Number of Olympic Medalists that I have met (and geeked out over) in my lifetime: Up to 2 now
Hello my Lovelies and Gents,
If you remember, two weeks ago I got to mark something off of my bucket list. I finally got to realize my dream of Curling. While my time was just a taste, it was beyond fun and exciting. I couldn't wait to get back. Well last week I was exhausted and couldn't find anyone to go with me, so I opted out. It's okay though, because Ms. Amy and I had planned on going today from the start. Today was the day that the Charlotte Curling Center had a guest with them. I can remember watching Carolyn McRorie in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Nothing was going to stop me from meeting her.
The last two weeks I have spent every chance possible watching Olympic Curling and really focusing on their form. In all of the years that I have watched, I focused on their strategy. But, after seeing how tough is is firsthand, I wanted to focus on what I could do better.
I should have had a long distance training day today for next month's Half Marathon, but my knees have been sore and stiff after my trainings this week so I made the sacrifice to skip it. I thought about doing it afterwards, but something happened and I had to put it off. I'll get to that a little later.
Anyway, when I attended the first Open House two weeks ago, my instructions for pushing off were to "rock back and push off" and I also applied that to the rock. Watching the Olympics I really focused on that. They push with their body and release the rock, they don't push it more. They also get ridiculously close to the ice with most of their body. So going into this I wanted to work on that. But, mostly I wanted redemption on that sucky Sweeping that we did last time. Bah!
Before I continue with my day today, I want to quickly talk about the MiraCurl on Ice that happened early in the morning. The USA Men's team was set to take on Sweden in the Gold Medal round at 12:30 this morning. I painted my nails red, white, and blue. I wore my USA Olympics shirt yesterday I was excited. Sadly I bought another, smaller Olympic shirt in 2016 with the hopes that it would fit for this year. It is still a tad snug, but my other shirt is a tad bigger so I'm a work in progress.
Back to the MiraCurl. The Charlotte Curling Center was hosting a Watch Party, but I just wasn't sure I could handle that. My drive home would be 40 minutes in the middle of the night. I was there in spirit though when the Men took the Gold! The USA has never won anything higher than a Bronze in Curling. This was HUGE.
Needless to say, the USA has gone Curling crazy. They were expecting a very large number of people at the Open House today. So when I asked Ms. Amy what time she wanted to go, I was super excited when she said "Noon". I knew she was on board. It didn't start until 1, but the food truck would be open at noon. Let's go!
Let's quick review what I learned the last time: don't wear jeans and wear shoes with a little less tread. It was to get into the 80's today and here I was putting on yoga pants and a long sleeve loose shirt. I also put on my Bling shoes that were made for me after Dad passed away. They make me smile and they have less tread than my running sneakers. I was in good shape.
I fell a little behind because I was watching the replay of the Gold Medal game. Oops. I texted Ms. Amy then grabbed my scarf and gloves before heading out the door. I wanted to stop for cash on the way so I pulled in to the grocery store to get a bottle of water and a diet coke (as I didn't finish my coffee). Everyone is walking around in shorts and flip flops and I had gloves in my bag. Haha.
While I was there Ms. Amy texted that she remembered that the hours were different today. It was 1-5, while the last two weeks were 11-2. Dang it, she wasn't as nerded up as me after all.
We got there 30 minutes early and found parking right in front. There were some picnic benches so we went and ordered our food from the delicious Tin Kitchen Truck. I really enjoyed my special pork taco last time, but as it was a special, it wasn't listed today. I got the four cheese quesadilla instead, even though it had goat cheese. It was good, but sadly I didn't get a picture.
It was not quite 1 yet, but we noticed that the line had begun and was coming out of the door. Yikes! So we ran over to get in line. The set up was a little different then last time. Instead of it winding around inside, the line came straight out of the door. The line wasn't that bad. Just to give you an idea of how packed it was going to be: two weeks ago we arrived 30 minutes after the start time and were give tickets 68-70. Today we were there early and were 58 and 59. Yikes. Last time they called our numbers while we were still filling out our form. Today we talked to someone about club membership, and I geeked out as Carolyn McRorie walked in, smiled at me (at least I think she did), and went over to set up for her Meet and Greet. Then they called our number.
