Michigan gymnastics

mgoblue.com

The Michigan Wolverines women's gymnastics team won the Big Ten title Saturday in State College, Pennsylvania. The No. 8-ranked Wolverines performed in the first session of the championships and ended with a score of 197.550. The Wolverines had to watch the second session to see if their team score would hold up and win the championship. Coming in second was Nebraska, who competed in the second session, with the score of 196.950.

Michigan had a program best on floor exercise with a score of 49.700. Joanna Sampson was co-champion on the floor with Nebraska's Emily Wong. Sampson and Wong both recorded perfect 10.0s. Sampson also won the uneven bars title with a score of 9.925. Nicole Artz was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

Next up for the Wolverines is the NCAA Regionals on April 5. Michigan will compete as a No. 2 seed at Athens, Georgia. Other teams in the Athens region are Georgia, Central Michigan, Ohio State, North Carolina State and Rutgers.

Books read in 2014

Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead do Tell Tales, William Bass & Jon Jefferson
The Big Roads, Earl Swift
Never Suck A Dead Man's Hand: Curious Adventures of a CSI, Dana Kollmann 
Confessions of a Surgeon, Paul A. Ruggieri M.D.
Lincoln's Grace Robbers, Steve Sheinkin
Why Your Prescription Takes So Damn Long to Fill, Drugmonkey
Beyond the Body Farm, Dr. Bill Bass & Jon Jefferson
The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession, Mark Obmascik
True Hollywood Noir: Filmland Mysteries and Murders, Dina Di Mambro
Island of Vice: Theodor Roosevelt's Quest to Clean Up Sin-Loving New York, Richard Zacks   
Mortal Evidence: The Forensics Behind Nine Shocking Cases, Cyril H. Wecht
Amelia, Nancy Nahra
Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures, Robert K. Wittman & John Shiffman 
The Fault in Our Stars, John Green
Hot Lights, Cold Steel, Michale J. Collins, M.D.
Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs, Michael J. Collins M.D. 
Dark Dreams: A Legendary FBI Profiler Examines Homicide and the Criminal Mind, Roy Hazelwood & Stephen G. Michaud 
Swim, Bike, Run: Our Triathlon Story, Alistair Brownlee & Jonathan Brownlee

Currently Reading: The Stranger Beside Me, Ann Rule

Kara Goucher

oiselle.com

A huge announcement was made last Thursday. Marathon superstar Kara Goucher signed with Oiselle.

Goucher was shopping around for sponsors back in January and Sally Bergesen, CEO of Oiselle, received an email from Goucher. Goucher wrote in her email that she loves Oiselle and what the company stands for.

Goucher flew to Seattle to meet with Sally, other Oiselle superstar Lauren Fleshman, and other Oiselle athletes and employees.

After the Seattle trip, Goucher had many offers from other companies. In the end, she signed with Oiselle because she 'followed her heart'.

I am so honored to call Kara Goucher a teammate.

Read articles and blog posts about Goucher joining Oiselle: Sally Bergesen, Kara Goucher, The Oregonian and Runner's World.

Books read in 2014

Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead do Tell Tales, William Bass & Jon Jefferson
The Big Roads, Earl Swift
Never Suck A Dead Man's Hand: Curious Adventures of a CSI, Dana Kollmann 
Confessions of a Surgeon, Paul A. Ruggieri M.D.
Lincoln's Grace Robbers, Steve Sheinkin
Why Your Prescription Takes So Damn Long to Fill, Drugmonkey
Beyond the Body Farm, Dr. Bill Bass & Jon Jefferson
The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession, Mark Obmascik
True Hollywood Noir: Filmland Mysteries and Murders, Dina Di Mambro
Island of Vice: Theodor Roosevelt's Quest to Clean Up Sin-Loving New York, Richard Zacks   
Mortal Evidence: The Forensics Behind Nine Shocking Cases, Cyril H. Wecht
Amelia, Nancy Nahra
Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures, Robert K. Wittman & John Shiffman 
The Fault in Our Stars, John Green
Hot Lights, Cold Steel, Michale J. Collins, M.D.
Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs, Michael J. Collins M.D. 
Dark Dreams: A Legendary FBI Profiler Examines Homicide and the Criminal Mind, Roy Hazelwood & Stephen G. Michaud

Currently Reading: Swim, Bike, Run: Our Triathlon Story, Alistair Brownlee & Jonathan Brownlee

Selection Monday

The women's tournament selections were made on Selection Monday. The first round of the tournament starts Saturday.

