Everyone loves a fort & I beat Josh at College Football Pick 'Em!!

Well, except for Lucy.  She didn't so much appreciate the fort that Josh and I built for her this afternoon :(

She chose to lay half-under the table all on her own.  Yes, with her butt on the bed and head on the floor.  

She is weird like that sometimes.

But, its understandable if she is a little irritable lately.  She seems to be doing quite well; she is getting around more than she should and she is anxious to play every little chance she gets.  We have to try and keep her from using her leg too much yet - 2 weeks of as much rest as possible is what the doctor ordered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's the last week of ESPN's College Pick 'Em.  Entering the week I am in third place, one point out of second and 11 out of first.  Josh is on my heels in 4th.  I wanted to make some risky picks this week to give myself a chance of taking over the top spot in case any upsets do happen, but I didn't want to risk falling behind Josh.  I stuck my upset picks as my bottom 3 selections, so we will see what happens.  Lets just say I am a huge Southern Miss fan today.  And I will also be rooting for any team that can help Michigan secure a BCS bid (which actually includes Southern Miss but not Oklahoma).

10 pts: LSU over Georgia

9 pts: Wisconsin over Michigan St

8 pts: Cincinnati over Connecticut

7 pts: Wyoming over Colorado St

6 pts: BYU over Hawaii

5 pts: Virginia Tech over Clemson

4 pts: Pittsburgh over Syracuse

3 pts: Texas over Baylor

2 pts: Oklahoma over Oklahoma St

1 pt: Southern Miss over Houston

Update:  45 points, good enough for 2nd place on the season. (6 points out of first.  Southern Miss made me look pretty brilliant for a while.)  I finished in the top 1% of everyone who signed up to play Pick 'Em on  ESPN, not too shabby for a girl!  And the best part......I beat Josh, who finished 3rd, a solid 8 points behind me.  House bragging rights for a year baby!

Go Blue, Beat OSU!

I  squeezed in a few last workouts this week.  I got a nice and easy run in on Monday, and then on Tuesday I just did some easy weights in the gym at lunch.  Tuesday night was day 5 of stims.  I don't want to push it, so I'm done.  No more exercise (beyond walking) until I am cleared by my doctor, which will be sometime in January if I'm lucky, but more likely February.  :(  (My RE is very conservative with IVF pregnancies, and I will be in his care for the first trimester.)

Su 11/20: rest
M 11/21: 4.06 easy, 37:16, 9:11 pace
Tu 11/22: 30:00 min free weights on the balance ball (8 upper body exercises, 10-15 reps, 3 sets), 2x1:00 planks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now on to the real excitement of the weekend - its the BIG game!  Michigan vs. Ohio State, one of the best rivalries in college football.  Except, it hasn't been very interesting lately.  Michigan hasn't won since 2006.  Its about time!  So, thats how I plan to spend my afternoon.  Let's Go Blue!

10 pts: Oregon over Oregon St

9 pts: Stanford over Notre Dame

8 pts: Michigan over Ohio St

7 pts: Wisconsin over Penn St

6 pts: Michigan St over Northwestern

5 pts: Georgia over Georgia Tech

4 pts; Virginia Tech over Virginia

3 pts: Rutgers over Connecticut

2 pts: Florida St over Florida

1 pt: South Carolina over Clemson

Update: Not bad, my highest score of the year.  I'm still in third, but only 1 measly point out of second with one week to go.

The time I did drugs in my car.

Lots of good stuff to post about today.  I met my friend Lauren for our annual shopping trip to Birch Run.  We usually have pretty good luck kicking off our Christmas shopping together sometime in mid-November.

I managed to pick up a few gifts this year, and I cherish the time we spend together chatting and catching up on things.  Lauren is getting married in June, so between the wedding and my treatments, we had plenty to talk about.


