Spring Fever 2 Mile Open

I ran the Spring Fever 2 Mile Open Saturday morning. This took place at one of the local college's near my home. The race was run before a college track invitational started. There wasn't too many of us that ran the race, but it didn't matter. I was running against myself and my high school 3200m times.

The race didn't start at the common finish line like most high school 3200m races. We were actually running two miles. The race director had us back up to another line well behind the common finish line. When the gun went off, I was already well behind the leader and first woman. At that point it really didn't matter. I knew she wanted to finish the race in 13-14 minutes. I just wanted to finish in the 16s. 

I thought I ran the race smart. I didn't go off too fast like I always do in 5Ks. It seemed to me that each lap mirrored each other. Besides being very chilly, it was also windy. The backstretch was wonderful because there was no wind.. As soon as we hit the 200m mark and rounded the curve, the wind was hitting us in the face. Every time I hit the wind, I knew it was slowing me down. I just kept my head down and continued going.

I wanted to go the race without being lapped. The leader and I lapped the others in the race. I was lapped at the 200m mark when I had one lap to go. The winner finished the race in just over 14 minutes. As I rounded the curve coming up the home stretch, I looked up at the scoreboard. The time read 16 minutes. I wanted to finish up strong to try and beat my high school 3200m PR of 16:20-16:25. I was thrilled that crossed the finish line at 16:19.80. I beat my best time from high school. But that high school PR was for the 3200m and not 2 Miles.

I finished second overall and was the second female. I had fun running a short race on a 400m track again despite the cold and wind. That was the first time I ran a race on an outdoor track since my high school senior track season back in 1997. I would love to run a race on a track again. Hopefully next year.

Favorite photos from April 4-5, 2013

Jason Hanson

Associated Press

The Detroit Lions kicker of 21 years announced his retirement Thursday. Jason Hanson, my favorite Detroit Lions player for years, said he's done.

Hanson was picked in the second-round in 1992 draft and was the NFL's longest-tenured player. Earlier this month, the Lions and Hanson came to a one year deal. Unfortunately, the Lions and Hanson weren't able to come to a contract agreement. Hanson said he didn't want to play for another team, so he retired.

Jason Hanson ranks third in NFL history in total field goals with 495 and 2,150 points. Hanson holds NFL records for the most 50-yard field goals with 52, and games played with one team (327).

Watching football on Sundays will not be the same. Hanson made 32 of 36 kicks last season. Will the new Lions kicker have that accuracy?

I guess I will have to find a new favorite player.

Final Four - Women's Basketball

James Brosher/South Bend Tribune

The one team that I thought would be in the Final Four isn't. Baylor lost to Louisville back in the Sweet Sixteen. Louisville has moved on to the Final Four. Along with Connecticut, Notre Dame and California.

The Final Four games will be played on Sunday. Louisville and California will play each other at 7 p.m. EST. On the other side of the bracket, Connecticut will go against Notre Dame at 9 p.m. EST.  I think that Connecticut and Notre Dame are the strongest teams left in the tournament. It is a shame that they have to play against each other in the National semifinal instead of the National Championship.

The winners of Sunday's games will meet in the National Championship game on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Books read in 2013

Between Here and April, Deborah Copaken Kogan
Bleed for Me, Michael Robotham
The Making of a Royal Romance, Katie Nicholl 
Prince Philip: The Turbulent Early Life of the Man Who Married Queen Elizabeth II, Philip Eade
The Black Box, Michael Connelly
The Painted Girls, Cathy Marie Buchanan
The Drowning House, Elizabeth Black
Killing Kennedy, Bill O'Reilly
Argo, Antonio Mendez & Matt Baglio
Mad Women: the Other Side of Life on Madison Avenue in the '60s and Beyond, Jane Maas
Marilyn Monroe: A Case for Murder, Jay Margolis
 
Currently Reading: Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last, Mike Campbell

Final Four - Men's Basketball

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

The Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team took care of business Sunday when they defeated the Florida Gators 79-59. Michigan dominated from the opening tip and Florida could never get back into the game.

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Unlike the Wolverines advancing to the Final Four, the Duke Blue Devils also played Sunday for a spot in the Final Four. Duke unfortunately didn't have an ending like Michigan. Duke lost to Louisville Cardinals 85-63. Duke was within a few points at halftime, but Louisville took over the game in the second half and shut Duke down.

