Gluten Free Asheville

Recently I was visiting Asheville, NC for my college roommate's bachelorette trip.  One of the most anxiety-driven moments of travel for me is, always, what am I going to eat?  Those of you with celiac disease or any other dietary restriction understand, it is not always easy to find food you can eat (much less enjoy).  From what I had heard about Asheville, I was not too worried, but like always I did a little reconnaissance before the trip to know what options were available.  I was thrilled with the options! I am going to share my gluten-free Asheville trip with you (pardon the quality of my photos, they were all taken on my phone!).

The first night our group ate at Tupelo Honey Cafe. It was awesome!  They had a separate gluten free menu which made ordering easy--even if the decision was not!

Tupelo Honey's Gluten Free Menu

I decided on the Charleston Chicken Sandwich and a cup of the ToMAYto-ToMAHto Soup.  It was perfect on that chilly night to have a warm sandwich and hot cup of soup.  Although they don't take reservations, we called ahead and had to wait only a few minutes upon arrival (for a group of 11).  The place was packed, but I can see why--the food was great.  I heard not one complaint and everyone, gluten-eating and non, enjoyed their meal! 

Tupelo Honey's Charleston Chicken Sandwich and ToMAYto-ToMAHto Soup

On our second day in Asheville we toured the Biltmore House and decided to eat lunch while on the property.  Being a touristy-type of place I was not overly optimistic, but was pleasantly surprised!  We ate at Cedric's Tavern and although they do not have a specific gluten free menu, the waiter was well-versed in the available options.  They also carry gluten free bread and buns so you can order any of their sandwiches gluten free.  I ordered Chef Mark’s Grilled Cheese Sandwich (Ashe County cheddar, house-made boursin, Cabot white cheddar, crispy bacon and tomato) with a side of mashed potatoes.  The grilled cheese was creamy and cheesy and definitely hit the spot!  The also have amazing homemade pickles to snack on while waiting for your meal.  

Cedric's Tavern Chef Mark's Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Cedric's Tavern Homemade Pickles

Our final dinner in Asheville was at a place I have been wanting to go for several years now, Posana Cafe--- an entirely, 100% gluten free restaurant.  I was like a kid in a candy shop!  It's a wonderful feeling to be able to walk into a restaurant and order ANYTHING on the menu.  I didn't have to speak to a chef or manager, or ask for a special menu, or get a confusing list of allergen information someone just printed off the Internet.  Their dinner menu looked exciting and I was not entirely sure what to order until the waitress told us about the daily specials.  I ordered a pork tenderloin with gnocchi.  It was fabulous!  

Posana Cafe's Pork Tenderloin and Gnocchi

Several people ordered the fried chicken appetizer and it got mixed reviews from the gluten eaters of the group.  It's not your typical flour-dredged fried chicken, so if that's what you are wanting/expecting it might be surprising. 

Posana Cafe's Fried Chicken Appetizer

I think overall, most of us were extremely satisfied with our dinner.  I also ordered dessert, a trio of pumpkin desserts--mousse, mini-cupcake and profiterole.  I basically licked my plate and didn't offer to share.  

Enjoying my gluten free desserts and brew!

Posana also has an impressive list of gluten free beers.  I tried two, 1) Brunehaut Blond Ale and 2) Bard's.  Although I stilled haven't found a gluten free beer I "love," I am thrilled to get to try so many new types.  

Posana Cafe's Gluten Free Beer Selection

The weekend was not about the food, however, it was about spending an amazing weekend with my dear friends whom I don't get to see often enough.  But I was excited to get to eat out with my friends without always ordering a salad or a burger without a bun.  I appreciate my friends being willing to try places they might not otherwise, or finding restaurants safe for me to eat.  I am truly blessed to have such an amazing group of friends.  

Good friends make for great memories!

Ode to a Mazda

For those of you who know me, you have inevitably known me while I have owned my Mazda 626.  I have owned this car since December 2001.  We purchased this car out of necessity.  My previous car "blew up" while at home for Christmas break (who knew cars needed oil?) and I needed a car to get back to school.  It's now 2012 and I am finally getting a new car.

The infamous Mazda 626

This past week, as I cleaned out the car, I found little tokens of a previous life.  I decided to share my walk down memory lane with you all.  Here are some of my favorite (or perhaps just most memorable) moments from my 11 years(!!!!) in my Mazda 626.

12- This is a reoccurring memory of driving for my sorority.  I drove pledges to new-member events.  I drove sisters to sister-retreats.  I drove as a DD once a semester every year while at UNCW.  If I were to recount every memory I have related to this car and driving around my sisters, I would need much more blog space.  But suffice to say, I cherish those moments--it seems like a lifetime ago.

Phi Mu's at Graduation, 2003

11- I drove this car to many-a-Panther's game in Charlotte, NC.  I remember one time in particular with my mom and two girlfriends, Bridget and Kat.  We had a reserved parking space, but our space was already surrounded by other cars and tailgaters, making it virtually impossible to park the car.  After several failed attempts, and on the verge of tears, a nice tailgating gentleman offered to park my car for me.  He parked the car and, literally, had to crawl out of the sunroof to get out of the car because the space was so tight.  Yes, that actually happened.

Add caption

10- I drove this car to pick up my new Yorkie puppy, Sarge with my good friend Marisa.  We drove about an hour from Charlotte to pick up my new puppy.  He slept in Marisa's lap on the way home.  He was so tiny I was afraid I would lose him in my apartment, so I purchased a cat collar for him (with a bell).