After we had dinner, I had to get down to business - it was stim shot time.  Since these injections are in my stomach, I have no issues doing them myself. I probably could have waited until I drove home, but wanted to be sure I was keeping things as consistent from day to day as possible.  So, I set up shop and did the shot before hitting the road:

I am hoping the guy that parked two spots over didn't call the cops when he saw me drawing up drugs from a vial into a syringe in my car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This was most likely my last good workout for a while, so I made sure to get in a few good quality runs.  Here is how the week looked with 18.7 miles:

Su 11/13: rest
M 11/14: 3.51 pace, 30:51, 8:48 pace
Tu 11/15: 5.28 easy, 48:16, 9:09 pace
W 11/16: 3.76 easy, 34:11, 9:05 pace
Th 11/17: Insanity Cardio Recovery and Cardio Abs 50:00 min
F 11/18: rest
Sa 11/19: 6.15 long, 57:51, 9:24 pace

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And, I can't forget college football picks for the week:

 

10 pts: LSU over Ole Miss

9 pts: Oregon over USC

8 pts: Oklahoma over Baylor

7 pts: Florida State over Virginia

6 pts: Clemson over North Carolina

5 pts: Ohio St over Penn St

4 pts: Miami (FL) over South Florida

3 pts: Michigan over Nebraska

2 pts: Iowa over Purdue

1 pt: Rutgers over Cincinnati

Update: NOT a good week.  I managed 19 points, which was 2nd highest in our group and moved me into 3rd place just ahead of Josh.  The entire group had a dismal week with all of these upsets.

Make Your Move

It was a great day for a run here - I'll be thankful anytime I can get mid-50s in mid-November in mid-Michigan.  So I cranked out a solid 8 miles - what may be my last long run of the year.  I still managed a decent total for the week - 19.12 miles - while doing 2 Insanity videos.

Su 11/6: 3.51 easy, 33:25, 9:31 pace
M 11/7: 3.52 pace, 30:38, 8:42 pace
Tu 11/8: Insanity Cardio Power & Resistance 40 min
W 11/9: Rest
Th 11/10: Insanity Cardio Core & Balance 40 min
F 11/11: 4.01 easy, 37:20, 9:18 pace
Sa 11/12: 8.08 long, 1:18:56, 9:46 pace

And of course... its Football Saturday!  With only 4 weeks remaining in College Pick 'Em, I need to make my move.  I'm tied with Josh for third place, and we are 13 points out of first.  We will need some help to climb to the top, but lets be real:  the only competition I care about at this point is the guy sleeping next to me each night.  Just need bragging rights in the house and I'm happy :)

10 pts: Arkansas over Tennessee

9 pts: Oklahoma St over Texas Tech

8 pts: Georgia over Auburn

7 pts: Florida St over Miami (FL)

6 pts: Texas over Missouri

5 pts: Kansas St over Texas A&M

4 pts: Michigan over Illinois

3 pts: Stanford over Oregon

2 pts: Michigan St over Iowa

1 pt: Nebraska over Penn St

Update: 46 points this week, moved 1 point ahead of Josh, but still 13 out of first.  Three more weeks to go.

Insane

I have access to a great gym at work, and they recently ordered copies of the P90X and Insanity workouts by Beachbody (NOT a referral link).  I have done P90X before, following the full 90-day program as written (well, minus the diet part anyway).  I still occasionally throw a P90X video into my workout rotation every now and then for weight training.  On Thursday, I thought I would give Insanity a try. 

I tried one Insanity video a while ago, and I remember it being hard.  This time around, I went with Pure Cardio - at a little under 40 minutes, it fit well into the limited time I had.  Let me say this - wowza.  Two days later, and I sorta feel like I ran a marathon on Thursday!  That 40 minutes packed one heck of a punch.  I was breathing quite heavy and pretty out of breath after the 10-minute warm-up!  (I should have worn a heart rate monitor, but I bet the warm-up got me to at least 80% of my max HR.)

The workout is basically this: 10 minute "warm-up" that get progressively more intense, break, stretching, break, 15 minute "work-out", break, cool-down stretches.  Yes, the actual workout segment is only 15 minutes.  But because of the intensity of the warm-up, and even the stretches, I felt I got a very solid cardio workout in.  Shaun T encourages you to take breaks as needed, and I definitely took a few myself to catch my breath.  I didn't find any of the moves difficult or needing modification, but there were plenty of times I couldn't keep up with his maxed-out pace, so I just did as much as I could.  My glutes were definitely feeling this workout the day after, and today my calves, upper hamstrings, glutes and inner thighs are rebelling.