The grossest thing I've ever seen on TV happened during the Duke/Louisville game. Louisville player, Kevin Ware, went down with a nasty broke leg. When I saw him laying on the ground, I knew something was wrong with him. I saw something white on his leg. When Duke's Tyler Thorton put his hands over his eyes and turn away, I knew that Ware indeed broke his leg. That is when I put my Kindle over my face. There was no way I was watching that replay again. CBS did show the replay twice just after his leg was broken. I was thankful that they decided not to show that again after the first two replays. Hope Ware's recovery goes well.

Now that Louisville defeated Duke, I hope Michigan can win it all now. The Final Four will take place on Saturday evening. Louisville will play Wichita State first at 6:09 p.m. and Michigan takes on Syracuse at 8:49 p.m. in Atlanta. The winners of the games will meet April 8 in the National Championship.

Flanagan & Goucher

Randy Miyazaki/Track & Field

Nike teammates Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher ran a 10,000M at the Stanford Invitational Friday evening. They both ran the 10K as a training run for the upcoming Boston Marathon.

Flanagan ran away with the lead from the beginning. She laid down super fast mile splits: 4:57, 5:01, 5:01, 4:49, 5:01 and 4:56. Flanagan won the event in 31:04.85. Goucher was second in 31:46.64. With the win, Flanagan ran an A standard for the upcoming World Championships in Moscow. Goucher just missed the qualifying standard of 31:45.

Making her 10,000M debate was Jordan Hasay from Oregon. Hasay finished behind Goucher in third with a time of 32:46.68. Also running in the race was one of my Oiselle teammates, Karaleigh Millhouse. Millhouse finished in 22nd with a time of 33:53.97.

Watch the entire 10,000M race from FloTrack.

The end of Lent

Today is Good Friday.

Lent started back on February 13 and it ends tomorrow on March 30, Holy Saturday. That means that I can start eating cookies again. I gave those up for Lent this year.

I am already prepared for the end of Lent. I bought two huge Black and White cookies the other day. The cookies are sitting in a bag on a kitchen shelf. One of them will be eaten for breakfast tomorrow morning. I usually don't eat cookies for breakfast, but I think I can make an exception this one time.

Sweet Sixteen

Getty Images

Two of the men's teams that I like are still in the NCAA basketball tournament. Michigan and Duke will play in the Sweet Sixteen on Friday.

Michigan Wolverines will play Kansas Jayhawks first at 7:37 p.m. EST at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Duke Blue Devils will face Michigan State Spartans at 9:45 p.m. EST at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. If Michigan or Duke wins their games, they will play again in the Elite Eight on March 31. Which I just realized is Easter.

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

The women's NCAA tournament is just a few days behind the men's. Most of the women will play their Sweet Sixteen games on March 30 and 31. A bunch of teams that I like are still playing in the tournament: Baylor, Duke, Notre Dame and UConn. The only Big Ten team left is Nebraska. Penn State, Michigan, Purdue and Iowa all lost on Tuesday.

UConn will play their Sweet Sixteen game on Saturday at 2 p.m. EST against Maryland at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Notre Dame faces Kansas on Sunday at 12 p.m. EST at the Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Virginia. Following that game will be Duke against the only Big Ten team left in the tournament, Nebraska at 2:30 p.m. EST.

Baylor plays Louisville Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  

All of the winners will advance to the Elite Eight that will be held on April 1 and 2.

Books read in 2013

Between Here and April, Deborah Copaken Kogan
Bleed for Me, Michael Robotham
The Making of a Royal Romance, Katie Nicholl 
Prince Philip: The Turbulent Early Life of the Man Who Married Queen Elizabeth II, Philip Eade
The Black Box, Michael Connelly
The Painted Girls, Cathy Marie Buchanan
The Drowning House, Elizabeth Black
Killing Kennedy, Bill O'Reilly
Argo, Antonio Mendez & Matt Baglio
Mad Women: the Other Side of Life on Madison Avenue in the '60s and Beyond, Jane Maas
 
Currently Reading: Marilyn Monroe: A Case for Murder, Jay Margolis

World Cross Country Championships

Czarek Sokolowski/Associated Press

The IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place Sunday in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

The United States senior men's team had a great day. The men's team had their best finish since 1984. The men's team won the silver medal in the 12K race with 52 points Sunday. They finished behind gold medal winning team Ethiopia who won with 38 points and just ahead of the bronze medalist, Kenya.  Kenya finished with 54 points.  Watch highlights of the race.

Leading the way for the American men was Ben True who placed 6th in 33:11, Chris Derrick (10th - 33:23), Ryan Vail (17th - 33:42), Robert Mack (19th - 33:49) Elliott Heath (30th - 34:11) and James Strang (37th - 34:20).

