Summer League Week Three

We won!!!!!!

Wednesday night was our third game.  And just in case you missed the news, WE WON!!!!!!

Actually, we started out to a quickly lead at 2-0.  Then we pretty much traded points in the first half until it was 8-5.

It was the second half where they started their comeback.  They chipped away at our lead until it was 13-13.  The 13-13 point was incredibly long.  We’re talking major turn over after major turn over.  Finally, we got the point.

Games are to 15, win by two, cap at 17.  We kept trading points.  Fortunately, we were the ones to score first because the final score was 17-16.  Yes, we won!  Meanwhile, the lights stayed on late for us, which I really appreciated when the game was over.  Mind you, I was hoping we’d get the lights to go out every time we were ahead.

I played quite a few points in the first half, not as many in the second half.  There was one guy they always put in against me, and I was able to get the disc a few times and pass it on.  One turnover, he jumped on someone else, and I was poached pretty much the rest of the point.  I didn’t score, but I was helping move the disc down the field.

Unfortunately, I got my first turnover of the season.  It was a nice, easy throw, and I dropped it.  And they turned around and score off of that.  However, considered I’ve dropped one disc after three games, I’m pretty happy with that as well.

Yes, I was low after that first game, but I’m glad I stuck around because it’s been fun.  And I’m so encouraged from our win.  I hope there are more in our future this season.

Irvine Lake Summer of Mud 2016

Saturday was the second of 3 runs this month.  Fortunately, it wasn’t quite as hot then as it is today (111 according to my phone).  But it was close.  Upper 90’s to over 100 depending on where you were.

This was Irvine Lake, which I usually do in the spring.  I didn’t want to sign up for their “spring” run this year, which was the end of February, because I was worried about the weather.  Turned out that was a beautiful weekend.  But I signed up for this one instead.

The start of the race as in a different location than normal, which really through me.  But we still ran along much of the normal loop.  This is a run known for the volume of mud they usually had, but they had less of it than normal this year due to the drought.  While that is disappointing, I completely understand and respect that.

I’d gotten a stain on my white dress shirt, and I’d been saving it for this run.  I got lots of comments on it before the race, and it was very muddy by the end of the race.  There may have been less mud, but there was still enough to get muddy.

Plus they still had the mud slide.  That’s one of my favorite parts of this particular run, so I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest.

I must have been part of a crowd.  I didn’t feel like it, but I had to wait in line for the mud slide (totally worth it) and for the showers afterward.  However, any other time I looked at those things, they didn’t have many people if anyone waiting for it at all.  Go figure, right?

After the fun of the run, I got to visit my friends Chris and Erin and Joy and Christopher.  We met up at Chris and Erin’s new house.  We had a late lunch and played games.  I was about to leave when we decided to watch Minions, which I hadn’t seen yet, so I stuck around.  I didn’t get home until after 11, but it was a great day.

Summer League Games 1 and 2

It’s the second week of June, which means we are already two weeks into another ultimate Frisbee league.  This time, it’s Summer League.

And my team is off to a consistent start – we’ve had a final score of 7-15 both games.  Yep, so far I’m on a team that is losing.  Augh!!!  Is it too much to ask for a few wins in a season?  Please?

That first game was rough for me.  I only played two points, and after getting scored on by a guy who took off and I couldn’t stick with, I never stepped back on the field.  Between that and losing, I was depressed.  So depressed, it thought about quitting and it took me about a day to get over it.

Fortunately, I had a much better second game.  It helped that this was Chuck’s team.  Chuck and I have been matching up against each other since I started playing in 1999, and I love guarding him since we are very similarly skilled.  I played more points than I normally do, too, since we both wanted to play.

That first point I was in, I got the disc multiple times, successfully passing it on before we scored.  That felt so good.  I can’t even tell you how amazing that felt.  I was never as involved in a play again, although I did get it and pass it on a couple more times.  In fact, I never had a turn over.  And Chuck only got it once, although that was because his team didn’t throw it to him, not because I was that good on defense.

As a team, we did better the second half of the first game and the first half of the second game.  Now, if we could just put the two halves together, we might be a contender.

My team is really nice.  I knew my captains already, which always makes me feel good – they knew what they were getting/stuck with when they got me.  I’ve gone out to the bar we hang out at after both games, something my team hasn’t wanted to do for a couple of seasons, and I was having so much fun this week I stayed until almost midnight.  That made for a long day the next day, but I had fun.

Our next game is Wednesday.  Hopefully, we’ll get one in the win column.

Camp Pendleton Mud Run 2016

Saturday, I kicked off June with one of my favorite mud runs – the Camp Pendleton Mud Run.  This is my seventh year in a row doing it, so obviously I like it.

They’ve added a 5K distance, but I continue to do the 10K distance.  After all, after I drive two hours one way down there, I’m going to spend as much time as possible doing the race.  Yeah, I still run it, but I do so many 5K mud runs it’s nice to do something longer.  Plus it makes me train more, which is always good.

They added a few new elements this year, mainly involving us carrying things out and back.  When I first started, it was a run for the first half, so it is nice to break it up more.  They keep adding more elements every year.

Of course, there is mud – four pits along the way, three of them in the back half.  It’s always fun to roll through the mud and see muddy I can get.

The course is beautiful.  Yes, it’s dry, although the burned portions are beginning to grow back.  No new trees, but bushes, and it’s not nearly as obvious where it burned out a couple of years ago.  Anyway, I enjoy the hills and the views.  There’s something special about being out in nature like this for the run.  Plus, it’s a rare opportunity to be on a military base.  It may be the only one I’ve been on.

I couldn’t have asked for a better day weather wise.  I was worried when I got up because my hotel was foggy, but the sun was coming out by the time I got on base.  It was perfectly sunny and in the lower 70’s.  Warm enough that the mud felt nice but not too hot.

Of course, afterward, I went into Oceanside and grabbed lunch at Pit Stop, a restaurant that Ian introduced me to a couple of years ago.  Their Chicken Strip Wrap is so delicious.

On the way home, I stopped by Downtown Disney for a little pin shopping.  I wound up finding some I wanted to buy.  No fun new ornaments, but there was a mug I had to get as well.

I made another stop on the way home – a LA Aviators game.  This was the first of their games I’ve been to this season.  It was a great game, with the Aviators pulling out a win in the final quarter of the game.

All told, Saturday was a very tiring day, but it was a great day.

Word Association for June 2nd

I should be in bed, but here I am doing this week's word association instead.

1. Trailer :: Fun
2. Marvel :: Comics
3. Socks :: Shoes
4. Clump :: of Clay
5. Pick :: Ax
6. Yellow :: Curtains
7. Punished :: Wrong
8. Brass :: Ring
9. Splatter :: Paint
10. Parts :: Car