I think I will try a few more Insanity videos here and there, but I don't plan to follow the 60-day program.  I plan to be sidelined from this sort of activity very soon..... (wink)

I still managed to run a few miles this week as well, though today was pretty darn slow.  I took off early and it was freezing (literally, like <32 degrees).  It took me the first 5 miles of the run to feel warmed up and loosen my legs enough to have a comfortable stride.  Here is how I fit the 20.34 miles in:

Su 10/30: 4.02 easy, 38:28, 9:34 pace
M 10/31: Rest
Tu 11/1: 4.04 easy, 38:26, 9:31 pace
W 11/2: 5.02 easy, 47:43, 9:30 pace; Ab Ripper X
Th 11/3: 40 min Insanity Pure Cardio
F 11/4: Rest
Sa 11/5: 7.26 easy, 1:13:51, 10:10 pace

And of course, its football Saturday.  Go Blue!

10 pts: Oklahoma over Texas A&M
9 pts: North Carolina over NC State
8 pts: Arkansas over South Carolina
7 pts: Texas over Texas Tech
6 pts: Alabama over LSU
5 pts: Michigan over Iowa
4 pts: Cincinnati over Pitt
3 pts: Baylor over Missouri
2 pts: Utah over Arizona
1 pt: Syracuse over UConn

UPDATE: Pretty bummed that Michigan lost.  Not sure how they are going to make it to Indy now...  As for this week, I had 34 points, and Josh and I are tied for third in our pool.

Slow Motion

Have you ever been on a run, and felt like you were running much faster than you actually were?  Well, that would describe every. single. one of my runs this week.  I was running along, breathing kind of heavy, feeling like I was moving at a pretty good clip.  I figured I must be running a sub-9:00 min mile pace, so I checked my watch.  It was early in the run and I didn't want to push it too hard.  Then I see it: pace = 9:54.  Are you shitting me?  Is my Garmin broken???  That was Tuesday, but repeat the exact scenario every day after.  I could not keep my pace down.  I felt like I was running hard, moving right along, concentrating on keeping my breathing even... and I kept finding out I was struggling to break the 10:00 min/mile pace.  Heck, I think I ran more miles >10:00/mile than under my marathon pace (9:36/mile) this week. 

So, I'm still working on recovering from the race.  I've taken it easy, but still getting some miles in.  I anticipate one more week like this last one - slow and easy.  I got 17.95 miles in this week, I'm shooting for 20 next week.

S 10/23: Rest
M 10/24: Rest
Tu 10/25:  3.66 recovery, 35:49, 9:47 pace
W 10/26: 30 min P90X - 15 min Ab Ripper, 15 min Shoulders/Arms
Th 10/27: 4.07 recovery, 39:16, 9:39 pace
F 10/28: 3.96 recovery, 38:59, 9:51 pace; 45 min P90X Back and Biceps
Sa 10/29: 6.26 easy, 1:01:22, 9:49 pace

And, Its football Saturday!  Today is Michigan's Homecoming, but we are rooting them on from afar.  Let's Go Blue!

10 pts: Oklahoma St over Baylor

9 pts: Michigan over Purdue

8 pts: Oklahoma over Kansas St

7 pts: Wisconsin over Ohio St

6 pts: Stanford over USC

5 pts: Clemson over Georgia Tech

4 pts: South Carolina over Tennessee

3 pts: Georgia over Florida

2 pts: Michigan St over Nebraska

1 pt: Louisville over Syracuse

UPDATE: 41 points this week, holding onto 4th place with Josh on my heels in 5th.

Being a TOC

In college, I acquired the nickname Toc.  While living in the dorms, some hallmates were going down to dinner.  One asked my roommate what I was doing, and my roommate stated I was being a turd....  on the couch.  Lets just attribute this to girls being silly, but Toc was born (yes, it really stands for Turd On Couch).  I went on to live with these girls for all 4 years of college, with a few others as well, and I have been called Toc (and many variations of) by all of them.  The favorite by far seems to be Tikki Toc, or even just Tikki.  It just stuck.

Why do I share this (somewhat embarrassing) story?  Because I have personified that nickname this week.  I spent most evenings being a Toc.  But I have a good excuse!  I'm still recovering from the marathon.  I few light runs here and there, but no significant miles.  The last two days my left knee has been giving me issues, which is weird because it never bothered me at all this training cycle.  I just have to take in easy next week, and continue to let my legs recover for a while.  I'll probably try to hit the gym a few times to add some strength training back into the mix.

