Lee was there

Did I mention that?

More photos

fotos are fighting me.
this only took 4 tries. Blogging is not coming easily tonight.

JJ's pal from seminary, Val, was ordained this week. I liked him immediately as he walked off the plane wearing a Packers shirt. He gave the sermon for JJ, and JJ will/did return the favor for him.

Gina rehearsed for her solo in the choir and performed admirably. With such a great back up band, how couldn't she?

We also held a white elephant xmas party (since Aunt Louise left up the tree it seemed the thing to do) Great gifts ! pencils ! wow! microwave egg cookers got Wendy all excited. Stuffed fish for the new fisher of men. (or whatever that saying is) Aussie gear... oy oy oy. a wig. Ichiro crap. Sam's Town candy and stuff. clocks that don't work. binoculars, in case you have a back row seat at Mass (and you know who you are) And a really cool PALOOZER SNOW GLOBE.

And now i see i can only add so many fotos per posting so let's finish up here and i'll add the rest from the party.

Vegas, Baby !!!!!!!!!!!

We are home from Vegas where we properly celebrated the ordination of cousin JJ. The 1st Mass, 1st Mass pizza, White Elephant Christmas in May, the 2nd Mass, 2nd Mass breakfast, Ordination dinner party, buffets, Fresh Harvest meals..... swimming pool activities, a couple cocktails, non-stop laser shows, a bit of gambling (Winners: Slots, of course, Aunt Louise, and Ljoiusee) and numerous eventful trips to the airport.


A reunion of the Schwall / Croghan families took place during the ordination festivities. What a fun time ! and a fun group. Folks from Canada, Australia, Washington, California, Florida, Michigan (the home base is Ypsi) New York, Utah, Wyoming, Nevada.

In Memory of ...

Verle, thanks for the breakfasts, the jokes, the insights, the sound of the trumpet in the Maui air, the puns, the "hi sweetie's".

The guy was funny, funny as a rubber crutch..

Training

Today was an indoor spin, doing some intervals, meaning sweat-city. Then later we swam 1800 yds. Mostly drills, which I'm gonna have to tell Coach Lesley to save for those that might actually benefit. Although it is nice to swim with fins. So much easier. I see why fish like it. Too bad it's not allowed in the races. oh well.

Tomorrow we get to go to the M's game. Thankfully it is an afternoon game so we won't freeze as badly as if it were a night game.

that's it.

Hall of Famer !

Jeez, the "hanging out with the superstars" scene is just non-stop for us. We are too cool.

Last night we had dinner with our buddies from California (really from here) , Traci, Denise and Annalise (the drummer extraordinaire) Anyway, on Saturday night Denise was inducted into the Washington State Soccer Hall of Fame. For lifetime achievements. I thought those awards went to old people but... you know, she did out-head Michelle Akers. I think that's soccer trash talk meaning Akers just has a lot of big hair and Denise has brains. Denise was the captain of the 1st USA women's World Cup team. Before Mia and the gang. The team that went to Italy for games but no one ever heard anything about it because, well, because it's soccer. And it happened before the internet was invented (by Al Gore).

The other photo is A.B.B. and me, swapping iPod earbuds. Yes, my 14 yr. old Godchild is now taller than me. Who cares? she's nice enough to not care (or say anything) that I don't know Coldplay from Black Eyed Peas, or hip hop from rap.

I won't bore you with details of the bike ride on Saturday, as most of you got it in an email. But yesterday I ran 4 miles and today 3. WOW ! back to back days of running !!

Congratulations, Denise Bender !

G L O R I A !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's MS. Steinem, to you. We had "dinner & a conversation" with Gloria Steinem last night. She was appearing at Central Washington Univ., and as a fund raiser for one of the departments, she mingled and then sat down to dinner with 30 of us, before the speech. She is 72, and smart and funny and nice and caring, and gives even the lone blowhard a tactful answer. She zinged him a bit later. :)

Unlike our crashing of the Al Franken party, we actually paid for this gig. I imagine Gina will be getting even more solicitations from her alma mater. If so it will be worth it. Gina said the evening was one of the highlights of her life.

In fact, let's hear from our guest Blogger Gina now:

Gloria talked about a lot of stuff. One item was the fact that the term feminism is sometimes used as a derogatory term. She said the definition of feminism is the pursuit of equality. Therefore if you deny feminism then in effect you are ok with inequality.

