Head of the Des Moines Regatta

This morning, I went to the Birdland Marina near Prospect Park in Des Moines to see some of the early events in the Head of the Des Moines Regatta. Looking for information about the regatta and rowing in general, I found the following:

This event has recently been named to be a premier regatta by the United States Rowing Association's Judge Referee Corps.

Not bad!

When I arrived, I saw one- and four-person shells (boats) making their way up and down the river on a beautiful autumn morning. Since I was the only spectator at my location, I got the hint that there were probably better locations and moved down to the Botanical Center area, one end of the course.

At my new location, I saw a handful of the four-man shells bobbing quietly on the river with several more coming downstream. A power boat was anchored in the middle of the river with a woman with a bullhorn giving instructions for the initial line-up; I was pretty sure I'd found the starting area. Amateur radio service and flag man provided simultaneous signaling to the shell crews and to officials at the finish line. As I listened to the radioman call for each team's time to begin, I heard that teams had come from Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, and other places I didn't recognize as well then nor remember now. It must be a pretty popular event.

I climbed down to the waters edge, got a few photos, and listened to the directions being given from the shore, the powerboat, and the shell leaders or coxswains. It was an active and interesting place for someone not familiar with the sport. I moved to another location about one hundred yards upstream to see them pass at "full pressure," a term I overheard and figure must mean full effort.

As the women's four-person shell set out, shells crewed by eight women were arriving. They were very fast when they got moving ... and they got moving quickly! It was fun to listen to the different approaches taken by the coxswains. Some were gruff, some were even in tone. Some gave lots of information while one simply said "Catch!" to synchronize her crew.

I was also surprised to see that the coxswains can either be seated in the stern or lying in the bow giving commands to the rowers. When they lie in the bow, you generally just see their head and shoulders. I saw both approaches use headsets and speaker systems to communicate with their crew. In the image to the right, there are three things to notice:

• The shell in the background is one with an eight-person crew.
• The shell at the middle left has the coxswain in the bow.
• The shell in the foreground has the coxswain in the back and you can see the headset.

I also learned that this would probably be called a Head Race:

Fall races, typically rowing upriver over a winding course covering several miles. Times for the races are based on start finish times, not head-to-head racing.

Now you all know at least as much as I do about this sport. It was impressive and appealing to watch... even if I was the ONLY spectator I saw!

Iowa Stars Hockey

Friday evening, Linda and I went to see the Iowa Stars in their second preseason game, their first at home this season, second this week against the Peoria Rivermen. Tuesday evening, our Stars had travelled to Peoria and suffered a 7-4 defeat.

As we approached the arena, a couple asked if we were going to the game; when we said yes, they offered us a pair of tickets. They explained that, as season ticketholders, they received pairs of complimentary tickets and we were the lucky recipients. Nice!

We made our way in, looked around, gathered schedules, and headed for our seats. They were GREAT! Behind and to the right of the visitor's
goal, eight rows up. Unfortunately, the Tri-City Storm, a USHL team in town for the Buc Bowl, had taken up residence in and around them. We decided that there were plenty of seats to go around and took a spot a few rows up and to the right. From this close, the size of the players and speed of the game were very clear and the sounds were great.

Scoring started off slowly and anger was building. Having just played a few days prior seemed to have left some unsettled business between some of the players. More than once, the hockey action was halted due to fights of one form or another. Peoria seemed to have a score to settle with our number 54; he was involved in the first real hockey fight of the night and, in the third period, I saw a recurring battle of words and bumps with Peoria's number 12. Scoring picked up and the Stars rallied and ultimately won 4-2.

As the seconds were winding down, I had a hunch there was still some business to be settled. Sure enough, as the horn sounded, 54 and 12 squared off in front of us. Our guy kept his helmet and jersey on much longer than theirs and, in the end, put their man on the ice. I'm guessing that's still not settled but it'll be a while before they meet again.