In the women's junior 6K race, Kenya won the gold with 14 points, Ethiopia was second with 23 points and Great Britian won bronze with 81 points. The US team placed sixth with 105 points. Watch highlights of the race.

Carrie Verdon was the highest finisher for the US in 20th place with a time of 19:33. Emily Stites was close behind in 23rd in 19:37, Kathryn Knight (28th - 19:52), Erin Finn (34th - 20:03), Sydney Scott (38th - 20:19) and Samantha Nadel rounded out the team in 44th in 20:30.

The US junior men's race, Ethiopia won gold in the 8K race with 23 points, Kenya won silver with 26 points and Morocco took bronze with 65 points. The US finished in 4th with 106 points. Watch highlights of the race.

The first American finisher was Matt McClintock in 20th with a time of 22:52, Nowak Craig (24th - 23:03), Malachy Schrobilgen (26th - 23:12), Darren Fahy (36th - 23:25), Thomas Graham (40th - 23:27) and Andrew Gardner (42nd - 23:30).

The women's senior 8K race was won by Kenya with 19 points, winning silver was Ethiopia with 48 points and Bahrain took bronze with 73 points. The US team was fourth with 90 points. Watch highlights of the race.

Neely Spence was the first US lady to cross the line in 13th place in 25:08. Emily Infeld was next in 21st with the time of 25:27, Mattie Suver (26th - 25:41), Kim Conley (30th - 25:45) Deena Kastor, one week after running the LA Marathon was 34th in 25:52 and Delilah DiCrescenzo was 47th in 26:05.

Favorite photos from March 19, 2013

Michigan

Duane Burleson/Associated Press

Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team played their South Region second round game Thursday. I forgot that Duke plays today. I was looking all over for them on TV yesterday.

Michigan faced the South Dakota State Jackrabbits at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Michigan defeated the Jackrabbits 71-56.

Michigan's Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 21 points and was 5 of 7 from the 3-point line. Glenn Robinson III also had 21 points.

With the win, the Wolverines move on to the third round to take on Virginia Commonwealth Rams Saturday at 12:15 p.m. EST at the Palace of Auburn Hills. 

I have never seen a Jackrabbit as a mascot. I think South Dakota State's logo of the Jackrabbit is very cute.

Books read in 2013

Between Here and April, Deborah Copaken Kogan
Bleed for Me, Michael Robotham
The Making of a Royal Romance, Katie Nicholl 
Prince Philip: The Turbulent Early Life of the Man Who Married Queen Elizabeth II, Philip Eade
The Black Box, Michael Connelly
The Painted Girls, Cathy Marie Buchanan
The Drowning House, Elizabeth Black
Killing Kennedy, Bill O'Reilly
Argo, Antonio Mendez & Matt Baglio

Currently Reading: Mad Women: the Other Side of Life on Madison Avenue in the '60s and Beyond, Jane Maas

Selection Sunday & Monday

The two The Selection Sunday and Monday took place this week for the NCAA Men's and Women's basketball tournaments.

The men's first round games will take place on March 19 and 20. The NCAA men's final will take place on Monday, April 8 in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

The women's first round games will begin March 23 and 24. The NCAA women's final will be on Tuesday, April 9 at New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The two men's teams that I care about are Michigan and Duke. Michigan received a #4 seed in the South bracket. They will play South Dakota State Thursday at 7:15 p.m. EST at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

Duke was given a #2 seed in the Midwest bracket. They will play Albany in the first round Friday at 12:15 p.m. EST at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

I would love to see both Michigan and Duke go deep into the tournament. Hopefully there won't be early round exits.

Unlike the men's basketball tournament, I will probably watch all of the games I can. I do like watching the women's tournament more then the men's. The women's teams I care about are Baylor, Notre Dame, Duke Michigan, UConn, Penn State and Iowa.

Connecticut will start the first round on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. EST at the Gample Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut. UConn will play Idaho.

Duke, a #2 seed, will meet Hampton at home Sunday at 12 p.m. EST at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.

Notre Dame, #1 seed, meets Tennessee-Martin in the first round at 5 p.m. EST at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa Sunday.

Penn State, #3 seed, will play their first round game Sunday against Cal Poly at 5 p.m. EST at the Maravich Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Baylor is the #1 overall seed. They will play Prairie View A&M Sunday at 7:30 p.m. EST at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.

Michigan, a #8 seed, will meet Villanova in the first round at the Maples Pavilion in Stanford, California on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. EST.