Thank you, Gina. Well said. And so succinct.

I'm sorry I forgot to ask Gloria what's the furthest she's ridden a bike. There was much discussion of her famous line "a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle". Yes, I did have the T-shirt in college. Gloria did fess up at dinner that actually she heard that line from some Australian woman. Then later a 20-something year-old woman got up and said her mother told her that a fish might Want a bicycle, but the fish certainly did not Need a bicycle. That got a good laugh from the crowd.

Jeez, then some gal got up to ask "what is NOW?". That got a groan from the crowd. I felt I should speak to the admissions director about who's getting into Central these days. We did meet the Vice Prez. of the college. The prez had a board mtg, as this gig had been re-scheduled from the previous week. (Gloria had back spasms) Of course, we dropped the tidbit of dad being a college president.


And we rode 30 miles today.
And we'll ride 30 more tomorrow.

Bike Butt

We have a new all time high, for mileage on the bike.... 50. Actually, we rode our age, 51. Sunday we tooled around the city for 20 then rode the trail over to Redmond. And just for fun jogged for 20 minutes. For a while on the trail we were behind a couple, who were doing a nice easy 16 mph. But Gina wanted a bit more, so took the lead. I waited a while, biding my time. Then I passed the 2 and took the lead. And immediately saw the error of my ways. Too much work to be the leader. Now 16mph wasn't so easy. I guess that old drafting theory is true. But we maintained and the others dropped off after a while.

The biggest obstacle on the trail is the little guys who kind of zig zag along. And you can't really expect a 6 yr. old to understand "On your right".

Didn't have our camera or we could have taken photos of Val, who was at the velodrome in Redmond learning how to ride the track cycles. Looked cool. I wouldn't do it, of course, but looked cool.

Those 51 miles took just under 4 hours. ugggh. We had parked our car in Redmond the day before so we put the bikes on the rack and headed home. Realizing that we had put all water bottles in the trunk. Unaccessable after the rack is on. Talk about a dehydrated drive home.

Today was more swimming. I'm just waiting to see if the old sudafed will work today or not. We'll know when the breding tru da node stops.

All Righty - O

Saw the doc today and he says "Start running". Yahoo, Mt. Dew !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With that glorious news we went off to look at yet some more (or is it the same?) tile, and, oh yes, lighting fixtures. How special it was. And as it goes, each time we leave a tile store we said "All Righty- O, we've got that part of the remodel figured out" .

Mariners finally won a game. Took extra innings but hey a win's a win.

The bad news of the day is JC Penney is no longer carrying our sports bra. OMIGOD. What are we going to do? And by 'we' I mean 'me', as I am the underwear shopper in the family. But I don't think we've ever worn a different brand. These were good, cheap and comfortable. I know there will not be a similar one on the market. Oh, but hey, maybe eBay.

And on that note............

Why is it ???

That which ever direction you are riding a bike in, the wind is ALWAYS AGAINST YOU ???

We have a new mileage high -- 40 -- on Saturday we rode on the Burke-Gilman Trail, 20 miles out and 20 back. With that darn wind in our face both ways. sheesh.

Next weekend we are going with our Always Running group on a 50 mile bike ride (Always Riding, is their sub-motto). Somewhere on the penninsula I'm guessing, as it involves a ferry ride.

All this mileage has me looking into a new seat. Just "numb" luck that the seat that came with the bike is just not the right one. If you get my drift.

The foot is feeling fine !!!!!!! I think the drugs have worked. see photo of my drugs of choice.

I ran (and I don't mean our new nukular nemisis) on Friday.

1.5 miles and was I happy. I believe my seratonin levels have been quite low for the last few weeks. I just don't get that 'runner's high' while biking. Could it be the seat? Blogging doesn't seem to do it, either, as you'll note the lack of postings this past month

Anyway, I see the rundoctor.com again on Tues. and anticipate him saying "go for it". Too bad if he doesn't cuz it is time to run.

We finally have some great weather. Warm and sunny. Unlike Friday night at the Mariner game. FREEZING !!! I did some yard work today (mowed the lawn w/ the weed eater cuz the mower had no gas, hmm) I've attached a photo from the "garden".

Marathon ?

What stinkin marathon??? Well, we did watch a marathon of Law & Order:SVU this weekend.

