Category: travel

A tale of two games

We (Jacob and I) drove from the hotel to the stadium; Tom met us there. My goodness, was it eerie.

The game: well, it snowed during the first half and they only allowed fans in the club section and in the lower West side section and in the club sections.

The game went sort of quickly. Illinois drove but failed on downs. Northwestern drove and kicked a field goal. That was almost the first quarter. Illinois responded with a touchdown drive to go up 7-3. Northwestern drove and went up 10-7 hitting a pass in the back of the end zone.
Illinois stalled..punted with just under 2 minutes left in the half, but Northwestern threw an interception (tipped ball). That lead to an Illinois touchdown and a 14-10 halftime lead.

The Illini stopped the Wildcats in the second half and appeared to take control of the game. But a good drive ended with a field goal.

Northwestern continued to make mistakes. But then came the play that changed the game: Northwestern got a strip sack and got the ball at the Illinois 1. So on first down:

On 4th down, the Wildcats took a deliberate “delay of game” penalty and then kicked the field goal.

After that, the only score came when the Illini kicked a field goal. It was only 20-13 but that appeared to ice the game. Northwestern turned it over 4 times, the Illini only once. And that, plus the goal line stand, made the difference.

It was an unforgettable game played ..almost like on the moon, with lots of big plays.

We got back to the hotel late, but got a good start to Indianapolis. The roads were fine there.

We watched the Texans beat the Colts 20-16. While it was true that the Texans benefited from a questionable pass interference call:

Colts fans also complained about an extra point, but it appeared to me to be good (it did hook outside the upright as it passed.

The Texans struck first with a field goal. In the second quarter, the Colts scored on a nice pass to the left but missed the extra point. The Texans drove a scored a TD to take a 10-6 halftime lead.

Another nice drive lead to a 13-6 lead, but the Colts tied it at 13 with another passing touchdown.

The Texans took a 20-13 lead with a rushing touchdown, and the last score came with a Colts field goal with just under 9 minutes to play. The defenses took over from there and the Colts failed on downs with just over 2 minutes left. This allowed for the Texans to pick up one first down and then run out the clock.

So..this was quite the weekend of football.

Southern Journey

We took off for Texas on Thursday. There was a strange rattle in the car; more on that later.
But we made it from Peoria (9 am) to Muskogee, Oklahoma with no issues. But while in Muskogee, the rattle was bothering me, so we took it to the local Toyota dealer. They got right on it: it was a loose muffler exhaust heat shield; they got larger washers to tighten it up. Lots of corrosion underneath.

That delayed our leaving though; we got out roughly 11 am or so. Still, it was a fairly smooth drive to Austin after that, though we did visit a Buc-ee’s just north of Dallas.

We made it to the Southpark Omni late in the evening.

Saturday: the highlight was a trip to Half-price (will read some fiction) and a trip to the Blanton Museum (on the University of Texas campus)

Highlight of the second day was the Bullock Texas History Museum.

Olivia went back home to ready herself for the workweek and Babs and I had some Ethiopian food.

The next day, we headed to the Woodlans (2:40 away). Amusing: my left foot hurt. It turns out that I had put on two right foot shoes!

That was a fun mini-visit. Mike (Lynnor’s husband) was a good sport.

Then came the trip to Texarkana. Google maps routed out the “quickest route” and that included lots of trips on small roads off of the main highway. That included one case where we actually had a “pilot truck” to get us through a construction zone! It sure was scenic though.

We stopped just south of Little Rock (Arkadelphia) and took the new I-57 out of Little Rock to 67, up through Missouri and around St. Louis. We took the I-270 detour to get to I-55.

Today: I watched the Chiefs lose to the Skycarp 6-4 in a very hot day game. The Chiefs are now 1-4 in the second half of the season.

Week’s worth of workouts.

Thursday, prior to getting on the road: 2.3 in 31:44 (13:48 pace)

Friday: hotel treadmill (non-working incline) 2 miles in 28:30
Saturday: Mabel Davis 3 lap (5.2 miles) in 1:22:29 (15:52). Warm.
Laps: 14:27, 14:02, 14:00
Sunday: Mabel Davis 3 lap (5.2 miles) in 1:20:56 (15:34)
14:07, 13:53, 13:37.
Note: weight room was closed for renovation
Monday: 2.24 miles in 37:53 (16:53); 3 sets of 20 push ups
(note: full PT every day)
Tuesday: hotel treadmill 2 miles in 27:35 (13:48)

Wednesday: back in town. Walk was a untimed stroll to the Chiefs game and back (3 miles total)
weights: pull ups: 6 sets of 5, (changed grip), 8, 6, then 5 mixed, 5 mixed. Alternated overhand and underhand grip and did PT for rest between sets.
Bench press: 10 x 134, 5 x 155, 4 x 155, 5 x 155
incline press: 5 x 134
high incline press: 2 sets of 10 x 94
trap bar dead: low 10 x 134, 10 x 184 4 inch: 10 x 224
Then the walk to the game. The walk home was a bit harder; I did the 1.5 route.

January 2 catch up

December 30: got on the road in Austin. Before leaving:

weights: hotel gym. 3 sets of dumbbell exercises: high incline (40s), curls (20s), bench (50s) 3 sets of 10. Then machines: 3 sets of 10: curls, rows, pull downs, flies. Then a slowish walk (2.2 miles on mostly crushed gravel 34:55).

Drove north; along the way I stopped at a rest area and got 30 dreadful reps on a pull up bar (sets of 5, one 4+1).

Later: I got to Newport, Arkansas, and stayed at a Days Inn. I took a 2.1 mile stroll (in 40 degree temperatures; it was in the 70s in Texas) and finished with McDonald’s pancakes. It is really a decent breakfast.

Drove north to Illinois; I was able to listen to the first 3 quarters of the Illinois Citrus Bowl victory and watched the final quarter at home. Got to hand it to the Illini: they did not blink. They FINISHED the game; 5 of their 10 wins were decided in the closing moments of the 4’th quarter or in overtime.

Jan 1 in Illinois: Got to watch Texas hold off a spirited Arizona State team and Ohio State’s 41-21 destruction of a good Oregon team. I was expecting BOTH games to be close.

But I got my workout in first: 2 miles of walking over halftime of the first game, and a morning weight workout:

pull ups: 10 (kind of sloppy), 5, 5, 10, 10 (plus 3 penalty reps), 5, 5. Overall: ok

bench: 10 x 134, 3 sets of 6 x 150

trap bar dead (4 inch) 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 234
6 inch: 10 x 280

high incline: 2 quick sets of 10 x 84

Today: I tried my 4 mile lower Bradley course; I wanted to test my knee on hills. Total: 4.12 in 1:03:23 (15:23 pace); I was 15:15 at the park entrance and the exit to the house was also about 15:15. (very close to 15 min miles; like in Austin). I was disappointed in the pace, but it was about 27 F..and nothing hurt during the walk. And I’ve yet to touch my pain pills.

Texas Trip; Day 2 (Armed Forces Bowl)

I am on day 4 (second night in Austin) What a trip it has been!

Christmas: left about 3:30 and made it to Fort Leonard Wood, in Missouri. Few problems. Hampton Inn was price but, IMHO, worth it in terms of services, comfort; just a great room.

Day after: this was the drive to Fort Worth. Got advice about a large rain storm from a friend, so I drove to Oklahoma City and picked up 35 down to Fort Worth. The only rough part of the drive was some of the rain in northern Texas; it was dark and there was a lot of construction on I-35. But the toll ways in Fort Worth was worth it; took me directly to the Hampton Inn off 820. Saw some young Sooners fans there and more during breakfast.

27 December: Bowl day. Once again, I went to the Armed Forces Bowl. Amon G. Carter stadium has aged a bit; seat numbers were worn off. And the bowl didn’t have a solid fan block; there were OU fans all around me (and some Navy fans); got some “class of 8x didn’t have a real plebe year” joking in.
Parking: got there 2 hours early (saw the Oklahoma team busses arrive). Parked in the lots on campus. Got to the stadium ok; OU fans were lined up 90 minutes ahead of time!

When I was in line, I was behind a Coast Guard and Navy Captain (both female)

After the game: I got turned around and probably walked 1.5 miles to get back to my car which was 0.7 miles away; then I went to a Korean fried chicken place for dinner; got lost going there and started back by walking the wrong way.

The game itself:

My goodness. Though OU was depleted, they still had a ton of size and speed on the field. Opening drive: right down the field with no sweat at all. Navy: missed a wide open TD pass and had to punt. Next OU drive: again, no sweat. Navy: nothing. It was 14-0 and looking ugly. Again, Navy missed open passes.
There was a stop; but OU pulled off a fake punt and was threatening …but turned it over on downs.

Navy: finally, got a drive and scored and it was 14-7, which it was at the half.

3’rd quarter: spectacular 90+ QB keeper for a touchdown; Navy was now tied! Momentum had shifted but Navy missed a field goal after a turn over.

4’th quarter: Oklahoma missed a field goal (and dropped a couple of passes). Finally, Navy drives for the go ahead score to lead 21-14. And Navy forced a punt with 3 minutes to go.

But the Sooners defense stiffened, forced a punt and they got decent field position. Then with 6 seconds left, they score to cut it to 21-20. But they went for 2 and Navy sacked the quarterback, and then recovered the onside kick.

Phew! What an exciting game!

Now to Austin Kind of dark, lots of traffic (which moved) but I made it to the Austin SouthPark and I had a great day with my daughter.

Late catch up

I will talk about my trip (so far) in my next post. This is about my workouts.

Wednesday: Weights then 2 miles of walking at just under a 17 minute pace.