Iowa seeded #9 will play Miami at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa Sunday at 7:30 p.m. EST.

NYC Half Marathon and Los Angeles Marathon

nyrr.com

The NYC Half Marathon took place Sunday in New York City. The race started in Central Park. Over on the west coast, the Los Angeles Marathon took place

So many elite American runners participated in the the NYC Half Marathon. Olympians Dathan Ritzenhein, Abdi Abdirahaman, Janet Bawcom and debuting in his first half marathon, Bernard Lagat. The half marathon started at 7:30 a.m. in Central Park. The temperature at the start was 30 degrees. With the temperature being so low, the men's and women's field went off slower then last year's pace.

Wilson Kispsang of Kenya won the men's race in 1:01:02. Daniele Meucci of Italy was second in 1:01:06 and American Ritzenhein was third in 1:01:10. US runners Leonard Korir was fourth (1:01:19), Jason Hartmann was ninth (1:01:52), Lagat finished 12th (1:02:33) and Abdirahaman was 15th in 1:03:20.

Caroline Rotich of Kenya won the women's race in 1:08:52, Diane Nukuri-Johnson of Burundi was second in 1:09:12 and Croatia's Lisa Stublic was third in 1:09:18. Top US finishers were Stephanie Rothstein Bruce with a 9th place finish in 1:10:53, Adriana Nelson in 11th (1:11:09), Janet Bawcom in 12th (1:11:13) and Serena Burla was 13th in 1:11:25.

Sterling Davis Photo

On the west coast, the Los Angeles Marathon was won by Aleksandra Duliba of Belarus in 2:26:08. The elite women's field started before the men. Duliba was the first to cross the finish line and earned $50,000 in the gender challenge. With her win, she set a Belarus national record. Coming in second was Ethiopia's Zemzem Ahmed in 2:30:33 and American Deena Kastor finished third in 2:32:38. Fellow Americans Colleen De Reuck was fifth in 2:41:23 and Joanna Zeiger sixth in 2:44:48.

Erick Mose of Kenya was the winner of the men's marathon in 2:09:43. Julius Keter of Kenya was second in 2:10:30 and Nicholas Chemlimo was third in 2:10:42. Nick Arciniaga was the first of two US finishers in 7th in 2:17:04 and Chris Chavez was 8th in 2:19:20.

Shamrock Shuffle 5K

This past weekend I ran my first ever race on St. Patrick's Day weekend: Shamrock Shuffle 5K.

The weather was less then perfect. It was snowing/sleeting overnight and early in the morning. The streets were icy and it was windy.

This was the first ever St. Patrick's Day race in the county. Not many people showed up to run. There were only 22 runners for the event. Coming into the race, I already had 100 miles on my legs. I'm training for an upcoming 100K in April. I just wanted to see what I could do with tired legs. 

I started the race in the front row because everyone else lined up away from the start line. I was standing next to five guys. After the gun went off, I was running in a pack of guys. I ended up staying behind them for a bit. Halfway during the first miles, I ended up passing three of the guys because two of them already broke away for a huge lead. Our mile time was 7:38. It surprised me because I didn't think we were running that fast.

After passing the mile mark, I slowed down a very sharp right to get onto a path leading us over a bridge. When I slowed down, a man and woman passed me. I wanted to stay with them, but they creating a huge gap in between us. 

I was able to cut down the lead between the man and woman ahead of me during the second mile. But the lead was still very large. When running through a subdivision, the man ended up taking a wrong turn. A volunteer ran after him telling him to turn around. While he was running the wrong way, the woman built up a lead over him. 

I wasn't able to get any closer to the woman ahead of me, but I was able to gain some ground on the guy. After taking the wrong turn, he ended up stopping twice to catch his breath. While he was stopped, I got within 10-15 seconds of him. When I would get close to him, he would start running again. I tried to run him down, but he was running away from me. 

I ended up finishing in 25:37.63 (official time: 25:37.7). I was the fifth overall runner, second overall woman and second in my age group. I finished 1 minute 33 seconds behind the first woman and 23 seconds behind the fourth place guy. I was happy with performance in this race. I came within 36 seconds of my current 5K PR time. I'd say that is a fantastic effort for the race.

IKEA

My husband and I will be heading to IKEA this weekend.

My husband has been looking for a curio cabinet for a month and we were running out of places to look. After visiting all of the furniture stores in the regional area, he looked on the Internet. He finally had success there. IKEA had what he was looking for.

He thought about just having the cabinet delivered, but it was expensive. He said it was cheaper to just drive to the store and buy it there.  So that is what we will be doing.