And we did hop on the indoor bikes to watch the Boston Marathon. Had a nice 1:45:00 workout, with intervals, while we watched the elite runners (in perfect running weather) During commercials we tuned the radio in to the M's game, who happened to lose via a walkoff homer to those Red Sox. not the best ending to the bike ride. oh well.

The Clear (and the ibuprofen, and all the icing) seem to be doing the trick. Can't find that painful spot. Although by poking and prodding looking for it, my foot gets sore. I see the rundoctor.com again next week, but I just might throw in a little jog before that. Today I was officially bored with all this "cross training" . Couldn't even do it.

Enuf talkin about runnin.............. time to start walking the talk.

Good luck to my Drum Line buddy, heading off to Nationals in Dayton, this week. Even more good luck to mom, Traci, who goes as an official chaperone. Those mini bars could not be stocked suffiently to get me to do that.

Is a Puzzlement

Any opportunity to drop a line from a favorite song and movie....

So, just to post more photos, here I am with the famous drummer,Annalise. I've wearing my new bday Drumline t-shirt and iPod . And given the title of this post, other than the Cold Play songs Annalise loaded for me, you can imagine my play list.

After dragging the cool and rainy weather to southern California, we then took it to Wapato. Where we visited the world famous puzzle solver, Slots. We couldn't get the Mariners to win a game but we got most of the puzzle put together before leaving. I'm certain we left only the easy pieces for Marilyn. You notice the height of the table. Now imagine my aching back.

We had a great time, but had to come back to Seattle for some nice weather.

Which it was today, so we took off for a bike ride. From Green Lake to Mercer Island, around the island and back. 37 miles ! a new mileage high. the worst is carrying the bikes back up the stairs when exhausted.

Had an appt. with the RunningDoctor.com yesterday. He thinks my problem, my FOOT problem, is tendonitis of the blah blah blah tendon at the insertion point of the blah blah blah bone. Has prescribed ICE ICE ICE and more ICE. and some big time Ibuprofen. And a topical anti-inflammatory that will be sent to me from some hush hush pharmacy. I'm sure it's "The Clear", made famous by Balco Lab clients Marion Jones and Barry Bonds. Hey, if I can run a 9 sec. 100 meters and hit homers, I'm all for it. If it helps me jog around the lake, I'm all for it.

Now, off to ice da foot.

Schmoozing with the stars

Gina and I took an impromptu trip to Santa Barbara over the Final Four weekend. aka, my birthday weekend. We had booked a bike tour for Fri. and Mon. with an outfit out of Santa Ynez. The wine area, made famous by the movie "Sideways". We just wanted a good 25 mile ride, a hard workout, no stopping at wineries. We'd have wine for dinner. And it was a great ride ! 35 miles ! our personal tour guide, Robert, led the way. Unless Gina was leading on a breakaway, or me, up a hill. Our Monday ride got rained out. And we were not wimps, it was POURING !!!

We saw Bo Derek riding horses. Well, she lives in the area, and I'm sure it was her. At 500 yds. everyone is a celebrity. Robert told us Bernie Taupin lives in the area, and Doc Severinson. OK, so maybe it's the "B" list of stars, but... hey top this.... Dr. Laura Schlesinger has a condo next door to the hotel.

We stayed at the Fess Parker Doubletree in SB. Kept our eyes peeled for Fess, but never saw him. darn. Loved his show.

However, that night at the hotel, Al Franken, one of my mom's favorites (just kidding), was giving a show for a local charity. For $250 you could go to the "meet & greet", or $50 for the show. When we got back from dinner, we moseyed down to the ballroom, bought a glass of wine, and well, you've heard of the Wedding Crashers, we became the "meet & greet crashers". I'm sure we fit right in, esp. me carrying my plastic drug store bag with water bottles and tampons. While Gina raided the cheese table, I channeled the spirit of Dick Rinehart and started talking to strangers. When G turned around I was chatting with the mayor of SB. We had a nice long talk. Her husband (yes, the mayor is a woman) was most interested in any "Bill" stories Gina had. and she has one that he loved. Then we mingled a bit. Got our photos taken with Al Franken. My, he's a short guy. Not on my camera, darn it, and I'm not sure I want to track down the photographer, might get charged $250 each. Then we split, our work being done.

Slainte !

