Catch me if you can (and trust me, you can)

I've been doing something lately that I never thought I would do. I've been running. And when I say running, I mean without being chased.

Since the beginning of February I've been doing a program called Couch to 5K. As the name implies, it's designed to get you off the couch and ready to run a 5K. I just completely four weeks of the nine-week program and I'm hoping to run the Bloomin' 5k on May 17.

I haven't told many people about my training, mainly because I was afraid I would quit before I got too far. I'm not the most athletic person and moreover, I've never been a runner, even back in my field hockey days. But, for some reason, I felt this was something I should do. Maybe it had something to do with turning 30.

I'm actually pretty proud of myself for sticking with it. I'm a big fan of being able to check things off a list and this lets me do just that. There's only been one workout I couldn't finish -- the first one of week four -- and I went back and did it a few days later. It was a nice sense of accomplishment.

Unfortunately I haven't seen the same progress on the scale. I started back with Weight Watchers at the beginning of January and while I was able to lose about five pounds that month, I've only lost a pound a half since I started running. It's frustrating because I know I'm doing everything right. I just wish the scale would recognize that.

Still, I know I'm healthier and building my endurance. My legs are definitely stronger. I'll never be a fast runner -- an elephant could lap me -- but I'm okay with that. I don't mind if I don't finish a winner; I just want to finish.

Over the weekend I took Buddy and Snoopy for a walk around my parents' neighborhood. The loop is about a mile and a third around and I was practically dragging the dogs behind me by the time I reached the halfway point. It was nice not being the one dragged for once.

Usurping the Olympic spirit

I've previously documented my extreme hatred for the Olympic games and the crappy television programming that results.

Just how many interviews with Michael Phelps' mother does anyone really need anyway?

Thankfully, the good people at Animal Planet, the network which brought us the Puppy Bowl, are there to help me through it.

Get ready for the 2008 Puppy Games. The show will air Friday night, opposite the colossal disasterpiece that has become the opening ceremonies.

My television viewing decisions couldn't get any easier than this.

My Purple Evening

The Baltimore Ravens are having a contest to find the team's biggest fan. I'm pretty sure I'm not it.

My wardrobe lacks anything resembling a football jersey. I don't have the energy to tailgate. And, while I do love watching the Ravens play from the temperature-controlled, soft couched, no-line-for-a-dirty-restroom comfort of my home, I'm hardly a crazed superfan.

I did, however, have an awesome time at A Purple Evening, an event held for the female fans of the Ravens. After all, we girls do like playing dress-up and it's not everyday that we get to dress up as a team mascot. (And yes, that's me dressed as Poe in the picture above.)

Joining me for the evening were Kristen and Michele -- two wonderful ladies who thankfully agree with me that the pink-colored jerseys for women are ridiculous. Have we really gotten to the point where purple is no longer feminine enough?

Anyway, the ladies' night gave us a chance to try out a few things we otherwise would never have tried. We got to go down on the field at M&T Bank Stadium for a chance at kicking a field goal, explored the Ravens' locker room, and even had the opportunity to partake in the ritziness that is the club level.

We've already decided to attend the event next year. When we do, we'll have a much more organized game plan. I, for one, will dress more appropriately for the evening and hope to be clad in a Matt Stover jersey. We will also arrive sooner in order to sign up for some of the on-field fun.

On the Ravens' end of things we're hoping for a slightly more organized event where the fact that you have to sign up in advance for the clinics is better publicized. (Then again, I was also hoping for a better outing in Sunday's game against the Browns but I guess we can't always get what we want.)

Oh, and we're also hoping the team will make those cute Purple for Women t-shirts available, even though the logo looks like a deodorant ad.

In the meantime, we'll get to giggle over the pictures from this year. I'm particularly amused that the NFL feels the need to post its rule against gambling on games right in the middle of the team locker room. Then again, considering the arrest records of our players, maybe they know what they're doing.

Winner wanted: No skill required

Through absolutely no skill or effort of my own, I've somehow won my March Madness bracket, making me the lucky recipient of a whopping $67.50.

Scoring 94 out of a possible 120 points, I managed to finish a whole nine points ahead of my closest competitor, my husband's boss. Not bad for someone who plainly admits that I know nothing about college basketball or even basketball in general.

I've just never had much of an appreciation for the game itself. There's nothing about a bunch of 7-foot-tall men getting a ball through a hoop that impresses me. I think the game would be far more enjoyable if played by short people like me, midgets, or players who have to be on their knees at all times. That, or raise the hoop to 20 feet. That could be interesting.

