Countdown To Fifty » Hobbies

Karma Is A Bitch Ain’t It

Not Quite Fifty — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:21:53 +0000

Just like 150+ million Americans I watched the big game yesterday. Though I really had no interest in who won, I found myself with a keen interest in who LOST.

As a life long Miami Dolphin fan it gave me great pleasure to watch the Pats get stomped. From my perspective it was a good old fashioned defensive ass whipping.

No disrespect to a fine New England team. They are indeed great….just not great enough yesterday.

Oh and the Karma part? Guess you can’t cheat, get caught, show no remorse, have the league look the other way AND win the Super Bowl.

Congratulations NY football Giants!

0-16 Miami Dolphins?

Not Quite Fifty — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 22:24:53 +0000

Just needed to get this off my chest and onto ‘paper’. As a fan who grew up in the Orange Bowl and watched the 17-0 season from

the 35 yard line of the upper deck, I am amazed and aghast. Last night on Monday Night Football Don Shula was regaling the exploits of the 1972 Dolphin team. He was reliving for the audience the greatness of that team, while at the same time praising the New England Patriots for all they have done. Now I never thought I would say this about another AFC East team but: THERE ARE NO COMPARISONS. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a New England fan…not even a little. What I do appreciate is greatness and this franchise, with their multiple Super Bowl trophies has already ranked as one of the great sports teams in history. What I find unique to the Pats is their ability to reinvent the players on field, build around a few key men (i.e. Brady) and still emerge with the same winning result.

As for the Fins there is simply no excuse and no words to describe the level of despair in Miami. This team has been less than mediocre since the days of Marino and I see no near term end in sight.

Dana Point Turkey Trot 10K, NOT 5K

Not Quite Fifty — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 17:32:08 +0000

As a follow up to the post I wrote about Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot plans, my thoughts about 5k vs. 10k are validated.

Gender:	M
Age:	47

Place Overall:	2279	out of 3612
Men:	1362	out of 1838
M 45-49:	217	out of 272

AgeGrade:

47.59%

Place: 2409

FINISH:

1:01:15

pace: 9:52

5K:

n/a

pace: n/a

Chip Time:	1:01:15
Gun Time:	1:04:27

Yes, a 5K is a fine run – a 10K on the other hand makes for a nice leisurely drive.

As you can see from the results I did in fact finish!

Never mind the fact that I have been mistaken for a piece of the family room furniture since we got home…I finished.

And by the looks of things the time was, well, timed . I am a very competitive person so at first blush I am disappointed at the #2279 finish out of 3316 competitors. Also the fact that 216 men my age did better, out of 272 running, really disappoints.

On the bright side:

I completed my first 10K, without stopping or walking. The fact that I had to make a brief stop to pee along the route does not count as I drank too much water and coffee before the race.
The guy dressed in the Gorilla suit did not finish ahead of me.
The elderly man (oh bullshit, he was OLD) carrying two – yes two – American flags to honor the military did not finish ahead of me.
The dude wearing the cardboard turkey outfit? Behind me.
The wife? Behind me.

So will I run the event next year?

I am thinking the answer is yes.

I need to crack the 1 hour mark and complete the race without stopping for a bio break. I would also like to finish in the top half of my age group which would require me to run at least a 54:33 which I think is doable.

It was a fun event with over 11,000 people on hand. As is the case with all large gatherings of humans there were folks promoting their political or social agendas. My favorite sign of the day?

SAVE THE TURKEY. EAT A HOT DOG.

Where do turkey dogs fit in?