Can't wait to look at all of the items in the huge mega store.

New teammate

It was announced Wednesday that Vicki Huber Rudawsky has joined the Oiselle team. Read more about Vicki on the Oiselle blog.

Huber Rudawsky ran at Villanova University. She competed in the 1500m, 3000m, 5000m and cross country. She has won a few titles:
1986 - 3000m - Big East Conference
1987 - 3000m - NCAA Indoor
1987 - 3000m - NCAA Outdoor - meet record - 8:54.41
1988 - 1500m & 3000m - NCAA Indoor
1988 - 3000m - NCAA Outdoor - collegiate record - 8:47.35
1988 - 1500m - USA Outdoor
1989 - 3000m - NCAA Indoor
1989 - 3000m - NCAA Outdoor
1989 - NCAA Cross Country champion

While at Villanova, Huber Rudawsky qualified to run in the 1988 Seoul Olympics in the 3000m. She finished 6th with a time of 8:37.25. in 1992, Huber Rudawsky finished fourth at the IAAF World Cross Country Championship. She set a 5K American road record. In 1996, she qualified for the Atlanta Olympics in 1500m.

I am very excited to call Vicki a teammate.

Women's basketball conference tournaments

Chuck Burton/Associated Press

Most of the women's basketball conference tournaments finished on Sunday and Monday. Some of the tournaments I watched were the ACC, Big East, Big Ten and Big 12. The Big East crowned its champion Tuesday.

The Duke Blue Devil women's basketball team captured its eighth Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title Sunday afternoon in Greensboro, North Carolina. Duke defeated their rivials North Carolina 92-73 in the title game.

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Pres

Duke freshman point guard Alexis Jones had a career-high 24 points and was named the MVP of the ACC tournament. Elizabeth Williams also scored 24 points and Haley Peters added 17 points.

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

The Purdue Boilermakers defeated Michigan State Spartans 62-47 Sunday at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois to win the Big Ten conference tournament.  This was Purdue's ninth tournament title win. Purdue led by as many as 23 points in the first half.  In the second half, Michigan State cut the lead to 9 points, but could never get any closer.

Purdue's Drey Mingo led the team in scoring with 24 points. Courtney Moses added 16 points and KK Houser chipped in 10 points. Mingo was named the MVP of the tournament and Moses and Houser were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Jessica Hill/Associated Press

The Baylor Bears defeated Iowa State Cyclones 75-47 Monday to win their their third straight Big 12 conference tournament title at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Brittney Griner lead the Bears with 31 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks. Griner scored 23 points in the first half. Odyssey Sims added 20 points for the Bears, making three 3-pointers in the first four minutes in the second half.

Griner was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament and Destiny Williams and Sims were named to the Big 12 All-Tournament team.

Notre Dame Irish defeated Connecticut Huskies 61-59 Tuesday in the Big East Tournament Championship at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut.

The game was tied at 59 with 18 seconds to go. Notre Dame's Natalie Achonwa scored the winning basket with a layup with 2 seconds left. Notre Dame won their first Big East tournament title. The Irish are leaving the Big East conference and heading to the Atlantic Coast Conference starting in the 2013-14 season.

Notre Dame's Kayla McBride scored 23 points and was named the Big East Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Jewell Loyd had 16 points and Skylar Diggins added 12.

Selection Monday will take place March 18 on ESPN at 7 p.m. EST. The first round of the women's tournament will begin on Saturday, March 23.

Mt. Hope Cemetery - Rochester, New York

Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships

The Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships took place Friday and Saturday in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Oregon Ducks women's team won the title with 56 points over Kansas (44) and LSU with 43 points.

 Arkansas Razorbacks won the men's title with 74 points, Florida was second with 59 and Wisconsin third with 33.

Associated Press

Day 1 started with the women's mile semifinal. One of my favorite runners, Cory McGee of Florida, finished 11th (4:39.05) and failed to qualify for the finals. Michigan's Shannon Osika finished 14th (4:43.43) and also failed to qualify for the mile final. Amanda Winslow of Florida State had the fastest qualifying time in 4:36.48.

April L. Brown/Associated Press

Only a few running finals took place on Day 1. The women's 5000m was won by Dartmouth's Abbey D'Agostino in 15:28.11. Besty Saina of Iowa State finished second in 15:33.66, Aliphine Tulamik-Bolton of Witchita State was third (15:38.0) and Oregon's Jordan Hasay was fourth (15:40.30).