So, we're at Murphy's (local pub). Chandler Bing's old girlfriend, the one with the laugh, comes in and parks next to us at the bar. OK, OK, so it's not HER, but this gal has the LAUGH. She asks me about the pin given out at the door, Slainte. "What's that mean?" I said, something like "cheers". She says "oh, like Salute !" I said sure, thinking yes, Gaelic is so similar to the Romance languages. But, hey, it's St.Patty's day, and everyone is your best buddy. She and her gang were nice. She laughed at ALL MY JOKES so I really liked her.

The blind singer of Irish tunes was there, again. Dan Maher, to give full credit. He's good, and gets the crowd involved. We had a couple Guinness's. Here we are at home with our new necklaces. Gina spotted one staff guy with it, and really liked it. Kind of neon-ish. Usually, they are very stingy about giving away the good stuff. He was about to give us a cheap Mardi Gras type strand, but I said I really (O'Riley ?) liked his other one. And he went and got us each one. Love that guy.

My bracket sheet is a mess of red errors. Of course I picked MSU. Sorry, Uncle Jerry.
And I'm still kicking myself for picking Syracuse. I NEVER pick them. and never will again.
Now I must go watch the rest of the games. and hope.

Erin go braugh !

Ex ZAG ly !

No worries in today's game. That's how the Zags win games. scarily, at the end. But they've got Adam Morrison, and if anyone can carry a team thru, it's him (he ? ) We'll have to rename the coach, Mark "Phew".

Now we await the UW game. Delayed due to a bomb sniffing dog reacting to a hot dog cart. say what? Was the dog hungry? Was it a case of the Ball Park frank going bad? No bomb, but someone was saved from botulism, or at least serious indigestion.

In today's yoga class as the instructor (Jubilee !!) was leading the way to the "crow" position (don't ask) she asks, "everyone got it?" then looks at me, starts to correct my positioning, thinks better of it and says "um, yeah, that's ok, Ann". Like, she's not about to take an hour helping me on this one.

Lance, I'm not

Well, today we took the bikes out for a ride. No big deal. Except we have these new pedals, and the funky bike shoes that clip into those pedals. I was a little worried, having never ridden with them, except for when the bike is set up on the trainer inside. For good reason I was worried. We went down to the grocery store parking lot to practice a bit. I was fine, until I tried to brake, then unclip. Um, no... that's not how to do it. I went over like Arte Johnson on Laugh In. Slow motion. But no worries. Except that the chain fell off and the brake got slightly messed up. After Gina finished rolling her eyes (how did that happen?) she fixed the bike and we were off for an 18 mile ride out and back on the Burke Gilman trail.

Unclip, then brake. Unclip, then brake. That's my new mantra, to try out at yoga class tomorrow.

Oh, and after the ride, I washed the blood off my knee then went to the pool for some lap swimming. And, of course, now my node is all sniffly and congested.

Can't I just run?

Bottom o the Blog

We had strong opionions on this woman's choice of green garb. What do you think?

Top of the Blog, to ya

St Patty's Day Dash Photo Phun

Gwen was 2nd overall women, we call her Fast Lady with a Fast Dog, as she usually trains around Green Lake with her dog.

Val was 3rd in our age group and Gina was 5th. And we are thinking everyone moves up a slot since some woman named Ted was listed first. hmm. Kathy cruised into the beer garden in a highly respectable time. But she didn't beat me ! And as you can see from the photos, time does not matter.. It's all about the wearin of the green.

I skipped my favorite race of the year, cuz I'm trying to respect the healing process. But it didn't stop me from having fun in the beer garden. Let's see if I can add the pictures to this blog.

Ohm migod

Well, it's come to this. Today I took a yoga class. Yes, you heard me.. a roll out the mat, breathe, say ohm, breathe, and stretch the bee-you know whose - us out of my hamstrings, yoga class.

But the teacher's name is "Jubilee" . How bad can it be?

Not bad, and I will go back. "They", everyone, the magazines, coaches... all say take yoga. It really helps, especially if you are a runner. And since I'm on a leave of absence from running, I might as well give it a shot. I do have some flexibility issues. And I do believe it will improve my overall strength.