We were ready! After we handed in our waiver and ticket we went down to brush off the dirt off of our shoes. Then we got fitted for our rubber shoe cover. We were directed to a different lane this time. Sadly, I didn't see Mr. Green Pants from last time. We were sent to the Canada Lane. While our instructor was helping the people before us, I turned my attention to the instructor in the next lane talking about form. The first time we did this we started in a crouched position. Today they were showing us to use more of a track stance. I was so focused on the form that for my first throw I sort of forgot to let go of the rock and it was pitiful. *hang my head in shame* The good thing is that my form was good otherwise. My second throw was so much better. I didn't look Olympic just yet, but my throw was strong and straight. Hooray!
Next up was our sweeping. Redemption time. They showed us how to hold the broom and off we went. Last time we had 4 of us sweeping. Today it was just me and Ms. Amy. We started off a little behind, but we quickly caught up to it. At first we were a hot mess all over each other at first. We swept like crazy though and got pretty far down the ice. Go us!
It was picture time!
After the photo op I felt it was time to celebrate our Curling improvements with some wine. I even splurged and bought a Charlotte Curling Center Shot Glass. Check out the USA flag behind me. Shout out to the Men's Curling team. USA!
Ms. Amy and I sat and watched people taking their turns. We cheered them on and watched the instructions. I kept looking over my shoulder and monitored the Meet and Greet with Carolyn McRorie. I couldn't wait to go meet her, but also a little starstruck. We couldn't just walk over. I had to come up with a good question.
Finally we headed over. Yay. She was so nice. I introduced myself and then asked her about conditioning. I wanted to know what she did off ice to prepare. I was thinking yoga would be good since you are practically in pigeon pose the whole time. She mentioned that her daughter got her into it. Your hip flexors get real tight, so yes yoga is good. Lots of Curlers are getting into it. She even mentioned John, who won the Mixed Doubles Gold Medal. *Insert internal Giggle*. She was referring to my MAD CRUSH John Morris. Sigh...
Okay, wait where was I? Oh yes, Ms. Carolyn demonstrated some stances for us and mentioned that you also need to work on strong quads and hamstrings. Squats help. I followed up with a question about height. We wanted to know if being tall had an advantage, and by default did being short have a disadvantage? She said no and showed us how the front leg should be in the center of your body to provide balance and therefore height isn't a factor. Sweet! My dreams for Olympic Gold aren't dead yet! I could be the oldest Athlete there, but think how cute and petite I would be with my blonde braids. America would fall in love with my Cinderella story.
Thank you for spending time with us and letting me geek out Ms. Carolyn :-)
It was such a wonderful afternoon. I'm so thankful for these moments. I really really want to take up curling. I would love to join the league, but the time commitment is an issue for me at the moment. The time that would be best for me would be the Saturday morning 10 am league. I couldn't start until after my Half Marathon next month though. Of course money is also an issue.
Sadly something happened this afternoon that made that a problem. This past week while I was driving a rock hit my windshield. I have an appointment for a repair on Wednesday, but while we were in the Curling Center the crack grew. I now have an appointment for a replacement. Bah. That was stress I did not need getting that sorted out. Ironically the price of the replacement is about the price of the Curling membership. *super sad face* So I am now accepting Sponsors for my Olympic dream. haha. If I could sign a new client soon I would be cool with it, but gah. Not today.
Before I go, I want to address the title of today's blog- Number of Olympic Medalists that I have met (and geeked out over) in my lifetime: Up to 2 now. If you are new to my blog you may not know how crazy I am about the Olympics. I get Olympic Fever every stinking time. Back in the 90's I was working at Border's Bookstore. My "section" was sports/hobbies/parenting. We had a book signing scheduled and it was Dan O'Brien the Gold Medal Decathlete from 1996. My manager knew better than to suggest anyone else be his book prepper (open the book and pass it to him to sign). I was all gooey and just adored him. He was super sweet and even signed my book.
In conclusion, Curling is awesome! I want to go to the Olympics. Someone sponsor me. John Morris Call me!
Have a Blessed Night,
Jennie
xoxo
Fundraising for St. Jude Heroes:
http://heroes.stjude.org/Jennie_Henderson
If you feel like you are alone on your journey and you just need some encouragement I am here for you! Shoot me an email and I will do my best to check in on you or give you the words of support you need several times a week. The journey is so much easier if you have support.
jhendersonfit@gmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/ConfessionsOfAFormerFatGir
yeah, sorry, I messed up and the "l" is missing....I need an assistant :-)
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter: hugsnsmile
Instagram: Jennie5973
If you remember, two weeks ago I got to mark something off of my bucket list. I finally got to realize my dream of Curling. While my time was just a taste, it was beyond fun and exciting. I couldn't wait to get back. Well last week I was exhausted and couldn't find anyone to go with me, so I opted out. It's okay though, because Ms. Amy and I had planned on going today from the start. Today was the day that the Charlotte Curling Center had a guest with them. I can remember watching Carolyn McRorie in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Nothing was going to stop me from meeting her.