The women's tournament starts on Saturday.  The teams that I like are italicized. Playing Saturday is (2) Duke vs (15) Winthrop at 11 a.m. EST (1) Notre Dame vs (16) Robert Morris at 1:30 p.m.  (4) Nebraska vs (13) Fresno State at 4 p.m.(2) Baylor vs (15) Western Kentucky at 6:30 p.m.

On Sunday, (3) Penn State vs (14) Wichita State at 12:30 p.m. (1) Connecticut vs (16) Prairie View A&M at 8 p.m.

The national championship will be played April 8 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Selection Sunday

The picks for the men's basketball tournament took place over the weekend on Selection Sunday.

The two teams that I care about both lost in their conference tournament finals: Duke in the ACC to Virginia and Michigan in the Big Ten to Michigan State. Both of these teams made into the tournament because of their records. Sadly, they are in the same section of the bracket: Midwest.

Michigan was picked as a two seed and will play (15) Wofford on Thursday at 7:10 p.m. EST on CBS. Duke, a three seed, will play Friday against (14) Mercer at 12:15 p.m. EST on CBS. If Michigan and Duke win their first two games, they would play against each other on March 28.

Books read in 2014

Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead do Tell Tales, William Bass & Jon Jefferson
The Big Roads, Earl Swift
Never Suck A Dead Man's Hand: Curious Adventures of a CSI, Dana Kollmann 
Confessions of a Surgeon, Paul A. Ruggieri M.D.
Lincoln's Grace Robbers, Steve Sheinkin
Why Your Prescription Takes So Damn Long to Fill, Drugmonkey
Beyond the Body Farm, Dr. Bill Bass & Jon Jefferson
The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession, Mark Obmascik
True Hollywood Noir: Filmland Mysteries and Murders, Dina Di Mambro
Island of Vice: Theodor Roosevelt's Quest to Clean Up Sin-Loving New York, Richard Zacks   
Mortal Evidence: The Forensics Behind Nine Shocking Cases, Cyril H. Wecht
Amelia, Nancy Nahra
Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures, Robert K. Wittman & John Shiffman 
The Fault in Our Stars, John Green
Hot Lights, Cold Steel, Michale J. Collins, M.D.
Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs, Michael J. Collins M.D.

Currently Reading: Dark Dreams: A Legendary FBI Profiler Examies Homicide and the Criminal Mind, Roy Hazelwood & Stephen G. Michaud

NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships

The NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships took place from March 14-15 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

GoDucks. com

The Oregon Ducks won both the men and women's titles. The Oregon men finished with 62 points followed by second place Arkansas with 54 and Florida in third with 35 points. The women's side was closer. Oregon won the title with 44 points over second place Texas with 43.5 points and Georgia and Florida tied for third with 40.5 points.

On Friday night, Edward Cheserek of Oregon defeated Lawi Lalang to win the men's 5000m title. Cheserek won in 13:46.67. Lalang came across the finish line in 13:52.83. For the women's 5000m, Abbey D'Agostino of Dartmouth (16:20.39) held off Stanford's Aisling Cuffe (16:22.48) to win another title. Michiga
n's Erin Finn placed 12th in 16:51.10.

In the men's Distance Medley Relay, Stanford defeated Oregon to win. Stanford's time was 9:37.63 to Oregon's 9:40.47. Arkansas won the women's DMR in 11:05.83 over Stanford (11:08.28). Last year's champions, Michigan was fifth in 11:14.60.

Emily Lipari won the women's mile run Saturday in 4:38.82. On of my favorite college runners, Cory McGee of Florida, was fourth in 4:39.61. Michigan State's Leah O'Connor was sixth in 4:40.86.

USA Today/Kirby Lee

Michigan's Cindy Ofili placed sixth in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.07. The event was won by Sharkia Nelvis of Arizona State in 7.93.

Oregon's Laura Roesler won the women's 800m in 2:03.85. Coming in second was Savannah Camacho from Oklahoma State in 2:05.53.

Edward Cheserek of Oregon won a second title in the men's 3000m. Cheserek won in 8:11.59 over Kirubel Erassa of Oklahoma State (8:13.08). Like Cheserek, Abby D'Agostino was a double winner as well. D'Agostino won the women's 3000m in 9:14.47. Arkansas Dominique Scott was second in 9:16.05.

The NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship will air on ESPNU on Saturday, March 22 at 6:30 pm EST.

