Marathon results, poker results, and Julia prepares to graduate!

I realize I haven't had a ton of substance of late, so i apologize for that.

Let's see. The Illinois marathon was on May 1st. The Cation Crazies team did very well, in that we all finished within our goal times. I'm proud of my Dad and mary, who both lost weight, and completed a difficult goal while going through classes/work/searching for a job. It's a matter of scheduling and making time for yourself. They both did it, and we finished our relay.
For me, I did 13.8ish miles in 2:02:30. It's not the greatest time I've ever had in a marathon. But considering my knees have given me hell over the past 2 months, I'm thrilled to have finished it. I also want to give out a shout to two members of the Illinois soccer team, Danielle Kot and Christina Sahly. They were running with Coach Janet Rayfield, and I passed them with about a mile left in my relay. And they were nice enough to come run with me for that last mile, and really pushed me, to the point that I felt like I was going to puke. While that part wasn't fun, I did enjoy the opportunity to hang out with some good people while running. I owe both of them a drink once they complete their eligibility.
I recovered pretty well, actually, and the next morning, I felt pretty good. It wasn't until I tried to play softball that my left knee completely locked up. That was fun. I tried to convince my personal trainer, rebma, that I had burst my bursa sac in my knee, but of course she didn't buy it. Mostly because it wasn't true. That's beside the point.
I've finally gotten back to running this week, and feel alright about it. I think I'm going to do Mahomet, but I've got to figure out what more race that I can get in over the summer. Any suggestions, I'm listening.

Poker: I did not cash in either of the free tournaments for which I received entries. The first one I played was on Sunday afternoon, and I stayed in for about 2 1/2 hours or so, and just didn't play well. I felt like people were able to toy with me a little bit, because I actually felt like I was out of my element, and played like it. I put way too much pressure on myself, and was overthinking everything, and trying to do way too much. Basic tournament play, which players without a TON of experience can understand and complete, can get you rather far in large tournaments. I veered from where I was comfortable, trying to do much, and trying to do things that I don't have the experience to do yet. And I felt like it. Made some bad decisions, and had to live with it.

Tuesday night, I played in the $109 tournament, with a bunch of people that are well above my "poker income" level. But I have to say, I played a lot better. I played more solid, basic, tournament poker. I was able to make a couple of moves when I had position, and played a couple of hands/cards that were out of my normal comfort range. Unfortunately, I put myself in a coin flip position when I knew a guy didn't have the better hand (my 8s, versus his Ace King offsuit), where I'm a 55% favorite, and he hit two pair on the flop, and a full house on the turn. For me to have any chance in a tournament like that, I have to get lucky a couple of times, and win those coin flip situations. Had I won that hand, I would have been in very good position after two hours of play, and who knows what happens. But I didn't, and I played good enough to play for another hour, but that was it. It was a terrific experience, and I played pretty well when I got decent cards. So I can't complain.

What I've learned, pokerwise, is that I need to get a little bit more multi-table tournament experience. So I'm going to try and do that once I hit my $100 bankroll (I'm at 84, was as high as 86, so its slow, but getting there), and also move up in my cash games as well. I also think I play a little bit better against better players. It forces me to use my critical thinking skills, and I think I did well on that.

OK, Julia graduates on Saturday. That's good. She's worked very hard over the past few years, and ever since we started dating. It will be a new chapter for the two of us, as she won't have classes on Monday and Wednesday (and sometimes Thursday) night, and for at least the next three months, I don't have much announcing to do. This weekend, she'll walk on Saturday, and she's got a lot of family and friends in town. Should be fun, and overwhelming at the same time.

Outside of that, it's been a busy few weeks. My last announcing gig will be on Tuesday. And then...who knows?

Oh, final trip details on destinations: Raleigh, Savannah (with a quick stop in Charleston), Atlanta, Nashville, possibly a quick stop in Lexington. I really like Civil War history, and so we'll do some of that.