Rusty Wallace

This afternoon, I was given the opportunity to attend a talk by former NASCAR great, Rusty Wallace. Now retired from driving in the Nextel Cup series, Rusty keeps his hand in racing in at least three major ways. He owns the Busch series team and car his son drives. He's the main autosports commentator for the American Broadcast Company (ABC). He designed the new Iowa Speedway at Newton.

This afternoon, he shared a number of stories about his career, some of the memorable events along the way, and answered questions from the crowd. (I got to ask about his thoughts on the Car of Tommorrow.) Afterwards, Rusty set up an autograph and photo location and everyone that wanted one was treated to some kind of memento of the event.

Pizza... and a movie!

After our regular pizza dinner, this evening Joel and I headed over to see the World War I movie, Flyboys. Though somewhat predictable, this action feature never lost my interest. There were several tried and true characters and stories brought together with some very good airborne footage and the occasional twist. I'm guessing that the vast majority of the flight sequences were computer generated but it wasn't distracting; much like the launch footage from Apollo 13 from overhead, no way could a camera be there but it was a great shot and helped convey the feeling. I took a look at what my favorite movie website had to say and people were generally favorably impressed, especially the costuming and the action sequences. Evidently, a number of historical inaccuracies were shown but the film met my expectation as entertainment.

Virtual Reality Radio Control Plane

My friend Joel recently posted information about a Canadian who installed a video camera on his radio controlled plane and then flew it around various locations. That video is very cool and certainly conveys the vision you'd expect to see looking out the front of an airplane. An added dimension to this is that he's flying the plane by watching that video on some sort of virtual reality goggles. The next step apparently was to add gyroscopic sensors to his viewing goggles and install a panning camera in the cockpit of the plane. Now, when he turns his head, the camera moves independent of the plane and let's him sightsee... and, thanks to recording, share the views with us. Very fun idea! Click here to visit Joel's site and get the links to the video.

Blisters

Well... those blisters that didn't show up Saturday have shown up. Yesterday I had one; tonight I have the other. My feet and toes were a bit sore today at work but I went for a two mile walk this evening; wanted to be sure I remembered how to walk with blisters. The pace felt brisk but I'm pretty sure it was not up to the fifteen minute goal. Anyway, it was a nice night and the walk went well.

This weekend, the Des Moines Rowing Club will be hosting the Head of the Des Moines Regatta. Events are scheduled every fifteen minutes from 8:30 in the morning to 5:00 in the evening. That's a whole lotta rowing! Weather permitting, I'm thinking I'll swing by for a few races and possibly some photos. When we were training for the marathons, we used to walk that stretch of the river and it was pretty common to see the crews out there practicing. It should be fun to see them doing it for real. I'll keep you posted.

Monday Night Walk

Monday night, Linda and I took a walk along the start and finish segments of the upcoming half marathon. We (I) started out slow but got up to and sustained a nice pace. The weather was great and the walk revealed no new problems to prepare for.

I think I've now walked just about the complete course at one time or another during this training. The only missing area is between Fleur Drive and where I started / finished in Water Works Park over the weekend, certainly less than a mile of normal road surface.

My feet and ankles were still a bit tender from the Saturday walk but didn't present any new problems. They'll be getting a couple days to complete their recovery before the longer walk I'm planning for this weekend.

I'm not sure I could finish the walk today without some pretty serious discomfort but I'm confident that I'd finish. It's now time to work so that I'll feel okay after the walk.

After the walk I watched some of the Monday Night Football game. While the New Orleans Saints are hitting on all cylinders, it's going to be a long time before the city is fully recovered. There was no shortage of pleas to come visit New Orleans, spend dollars here. I'm glad I visited before the devastation.

Sunday...

Today, I watched the Bears win for the third time in a row. I also watched Jeff Burton win for the first time in 175 starts, since his seventeen win, Oct. 28, 2001. Sports fan duties filled, Linda and I previewed the half marathon course and had dinner at a Mexican restaurant on the south side of Des Moines.