Books read in 2014

Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead do Tell Tales, William Bass & Jon Jefferson
The Big Roads, Earl Swift
Never Suck A Dead Man's Hand: Curious Adventures of a CSI, Dana Kollmann 
Confessions of a Surgeon, Paul A. Ruggieri M.D.
Lincoln's Grace Robbers, Steve Sheinkin
Why Your Prescription Takes So Damn Long to Fill, Drugmonkey
Beyond the Body Farm, Dr. Bill Bass & Jon Jefferson
The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession, Mark Obmascik
True Hollywood Noir: Filmland Mysteries and Murders, Dina Di Mambro
Island of Vice: Theodor Roosevelt's Quest to Clean Up Sin-Loving New York, Richard Zacks   
Mortal Evidence: The Forensics Behind Nine Shocking Cases, Cyril H. Wecht
Amelia, Nancy Nahra
Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures, Robert K. Wittman & John Shiffman 
The Fault in Our Stars, John Green
Hot Lights, Cold Steel, Michale J. Collins, M.D.
 
Currently Reading: Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs, Michael J. Collins M.D.

Horses III - Sand Creek, MI

Books read in 2014

Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead do Tell Tales, William Bass & Jon Jefferson
The Big Roads, Earl Swift
Never Suck A Dead Man's Hand: Curious Adventures of a CSI, Dana Kollmann 
Confessions of a Surgeon, Paul A. Ruggieri M.D.
Lincoln's Grace Robbers, Steve Sheinkin
Why Your Prescription Takes So Damn Long to Fill, Drugmonkey
Beyond the Body Farm, Dr. Bill Bass & Jon Jefferson
The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession, Mark Obmascik
True Hollywood Noir: Filmland Mysteries and Murders, Dina Di Mambro
Island of Vice: Theodor Roosevelt's Quest to Clean Up Sin-Loving New York, Richard Zacks   
Mortal Evidence: The Forensics Behind Nine Shocking Cases, Cyril H. Wecht
Amelia, Nancy Nahra
Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures, Robert K. Wittman & John Shiffman 
The Fault in Our Stars, John Green

Currently Reading: Hot Lights, Cold Steel, Michale J. Collins, M.D.

World Indoor Track and Field Championships

Getty Images

The IAAF World Indoor Track and Field Championships took place this past weekend in Sopot, Poland.

Day 1
Ryan Whiting won the gold in the men's shot put. Whiting tossed 72-4.25 on his fourth throw to claim the gold.

Sharon Day-Monroe was just six points short of winning a bronze medal in the women's pentathlon with 4718 points. Nadine Broersen of Netherlands won the gold with 4830 points. Brianne Theisen Eaton was second with 4768 and Alina Fodorova of Ukraine was third with 4724 points.

Day 2

Getty Images

Ashton Eaton won another championship over the weekend. Eaton won the World heptathlon championship with the second-highest point total ever. He finished with 6632 points. In the last event, Eaton missed setting a world record by a second.

Nia Ali crossed the finish line first to defeat defending World Indoor champ Sally Peason in the 60m hurdles. Ali's time was 7.80, which is a PB (personal best), and Pearson's time was 7.85. Former Michigan Wolverine and American, now from Great Britian, Tiffany Porter claimed bronze with a season best time of 7.86.

Getty Images

Francena McCorory was in third place with 100m to go in the women's 400m and passed everyone to win the gold in 51.12. McCorory was the third consecutive American to win the world title. Jamaica's Kaliese Spencer was second with a PB of 51.54 and Bahamas' Shaunae Miller was third in 52.06. Joanna Atkins of the USA finished sixth in 52.55.

Marvin Bracy came up short against Great Britian's Richard Kilty. Kilty won the 60m with a PB in 6.49. Bracy won silver, just finishing .02 seconds off of Kilty in 6.51. Bronze went to Femi Ogunode from Qatar in 6.52.

Getty Images

In the men's 400m, Pavel Maslak from Czechoslovakia, set a national indoor record with his time 45.24 to win. Chris Brown from the Bahamas was second with a PB of 45.58 and Kyle Clemons from the USA was third in 45.74. Clemons teammate David Verburg was fourth in 46.21.

The USA didn't fare too well in the women's and men's 1500m run. Abeba Aregawi of Sweden won the women's 1500m in 4:00.61. Axumawit Embaye of Ethopia was second with a PB of 4:07.12 and former Michigan Wolverine, Nicole Sifuentes of Canada was third in 4:07.61. Sifuentes set a national indoor record with her time. Treniere Moser originally finished in sixth with a time of 4:07.84. That was a PB for Moser. Moser was moved up to fifth after the disqualification of Rababe Arafi. Heather Kampf lead until the 200m mark. Shortly after, Kampf stepped on the inside rail of the track and fell. Kampf finished in 9th in 4:21.78, but was disqualified.