In the men's 5000m, Texas Tech's Kenndy Kithuka won in 13:25.38. Diego Estrada of Northern Arizona was second (13:30.38), Girma Mecheso of Oklahoma State was third in 13:40.28 and Maverick Darling (13:41.25) and Mohammed Ahmed (13:41.84), teammates from Wisconsin were fourth and fifth.

The Michigan Wolverines women's Distance Medley Relay won the national championship in 10:56.46. They also set a facility record. On the winning relay was Rebecca Addison, Maya Long, Jillian Smith and Amanda Eccleston. On the men's side, Princeton won the DMR in 9:33.01 with Michael Williams, Austin Hollimon, Russell Dinkins and Peter Callahan.

The Day 2 running event finals started with the women's mile run. Emma Coburn of Colorado won in 4:29.91, Amanda Winslow of Florida State finished second (4:31.08) and Agata Strausa of Florida was third (4:36.91). In the men's mile run, Arizona's Lawi Lalang won in 3:54.74. Lalang set a new NCAA meet record with his finishing time. Ryan Hill of North Carolina was second (3:55.25) and Wisconsin's Austin Mudd was third in 3:57.93.

Natoya Goule of LSU ran away with the women's 800m title in 2:02.00 over Laura Roesler of Oregon who finished in 2:02.32. Coming in third was Goule's LSU teammate, Charlene Lipsey in 2:02.47. In the men's 800m, Oregon's Elihah Greer won the title in 1:47.13 over Penn State's Casimir Loxsom (1:47.23). Loyola's Declan Murray finished third in 1:47.60.

Abbey D'Agostino was a double winner over the weekend. D'Agostino won the 5000m Friday and won the 3000m on Saturday. Her winning time was 9:01.08. Jordan Hasay of Oregon was the runner-up in 9:06.61 and Kentucky's Cally Macumber was third in 9:07.33. Arizona's Lawi Lalang was also a double winner over the weekend. Lalang won the mile Friday and won the men's 3000m Saturday. Lalang's winning time was 7:45.94, which was also a NCAA meet record. Kemoy Campbell finished second in 7:46.95 and Kirubel Erassa of Oklahoma State was third in 7:49.17.

Books read in 2012

Between Here and April, Deborah Copaken Kogan
Bleed for Me, Michael Robotham
The Making of a Royal Romance, Katie Nicholl 
Prince Philip: The Turbulent Early Life of the Man Who Married Queen Elizabeth II, Philip Eade
The Black Box, Michael Connelly
The Painted Girls, Cathy Marie Buchanan
The Drowning House, Elizabeth Black
Killing Kennedy, Bill O'Reilly

Currently Reading: Argo, Antonio Mendez & Matt Baglio

Division I Indoor Track & Field Championship

The Division 1 Indoor Track & Field Championships will take place March 8-9, 2013 at Randal Tyson Track in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

The meet will be streaming live on ESPN3.com. On Friday, the coverage starts at 6:25 p.m. and Saturday, 6:50 p.m. On Sunday, March 17, 2013, ESPNU will have tape-delayed coverage on TV starting at 7 p.m. The championship schedule can be found here.

The list of men's and women's qualifiers for the Indoor Championship was released on Monday. I love watching track and field, but I really love watching the distance races.

The races I can't wait to see are the women's 1 mile run with Emma Coburn (Colorado), Cory McGee (Florida) and Shannon Osika (Michigan). The women's 3000m run; Abbey D'Agostino (Dartmouth) and Jordan Hasay (Oregon). The women's 5000m run including Betsy Saina (Iowa State), Emily Sisson (Providence), Hasay (Oregon) and D'Agostino (Dartmouth). The Michigan Wolverines Distance Medley Relay team are seeded first. The DMR team includes Rebecca Addison, Maya Long, Jillian Smith and Amada Eccelston.They set a school record last weekend and ran the fastest time in the nation.

The men's races I can't wait to watch is men's 800m with Casimir Loxsom (Penn State). The men's 3000m with Lawi Lalang (Arizona), Maverick Darling (Wisconsin), Zachary Mayhew and Andrew Bayer (both Indiana). The men's 3000m with Darling, Mohammed Ahmed and Elliot Krause (all of Wisconsin), Dan Lowry and Bobby Aprill (both Michigan).

Ryan Kelly

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team fans have been waiting for this day since January 8.

Duke hosted Miami Saturday night in an Atlantic Coast Conference game. The first time the two teams met this season back on January 23, Ryan Kelly was out and Miami crushed then No. 1 Duke 90-63.

