Cross One Off the Bucket List

I'm a diehard soccer fan. My father is from Germany, so it's the only ball sport he really knows, so I grew up not only watching games, but also playing since I was five years old. My competitive career ended in the 8th grade because I was a better cross country runner than I was soccer player, but I played intramural soccer in college and indoor soccer last winter with a bunch of guys (I was 1 of 2 girls) from around the world. We joked that it was our own little UN meeting in Mount Pocono.
Even though I haven't kept up on my skills, I have definitely kept up with my fandom. From my memory, I've watched all the World Cups since Valderamma played for Colombia (I remember his crazy hair). I was in Germany for the 2006 Men's World Cup and the 2011 Women's World Cup. When it comes to men's soccer, I cheer for Germany since I'm a dual citizen and they clearly have a better team than the United States. When it comes to women's soccer, though, I struggle because both Germany and the USA are so good. If they aren't playing each other, the choice is easy. But when they play each other, it's a real toss up because I appreciate both teams so much.
Back in 2010, I was bummed that there was a USA vs Germany game in Cleveland the day before I left on my cross country roadtrip. It would have been awesome and amazing to begin the trip by going to the game, but that just wasn't in the cards in 2010. Thankfully, though, I was able to cross a USA vs. Germany soccer game off my bucket list last night. Team USA is currently on a victory tour since they came home with the Olympic gold medal from London. When I was watching one of their televised games, I noticed the billboard in the background advertising that the USA would play Germany, so I quickly went online for details. At first I was bummed again because the first thing that popped up was that the teams were playing in Chicago, but then I realized that there would be a game in East Hartford, CT, only 3.5 hours from home, which to me is just down the road. I immediately purchased tickets and anxiously awaited for October 23rd to arrive.
Yesterday I muddled around the house before I hopped, well more like hobbled, into the car to drive to Rentschler Stadium for the game. I arrived around 5:30pm and was thankful for my water resistant winter coat and Goretex pants since it began raining and did not really let up until the tail end of the game. I waited in line outside the gates since they weren't open yet, and then I made a beeline for the merchandise stand to buy a scarf. On my way there, I quick stopped to purchase a program on the off chance I would be able to get autographs, and plus, I enjoy reading so it seemed like an appropriate fan purchase. I then made my way to my seat, which was in section 121 row 8 seat 9. When I sat down, the woman in front of me turned around for small talk, making me feel welcome and at home in a stadium of over 18, 000 people. She had apparently flown up from Virginia specifically for the game and was a little bummed about the rain, but happy that she was there.
I was really happy with my seating arrangement right at midfield. It made for optimum picture taking, since I wanted to document the moment the best I could. Taking pictures during the game did detract slightly from me focusing on the big picture, but I witnessed all of the goals and don't feel like I missed out at all. I was able to get some great closeups of both German and American players, and some great action shots as well.
Even though the game ended in a tie, I was very happy for the number of goals. Each team scored two goals, and each one was unique in execution. I was thrilled for the header by Abby Wambach, since she is a legend in the sport already. It was also great to see the up and coming Tobin Heath score a goal. The Germans definitely dominated possession in the first half, and I couldn't even be frustrated that they scored since I really like the German team. I'm just a bit rusty on who plays because the team is young and my two favorite players, Prinz and Gerafrekes, have both retired from international play. The game was definitely thrilling, and I felt very at home in the crowd because I was able to answer certain questions about players and I was able to joke about the weather with the woman next to me as she gave me updates on the front from her iPhone. For a diehard soccer fan, the night couldn't have been any better. Drier, but not better.

Runner's World Festival

Today in Bethlehem, PA, was the first day of the Runner's World Festival. My original plan was to run the 5K tomorrow, but that wasn't in the cards this year considering I tore an ankle ligament last week while training. Needless to say, I figured I needed to get out of the house after being cooped up for five days icing and elevating as I heal my ankle.
I arrived at the festival a little after 4pm. I wandered over to the Artquest building to check out the setting before slowly making my way over to the expo tent. On my walk over, I came across Bart Yasso, who immediately took one look at my hospital issue walking shoe and said, "That's not good." I explained that I tore a ligament in my ankle before we each continued on our own path.
I made a loop of the expo tent and listened to a guy explain the concept behind Swiftwick socks before getting in line to meet Olympian, Shalane Flanagan. I mingled with some people before it was my turn to step up. Instead of introducing myself by name, I started off with telling her how I'm not running tomorrow because of my ankle. It was the first thing that came to my mind, which reminded me a story an acquaintance of mine shared last week about a guy talking to her about avocados because they were in front of him. I figured that was better than just standing in awkward silence, which is always my other option. Regardless, Shalane asked for my name and signed a copy of a training journal for me while sharing how she is the queen of ankle sprains before posing with me for a picture.

Following the autograph session, I ventured back into the health expo. I circled around and opted to buy two neon colored sweaty bands. I chatted with the women who were at the booth about bright colors and wondering if the Livestrong bracelets will go out of style and if Lance Armstrong is actually guilty of doping. The one woman was also wondering who the heck would take the time to write a 1000 page paper about anybody unless it was a dissertation. I then made my way over to the BRD sport table because it had ankle and knee braces. I opened with, "I figured I should come talk to you guys considering I'm injured," which led to the physical therapist asking me numerous questions and explaining how it was good my torn ligament didn't cause a small break in my ankle.
My next stop happened to be with Amby Burfoot since I happened to hobble past him. He said he was unsure whether to ask about my injury since not everybody is in good spirits about it. We had a great chat about injury recovery once I explained to him how I ended up with a severe inversion ankle sprain. He wished me luck with getting back into training, but stressed to not go about it too fast and that cross training would work well for the time being. We parted and I made my way to the SPIbelt booth. I found one that had a red belt and decided to purchase it because I need a pouch to carry my keys when I get back to running. While I waited to buy my SPIbelt, I chatted with a man who was born in Hawaii and flew in from LA to run the 5K and 10K, and to photograph the half marathon. He said he had to make the most of his trip and explained how photography is just a hobby and that he's actually a registered nurse. That came up because he was asking me about my injury and whether or not I had X-rays done. I said I did, and that I knew how to rehab it since I have an exercise physiology degree.
As I continued on, I saw a woman standing in front of the Bermuda marathon table and decided to chat with her because everybody else seemed to just be walking past her. She said she had seen me limping around and said she was hoping I would heal fast. She gave me a postcard about the Bermuda marathon, half marathon, and 10K explaining how I should do the 10K so that I could watch the other races and chill on the beach. The woman also told me about how she sometimes scares the people in Bermuda because she has a tendency to stop traffic when she runs the race since cars get really close to the runners and she's a strong-willed New Yorker. We talked about the importance of certifications in our fields and she encouraged me to keep working towards mine in the hopes of getting a job. I wished her luck in the 5K since some of her friends had signed her up without her knowledge and just broke the news to her this evening.

While I was leaving, I opted to have my picture taken in front of a green screen so that it appeared like I was actually on the cover of Runner's World magazine. I then ventured outside and took a picture of the old steel stacks that happened to be lit for ambience. A little while later I came across Bart Yasso again who commented to the guy he was with about my ankle and how I wasn't running. I decided to walk with them and said how I shouldn't run on dirt roads since this was the result. We chatted briefly about the lit steel stacks and how the Historic Hotel Bethlehem is supposedly haunted, specifically room 932. I mentioned how people should just go to the Eastern State Penitentiary, but how I didn't find it all that nerve racking, though we agreed nobody would ever want to stay there overnight. We soon parted, but it was definitely a good end to my Runner's World Festival experience.