Birds left the nest

My Arizona Cardinals are in Tampa preparing for the Super Bowl this Sunday. A lot of national media isn't taking them seriously or view their ascent to the championship game as some sort fluke. Well it isn't a fluke. Its about hard work meeting opportunity. And come Sunday, no matter what the result, I am going to be beaming with pride because my team, from my town, from my state is going to be playing in front of a worldwide audience as living proof of what you can accomplish when you believe in yourself.

And along those lines, a great story about Kurt Warner . This quote stuck out:

“Most times when you do something great, it’s not overnight,” he said. “It’s not something that comes easy. It comes with a lot of hard work, a lot of time, a lot of commitment.”

In hot water

So the last 3 times I've been swimming the pool temperature has been 84, 81, 84 (I think). Now, if you are just splashing around in the water 84 is fine. But if you are trying to get a good workout in then 84 degrees is pretty icky. I only went 2000 yards this past Thursday in class and I was feeling pretty wilted. In fact, I got out of the water, walked along the deck, outside the double doors of the back entrance of the pool, and stood outside in 32 degree weather to cool off.

Anyways, I'm thankful to be back in the water, even if its a bit warm. But I was surfing the Floswimming website and found this cool video of the Lady Vols swimmers making their practices a bit more interesting with some swimming props. I probably don't spend as much time doing drills as I should. But the point of them is to get a feel for the water and be aware of proper body positioning. And the innovative use of some of the props in the video below really show that.

Swimming Videos on Floswimming

Getting back in the water

So I didn't go swimming for about month - from around Christmas time till about last week because I didn't have access to a pool. At the peak of 'training', and I use that word loosely, I was doing anywhere between 3200-3800 yards about 3 times a week. Swimming with other like minded people helps. I signed up for a swimming fitness class this week which meets twice a week. Its only for about an hour, but at least I get some structured workout in and it gives me motivation to swim on my own the days the class doesn't meet.

But I'm still out of shape. My main set form today:

Freestyle

1 X300 5:00 (50s / 50)
100 EZ
6x50s on 1:00 (43-44s per 50)
100 EZ
6x50s on 1:00 (41-42 per 50)
100 EZ

Ideally I want to be going about 1:35 per 100 for the 300 ( I was going 1:40)
Based on the 50s, its possible. I think what I'll do is take less rest on the 50s, try and keep the same pace in order to get my body used to swimming at that pace for the 300s.

But is so good to be back in the water!

Yes We Can!

I always get homesick in the middle of winter, but this weekend especially so. I wanted to run in the Rock'n Roll Half Marathon . I wanted to attend an alumni event in Tucson today. But more than anything, I want to be in Phoenix to watch my Arizona Cardinals play in the NFC Championship game tomorrow. I attended the last game in Sun Devil Stadium before the Cards moved to Glendale to their new Stadium. They play well there and I'm going to be so proud to see a sea of red in the stands. They can in 60 minutes tomorrow erase all bad memories and heartbreaking losses over the past 20 years in the desert. Its going to be a special day in Arizona.

Why I hate going to the gym in January

Well, I don't hate going to the gym because working out is fun. Its just that its always crowded the first few weeks of the semester. Yesterday was the first day of classes and apparently they don't assign enough homework the first day because the gym was crawling with undergrads. I did go for a swim on Tuesday. The pool is pretty nice, the lanes are wider than at Cornell. But its a bit shallower and not as well lit. I know I should stop complaining. But they just don't make pools as nice in the Northeast as they do out West. I wish I was swimming here .

Big Genetics

The ScienceBlog Genetic Future has good post on his thoughts of Big Genetics . As someone who has played a small part in a genome consortium paper in the past, the post brings up good points. In the field of human genetics, these big, consortium projects are here to stay. But like the post linked above says, projects like 1000Genomes generate so much data, that the consortium main papers can't write up every analysis possible. So there is room for the little guy to stand out in the crowd. (At least that's what I hope!)

Credit Cards

I can't believe it. The Arizona Cardinals are one game away from the Super Bowl. This is unbelievable. I was in the 4th grade with the Cardinals relocated to Phoenix from St. Louis. It was such a big deal. Phoenix had an NFL team. Yes, Phoenix had a professional sports team with the Suns. But this was the NFL coming the desert.

But for the next 20 years the Cardinals would be bottom feeders in the NFC. After Gene Stallings came Joe Bugel. "You've got a winner in town", proclaimed Buddy Ryan. Vince Tobin with Jake Plummer at QB got them to the playoffs in 1998. They beat the Cowboys but couldn't get past Minnesota. They let go my favorite player, Larry Centers, that year. Dennis Green and the Monday Night Debacle against the Bears. Finally, Ken Whisenhunt is making the right coaching decisions . The offense with Kurt Warner, looking like he's back at the helm of the Greatest Show on Turf, is playing well. And the defense is peaking at the right time. Cardinals vs. Eagles. They already beat one set of birds with the Falcons. Eagles are next... and then Super Bowl Sunday is looking Red!

Looking over my shoulder

So one thing I'm getting used to in Boston is walking on sidewalks with lots of people. (Can you tell that's I've lived in a small town for too long?) Now, I'm a pretty big guy so usually people just get out of my way. I'm like Moses parting the Red Sea. Just kidding. But yesterday I was walking and this older women glanced up, and said excuse me. I wasn't even that close to bumping into her. But one thing I don't like are people walking behind me. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I just don't like it. Maybe its because when I lived in the Midwest, I was walking home from the bus stop one day and I swore someone was following me in the shadows. But when walk now, I'll glance side to side, trying to get a sense of who is in my peripheral vision and just walk in a way that makes my presence felt.

Why I hate winter

1. Its cold
2. Its generally cloudy and gray
3. I hate snow
4. I hate salt
5. I can't exercise outside
6. Its a pain running errands when you have put on 3 layers of clothes just to stay warm
7. It lasts too long

I am so moving back West after graduate school. Really. I mean it this time.

Airport food

I really don't like food options in airports. Mostly because its expensive, un-healthy, and if I have to be eating at an airport it usually means I have a long layover or am delayed. But the NYtimes surveyed their readers for the best airport restaurants . I'm not sure how high the bar was set, but based on the descriptions, the readers really enjoyed the food. I've never been to the any of the airports listed (save for O'hare) But I do admit, I had a decent meal one summer at the Chili's in the F-terminal of Ohare. But the bar was set pretty low.

Generating topics of research

Read a good ScienceBlogs entry on generating topics of future research . I've been involved in research for a while, but for the most part I do what's asked of me. One thing I'm excited about starting graduate school next week is I get to do my own thing. That's not totally true. I was given a list of potential projects by my advisor and I picked the one that most interested me. But now its up to me where it goes.

But Zuska's blog post brings up some interesting points. A spark of an idea can come from any number of places. A friend of mine just had a paper published based on an idea he had of reading a paper in journal club two years ago. I was happy for him because it was his idea from start to beginning. I'm hoping I can get a few ideas of my own for research as I progress in my PhD.

Putting money in the bank

Great interview of Michael Phelps with Jim Rome. I can't believe leading up to the Athens games he didn't take a day off for 5 years. Like Michael says, its putting money in the bank.