some neat slashing runs but not a lot of sustained drives.
3. Human emotion. Examples: last year, the Illini followed a blowout win against Minnesota by a blowout loss at Nebraska and a 63-0 loss to Iowa at home. Two years ago: Iowa destroyed top 5 Ohio State by 31 points. They promptly went on the road and got blown out by Wisconsin, and then lost a home game to Purdue. And I still remember the 1980 Notre Dame team; they came in ranked no. 1 and played Georgia Tech..who went 1-9-1 …and got tied 3-3. Next week: ND went to Alabama and got a shutout win. Georgia Tech hosted Navy and lost 19-8…and ND had blanked Navy 33-0 in a game I saw in person.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Illinois lay a couple of eggs.
BUT…sometimes a signature win CAN help a team turn a corner. It works both ways.
I admit, trying to build my legs has been difficult. Today I tried: somewhat hilly (but slow) 5 mile run, followed by:
pull ups (good, 5 sets of 10), rotator cuff
1 set of light goblet squats
hex dead lifts: 6 x 175, 6 x 205 (trying to keep my legs from straightening out too soon); this burned.
military: 10 x 50, 10 x 45, 10 x 40 (dumbbell, standing)
rows: 3 sets of 10 x 110 machine
plank (2:30)
headstand
That’s it..it was enough to get sweaty, and harder than I thought should be. Friday: I’ll try the weights first then any run or walk.
I don’t have anything resembling a leg day, but I am hoping to become somewhat competent in “barbell squats”; right now, I am a total disaster (lean forward when I try to get any depth at all).
But, with THESE knees, I should be grateful I can even walk..
Trump caused an uproar by referring to the impeachment investigations as a “lynching”:
So some day, if a Democrat becomes President and the Republicans win the House, even by a tiny margin, they can impeach the President, without due process or fairness or any legal rights. All Republicans must remember what they are witnessing here – a lynching. But we will WIN!
As far as 1: yes, what he said was disgusting. But: so many “wokes” and liberals scream so often about so much, their complains become part of the background…like the hum of machinery or traffic noise.
I sure wish that people chose their battles more carefully.
I was worried about this: any Republican president will do things I don’t like. But the usual Republican policy stuff: I won’t like a lot of it because I am a liberal. But I’d like to save the “outrage” for the most outrageous things rather than being perpetually outraged.
workout notes: yoga, then 5 mile walk..legs were sore from yesterday.
Life of an old goat 