I also believe that the entire game doesn't need to be more than two minutes long. In most basketball games, there are really only two minutes that make the difference. It might be early on in the game when one team goes ahead by 10 points. Or maybe it's the last two minutes of the game when one of the two teams who had been neck-and-neck throughout finally emerges victorious. Either way, think of all the time we could save.

And please, don't get me started on a game where breaking the rules (i.e. committing a foul) is a strategy that can actually benefit your team in the long run.

The only reason I participate in the whole March Madness bracket phenomenon is so that I'm not entirely bored for several weeks of the year. Oh, and I guess this year I get to add the benefit of financial gain and bragging rights.

I know a lot of people (especially my husband) will disagree with my take on the game, but guess what: I won and I have a blog. I get to gloat a bit. So there.

Wow, so much for embracing with my touchy-feely side last week.

The Lady Terps, aka "Overtime is our time"

I have to admit it. I was happy to wake up this morning to reports of small-scale rioting and fires in College Park. I was actually hoping the students at the University of Maryland would show some support, even drunken revelry, for their national champion Lady Terps.

Now I don't typically advocate this sort of thing, but I think it's important for the school to show its excitement as it would had the men's basketball team won.

It takes a lot for me to sit through more than a few minutes of a basketball game but last night's NCAA Women's Basketball championship game between Duke and Maryland kept me riveted. Usually I'm of the belief that a basketball game should last no more than five minutes because it's only the last few minutes that make a difference in most games. Last night's overtime win over the Blue Devils showed that. Of course the Lady Terps also came from 13 points behind earlier in the game so my theory might be somewhat flawed.

(As a side note, I'm also of the belief that basketball should only be played by short people. If you're 6 foot something, you should be a good basketball player. You should be able to dunk. I want to see people my height playing the game, a la Muggsy Bogues. Midget basketball is good basketball.)

But back to the Lady Terps who deserve today's focus. They played a great game, coming from behind to force the game into overtime. They looked thoroughly excited to have won and they should. Not only did they make it to the NCAA tournament, which their counterparts on the men's team could not do, they tore through the bracket and beat Duke. Every victory is sweeter when it's against Duke.

So celebrate your win today ladies, but please, whatever you do, don't turn into arrogant players like the men's team has. You're better than that.

Beware the Terps of March

It's a rough time for Maryland basketball fans. It's gotten so that rioting and setting fires just isn't fun anymore.

Just a few short years ago Terps fans watched as their team, led by the likes of Juan Dixon and Steve Blake, plowed through the big dance and emerged victorious.

Oh how the snotty have fallen.

As if a lackluster season wasn't bad enough, Maryland's men's basketball team apparently felt the need to make sure they went out on an equally sour note, losing to Manhattan in the first round of the NIT.

Originally Coach Gary Williams said his team didn't want to play in the NIT. Well guess what, Gary. It showed.

Senior forward Nik Caner-Medley summed up the team's feelings by saying they just weren't into it.

"This whole year is embarrassing," Caner-Medley told The Baltimore Sun following the game. "Not making the NCAA tournament is embarrassing. Obviously we wanted to be in the NCAA tournament, and I think we probably would've played better if we were [there]."

I feel for you, Nik. I really do. You see I can only pretend to know what you must be going through. You've had nearly four years of a free college education now and all you'll have to show for it is a degree a lot of national exposure. That must be tough. I, on the other hand, have nearly $50,000 in student loans to show for my education.

I guess when it comes to spoiled demagogues like Caner-Medley, it takes more exciting things to get hyped up... exciting things like his July 2004 arrest for disorderly conduct following a drunken brawl.

Then there's senior Chris McCray, the player deemed academically ineligible in January when his GPA fell below a 2.0. (Incidentally, McCray officially withdrew from classes just a few days ago, obviously crippled by the concept that some professors expected him to attend class every once in a while.) His parents must be so proud. Afterall, this comes on the heels of his August 2005 arrest in College Park after refusing to leave the scene of a fight.

Okay, so let's see what we have here. There's a coach who makes millions of dollars a year who feels that playing in anything other than the NCAA tourney is beneath him. Then there's a few holier-than-thou college athletes who have been given a free ride yet can't seem to appreciate it. Oh, and let's not forget the multi-million dollar state-of-the-art Comcast Center where the pampered players can work and play.

Gosh, how could things have gone so wrong? Something tells me the results might have been a bit better if all that money and attention went into the school's academics instead of thuggery training. Of course the parties after a mock trial competition just aren't as cool.