Thursday, February 08, 2007

Stupid Cold

I've been gymming it for the last couple workouts due to the frigid temps outside. (But thank god I don't live Upstate, where up to 100" of snow is forecast!) The workouts were a mix. On Tuesday's "tempo" run, my hips felt extremely tight, which I assume was from climbing hills over loose snow on Sunday. After the run, my hips were so tight that I actually couldn't do my normal "bicycle crunches" after the run because I couldn't lift my legs off the floor. Note to self, remember to stretch those hips.

Last night, I felt fatigued, which makes sense following my hard run Tuesday and the long-ish run Sunday. So, I zoned into the first half of the Duke-UNC basketball game and took it easy. I have to say, it's good that UNC has such talented players because Duke totally out executed in the first half. UNC just looked bad, bad passes, forced shots, forced passes into triple coverage in the post. So rather than leaving in a good mood, I left my mill in a huff since UNC was down by 5 at the half. This was actually exceptionally close. As poorly as UNC played, and as solid as Duke's execution was, if the talent levels had been equally matched Duke would have led by 20. In the end, although I left after the first half, in the final period UNC did come back to win. So, while the result was great, I hate to see anything good go Duke's way, even if it's only a halftime lead.

In other news, Kentucky knocked off, or squeaked past, SEC cellar-dweller USC in a mid-week tune-up before hosting #1 Flordia on Friday night. ESPN, for several years, has been hyping this as a "Rivalry Game." For me certainly, and I think for most UK fans, calling Florida a "rival" of the program with the most wins of any school and the second-most NCAA championships may still be a little strong. But since #18UK (1 on the wins list, 2 on the NCAA championship list) has already lost to #5UNC (2 on the win list) and #2UCLA (1 on the NCCA list) this year, I guess we'll have to consider Florida an acceptable "rival" for this decidedly mediocre Kentucky basketball team. However, I really wish Indiana had a good team again, or Bob Knight, because that was a rivalry -- coaches that hated each other's programs, #2 and #3 on the NCAA championship list, border state's flagship schools. That had all the elements. And even after Bob Knight left, you could still hate Mike Davis.



Tuesday: 4.5 miles in 30:54 (6:52/mile, 2.5 miles at 6:40 and faster)
Wednesday: 6.1 miles in 45:00 (7:23/mile)

2 comments:

nyflygirl said...

"I hate to see anything good go Duke's way, even if it's only a halftime lead."

my brother would love to hear you say that. the last 2 March Madness tournaments, any time that he was asked who he wanted to win, the answer was "anyone who plays Dook." (he was a Terp.)

Jon said...

. . . and a big win for the Terps over dUKe.

From ESPN: "Given the 18-3 start, the thought of Duke missing the NCAAs seems outrageous on the surface, but a quick look at the remaining schedule shows it's not impossible. Having lost four straight, the Devils still have road games left at BC, Clemson and UNC. If they don't get any of those, they are 7-9 (at best) in ACC play. What happens if they then fall in the ACC quarters? Could the committee possibly leave out a 21-win Duke team? A lot would have to go wrong down the stretch, but this team is no longer an absolute lock to get in. Do remember, though, that Duke has beaten Air Force, Georgetown, Indiana and Gonzaga in nonconference play. That's better than a lot of high-majors."