Today, the Bears struggled against an excellent Vikings team in Minnesota. In the end, the defenses and kicking games of both teams were featured more than the offenses. From time to time, the running backs broke loose for nice gains or passes were completed but neither team was able to do much on offense ... until the fourth quarter. Rex Grossman finally connected with Rashied Davis for the only points scored by either offense. Bears 19, Vikings 16.


Jeff Burton has been driving a lot of years and has had some very good years but they weren't recent. A year or two ago, he moved to Richard Childress Racing and has been making steady meaningful improvements. Recent races, Jeff would lead, sometimes dominate, only to lose the handle and fall back into the field. Today, that didn't happen. He had to struggle to get past one of his former teammates and still good friend, Matt Kenseth. As the laps wound down, Jeff worked every angle he could think of to get past without resorting to techniques that might risk either or both of their finishes. In the end, Jeff was able to get even with Matt and, ultimately, get by. I'm very pleased to have Jeff on my fantasy team... however, I had him on the bench today. Doh!


This evening, Linda and I drove the course we'll be walking in a few weeks. All in all, a pretty good course. One of the routing decisions that has me scratching my head is the bypassing of one of the recently developed greenspaces, the western gateway area. Instead, we're going to be passing a couple of construction areas on a course parallel to the gateway. That said, we will be passing through, around, and over some of the nice features of downtown Des Moines. This photo is from a late stretch of our walk, midway through mile eleven. With good weather, it should be an excellent day.

Poker at Ern's

After a Saturday afternoon nap, I headed up to Ern's for a couple of Texas Hold 'em tournaments. Many of the usual players were there and we added one of Ern's neighbors, Dan. I didn't do much in the first game and finished fifth. In the second, I caught some luck, played it out, and finished third. A good time was had by all.

Walking Lesson

This morning, I walked a little less than the middle half of the half marathon on the actual course and I learned about walking on a crowned road. Thinking back, the vast majority of my training walks have been on surfaces that were not crowned. Streets and walking / bike paths aren't usually crowned; the middle miles of the Des Moines Half Marathon are on a blacktop road that has a pretty impressive crown. Walking on that surface, I felt added stress on both feet and ankles. I felt the start of blistering on my left toes and moved up to the top of the crown to even things out. Evidently, it worked because, when I got home, there were no blisters.

For me, one of the added benefits of walking has been being able to just be outdoors during some great autumn days. Today, I saw one of only a handful of bluebirds that I've seen in my life. A chickadee was also flitting around among the tall grasses in the back of the park. I was also aware of the sports areas located in the flood plain around Des Moines' Water Works Park. Kids were playing ootball and soccer and there was activity at a softball or little league baseball complex. I was paced for a few miles by a man probably ten years my senior and his dog. Wherever people walk, you'll probably find dogs as well.

Rain

Tonights walk called on account of rain. I was gonna walk... honest!

Thursday night gaming was also cancelled, probably due to weather. Dave and Mary's internet connection was suddenly offline so the rest of us called off our adventuring. I did get to have a (relatively) nice chat with Greg on TeamSpeak. Some of you know Greg as my NASCAR / Cornhusker "friend." We went to the Darlington race this year. He was okay then; now his 'husker colors are showing and it's a whole new ballgame. Anyway, since we were both on TeamSpeak, we chatted for a while and then went on to our other activities / interests / duties. Greg said he was going to do laundry. I suspect that he played a video game. : )

Shoes ... and Pizza!

Today I made my first financial commitment to the marathon. I've found that one of the keys to having a successful and enjoyable (yes, enjoyable) experience is good equipment... primarily shoes. In my past distance walks I've worn Brooks Addictions. This evening, I tried on the Brooks Beast and really like the feel. There's a huge difference between my five year old Addictions and these cushy new Beasts. The first pair I tried on were functional but a bit short in the toe; in hindsight, I remember our coach saying that our shoes should be roomy enough in the toebox that we could play the piano with our toes. I never really felt that agile but I did get a sense of what he was saying. Another interesting aspect of these shoes was a sensation of a fulcrum just behind the ball of my foot. As my weight moved forward, it felt like I was rolling over a small mound and propelled forward into the push-off of my stride; a nice sensation. I took the advice of my salesman and went up a half size and am looking forward to my next walk.