Gina and I did a heart rate threshold test on the bikes yesterday. Basically you ride at a HR you think you can sustain for 20 minutes, rest 5, then do it again. It should give the coach and us some info for bike training, and how to pace our ride and run during the half ironman. I'm sure we'll re-test in a month, as we get fitter. And realize how hard we can ride. Let me know if you want me to post all the #'s.

zzz back to the BLAH-g

CRASH ing the party

Did anyone see this one? not me. But I'm so busy reading every running blog, I don't have time for movies.

I give the Oscar to Clooney for best acceptance speech. Sorry, Reese, I know you're a real woman, but to me, it just doesn't MATTER.

Hey, the Zags in another OT thriller ! which was what we were really watching and flipping to the Oscars. Because, like Capote said, it's NCAA basketball that MATTERS. Yes, JC, I did watch your beluv-ed T(w)erps win today. Kind of a close one, eh?

And for anyone interested in my running issues, I think I have given up the ghost on the Boston marathon for this year. This, expletive deleted, foot just isn't healing up well enough to put in the miles before April. So, maybe I'll take some time off the running, catch up on my swimming and put in some more butt time on the bike. At least there will be lots of bball to watch while I ride.

Now, upon accepting the BLOSCAR for best adaptation and spewing of B.S. --- I'd like to thank..

my agent, wait, I don't have an agent.
Leslie, my coach
my friends, you know who you are
Dicky V, "get a TO, baby"
Tami, my accupuncturist
Leslie, my rolfer
Bill, my PT
Chet, my shoe guy and Ty, and Tom, and John, and Sean (I gotta lot of shoe guys)
Janice at Super Cuts
Cornie, our house sitter
My neighbors, for getting rid of their dog
Patrick at the Stick dot Com
ABB, my inspiration
Gina, my inspiration's god mother
Mia, Julie, Joy, Brandi, and Abbie (not Amy)
My sisters, too numerous to mention well, ok, Joan, Mary, Patty, Catherine, Maureen, the music has started
My brother, but he's not paying attention to this drivel
Aunt Louise
My mom, who is truly beginning to understand that I wasted those college years
My dad, who would have been a beautiful blogger
Cousin John, for getting me started on this path of blog-ism
The Paloozers !
Traci, whew, remembered my friend's name
Did I say Gina ? who wishes I wouldn't mention her name on this blog, much less twice
Sandra Schmerler, the curler

and remember,
I'M MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now What ?

The post Olympic blues have set in. We watched the closing ceremonies this morning. OK, truth be told, the opening and closing ceremonies are not my favorite. Too much symbolism, that even the announcers sound iffy about as they read their notes. But at least it gave us something to watch as we pedalled the bikes for an hour.

How great was it that an Italian won the cross country ski marathon? and we got to hear that anthem again? and again? I love the 2nd part where they start singing "meatball, spaghetti, fettucine, frommaggio, pizza pizza pizza" Well, that's what I sang.

And any show that has the "Rotari, wh-oh oh oh" song is ok with me.

But, HEY !! how about our guy Apolo Anton Ohno ?? Trust the Seattle-ite to at least try during his event. (and that's my last Bode slam, for you WWF fans).
He is totally cool. And I'm sending Gina down to his dad's salon for a hair cut this week.

Clara Hughes is our new favorite Canadian. Her interviews were so great. A marked contrast listening to her and oh, say, any 16 year old ice skater or snowboarder...."awesome, like" Of course, she's an ancient and mature 32 years old.

I got word back from Brian Williams (the canadian one) that it was a kid named Jonathon Han, who sang that New Foundland anthem, on Hockey Day in Canada. Which begs the question... which day ISN'T Hockey Day in Canada?

Say, did I mention our long run on Saturday? 13 miles. It went ok, a bit tough at the end, and the foot was quite sore afterwards. So much so that I sent word to the coach that Boston is off the schedule. But this morning it was fine. So I sent word to the coach that Boston is back on the schedule. Who knows??? My emotions have spent more time in motion than my body. Way UP then way down.

Just wanted to remind you all that this a running blog.

Winter Wonder Land

Now I really feel like I'm particpating in the Olympics. We were once again blanketed by snow. I'm pretty sure there was a centimeter of snow. (in my olympic canadianism I go metric)

Well, today I was moved to tears. The Canadian men won gold in curling, as I'm sure you've heard. At the post game ceremony some kid sang a very moving version of New Foundland's anthem. Of course, not having heard it before, it's probably just a a very moving sort of song but...