The last two weeks I have spent every chance possible watching Olympic Curling and really focusing on their form. In all of the years that I have watched, I focused on their strategy. But, after seeing how tough is is firsthand, I wanted to focus on what I could do better.
I should have had a long distance training day today for next month's Half Marathon, but my knees have been sore and stiff after my trainings this week so I made the sacrifice to skip it. I thought about doing it afterwards, but something happened and I had to put it off. I'll get to that a little later.
Anyway, when I attended the first Open House two weeks ago, my instructions for pushing off were to "rock back and push off" and I also applied that to the rock. Watching the Olympics I really focused on that. They push with their body and release the rock, they don't push it more. They also get ridiculously close to the ice with most of their body. So going into this I wanted to work on that. But, mostly I wanted redemption on that sucky Sweeping that we did last time. Bah!
Before I continue with my day today, I want to quickly talk about the MiraCurl on Ice that happened early in the morning. The USA Men's team was set to take on Sweden in the Gold Medal round at 12:30 this morning. I painted my nails red, white, and blue. I wore my USA Olympics shirt yesterday I was excited. Sadly I bought another, smaller Olympic shirt in 2016 with the hopes that it would fit for this year. It is still a tad snug, but my other shirt is a tad bigger so I'm a work in progress.
Back to the MiraCurl. The Charlotte Curling Center was hosting a Watch Party, but I just wasn't sure I could handle that. My drive home would be 40 minutes in the middle of the night. I was there in spirit though when the Men took the Gold! The USA has never won anything higher than a Bronze in Curling. This was HUGE.
Needless to say, the USA has gone Curling crazy. They were expecting a very large number of people at the Open House today. So when I asked Ms. Amy what time she wanted to go, I was super excited when she said "Noon". I knew she was on board. It didn't start until 1, but the food truck would be open at noon. Let's go!
Let's quick review what I learned the last time: don't wear jeans and wear shoes with a little less tread. It was to get into the 80's today and here I was putting on yoga pants and a long sleeve loose shirt. I also put on my Bling shoes that were made for me after Dad passed away. They make me smile and they have less tread than my running sneakers. I was in good shape.
I fell a little behind because I was watching the replay of the Gold Medal game. Oops. I texted Ms. Amy then grabbed my scarf and gloves before heading out the door. I wanted to stop for cash on the way so I pulled in to the grocery store to get a bottle of water and a diet coke (as I didn't finish my coffee). Everyone is walking around in shorts and flip flops and I had gloves in my bag. Haha.
While I was there Ms. Amy texted that she remembered that the hours were different today. It was 1-5, while the last two weeks were 11-2. Dang it, she wasn't as nerded up as me after all.
We got there 30 minutes early and found parking right in front. There were some picnic benches so we went and ordered our food from the delicious Tin Kitchen Truck. I really enjoyed my special pork taco last time, but as it was a special, it wasn't listed today. I got the four cheese quesadilla instead, even though it had goat cheese. It was good, but sadly I didn't get a picture.
It was not quite 1 yet, but we noticed that the line had begun and was coming out of the door. Yikes! So we ran over to get in line. The set up was a little different then last time. Instead of it winding around inside, the line came straight out of the door. The line wasn't that bad. Just to give you an idea of how packed it was going to be: two weeks ago we arrived 30 minutes after the start time and were give tickets 68-70. Today we were there early and were 58 and 59. Yikes. Last time they called our numbers while we were still filling out our form. Today we talked to someone about club membership, and I geeked out as Carolyn McRorie walked in, smiled at me (at least I think she did), and went over to set up for her Meet and Greet. Then they called our number.
We were ready! After we handed in our waiver and ticket we went down to brush off the dirt off of our shoes. Then we got fitted for our rubber shoe cover. We were directed to a different lane this time. Sadly, I didn't see Mr. Green Pants from last time. We were sent to the Canada Lane. While our instructor was helping the people before us, I turned my attention to the instructor in the next lane talking about form. The first time we did this we started in a crouched position. Today they were showing us to use more of a track stance. I was so focused on the form that for my first throw I sort of forgot to let go of the rock and it was pitiful. *hang my head in shame* The good thing is that my form was good otherwise. My second throw was so much better. I didn't look Olympic just yet, but my throw was strong and straight. Hooray!