In the men's 1500m, Ayanleh Souleiman won the event in 3:37.52. Aman Wote was second in 3:38.08 and Abdalaati Iguider was third in 3:38.21. American Will Leer ran in the back for most of the race and finished in seventh in 3:39.60. Leer was moved up to sixth after the disqualification of New Zealand's Nick Willis.

Day 3

The USA men's 4x400m relay set a world indoor record with their time of 3:02.13. Besides setting the indoor record, they also received a world record bonus of $50,000 that was offered by the IAAF. Kyle Clemons, David Verburg, Kind Butler and Calvin Smith were the athletes on the world record relay team. Great Britian finished in second with a season best time of 3:03.49 and Jamaica was third with a national indoor record of 3:03.69.

The USA women's 4x400m relay also won gold. The relay team of Natasha Hastings, Joanna Atkins, Francena McCorory and Cassandra Tate clocked a 3:24.83. Jamaica set a national indoor record with their time of 3:26.54 for silver and Great Britain had a season best time of 3:27.90.

In the women's 60m, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won gold with a PB of 6.98. Murielle Ahoure was second with a season best of 7.01 and American Tianna Bartoletta was third in 7.06.

Caleb Mwangangi Ndiku of Kenya won the men's 3000m in 7:54.94. American Bernard Lagat won silver with his time of 7:55.22. Lagat was the oldest finalist ever and the oldest medalist ever in an event at the World Indoor Championships. Ethiopia's Dejen Gebremeskel was third in 7:55.39. Galen Rupp finished just outside the medals in fourth place with a time of 7:55.84.

Chanelle Price of the USA, went wire to wire to win the women's 800m in 2:00.09. Angelika Cichocka was second in 2:00.45 and Marina Arzamasova was third in 2:00.79.

In the men's 60m hurdles, American Omo Osaghae ran a world leading time to win gold in 7.45. France's Pascal Martinot-Lagarde was second in 7.46 and teammate Garfield Darien was third with a PB in 7.47.

Car troubles

My Pontiac Grand Prix is giving me problems. It has been to the repair shop four times since the beginning of 2014.

It stared back in January when I was driving home from work. My car died on a busy street. A sheriff's deputy stopped to help. He popped the hood and try to figure out what was wrong with it. At that time another bystander stopped to help. Both of their efforts where unsuccessful. While the guys were trying to help, I called my husband to have a tow truck sent out my way. The tow truck arrived and put my car on the back of a flat bed. My car was towed to a local car shop.

The car shop found the issue. They said the throttle body was really dirty and mucked up. They cleaned it and test drove my car. They said it felt good. They cleaned the part to save me money. The part is very expensive. I picked up my car a day or two later, and it drove fine.

A couple of weeks later, I started my car in the morning before work. My car was chugging and black smoke was coming out of the exhaust. I saw on my dashboard the same things I saw a few weeks ago: reduced engine power and no traction control. I knew I needed to buy the expensive part. My husband gave me a ride to work and I had my car towed later in the day. The same tow trucker driver stopped at my house and said, "It's you again." Yes. It is me and my car. I told him it was the same issue and the repair shop was just trying to save me money. But I needed an expensive part for my car. The shop had to special order the part and I got my car back a couple of days later.

Again, a few weeks later, I started my car before work. It started chugging, black smoke was coming out of the tailpipe and my dashboard read "reduced engine power." I turned the car off and woke my husband up to drive me to work. The next day, instead of towing my vehicle. My husband attached a tow strap to the back of his truck and to the front of my car. He pulled my car with his truck the few short blocks to the repair shop. Driving a car in neutral without power steering is awful. The brakes didn't feel like they were working. I was scared that I was going to hit the back of his truck. But we made it to the repair shop alright.

The shop called two days later saying that the car was working great. One of the shop guys took it on an extensive test drive and it felt smooth. My husband gave me a ride to the shop before he went to go workout at the gym. I picked up my keys, started my car and left the shop driveway. Not even 50 feet away and my car dies in the middle of one the busiest streets in the city. I put on my hazards, called the shop and said my car was dead just out of the driveway.  One of the shop guys got my car started,turned it around and got it back into the shop parking lot. He said that the car was just driving so well, but as he was saying that my car was chugging again. The shop guy that called to say my car was done said he was embarrassed. He said they would figure out what the issue was and fix it.

A couple of days later, the shop called my husband to explain the issue. The map sensor that was in my car was set to 8000 feet above sea level, when we are only at 800 feet. My car was also set at 8000 rpm. He said with those two issues, it was basically chocking my car to death. I joked with the guy that I was going across the street to get gas, I said I hope to make it over there. For everything I went through, I wasn't charged for the repair. My part was under warranty, so that paid for it. Before leaving, I told the shop guy that I liked them, but I didn't want to see them again for a while.