And it begs the question.... do all the provinces have their own anthem? I guess there's "Alberta Bound". I'm not sure if there is a Washington state anthem. I don't think you can count "The Bluest Skies you Ever Saw Are in Seattle". What about other states? "California Dreamin", oh, but I'm sure some of you could come up with a better song for California.

My Czech heritage was showing as I screamed for Ms. Neumannova to win the 30K cross country ski event. Her name also is easier to say than Ms. Tchepalova or Ms. Kowalczyk.. And her name reminds me of a favorite Seinfeld line, "Newman !"

Who'd a thunk ?

Breaking news.... Just in case you get all your Olympic info from NBC, there is (was) (where do you live?) a Japanese woman in the ice skating competition. Oh, and by the way, she (Arakawa) WON GOLD !

Actually, the headline should be " Uh, Oh, Canada". Hey, the guys aren't in the hockey medal hunt, but their curling team, from New Foundland, where schools are closed to watch the game, throw the rocks for gold tomorrow. Good luck to them. I'm guessing Wayne and Janet have placed their bets already. sorry, low blow.

And of course, we're rooting for the USA guys who are playing for the bronze broom.

Really, we anxiously await Apolo Ohno's races.

But we are already feeling the slowdown of games.. next week will be tough. We'll just have to soldier on. Or some such saying.

Rush to judgement

OK, I've re-thought one of my earlier Olympic lessons. Now I'm thinking old Chad Hedrick is a bit of a jerk. Shani had good reasons for not skating in the team pursuit, and Chad just can't get over it. Could it be it's because he's from that red state Texas? Sorry, Shani. Move on, Chad.

The Olympic gold medal in the sport of Home Show wandering goes to.............. it's a tie. Co-winners, Ann and Gina !!! Do you know how many gas insert/fireplace booths there can be? Almost as many as the hot tub displays.. which are huge and make the overall square footage of the show almost marathon-ish. But it was a useful trip. I'm sure we learned information that we'll use sometime during the next (and last ?) remodel here at Green Lake.

Tomorrow's sport is to see how fast we can recycle all the brochures that we were handed.

FYI, we are already planning on attending the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, BC. I must start looking for a condo to rent.

Answer to the Skater Uniform Question

An astute Blog reader has asked about those little patches on the inner thigh of the speed skaters. She's is an astute Olympics watcher. OK, she's also an astute elementary school principal, and AKA, my sister Joan.

For the answer please read the following information (I lifted it from some ISU website) (Internat'l Skating Union, duh...)


Introduction
All participants in Short Track Speed Skating know and understand that the sport
involves risks and danger of injuries, including cuts and puncture wounds, particularly
those resulting from a collision or fall. ISU Members must instruct all participants to
respect safety measures required to minimize such risks and dangers. In particular,
Members and participants must observe all ISU initiated safety measures, including those
stated in Rules 280 and 295 and in this and other Communications.
The ISU has commissioned a study of fabric standards for competition clothing/uniforms
for Short Track Speed Skating including a medical assessment. The study identified the
special areas of risk as those shaded in the drawing below. These include the neck, groin,
axillar region, gluteal region, lower arms, hands, back and front of the knees. At a
minimum, all of the areas specified in the figure below are to be protected by the cutresistant
fabric specified in this Communication
Areas of risk
2
In order to determine the suitability of competition clothing/uniforms materials for Short
Track Speed Skating, tests were carried out to simulate the effect of extreme falls and
determine the quality of materials. Through statistical and error analyses, the results from
these tests have been correlated with test results using the same materials under
international standard EN388 (this widely recognized standard will be familiar to clothing
manufacturers). Using the test data, an equation has been determined which makes it
possible to test a material according to standard EN388, and then calculate its suitability
for Short Track Speed Skating.

Cut Resistant Clothing
No limitations will be imposed on the manufacture of protective competition
clothing/uniforms other than, at a minimum, the material must comply with Standard
EN388. A close study of the implementation process, the world wide availability of cut
resistant clothing/uniforms and practical experiences has resulted in a reconsideration of
the requirements. The cut resistant material used in protective clothing according to this
ISU Communication must meet as a minimum requirement the Level 2 Standard
according to EN388 in a cut resistance test (resistance to cutting by sharp objects). Cut
resistant protection may be either integrated in the actual competition uniforms, or be
worn as special underwear.
To ensure consistency in the testing of the fabrics used, the manufacturers of cut resistant
clothing/uniforms are strongly recommended to have samples of their fabric tested at
SATRA Quality Assurance, Ltd., SATRA House, Rockingham Road, Kettering,
Northamptonshire NN16 9JH, Great Britain, fax no +44/1536 410 626.
The report commissioned by the ISU on the cut resistant study is available free of charge
for ISU Members from the ISU Secretariat. For manufacturers and other third parties, the
report is available at cost of mailing. Details of the Standard EN388 are available through
every national standardization institute or can be ordered from SATRA Quality
Assurance Ltd.