This meeting was different. Ryan Kelly was back from injury and in the lineup. Kelly missed 13 games with a right foot injury. On his return Saturday, Kelly lead the team with a career high 36 points. He made 7 of 9 three pointers. No. 3 Duke defeated No. 5 Miami at Cameron Indoor Stadium 79-76.

Before Kelly's injury, Duke was undefeated and the number 1 team in the country. When Kelly injured his foot in early January, Duke went 9-4. The Blue Devils lost to North Carolina Sate, Miami, Maryland and Virginia.

With Kelly back in the lineup, Duke is a better team. Duke has two more regular season games against Virginia Tech and North Carolina before the ACC tournament starts on March 15 in Greensboro, North Carolina.

2013 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships

Kirby Lee

Day 2 of the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships took place on Saturday. And it was a big day for athletes.

The men's heptathlon wrapped up on Day 2. Gunner Nixon set a meet and facility record win with his first indoor heptathlon title with a score of 6,232 points. Nixon recorded four personal bests in the 60m (6.86), shot put (46-10/14.27m), 60mH (7.93) and pole vault (15-9/4.80m) Curtis Beach finished in second with 5,895 points. Beach improved from fifth to second after his win in the final event, the1000m, in 2:33.40.

Mary Schwalm

Janay DeLoach Soukup won her third USA Indoor long jump title with a leap of 22-1.75/6.75m. The runner-up was Whitney Gipson with a leap of 22-8.25/6.61m, which was a personal best for her.

In the men's long jump finals, Jeremy Hicks won his third title with a jump of 26-2.75/7.99. Michael Hartfield finished second (25-9.26/7.85m) and Mikeses Morse finished third with a jump of 25-1.75/7.66m.

In the women's weight throw, Gwen Berry won the title with a throw of 81-0.50/24.70m. Amber Campbell was second with a toss of 77-8.25/23.68m. On the men's side, Jake Freeman won with a toss of 77-1/23.51m. A.G. Kruger finished second with a 76-8/23.37m throw.

www.jamesnava.com

Will Leer won his first indoor title in the men's 3000m in 8:07.84. Benjamin Bruce was second in 8:16.69 and finishing third was Tommy Schmitz in 8:30.92. Chelsea Reilly won an exciting women's 3000m race. Reilly was pushed from behind by Lisa Uhl and won the race in 9:23.12. Emily Infeld was second in 9:23.24 and Lisa Uhl was third in 9:23.37. Reilly and Uhl both fell to the track at the field line.

Jenn Suhr, set an indoor American and World Record in the pole vault. Suhr won the pole vault by clearing 15-9/4.80m on her first attempt. Suhr then broke the American record with a vault of 16-0.75/4.90m. Once she cleared that, the bar was raised to world record height, 16-5.25/5.01m. Suhr cleared the bar on her first attempt. Finishing behind Suhr was Kylie Hutson. Hutson cleared 15-7/4.75m and that was a personal best for her. With that vault, Hutson became the third best indoor American vaulter.

Day 3 was filled with field event finals. Amanda Smock won her second indoor triple jump title with a leap of 44-2.75/13.48m. Blessing Ufodiama was runner up with a jump of 44-1.25/13.44m. In the men's shot put finals, Ryan Whiting won a national title with his throw of 71-6.25/21.80m. Cory Martin was second with a put of 68-8/20.93m. With that throw Whiting improved his world leading mark. Jordan Scott was the winner of the men's pole vault (18-4.5/5.60m). Inika McPherson claimed a national title in the high jump with a leap of 6-2.25/1.89m. Josh Honeycutt was the men's triple jump with a leap of 54-5.25/16.59m. Rounding out the field events, Michelle Carter won her first national title in the shot put with a distance of 63-8.25/19.41m.

Barbara Pierre won the 60 m dash in a time of 7.08 over Lekeisha Lawson who finished in 7.10. Shayla Mahan was the third place finisher in 7.19. On the men's side, Dangelo Cherry won the 60m dash in 6.49 over Reggie Dixon in 6.54. Jeremy Dodson placed third in 6.58.

Kristi Castlin won a national title in the women's 60m Hurdles with a time of 7.99. Finishing in second behind Castlin was Nia Ali (8.00) and Queen Harrison in 8.01. Omoghan Osaghae won the men's 60mH title with a time of 7.62 over Brendan Ames in 7.72 and Trey Hardee in 7.74.