I had a total of 12.85 measly miles for the week, plus a few short walks with puppy.
M 10/17: Rest
Tu 10/18: Rest
W 10/19:1.55 easy walk, 25:00
Th 10/20: 2.4 recovery jog, 25:00, 10:25 pace
F 10/21: 3.39 recovery, 34:18, 10:08 pace
Sa 10/22: 5.5 recovery, 56:29, 10:16 pace

And, because it is football Saturday, here are my picks.  Michigan has a bye-week, so no Go Blue today.

10 pts: Stanford over Washington

9 pts: Clemson over North Carolina

8 pts: Illinois over Purdue

7 pts: Oklahoma State over Missouri

6 pts: Wake Forest over Duke

5 pts: Wisconsin over Michigan State

4 pts: Notre Dame over USC

3 pts: Penn State over Northwestern

2 pts: Cal over Utah

1 pt: Miami (FL) over Georgia Tech

UPDATE: I had 38 points for the week, good enough to move me into 4th place.  Josh had a TERRIBLE week, and has dropped to 5th.  Its a good thing I don't listen to him too much when making my picks.

Go Blue! Beat MSU!

Its rivalry week in Michigan: the UofM vs. MSU football game takes place at noon today in East Lansing.

Josh and I are hanging at my parents, watching the game with my favorite State fan, my sister.  But we are hoping Michigan kicks State's butt!  My parents are claiming to be neutral, but I think my mom is secretly rooting for Michigan because she feels bad for me since State has won the last 3 years in a row.

Here are my picks for the week:

10 pts: Oregon over Arizona St

9 pts: South Carolina over Mississippi State

8 pts: Oklahoma State over Texas

7 pts: Virginia Tech over Wake Forest

6 pts: UNC over Miami

5 pts: Texas A&M over Baylor

4 pts: Illinois over Ohio State

3 pts: Texas Tech over Kansas State

2 pts: Michigan over MSU

1 pt: Florida over Auburn

UPDATE: 39 points, somewhat disappointing week.  Good thing I had my confidences in order, bad thing I couldn't pick the winners.  Josh fell the third, I'm hanging onto 6th place.

All I have to say is GO BLUE!

New gear and the taper

This morning I started out on my last long-is run before the marathon.  I took it nice and easy; I am trying to respect the taper.  But really, tapering kind of sucks and I added in a few extra miles this week - it is just so hard to cut back now, I'm ready to run this thing!  But deep down, I know I need to let my body recover to be ready for the exertion I expect of it next weekend.

I tried out some of the new gear I picked up at the Brooksie Way expo.  I am most excited about the arm sleeves - I've wanted a pair for over a year now, and I think I will wear them for the marathon next weekend.  They are treadwear and were only $15 (about half the price of others I've seen).  I like that I can easily hang these from my fuel belt when I get warm, and I don't have to try and take off a shirt over my head while running.  These are the Tech Series which are moisture wicking and they double as hand warmers with their foldover cuff - very cool! 

Look ma, no hands!

I picked up a Bondi Band for $7, since I am too lazy to order a Bic Band online.  I hear great things about the Bics (and they have bands with glitter!), but the Bondi is supposed to help wick away some sweat and I always end up with some sweat stinging my eyes by the end of a long run.  I wore this under my hat, and I think it helped.  I have tried it without the hat as well, and it doesn't slide around or fall off - a BIG plus.  I also picked up a new running short sleeve shirt - this one is Mizuno, and I bought it solely for the color.  I needed something to match my socks.  :)  I think my marathon outfit will probably look very similar to what I wore today - except for black shorts instead of blue.  I wore my fuel belt loaded up and want to test to make sure nothing shifted around too much. 

So here is how the last week looked for a total of 22.01 miles.  It was technically the second week of the taper, I have 3-4 more short easy runs this week before the race next Sunday.