Application and Control
According to Rule 295, paragraph 2, of the Special Regulations for Short Track Speed
Skating, each Skater is solely responsible that his/her personal equipment meets the
highest safety criteria in order to obtain the utmost safety for the Skaters. ISU Members
are herewith requested to ensure that all Skaters entering international Short Track Speed
Skating competitions shall respect the above-mentioned Rule and the requirement of this
Communication for their competition clothing/uniforms as soon as possible, but at the
latest as of July 25, 2004.
ISU Members are requested to ensure that their competition clothing/uniform
manufacturers label their products stating that the cut resistant fabrics used meet the
criteria of Level 2 Standard according to EN388, and/or provide documents that confirm
the requirements of the cut resistant fabric. Such document must be in English, duly dated
and signed by the manufacturer and it must be provided upon request before the
competition clothing/uniforms will be considered acceptable.
3
The ISU may carry out random controls on the use of the required cut resistant
competition clothing/uniforms. Skaters must be able to present proper documentation
about the uniforms and the materials used. Non-compliance with the requirement at ISU
Events after July 25, 2004 will result in an immediate exclusion of the skater(s) from the
respective ISU Event or Olympic Winter Games.

Safety Measures
Obviously, the safety program respecting cut-resistant uniform material, together with all
the other safety measures specified in the ISU Rules, cannot absolutely assure full
protection for all competitors under all conditions. Experience demonstrates that stumbles
and falls occur in this high-speed ice sport. All ISU Members and their clubs, coaches and
officials who conduct training programs are admonished to teach safe skating techniques
during training and to insist upon compliance by their competitors with ISU rules during
competitions.
Milan, Ottavio Cinquanta, President
June 28, 2004
Lausanne, Fredi Schmid, General Secretary

WOW, talk about BLAHHH-G
But now you know, these folks aren't just strapping on skates and speeding circles around the rink. There is big technology involved. There was an article about a Canadian skater and the cuts he suffered from some blade.. But it brought flashbacks of my weed whacker accident and I had to stop reading. If I could find the photos, I'd share , but....

Now, if one of you loyal blog readers could inform us of just what the axillar region is, I'm sure it'd be appreciated.

Olympic Lessons

Well, I guess we've all learned a little lesson about Show boating, now haven't we? Thanks to Lindsey Jacobellis for that.

Or how about the old "don't count your chickens before they're hatched" . Thanks to US women's hockey for that.

Or how about "never underestimate your opponent". Thanks to Canada men's hockey for that.

Or how about "there's no I in team speedskating" oh wait, there is an I... Thanks to Shani Davis for that.

Or the famous "always double check your bus schedule so you won't be late for your Olympic competition". Thanks to Johnny Weir(d) for that.

OK, OK, enough of this.
We are waiting for the temps to rise above 30 F here before going out for our run. Might not go until next week.

Dude !

Forget that lame (or should I say gold lame ?) figger skating. Snow board Cross is the COOLEST. Gina just read an article that says "cool" is still in. Gnarly is not. What a fun looking race.

I see our guy Weir(d) crashed and burned out of the medals. Figgers.

Tonight we had a bike fitting. Some PT guy who knows all about bikes got us set up with correct seat / handle bar settings. And got the cleats on our new bike shoes set correctly. We are now officially bike geeks. Shorts (diapers) and all. We should be pedalling much more efficiently now.

Now I must get back to more SnowboardX.

Ligety split !!

Ted Ligety wins the Combined Downhill event! Bode boy is struggling, but I guess that doesn't mean he isn't meeting his "goals". Only he would know that.

And the Croatian sensation is now a brother - sister act. Cool.

Snow & Ice

We had a huge snowstorm last night. We were blanketed with the white stuff !

Now I really feel like I'm at the Winter Olympics !