I have driven my car to work twice this week. It has been driving smooth. When I was backing into a parking spot yesterday, my dashboard said "Traction Control". When my car was chugging the previous times, my dashboard also read that. I started to worry. I was thinking, "Is my car going to die again?" But I thought, I could have just drove over some ice in the parking lot. On my drive home later, my car didn't give me any issues. As I was parking in my driveway, which is very icy, my dashboard read: traction control. I didn't think much of it since I was on ice.

For the next couple of weeks, I'm going to keep my car close to home. I really hope it is fixed for good. I need to trust that my car won't die in the middle of the road.  

Platinum Award

On February 14, I earned my second Platinum Award from The President's Challenge. I earned my first Platinum Award back on March 13, 2012.

Since 2012, I have earned another Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards in three months. To earn a Platinum Award, you must accumulate 1,000,000 points. I earned those points by running, doing aerobics, walking, doing household tasks and shoveling snow.

It took me 23 months to earn my second Platinum Award. I hope to have another in just under two years.

Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday. Which is also the first day of Lent. Lent is forty weekdays starting with Ash Wednesday and ends the day before Easter, April 20.

Every year I give something up. One year it was pop.  I didn't start drinking it again until years later. I occasionally have a pop now, but it wasn't like it was in the past. I might have one once a week. I have also given up chips, cookies and chocolate. But I have always gone back to eating those regularly.

This year I'm giving up snacking in between meals.  When I lost all my weight back in the 2010, that is what helped me do it. The reason I'm doing that this year is because I find myself in the kitchen a lot eating chips or cookies for no reason. It is just a habit. I hope these next 40 days can break that mindless ending habit.

Books read in 2014

Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead do Tell Tales, William Bass & Jon Jefferson
The Big Roads, Earl Swift
Never Suck A Dead Man's Hand: Curious Adventures of a CSI, Dana Kollmann 
Confessions of a Surgeon, Paul A. Ruggieri M.D.
Lincoln's Grace Robbers, Steve Sheinkin
Why Your Prescription Takes So Damn Long to Fill, Drugmonkey
Beyond the Body Farm, Dr. Bill Bass & Jon Jefferson
The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession, Mark Obmascik
True Hollywood Noir: Filmland Mysteries and Murders, Dina Di Mambro
Island of Vice: Theodor Roosevelt's Quest to Clean Up Sin-Loving New York, Richard Zacks   
Mortal Evidence: The Forensics Behind Nine Shocking Cases, Cyril H. Wecht
Amelia, Nancy Nahra
Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures, Robert K. Wittman & John Shiffman
 
Currently Reading: The Fault in Our Stars, John Green

Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships

mgoblue.com

The Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships took place over the weekend at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

The Penn State Nittany Lions won the women's title over Michigan by 10.5 points. Penn State accumulated 114.5 over Michigan's 104 points. The Wisconsin Badgers men's team won by a closer margin over Nebraska, 122.5-118. 

The Michigan Wolverines women's team did have some individual title winners. Cindy Ofili won the 60m hurdles. Ofili set a new SPIRE Institute record and set a PR with a time of 8.08 seconds. Erin Finn set a SPIRE Institute record and broke a Michigan record in the 5000m run. Finn won the race in 15:52.11. Michigan won another Distance Medley Relay in 11:12.52 with a team of Sami Mitchell, Danielle Pfeifer, Jamie Morrissey and Maya Long. Erin Busbee won the long jump with a leap of  20-4.25.

Mike Bradley

On the men's side, the Wisconsin Badgers had some individual titles also: Reed Connor won the men's 3000m in 7:51.78. Mohammed Ahmed won the 5000m and set a SPIRE Institute record in 13:44.32. Japheth Cato won the heptathlon with 5837 points. Cato is the first ever four-time Big Ten heptathlon champion.

The next event is the NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico on March 14-15.

Women's results
1. Penn State          114.5
2. Michigan            104
3. Nebraska             92
4. Minnesota           64.5
5. Purdue                 53
6. Ohio State           51
7. Michigan State    50
8. Iowa                    49.5
9. Illinois                 47
10. Indiana              46.5
11. Wisconsin          29


Men's results
1. Wisconsin           122.5
2. Nebraska             118
3. Penn State           72
4. Illinois                 71.5
5. Purdue                 61
6. Minnesota           57
7. Ohio State           55
8. Michigan State    51
9. Indiana                 40.5
10. Iowa                   30
11. Michigan            23.5