M 10/3: Rest
Tu 10/4: 4.29 easy, 39:56, 9:18 pace
W 10/5: 4.67 easy, 43:33, 9:19 pace
Th 10/6: 4.12 easy, 38:40, 9:22 pace; 15 min Ab Ripper X, 15 min light lifting for arms, chest, shoulders
F 10/7: Rest
Sa 10/8: 8.93 long, 1:26:00, 9:38 pace

And... its football Saturday!  So here are my picks:

10 pts: Stanford over Colorado

9 pts: Oklahoma over Texas

8 pts: Nebraska over Ohio St

7 pts: Arkansas over Auburn

6 pts: Virginia Tech over Miami

5 pts: Arizona State over Utah

4 pts: Georgia over Tennessee

3 pts: Iowa over Penn St

2 pts: Texas A&M over Texas Tech

1 pt: Missouri over Kansas St

UPDATE: 51 points for the week, my best week of the year, but still only good enough for 8th place in my group.  Good week for everyone, lots of people with 1 low-point miss.  Josh is hanging onto first by a point.

And the ALCS Game 1 is tonight... with JV on the mound, I predict a Tigers victory! Major bummer.

On the Go

We have a busy weekend planned, starting with a wedding yesterday.  Our friends Magen and Neil were married right here in Bay City - we didn't know how nice it was to attend a wedding a mile from your house.  All of our friends should get married at the Doubletree from now on!

 Me and the Hubs, all gussied up.  It drove Josh crazy that I got multiple compliments on my "messy bun" hairdo!

The beautiful bride.  Her skirt and train were a beautiful lace overlay with a bunch of beadwork.  Gorgeous!

Some of the girls - we had such a fun night!  They had a photobooth there, so we have some awesome pictures from that as well!

Unfortunately I had to go into work to cover a quick meeting at 6:30 this morning, so Josh and I figured we would get an early start headed down to my parents for the day.  We are going to stop at Oakland University so I can pick up my race bib for the Brooksie Way half marathon on Sunday.  Then, its an afternoon of college football and family, followed by Tigers baseball at my brother and sister's house in Rochester (within a few miles of the race).

I'll be back with a race update tomorrow, but here are my football picks for the week:

10 pts: Georgia Tech over North Carolina

9 pts: South Carolina over Auburn

8 pts: Notre Dame over Purdue

7 pts: Wisconsin over Nebraska

6 pts: Alabama over Florida

5 pts: Navy over Air Force

4 pts: Virginia Tech over Clemson

3 pts: Baylor over Kansas State

2 pts: Michigan State over Ohio State

1 pt: Texas A&M over Arkansas

UPDATE:  Ugly, ugly week - but for our whole group, so I don't feel that bad.  Lots of upsets - I had inklings for Clemson and Kansas State, just couldn't pull the trigger.  I dropped one spot to 5th, but I'm still only 4 points out of 2nd.  Josh is holding onto a 4 point lead in 1st. 

Going long

Today was 20-miler day.  (Most) everyone training for a marathon does one - a run of 20 miles or more.  When I trained for the Bayshore Marathon, I actually ran a 20 miler and a 22 miler - no room for that this time around due to injuries.  So after running 19 last week, I pushed this run to 21 miles - making it the 3rd farthest I have ever run.

Yes, I know I look like a huge dork.  But at least I'm a dork that just finished running 20+ miles.

Nothing exciting to mention, except the mountainous blister on the inside of my right big toe that I am nursing...  other than that, I felt pretty darn good!  I did make a few untimed stops along the way, but my average pace was 9:32 min/mile - definitely canNOT complain about that!  I tried to keep my pace 9:30-9:40ish and it felt pretty good.  I still managed a negative split.

In SkinnyRunner style, I snapped a few pictures along the way.  I ran out the the State Park, then down along the Riverwalk before heading home.  It was a beautiful morning for a run - I would definitely take this on race day!

 I really do like the rail trail system we have around here - its really pretty, and there are a lot of shaded areas for when its hot.

Here is a lookout point out at the State Park.  I run along the Saginaw Bay a little ways, and this is a small branch off of that.  I love early morning runs and how serene everything looks.

Here is the view of downtown Bay City from one of the bridges I run over to cross the river.  The Riverwalk (on the west side) is usually pretty active and is part of the overall Rail Trail system (it is all connected).

And here is the part that SUCKS - the ice bath.  I am such a baby about getting in, but I really do think it helps with recovery!