I have time to blog because the men are figger-ing and I really only need to watch the Canadien, Emanuel "Can't Do", as Margaret has cleverly named him.

Our boy, Bode, has managed to dq by straddling the gates. Maybe if his coach put a beer at the bottom of the hill, he could manage to finish a run.

OK, hearing some really odd trumpet music from the tv land. Better go see who is falling, I mean skating, to that.

Torino or Turin ? ?

First, let me just say that this Olympic blog is dedicated to the memory of Schmerler, the Curler.

OK, two weeks of television bliss for sports freaks like myself. Esp. since we become virtual Canadiens for the duration because we get their tv station and they do lots of live stuff, unlike our NBC which likes to tape delay the "drama" for big night time audiences. And they have that neato maple leaf to dec out all their uniforms.

The winter Olympics are fun because it's all so beautiful. And it's sports none of us in our right minds (presuming we are) would ever do. Well, I know a lot of you snowboard but on the half pipe getting major air? or in a group race? no.

I know this is blasphemous to most of the world but I could do without the "figger" skating. Especially the pairs. and definitely skip the ice dancing. I will admit to their athletic ability, but sports with "costumes" not uniforms, sends me over the edge. And all the drama, sequins, flowers and teddy bears, and tears.... did I mention tears??? It is all so nicely summed up by good old Nancy Kerrigan's quote "Why me ??" cuz it's all about "me".

OK, that rant is over. But it does remind me that I saw an interview with my sister Joan's Favorite Portlander, Tanya Harding, the other day. If she's still boxing I'd guess it's in the heavy weight division. Still a nut job.

Now, I must get back to the tv. I hear there are some terrific crashes on the ski hill today. And the Canadien women lost their opening round of curling to the defending gold medalists, Sweden. I guess the ice is too straight. And they like their ice to be a bit more "swingy", and if anyone knows what that means, please chime in.

Political Blahhhg

Today was interesting. We went downtown to see Gina's rowing mate, Sally Clark, get sworn in as the newest City Council member. And if today's 15 minute meeting was any indicator, we wish her all the best. Can you say "zz zzz" ? The meeting portion was a sleeper, and this was with no agenda items.

But the swearing in part was great. The Conibear Rowing Club was well represented. And rowdier than the other groups of family and friends that came to support Sally. But that's to be expected of the jock crowd.

And the bonus was we got to meet "celebrity" council woman Jean Godden. Jean wrote a column for the Seattle P I forever. The local scene, name dropping, funny, good reading. I was actually sorry to see her run for office. I liked the column. That's her shooting off poppers or something. Maybe it's a light sabre. Sally is going to have to mind her p's & q's sitting next to her.

The rest of the day was spent sitting in bath tubs at various stores while Gina measured, of course. "How do you like that angle of lay back?" And standing on carpet samples. "ooh, that's comfy" "ooh, that's $9000 a square foot".

And so it begins.

Well...

We've had the Seahawk lights burning. But for some reason they only come on in the middle of the night. Maybe the game was played too early. Well, maybe not for you east coast folks.

Gina and I were all set to jump in the lake if we won. Unfortunately, we're dry. We are of the mind that "at least we were in the game". I've never been big on calling the losing team LOSERS. Good to know, too, that the winners were such great players. I mean, I don't think they had one single holding penalty all game. hmm.

But hey ! The nachos were good !

Nachos Blog

We've had our coffee, workout and showers. Now it's party time !

The Bus may be a Michigan kid, and a Notre Dame guy, but I've got no loyalty to him today.

Is that my beer calling? What time are the nachos planned for? Yahoo for Super Bowl, we get nachos !! The nacho anticipation level is as great as the game's.

The winds have died down. The lake is calm, the sun is out. It's a beautiful day in Seattle.
The only way it make it a better day is a win.

Go Seahawks !

12th Man !!!! 12th Man !!! 12th Man !!!

So sue me, you Texas A&M twerps. jeez, yet another reason to hate Texas.

Gina and I are planning our 12th man sign for the front of the house for game day.

So, yesterday I ran4 miles. YES !! i am really upping the mileage now. Saturday's long run is 6 or so. And of course, biking like Lance. Some day I'll upload all the daily exercise heart rates, run paces, mileages, biking miles, mph, cadence, etc etc.

And really bore-blog you. by the way, nice cartoon, Joan. :)