Next up was our sweeping. Redemption time. They showed us how to hold the broom and off we went. Last time we had 4 of us sweeping. Today it was just me and Ms. Amy. We started off a little behind, but we quickly caught up to it. At first we were a hot mess all over each other at first. We swept like crazy though and got pretty far down the ice. Go us!
It was picture time!
After the photo op I felt it was time to celebrate our Curling improvements with some wine. I even splurged and bought a Charlotte Curling Center Shot Glass. Check out the USA flag behind me. Shout out to the Men's Curling team. USA!
Ms. Amy and I sat and watched people taking their turns. We cheered them on and watched the instructions. I kept looking over my shoulder and monitored the Meet and Greet with Carolyn McRorie. I couldn't wait to go meet her, but also a little starstruck. We couldn't just walk over. I had to come up with a good question.
Finally we headed over. Yay. She was so nice. I introduced myself and then asked her about conditioning. I wanted to know what she did off ice to prepare. I was thinking yoga would be good since you are practically in pigeon pose the whole time. She mentioned that her daughter got her into it. Your hip flexors get real tight, so yes yoga is good. Lots of Curlers are getting into it. She even mentioned John, who won the Mixed Doubles Gold Medal. *Insert internal Giggle*. She was referring to my MAD CRUSH John Morris. Sigh...
Okay, wait where was I? Oh yes, Ms. Carolyn demonstrated some stances for us and mentioned that you also need to work on strong quads and hamstrings. Squats help. I followed up with a question about height. We wanted to know if being tall had an advantage, and by default did being short have a disadvantage? She said no and showed us how the front leg should be in the center of your body to provide balance and therefore height isn't a factor. Sweet! My dreams for Olympic Gold aren't dead yet! I could be the oldest Athlete there, but think how cute and petite I would be with my blonde braids. America would fall in love with my Cinderella story.
Thank you for spending time with us and letting me geek out Ms. Carolyn :-)
It was such a wonderful afternoon. I'm so thankful for these moments. I really really want to take up curling. I would love to join the league, but the time commitment is an issue for me at the moment. The time that would be best for me would be the Saturday morning 10 am league. I couldn't start until after my Half Marathon next month though. Of course money is also an issue.
Sadly something happened this afternoon that made that a problem. This past week while I was driving a rock hit my windshield. I have an appointment for a repair on Wednesday, but while we were in the Curling Center the crack grew. I now have an appointment for a replacement. Bah. That was stress I did not need getting that sorted out. Ironically the price of the replacement is about the price of the Curling membership. *super sad face* So I am now accepting Sponsors for my Olympic dream. haha. If I could sign a new client soon I would be cool with it, but gah. Not today.
Before I go, I want to address the title of today's blog- Number of Olympic Medalists that I have met (and geeked out over) in my lifetime: Up to 2 now. If you are new to my blog you may not know how crazy I am about the Olympics. I get Olympic Fever every stinking time. Back in the 90's I was working at Border's Bookstore. My "section" was sports/hobbies/parenting. We had a book signing scheduled and it was Dan O'Brien the Gold Medal Decathlete from 1996. My manager knew better than to suggest anyone else be his book prepper (open the book and pass it to him to sign). I was all gooey and just adored him. He was super sweet and even signed my book.
In conclusion, Curling is awesome! I want to go to the Olympics. Someone sponsor me. John Morris Call me!
Have a Blessed Night,
Jennie
xoxo
Fundraising for St. Jude Heroes:
http://heroes.stjude.org/Jennie_Henderson
****Please note****
If you feel like you are alone on your journey and you just need some encouragement I am here for you! Shoot me an email and I will do my best to check in on you or give you the words of support you need several times a week. The journey is so much easier if you have support.
jhendersonfit@gmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/ConfessionsOfAFormerFatGir
yeah, sorry, I messed up and the "l" is missing....I need an assistant :-)
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter: hugsnsmile
Instagram: Jennie5973
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/jhendersonfit
Snapchat: jhendersonfit
If you would like to help with my motivation I would welcome all of the donations that I can get:
http://heroes.stjude.org/Jennie_Henderson
Snapchat: jhendersonfit
If you would like to help with my motivation I would welcome all of the donations that I can get:
http://heroes.stjude.org/Jennie_Henderson
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