I also reached a new weekly mileage high for this training cycle:  41.81 miles running, 6.45 biking.  Here is how it looked:

S 9/18: 6.45 bike, 35:51, 10.8 mph
M 9/19:  P90X Back & Biceps, 35:00 min
Tu 9/20: 5.19 easy, 48:05, 9:16 pace
W 9/21: 10.52 pace, 1:36:01, 9:08 pace (last 5 miles all under 9:00 pace)
Th 9/22: 5.02 easy, 46:18, 9:13 pace
F 9/23: Rest
S 9/24: 21.08 long, 3:20:54, 9:32 pace

And, its football Saturday!  Here are my picks for the week:

10 pts: Oregon over Arizona

9 pts: Ohio St over Colorado

8 pts: Alabama over Arkansas

7 pts: LSU over West Virginia

6 pts: Notre Dame over Pitt

5 pts: Michigan over San Diego St

4 pts: Georgia Tech over North Carolina

3 pts: Florida State over Clemson

2 pts: Texas A&M over Oklahoma St

1 pt: Arizona State over USC

UPDATE: I had 50 points for the week, which was middle-of-the pack for my group.  I did manage to sneak back into 4th place, and Josh is still holding on at the top by a of couple points.

Let's Go Blue!  You'll find me on the couch the rest of the day, watching some college football.

You might see me on What Not to Wear.

But only because I choose function over fashion when it comes to running.  We already know that my new shoes don't match my wardrobe.  But why did I pick bright pink compression socks?  Sure, they look AWESOME, but I own one single bright pink shirt.  And these bright yellow water bottles really compliment this color scheme I had going on:

And check out that MP3 player from 2004.  Still going strong!

Not pictured: my $5 flea market sunglasses, my Garmin, and for some reason, my wedding rings.  I'm still married, I swear.  Oh yeah, and to all those who I passed on the trail this morning:  sorry, I forgot to put on deodorant.  Oops.

All that aside, what a beautiful morning for a run.  Temperatures in the 50s and sunny - a runner's dream (OK, I would also go for 60 and cloudy).  The air had a wonderful bite to it, and the cooler temps drastically improve my performance.  It was by far my best run of the year, and the longest at 19 miles.  I ran a negative split to boot: 1:33:52 / 1:30:51.  The only thing I would have changed: I do wish I had worn shorts instead of capris, but that is it.  This was a great cap to the running week, and now I fully feel like I am back on track for the marathon a month from now..  Here was the week, 38.74 miles total:

M 9/12: P90X - first half of Chest and Back, Ab Ripper X
Tu 9/13: 5.06 easy, 47:12, 9:20 pace
W 9/14: 9.48 easy, 1:28:21, 9:19 pace
Th 9/15: 5.15 pace, 47:30, 9:13 pace
F 9/16: Rest
S 9/17: 19.05 long, 3:05:22, 9:44 pace

And I can't end this post without sharing my College Football picks for the week:

10 pts: South Carolina over Navy
9 pts: Nebraska over Washington
8 pts: Stanford over Arizona
7 pts: Iowa over Pittsburgh
6 pts: BYU over Utah
5 pts: Oklahoma over Florida State
4 pts: Notre Dame over Michigan State
3 pts: Ohio State over Miami
2 pts: Texas over UCLA
1 pt: Clemson over Auburn

UPDATE: I had 46 points for the week, which isn't great but not bad either.  I dropped 1 spot to 5th overall - but Josh tied for second best week and remains in first.

Numero Uno

Wahoooo!!!!  I won something!  Well.... sort of.

I mentioned here that I participate in two College Football "Pick 'em" style games during the season.  I post my ESPN picks here every week, for shits and giggles, and I don't mention the Michigan Alumni pick 'em that much.  Over 1,000 people play in that one, and really, having to pick over 20 games each week and a blow out leaves me a lot of room for error.  Not last week...

My first ever PERFECT WEEK!!

Click to enlarge 

Wahoooo!  Since 7 other people also had perfect weeks, they selected the winner of the $50 gift card via a random drawing, and I'm positive it was rigged because I didn't win.  Oh well, these bragging rights will last a while :)

Under the lights

I am missing the big game tonight.  I'll be in Traverse City for a bachelorette party, which, by-the-way I am very excited to attend.  BUT, I am also bummed that I will miss the first night game EVER in the Big House under the brand new lights, even if I was going to watch it from my living room.  (Josh and I talked abut getting tickets on and off all summer, but they were all ridiculously priced and we never pulled the trigger on them.)  I'll have to do my best to stalk the game on my phone and try to find a replay later this week - its against Notre Dame, and you can usually find replays of the decent games on Big 10 Network.