With new shoes secured, I proceeded on to enjoy an excellent pizza out with Joel. Off and on over the last twelve years, Joel and I have made it our practice to get together once a week for pizza or Wisconsin burgers often followed by a movie Marlene, his wife, would not likely want to see. This evening, we enjoyed a tasty sausage and pepperoni pizza at our current favorite pizza house and ultimately wound up at his house watching news talk TV with Marlene. All in all, an evening well spent, in my book.

Dreams of Flying

This chilly morning, I visited the blog of my friend Joel and found a link to a series of pictures titled Dreams of Flying. It's just too fun and photography related to not pass along. I hope you enjoy!

Tuesday Night

This evening, I did get in my four mile walk. It was a beautiful night and everything was working pretty well. I was reminded that my fingers get that full feeling if I walk very long with my hands hanging down. The solution is to raise my hands at least as high as my elbows as I walk. It helps my hands and seems to allow a faster rhythm to my walk. The things we learn...

Had a number of interesting conversations today. I'm trying to figure out which if any to expound on here. On one hand, it would help me sort things out and express them. On the other, am I so articulate and insightful to put it on the web? I guess I am putting my training information here and that's of VERY little interest. We'll see how I feel in the days to come.

Housekeeping

It's already late afternoon Tuesday and I've not fulfilled my goal of recording what I was doing Monday.

Monday WAS housekeeping day. My cleaning people came in and did what they do to try to keep things in order and somewhat sanitary. I'm happy to say that they fulfilled their end of the bargain admirably.

Work was mostly dedicated to follow-up to the weekend implementation activities. As usual, there is no let up and we're smoothly transitioning into new projects. No apparent lack of things to do.

Training for the half marathon ... didn't happen. Instead, I fulfilled my monthly (or so) responsibility of playing poker with my UNI alumni friends. Actually, that circle grew a little more as a neighbor and one of his friends helped fill out the table. I finished fourth and had a good time.

All in all, a good day. I'll try to walk Tuesday.

Weekend Wrapup

All things considered, the weekend was good. I got in a couple of training walks, saw the Bulldogs, Hawkeyes and Bears win (that's a lot of football), saw as much of the NASCAR race as I needed (my team lost), and heard from parents and kids. And I started this blog! I also was able to replace the kinda creepy picture of myself you see at the right with the rather innocuous picture you can see in my profile today.

Bulldog Football - Wisconsin-Plattville

Last evening was a beautiful late summer, early fall evening, great for watching a football game. My friend Linda and I tried a new Mexican style restaurant and went to see the Drake Bulldogs take on the University of Wisconsin-Plattville Pioneers. We'd seen the Bulldogs take a drubbing at the hands of the University of Northern Iowa a few weeks ago. This game was different. Drake moved the ball well and the Pioneers had the repeated misfortune of turning the ball over as they were closing in to score. Fortunately, the Pioneers hung in there and did score but it was much too little, much too late as Drake won 35-7.

Des Moines Marathon

Wednesday evening I decided I'd try to participate in the IMT Des Moines Marathon event this year. I've started actually training... for the half marathon... walking. A man's got to know his limitations. Actually, getting ready for this in a month should be reasonable and suitably challenging.

So far, I've gone for two walks of two miles at Gray's Lake. The first provided several reminders regarding things I need to pay attention to when walking distances. The main pain was in my shins. During the second walk, I was more aware and able to adjust my stride and pace and avoided the discomfort.

Here we go!

Well... it's finally happened. I've joined the blogger community. I'm not sure I have all that much to say but I'm willing to find out.