Day of Track & Field

Spent Wednesday at the Central Ozarks Conference (COC) vs Ozarks Conference (OC) SuperMeet yesterday in Branson. Jake rode down with me and hung out with his crew for the day. Absolutely amazing is a good way to describe the level of athletes at this one meet. Jake and I constantly were touching base about this race or that time... We both enjoyed the day. Probably the best thing that came out of the day was Jake warming up with his distance runners and his leg having minimal discomfort (that was huge). On the way home he decided that it is time to get back on the track so today (Thursday) he starts practice again with the team. We'll get him taped up prior to each session and see how it goes. Fun day also in that I saw an old college roommate (now AD at Branson) and spent some time catching up with Diane Diebold (AR teammate from last year). Her daughter is a sophomore at UofA and was an All-American at indoor pole vaulting (pure studette).

Speaking of 'the boy' (term of endearment for Jake), he talked with M Weiss (stud distance runner from Lebanon who got Jake hooked on mico/'skimps' running shorts) yesterday and apparently let Jake know the skimps are still good, but spandex/compression-like shorts with nothing over the top is the way to go. Of course Jake now is obsessed with this and will be heading to the sports shop this weekend for some new running attire. He's pretty funny when it comes to looking the part of a top runner (especially Weiss) and I say it's all good and if that is part of what motivates him to do his best then I am all for it.

He has made a handful of driving trips on his own and is absolutely loving it. Last night he gave his first ride home to a friend and thought that was pretty cool.

Ian has two basketball games in SPR this afternoon (luckily not back to back) so he is pumped for that. I picked up a new baseball glove for Ian yesterday and of course we had to break it in as soon as I got home... in the rain! He saw the MLB logo on the back and instantly told me his skills would improve with this sweet mit - funny little man, he is. Oh, the best comment he made in the past couple day had Deb and I cracking up. He was talking about jobs he might do when he grows up and his 4th was a 'professional bikalist (pronounced as a combination of biker/cyclist). He quickly understood what he said and laughingly started correcting himself.

Tour of Romandie is going on this week and I have followed it fully. Rast (Astana) had a good result in a break-away yesterday and was able to keep his lead for another day (today) as Oscar F easily won the group sprint. Rast will have a tough time holding on to the lead with the last day being a big mountain stage and Valverde looking pretty sharp. Lotto (Evans and Gilbert) made a good run at the finish, but ran out of gas with 6k left - seems to be their recurring theme this year. This is not a bigger known event, but I have watched the past couple years and enjoy it (as Deb and I traveled through Switzerland some years back). Gila is going on this week as well and it will be interesting to see if Horner and Armstrong can defend Levi's lead. I have a hard time thinking Levi will lose it as these guys are head and shoulders better than the rest (even if they are only three without any other teammates).

Fitness: Steady tempo for 1 1/2 hrs on trainer last night while watching Role Model (not a very good flick). Legs have recovered from Monday's blast and Tuesday's intervals and I am looking forward to Sunday's race (mtb or crit - doesn't matter to me). Full rest today and then a couple hours with the mistress tomorrow morning (daddy needs his love). Still raining on and off (third day in a row) so probably on the mtb tomorrow.