American Indoor 600m record holder Erik Sowinski defeated Robby Andrews and Tyler Mulder to win the men's 800m in 1:47.09. Andrews finished second in 1:47.13 and Mulder in 1:47.43. Eighteen year-old, Ajee Wilson won the women's 800m in 2:02.64. Chanelle Price was second in 2:02.93 and former Iowa Hawkeye Bethany Praska in 2:03.57.

In the women's 400m dash, Ebonie Floyd won in 52.02 over Joanna Atkins (53.33) and LaSasha Aldredge in 54.43. Three-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time World Championships gold medalist Jeremy Wariner took the men's 400m dash title in 45.82. Marcus Boyd finished behind Wariner in 46.54 and Michael Courtney was third (48.00).

The women's 1 mile run was won by 16 year-old Mary Cain in 5:05.68. Treniere Moser finished behind Cain in 5:06.55 and Brie Felnagle was third (5:06.90). Will Leer won his second title on Sunday in the men's 1 mile run in 3:58.79. Craig Miller was runner-up to Leer in 3:58.90 and Cory Leslie placed third in 3:59.88.

2013 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships

The 2013 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships take place this weekend in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The meet will be broadcasted live on TV. On March 2 from 6-8 p.m. EST on Universal Sports and March 3, from 4-6 p.m. EST on NBC Sports Network.

The championships start on Friday with the men's heptathlon and the women's pentathlon. On Saturday are the final two events in the men's heptathlon, first round running events, finals of the men's and women's 3000m and finals of most field events. Sunday are the semifinals and finals of all running and remaining field events.

The schedule for the championships:

Subject to change; all times are Mountain Standard Time

Day 1 - Friday, March 1
11:30 a.m.     W     60mH                pentathlon
11:50 a.m.     M     60m                   heptathlon
12:45 p.m.     M     long jump         heptathlon
1:00 p.m.       W     high jump         pentathlon
2:00 p.m.       M     shot put             heptathlon
3:00 p.m.       W     shot put             pentathlon
4:00 p.m.       M     high jump         heptathlon
4:15 p.m.       W     long jump         pentathlon
5:30 p.m.       W     800m                pentathlon
5:45 p.m.      Day 1 Session Ends
                  
Day 2 - Saturday, March 2
12:00 p.m.    M    60mH                 heptathlon
1:10 p.m.      M     pole vault          heptathlon
1:15 p.m.      M    3 5# wt. throw    final
1:45 p.m.     W     60mH                 1st round
2:05 p.m.     M     60mH                 1st round
2:15 p.m.     M     long jump            final
2:25 p.m.     W     60m                    1st round
2:45 p.m.     M     60m                    1st round
3:05 p.m.     Ceremony
3:20 p.m.    M    1000m                   hep final
4:05 p.m.    W    20# wt. throw        final
4:05 p.m.    W    800m                     1st round
4:10 p.m.    M    high jump               final
4:15 p.m.    W    pole vault               final
4:25 p.m.    W    long jump               final
4:25 p.m.     M     800m                    1st round
4:45 p.m.     W     400m                    1st round
5:05 p.m.     M     400m                    1st round
5:27 p.m.    W    3000m                   final
5:43 p.m.    M    3000m                   final
6:00 p.m.    W    400m IH                exhibition
6:06 p.m.    M    400m IH                exhibition
6:10 p.m.     Day 2 Session Ends
                  
Day 3 - Sunday, March 3
11:45 a.m.    W    triple jump            final
11:45 a.m.    M     3000m RW          final
12:05 p.m.     W     60m                    semi finals
12:20 p.m.     M     60m                    semi finals
12:20 p.m.    M    shot put                 final
12:40 p.m.     W     60mH                 semi finals
1:00 p.m.     M     60mH                   semi finals
1:00 p.m.    M    pole vault               final
1:20 p.m.    W    3000m RW            final
1:45 p.m.     Opening Ceremony
2:00 p.m.    W    high jump              final
2:02 p.m.    mstW    3000m             exhibition
2:10 p.m.    M    triple jump             final
2:16 p.m.    mstM    400m                exhibition
2:20 p.m.    W    shot put                  final
2:25 p.m.    M    800m                      final
2:35 p.m.    W    400m                     final
2:44 p.m.    W    Mile                       final
2:55 p.m.    M    400m                     final
3:04 p.m.    W    800m                     final
3:13 p.m.    M    Mile                      final
3:25 p.m.    W    60m                       final
3:34 p.m.    M    60m                       final
3:43 p.m.    M    60mH                    final
3:52 p.m.    W    60mH                    final
3:55 p.m.     Session & Championship Ends
4:00 p.m.     USATF Championship Awards