Little Green Balls

That's right - little green balls. That's what we shot when we went paintballing yesterday! I had a Groupon for the extravaganza at Pin Oak Creek RV Park, so Jeff, Shelley and I made the trek to Villa Ridge, Missouri. It was a good hour drive but well worth the journey.

When we got there, Paintball Bill and his buddy, Gus, showed us around. They were awesome characters and I'm still kicking myself for not getting a picture. Bill was a 60 year old ex-military guy who had an awesome dangling gold cross earring and Gus may be the name I made up for the other guy because it rhymes with bus. (He was not a small man.)

There were two other groups there when we arrived, which was good because we got to watch their tactics and see how the whole game went down before entering ourselves. It was admittedly a little nerve-racking getting onto the field and wait to get pelted by what was supposed to feel like a bee sting or quick snap of a wet towel. Luckily the weather was nice enough that a couple of layers weren't too hot and were successful in helping to cushion the blows we all got as a part of the fun. Only one of my three welts is still visible today, but the bruise on my leg from the paintball that didn't break (thanks, Jeff) is going to be around for a little while.

Once we learned the accuracy of our guns and got pelted a few times ourselves, it was game on. With face shields on and lots of bobbing, weaving and darting from post to post, we managed to work in quite a few matches in both of the fields to use up our 200 paintballs we had each. We even joined up with the other groups that were there which enhanced the fun.

Ready for battle

Overall it was surprisingly tiring after each match. We were definitely huffing and puffing after each game was over and needed a good 3-5 minutes to recover before even considering going in again. A small side note, I do not recommend running 18 miles in the morning and then going paintballing in the afternoon as I did. (Makes it a little difficult to be quick and nimble in battle. Good news - marathon training is in full effect and going pretty well so far!)

My best bad ass stance while resting my legs. Hopefully it conveys what I'm thinking, "Don't mess with me. You will be paintballed."

Bottom line, we had a great time. I learned that I probably shouldn't go paintballing on my long run days during marathon training. Shelley learned that wearing a bright orange sweatshirt makes for an easily spotted target in battle. And Jeff learned that if he's going to baseball slide like crazy while darting from one spot to another that he might want to wear gloves to avoid slicing his hand on a sharp metal object.

I'm so glad this was on my list. It was a great time. Thanks, Jeff and Shelley for being a part of it! And in case it wasn't already etched in our memories forever, we were able to immortalize the experience on the side of the trailer at Pin Oak:

#6: Go Paintballing - Check!

Timestamp:

Wicked Awesome

A short lapse in updates, but with good justification. I'm now a step closer to checking another item off the list. This time it was #1 and venturing to another stadium - Fenway Park! I'm three-quarters of the way to the four more (16 total) I set out to visit by the big 3-0! This past weekend I spent a great weekend touring around Boston with my friends Diane and Shelley. It was a great trip!

We got into town on Thursday and thanks to my favorite travel ally, Trip It, wasted no time in following our planned itinerary and taking a scenic walk to lunch at the Union Oyster House. A cup of clam chowder and a seafood platter later, and we made our way towards Fenway for a tour of the stadium before the game. Our tour guide, Morry, did a great job explaining the history and sharing tidbits of the field and the team. We even got to go up in the Green Monster! It was a great supplement to the Red Sox game that night where we had awesome seats only a few rows back on the first base side. Despite the rain and the fact that the Sox lost, it was a great time and I was glad my friend, Rob, was able to join to give us the inside scoop from a true Bostonian.

Friday was an unofficial brewery tour day. Thanks to some connections through the beer biz we were able to get a special tour of Harpoon Brewery and sample some of their delectable offerings. Great experience, particularly considering the seafood chowder for lunch at No Name Restaurant. Then it was off to Sam Adam's to experience what the Boston Beer Company had to offer. Overall, not bad! Afterwards a journey on the T took us back near our next stop at Faneuil Hall where we enjoyed beers at The Black Rose and then headed to a late dinner at Strega's in Little Italy on Hanover Street in the North End. It turned out to be good preparation for the long run I was proud of completing the following morning as a part of my marathon training - 16 miles along the Charles River on vacation! Thankfully, with the running I did there was no trouble justifying the cannoli or Boston Cream Pie from Mike's Pastries. (Mmmm...)

Highlights of the rest of the trip included a Duck Boat tour, drinks at the top of the Prudential Building, shopping, college and pro football game watching, drinks at both Cheers bars, and strolling through the Harvard campus. Overall, lots of beer sampling and more clam chowder in one weekend than I've eaten in my entire life!

Regardless, it was an experience worthy of some pictures for posterity, for sure. Since I won't be able to give due diligence by posting all, here are a few favorites with a link to the full album.

Timestamp:

Organized Chaos

This week I don't have any items to cross off my list or report major progress, except to say that I'm gaining momentum on several...

#5. Complete a marathon with a PR time - Despite a less than diligent start, I'm now back on track with my training plan. Now I just need to figure out how to balance my long runs with some pending weekend plans (i.e. riding 200 miles in the MS150 this weekend). Side note - if you're interested in helping to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis research and support, please consider making a donation.

#8. Finish my t-shirt quilt - Mom emailed me a picture of the sewn together front of my t-shirt quilt which she finished this past weekend. It looks great! Now to finalize the border, pick a fabric for the back and find a quilter to put it all together. It seems the hard work is done!

#15. See a Nebraska football game at Lincoln Memorial Stadium - I already posted on Facebook and I'll say again here, I NEED TICKETS! So far I haven't been able to get any tickets through the University or work contacts, so before I spend a bunch of money on StubHub I'm seeing what other options might be available. November 25th - Nebraska vs Iowa is the goal. Go Huskers!

#22. Go zip-lining - Okay, so this one is an admitted error on my part. Until today this item said "Go zip gliding", which somewhat confused my original intention. My intention was to ride on an intense series of cables and pulleys mounted on an incline, ideally in a secluded, scenic rain forest of some kind. That's not to be confused with hang gliding, which may have somehow been in my brain when I originally wrote my list. Now that I at least have the item clarified officially, I can focus on the scenic rain forest part.

#26. Learn the Thriller dance - For MJ and fans of a random good time, I'll be sending more details soon on how and when this will come to fruition. Tentative plan at the moment is to learn and demonstrate by the end of October. This one is in the spirit of the attitude I'm taking with my entire list, "Go Big or Go Home". I just need to decide how big to go on this one.

All in all, it feels as if progress is being made slowly but surely. It's a little bit of organized chaos at the moment, but I'm sure it will all come together. :-)

Timestamp: