Olympic Trials Weekend Recap

I’d like to point one thing out- With promising to post 3 blogs a week, not all of my posts are going to be “brilliant”. Quantity might replace Quality a bit. But there will definitely be pieces I spend a lot more energy on tonight.  Also, my most popular posts are the ones that are mean. So..I guess I’ll have to be mean more often.

EDIT: Writers on the LetsRun site, from time to time you feature a link to my blog on your front page and thats awesome I love it, it brings in 1000’s of visitors! But from time to time there’s posts, like this, where I ruffle some feathers talking about religion. I’d rather this post not be put on LR, if you were to ever consider it. Everything else is cool though go for it when ya like a post! And if ya’d ever like to contact me, ornelas@umich.edu is the place to do it!

Also, I don’t intend to stop saying “Swag” yet. If you don’t like it, that’s cool. Go read RunnersWorld and learn how to train for your first marathon in an easy 6 week plan!

Without further adieu, here is a recap of those who Swagged the Eff out at the Olympic Trials Marathon this weekend, and a recap of those who failed to impress me/us.

SWAG- MEB.

American Flag, Neon Sketchers, Winning = SWAG AS F**K

A.) Meb is 36 years old.

B.) He races in Sketchers.

C.) He’s not in everybody’s face about how awesome God is.

D.) He made another Olympic Team at 36 YEARS OLD!

What’s not to like about Meb? He’s not cocky, he’s been a major player in our sport for a long time, and the guy has been producing solid results year in and year out.  Maybe he wasn’t the race favorite, but he proved to us he should have been.

KINDA SWAG..?- SKECHERS.

I admit it....I'd wear these.

Ok, I realize I made fun of Skechers in an earlier post. Mainly because velcro shoes and Shape-Ups are a fashion disaster and you should be punished for wearing them.  But The GOrun shoes Meb has been rocking…well….He has me sold. Along with confirmation that they are very comfy from a friend at UT who has a pair, and Meb’s success in them, I’m convinced they can’t be half bad. There. I said it.

NOT SWAG- RYAN HALL

Click on Pic above to get full text. I have a feeling God also loves Brady more than Tebow.

Ryan Hall is the Tim Tebow of our sport.  Yeah he’s good at what he does but the whole fact that “God” is his coach and that he resembles the token super religious kid that I assume almost all of you have encountered on your cross country team at some point.  You know, the one that made you feel bad about hooking up with that totally hot Tri-Delt the night before? The one who tried to convince you a trip to FCA would be more fun than playing Skyrim all night?  I wish more star athletes were Satanists, it’d be much more fun to interview them. “Yeah, I sacrifice a goat before each race and rub the blood on me. It’s really relaxing. Hail Satan!”

KINDA SWAG..- RYAN HALL

A face only a deity could love.

As much as I’d like to make fun of this guy for a whole blog post, he made the Olympic Marathon team for a second time in a row. Which is more than I, or anybody reading this blog, has ever done.  So for that, a tip of the hat to you, sir.

SWAG- ABDI.

The Black Cactus.

http://blip.tv/runnerville/cribs-abdi-abdirahman-423709

This.  A CLOSET FULL OF JORDANS.

NOT SWAG- NB-F*CKING-C

Flotrack >

No live coverage? FOR AN OLYMPIC QUALIFYING EVENT?  Thankfully Twitter was on fire during the trials and made it easy to follow the marathon online.  Still, not the same…

SWAG- SHALANE FLANAGAN 

no-yes-YES.

Shalane is a beast. If anybody thought she wouldn’t win, well, they were probably the same people who voted for Bush the second time.  She’s still good looking too, nice job bb.  (still luv u Kara)

NOT SWAG- DATHAN’S HALF TIGHTS.

How I felt when he finished too 😦

I’m a Ritz fan, I wanted him to win. But, dude, half tights in a marathon? What the hell? That’s why you didn’t make the team.  Thats why. Facepalm.

Until next time…EAT, RUN, SWAG.

Michigan Vs. Ohio State: THE DUAL 2012.

Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader, Rocky vs. Apollo Creed, and Rick Perry vs. Homosexuals are all big rivalries.  But NONE OF THESE even hold a candle to Michigan vs. Ohio State.

 

HISTORY OF THE RIVALRY:

THE MICHIGAN-OHIO WAR-

When Michigan applied for statehood in the 1830’s, confusion over the boundaries of the two states lead to a dispute of a 468 square mile region along the border of the two states known as the “Toledo Strip”.

"The Toledo Strip", it now exists as a janky stripclub

 

Militias from Michigan and Ohio assembled near the Maumee River in Toledo but nobody actually fought because the Buckeyes traded all their weapons for tattoos and alcohol (probably Mike’s Hard Lemonade) on their way to the battle and the Michiganders decided it wouldn’t be a fair fight.

Pokerface Fail

 

Eventually Congress offered Michigan the Upper Peninsula in exchange for Ohio getting to keep Toledo.

What Michigan got: The Upper Peninsula

Pure Michigan

 

What Ohio got to keep: Toledo

Daily occurrence in Toledo.

 

Ever since then, an intense rivalry has existed between the two states and has manifested itself in the football games between the University of Michigan and The Ohio State College.

Tomorrow evening, starting at 6pm, is the annual indoor track dual meet between Michigan and OSU.

Left Side, Strong Side

 

This is the 27th annual dual meet with the first meet taking place in the 30’s with some non-dual years thrown in between then and now.  While Michigan has won 20 of the 26 meetings, the Buckeyes have won the last 3 and the Wolverines are looking to put an end to this streak just as we did in football this year.

Schedule of Events
Field Events
6 p.m. – Weight Throw, Pole Vault, High Jump, Long Jump
7:15 p.m. – Shot Put, Triple Jump
Running Events
7 p.m. – Mile
7:10 p.m. – 60m Hurdles
7:20 p.m. – 400m
7:30 p.m. – 600m
7:40 p.m. – 60m
7:50 p.m. – 800m
8 p.m. – 200m (two sections)
8:10 p.m. – 3,000m
8:25 p.m. – 4 x 400m Relay

 

I was going to do an event by event preview, but I actually have to get some work done so I don’t have to do anything tomorrow.  But, briefly, just know that it’s going to be very close.  OSU boasts some of the best field event competitors in the Big 10 while Michigan fields a still fairly young, but already well accomplished group of athletes.

Heat Sheets can be found here:

Click to access tfm-heatsheet-011212.pdf

Yours truly will be debuting my indoor season in the 3k. It’s been a long 95 mile week but I’m quite fit for early January and ready to rip.

Fun-Spirited rivalry jokes aside, all of us Wolverines are excited to get to compete against our Big 10 Rivals tomorrow and see where we’re at fitness-wise at the beginning of a long season.  We extend the best of luck to all competitors tomorrow, as long as our luck is much better.

Not known by many, but D-Rob actually won a race in the Dual 2 years ago

 

Look for Michigan to give a strong showing in the Hurdles

 

This is Michigan...FOR GOD SAKES

 

 

Shout out to everybody running in the Trials tomorrow! Especially my coach’s wife Kathy Newberry!

 

 

 

Running in Hell: Staying Fit in Afghanistan

Sorry for not having a post up yesterday, my dad took a while to answer these questions.  Here’s a look into what it’s like to stay in shape when you have little resources and only a small amount of space to workout in.

Running in Hell: Staying Fit in Afghanistan

For those of you who don’t know, my dad has been serving in the United States Army since the day I was born some 20 years ago.  He is currently a Lieutenant Colonel and after over 5 overseas deployments and 9 moves across the country, he is in the homestretch of his military career.  Only 15 days left in a ONE YEAR “VACATION” to Afghanistan and just a couple months of service remain before he can finally retire and move to Canon City, Colorado this summer to teach high school ROTC and coach high school cross country.