Weights: pull ups : mostly sets of 5; enough to get 50 reps
bench press: 10 x 134, 7 x 150, 7 x 150, 5 x 150 (tired)
trap bar dead: 4 inch: 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 234. 6 inch: 10 x 280

high incline: 10 x 94, 10 x 94

Thursday: hotel in Missouri: 4.02 miles of treadmill walking in 1:00. First mile was almost 16 minutes; .5 miles at 4.1 mph, 2.5 at 4.2 mph (no knee pain that night)

Friday: (Fort Worth) 5K walk in 45:20 (note: increased and decreased incline at .5 to 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5 using 3 up, 2 down. then 1.3 mile stadium walk, 1.0 mile walk back, then at least 1 more mile of walking to restaurant. I had knee soreness that night.

Saturday: 2 mile walk on the crushed cinder trails round Southpark. Then 30 minutes of weights: 3 sets of 10 for each exercise:
dumbbell curl 25, then 20, 20. Standing press: 30. bench press: 50 (all they had)
machine: curl, row, pull down (130), fly (again 3 sets of 10 each..little rest

Catching up again

Saturday: 4 mile Moss/H neighborhood course at 16 mpm. This was before leaving for Indianapolis

Sunday: 2 mile strip mall walk 17:10 pace

Monday: prior to work: 2 miles at 19 minute pace. No knee brace; did this after lifting.

The lifting: pull ups: sets of 5 with one 7-3 set, and 1 penalty rep.
Bench Press: 10 x 134, 3 sets of 5 x 155

High incline: 10 x 94, 2 sets of 5 x 105
Trap bar deadlift: 10 x 94 pinch grip, 1 x 134 pinch grip
low: 10 x 134, 10 x 184. 4 inch: 10 x 234

Tuesday (today) Riverplex again: 11 miles in 40 minutes (10 in 35:10, the usual 1-2-3-4-5-6-5-1 with changes every 5 minutes). Then outside for 3.25 in 53:02 (knee braces).

Limited knee pain; almost unnoticeable.

Indianapolis: In perhaps the easiest trip I had up there, I took Jacob and Brian to the Titans at Colts. The Titans hit an early pass to go up 7-0 after 1, but the Colts outscored the Titans 24-0 in the 2’nd and built the lead to 38-7 with 6:50 to go in the 3’rd. The Colts were to rush for 335 yards with Taylor getting 218 of them. The offensive line opened up gaping holes.

But the Titans didn’t quit. They cut it to 38-15; the Colts missed a field goal, then the Titans got two more touchdowns with one 2 point conversion, and soon it was 38-30 with 3:05 to play.

But the Colts got a couple of first downs and then punted to the Titans 11 with only 3 seconds in the game, and the final pass was intercepted.

In the NFL game, the only sure lead is a win.

Back home!

Workout notes: before I left: easy 2 mile walk outside the hotel.
Then 3 circuits of weights: pull downs, rows, curls, tricep extensions, flies, dumbbell shoulder presses, dumbbell chest presses, dumbbell curls.

Then on I-35 between Waco and Dallas, a rest stop had a pull up rig. I did 10 sets of 5 there (better than this set)

This morning: 29:30 2 mile treadmill walk.

The drive home took too long and I discovered the reason why: when I got to Poplar Bluff, I went 60 toward I-55 instead of sticking on 67. It did not help that the stupid phone turned itself “off” so I had no GPS guidance.

67 didn’t take long enough and I-55 took forever.

The last day: ate at a relatively expensive Korean joint Gangnam: the food was delicous. But it was not cheap.

Austin catch up

Workouts:

Wednesday: weights and a kind of hot, stiff 4 mile walk on my “H” course at 15:31. The weights:

pull ups: sets of 5, one set of 10, enough to get to 50 reps.

Bench press: 2 sets of 10 x 134 Swiss Bar, 6 x 120, 5 x 120 medium incline, 7 x 94, 10 x 94 high incline, deadlift: 10 x 134, 10 x 184 straight bar, 5 x 225, 10 x 225 straight bar, 1 x 300, 5 x 300 6 inch.

Thursday 5K at 14:41 in Peoria, one 18 minute mile at the Route 66 rest stop.

Friday: 5k slow and stiff (slightly painful) on strip of service road in Oklahoma.

Saturday and Sunday: warm, sticky 10K plus walks as shown: (Mabel Davis Park)

The second walk started out stiffer and somewhat painful but I felt good after 2 miles or so. The weather was stickier for the second walk but I finished it stronger.

The trip:

I got off late. I had this to say:

Traffic around Dallas, through Dallas, Waco, Temple and Belton was horrible. The newish toll road made Austin the easiest Texas city!

No fewer than 6 Illinois State trooper cars ready to pounce between Springfield and St. Louis. Multiple accidents along the way: a pickup truck knocked down a street light post near Pryor, OK.

Note: evening weather in Austin is nicer than it was in Peoria!!!???

Yes, I-55 always means Illinois State troopers set to pounce: Illinois is by far the worst state for this.

But the traffic: north of Dallas, Dallas, Waco, Belton: HORRIBLE. Just horrible. Some of it was accidents/construction but well…it is rare that Austin was easier.

Now for the visit: loved it. Olivia and I mostly hung out; watched Oppenheimer. Great show. Saw Office Space and then a documentary about deep free diving (those people are nuts)

Photos: I took the top one as a joke (shows a rural crop duster airport near Pryor, Oklahoma.