In the meantime, here are my week 2 picks.  I'll be back tomorrow to update the winners.

10 pts: Wisconsin over Oregon state

9 pts: Alabama over Penn State

8 pts: North Carolina over Rutgers

7 pts: Iowa over Iowa State

6 pts: Texas over BYU

5 pts: USC over Utah

4 pts: Tennessee over Cincinnati

3 pts: Michigan over Notre Dame

2 pts: Georgia over South Carolina

1 pt: Auburn over Mississippi State

UPDATE: Not a bad week! I missed College Game Day so I wasn't changing any picks at the last minute like I usually do.  I earned 46 points, which was second highest for the week and moved me into 4th place. (Also not bad considering I was a little hungover from the beer and wine tasting on Friday night.)  Josh on the other hand had a 47 and moved into first....  It's going to be quite the battle this year.

Also, I need to get my long run in tomorrow sometime, since I am headed up north early today.  So, I will update my running stats with a weekend re-cap tomorrow.

Are you ready for some football?

 Its that time of year again.  Sharpened pencils and pointy crayons, fall air and sweatshirt weather, leaves changing colors, cider mills and pumpkin doughnuts, more D-list celebrities making a name for themselves on Dancing with the Stars*, playoff baseball, and college football.

I freaking LOVE college football.  Some of my favorite memories during college were tailgating at 702 S. Division with roommates, neighbors, friends and family.  I will be the first to admit that I forget players names, don't know enough stats, and have trouble following all of the teams and coaches (there are just so many!), but I do alright.  At least, I know enough to call-out Josh when he starts making shit up.

 Me with 5/6 of my 702 roommates before the Penn State game in 2007.  The other 1/6 was too busy living it up in Hawaii - the nerve!

There is nothing like the Big House, formally known as Michigan Stadium.  I went to my first game just days before starting classes my freshman year, and I was instantly hooked.  I only missed one game throughout college, and that was for my cousin's wedding (even when tickets to the Ohio State game were going for $400 my senior year, I held on tight!).  It is awesome to be a part of a crowd of 110,000+ cheering your team to victory - the scoreboard reminded us each week that we were "part of the largest crowd watching football anywhere in America today".  Even though we don't go to games very often anymore, Josh and I spend most Saturdays watching the Michigan game and the other big games of the week on our ridiculously-large-came-from-the-bachelor-pad-high-def-TV.  (I hate to admit it.... but it is a damn good picture.)

 Inside the Big House.  Trust me, its a BIG house.  And yes, I somehow managed to get us front row seats in the alumni section for this game.  I am awesome like that (sometimes).

I play in a College Pick 'Em league on ESPN, and I don't remember exactly how high I've finished, but I'm in the top third every year anyways.  Each week ESPN picks 10 games, and you pick the winners and rank each pick in order of confidence from 1-10.  If you get this pick right (straight up, not against the spread), you get the number of points of your confidence ranking.  If you get the pick wrong, zero points.  I also participate in a Michigan alumni pool where you pick the winners of games involving the Top 25 teams each week, but I never expect to have a chance at actually winning that one since over 1,000 people play it.

I figured I would go ahead and post my picks here each week (after they are "locked" so Josh can't copy me), and then update with the results for the week.  Hey, my life just isn't that exciting and I spend a couple hours on Friday evening / Saturday morning doing my research to put this together, so I might as well share it.

Without further ado, my Week 1 picks:

10 pts: USC over Minnesota

9 pts: South Carolina over East Carolina

8 pts: Auburn over Utah State

7 pts: Michigan over Western Michigan

6 pts: Hawaii over Colorado

5 pts: Boston College over Northwestern

4 pts: Oregon over LSU

3 pts: UCLA over Houston

2 pts: BYU over Ole Miss

1 pt: Boise State over Georgia

UPDATE: I got 43 points, good enough for 6th place (out of 13), so middle of the pack.  But dammit... Josh is in second.... 

*Seriously, Elisabetta Canalis's credentials were described on one website as George Clooney's ex-girlfriend.  Umm, so that's whats makes her famous?  The truth is, I have idea who this chick is or what she has done except for dating GC.