Back when I was an athlete

My dad has always done his best to stay fit and it was actually because I got tired of having to spend my childhood Saturday mornings watching my dad do 5k’s that I started running from a very young age.  I was curious to know how he and the rest of his soldiers stay in shape when they’re deployed.  So I sent him a few questions and this is what he responded with, enjoy!

WHAT DO YOU GUYS DO TO STAY IN SHAPE IN AFGHANISTAN?

We work out everyday, we make sure all our troops do. Most work out twice a day, normally cardio in the morning and lift weights in the afternoon.

Nice smile, Dad.

WHAT KIND OF RUNS DO YOU DO, WHERE DO YOU DO THEM, AND HOW FAR?

When its dangerous we land up running a lot on the 4 treadmills we have here. But when it is calm, we can run around our helicpoter pads, 8 laps around is two miles, pretty rocky course though. There is also a hill you can run up, its 5 miles up and 5 back.

Q. Cassidy went to a cabin in the woods. These guys went to a hut in the mountains.

SO ONE OF THE THINGS YOU DID FOR THE BASE WAS GET A BASKETBALL COURT SET UP, HOW’D YOU DO THAT?

It took me about 7 months to get the court built, I had to say it was a “exercise pad” to get it approved, which it is anyway, took about a month to get the goal, we play every weekend.

BALLLLLLLLINNNNN

DESCRIBE WHAT IT’S LIKE TO STAY IN SHAPE IN AFGHANISTAN:

Its actually not that hard to stay in shape here, many troops have lost a lot of weight and toned up, and we probably have more time here than at home to work out. Plus the food isnt that great, so we really are never that hungry. There is something unappealing about getting your food from big green boxes called mermites. Also drinking more bottled water than I do back home helps a lot. Plus I cant let the younger dudes out-do me, I’m too competitive like my son and daughter.

Actually the nicest gym in that whole shitty country.

Treadmills, for when there's the legitimate danger of getting shot running outside.

Can you tell me why people in the States should be greatful for all the resources we have for exercising while you guys have to make the best of the stuff out there?

People in the states are free to go whever they want to work out, we are confined to a small area, we have to be creative to make our runs longer, plus even though I like our gym, we do not have that much equipment like at home. So you have to again come up with different ways to lift so it doesnt get tOo routine.

I can beat my dad at most things, but it's probably safe to say he's quite a bit stronger than me.

TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ABOUT WHAT IT’S LIKE LIVING ON THE BASE:

Living on a FOB (Forward Operating Base) is tough, its great to be round these Warriors, but day in day out sometimes people get on your nerves because you are really never alone. As a leader, I have to always make sure they are all ok and doing their jobs and I never have a minute to myself other then when working out or sleeping. I only average between 5-7 hours of sleep a night when the bad guys are not attacking.

Luxury Living in Afghanistan

Move to Afghanistan for the lovely views of barbed wire and slums from your front window!

Cheering on the Wolverines from the other side of the world.

Tell me how y’all get to watch the games and what factor sports play on the base (bonding, free time, getting to keep up with whats happening at home):

Watching sports is a huge stress release and is great for bonding here. The only bad thing is that most games live start at 1030pm and the games go all through the night until about 6am our time. So I had some pretty late nights or really early mornings to watch games. I was able to see most of the bowl games LIKE MICHIGAN-GO BLUE and BAYLOR and UT play, so that was awesome. I was also able to watch track and field and XC on the internet, so I got to see you run a couple of times and it was great, I saw you win the Florida State Relays Steeple, Penn Relays, and of course the XC Championships again. They were on here very late but thank goodness for technology….. I’m very excited to come home and then go watch you run in the Big 10 Indoor Championships in Nebraska, will not miss it for the world… LOVE YA!

Watching Michigan kick ass in football this year 😉

Thankfully I didn't inherit his gene for sweating profusely.

SPECIAL SHOUT-OUT:

Yesterday my dad received his SECOND BRONZE STAR, the fourth highest medal awarded in the military.  Congrats Dad, thanks for always being my biggest supporter and come home soon, we miss you!

Award ceremony for the most badass dude in Afghanistan.