Sarge asleep as a puppy in the cup holder of my car

9- I drove this car to Top Sail Island, NC to meet some of Jeremy's college friends for the first time.  When we arrived to the house in Top Sail I was greeted by a balcony full of rambunctious bachelor's launching water balloons into my car through the open sun roof.  I almost didn't get out of the car!  Luckily I did, because now one of these "bachelor's" is marrying my cousin.

This is where the water balloon assault began

8- I drove this car up to Virginia Beach to visit my dearest friend, Kristin.  It was late and I was tired and I got pulled over for speeding.  The friendly officer let me off with a warning since it was my BIRTHDAY!  I never once got a speeding ticket in that car.

Visiting Petri in VB

7- I drove this car to uptown Charlotte for the Gravedigger's Ball, Halloween 2005.  I had to work closing shift, so I would be the last to get uptown.  I went with some of my besties from high school, Erin, Laura and Marisa.  At the end of the evening Erin drove my car while I navigated from the passenger seat while the two who knew there way around Charlotte (Laura and Marisa) fell asleep in the backseat. 

6-  I remember test driving this car with my dad.  I drove it around Salisbury and remember thinking the most impressive thing about the car was the oscillating vents.  Years later my friend, Brittany would call them collating vents, but she is clearly incorrect.

5-  I drove this car on Halloween of 2002, when on the way home from downtown Wilmington we (Kristin, Laura and others) could not identify the source of a horrible stench in my car.  We realized that one of the passengers in our car had a Halloween costume of which part was a toilet seat.  It was his own, used toilet seat, and after a night of sweating and dancing, smelled like that for which is is named--a toilet seat.  We stopped, put the toilet seat in the trunk of the car and proceeded home sans toilet smell.

4- I drove this car from Charlotte, NC to Wilmington NC with my good friend, Leigh-Ann to go to an NSYNC concert.  I wasn't even a fan, but she was!  She was convinced the first (however many) people in line when the doors opened got to meet the band, so we arrived RIDICULOUSLY early  to the Charlotte coliseum.  We never did get to meet the band, but for awhile after the concert we told everyone we did!

3-  I drove this car on my 21st birthday when my crazy and passionate roommate, Katherine, planned a day-long scavenger hunt for me.  Every stop had a clue to my next destination and to the theme and location of my 21st birthday party.  I went all over Wilmington finding gifts and clues that led me to my surprise birthday party at Grasshopper's, downtown Wilmington.  I did not, however, drive that car home that night!

2- I drove this car from Charlotte, NC to Jonesboro, AR with my mom in September 2006.  I had previously moved all of my belongings, so it was just my mom and I driving to Arkansas for me to begin a new chapter of my life.  Jeremy was in Europe competing and I was scheduled to begin training for my new job.  We followed MapQuest through the backwoods of Arkansas (prior to Garmin and GPS days) and as the theme song to Deliverance played in my head, I was convinced my mom was not going to leave me in Arkansas.  Luckily the next day I took her around Jonesboro and showed her that not all of Arkansas looked like the Deliverance country we experienced the day prior.

Our home in Arkansas, 2005

And I have two #1's because they are both really memorable, but for very different reasons.

1- I drove this car the night Jeremy said goodbye to me for the first time.  We met in June of 2002 and spent several days together in Wilmington, NC that weekend.  I drove my car to the beach that weekend to watch Jeremy compete in the beach vault--my first (but definitely not my last) pole vault competition.  The night we said goodbye I was optimistic but unsure if I would ever see this man again.  Luckily--I did!

The weekend Jeremy and I met in Wilmington, NC 2002

1- One of my top memories in this car, however, is one of panic!  I was sitting at a stop light in southern Charlotte with one of my best girlfriends, Brittany.  We were on our way to orientation for graduate school at UNCC on a Saturday morning.  It all happened very fast but we heard someone screaming in a language we did not know.  Looking to our right we saw a man running toward our car screaming.  Then he began screaming, "gun, gun."  He grabbed the passenger door (which was unlocked) and tried to get in my car!  Brittany was, literally, playing tug of war with this guy trying to shut the door and lock this guy out!  After successfully shutting this guy out of the car we realized he was running from an armed robbery happening inside the gas station on the corner.  We called 911 and luckily a police officer pulled up to the stop light opposite us as the whole thing was going down.  The light then turned green and traffic began moving.  Everyone continued on like nothing had happened.  Welcome to Charlotte! 

Delta's Done it Again

I am disappointed today because as my husband is being honored in a parade in his hometown and receiving a key to the city (Norfolk, Nebraska) I am sitting at home, wishing I could be there.

(Link to the Norfolk Daily News article about Jeremy being honored in his hometown)

Jeremy and Cam drove up to Neb. yesterday and I was scheduled to fly into Omaha last night so I would not have to miss any work.  My flight was scheduled to leave Memphis at 5:30pm.  We boarded normally and pulled away from the gate on-time.  We then sat on the tarmac, in the airplane, until 7:10pm (CT) because of a mechanical issue with one of the gauges on the plane.  I was scheduled to fly through Atlanta because the only direct flights to Omaha were earlier in the day.

My flight from Atlanta to Omaha left at 8:40pm (ET) while I was in the air on the way to Atlanta.  I called Delta service while were still on the ground in Memphis to rebook my flight, but there were no more flights to Omaha nor Lincoln that evening.

By the time I arrived in Atlanta my flight was already gone.  I asked about rebooking and the next available flight to Omaha or Lincoln would not arrive into Nebraska until after the parade and key ceremony.  Since I was scheduled to come home Sunday morning anyhow, going to Nebraska for a few hours did not make much sense.

I saw as I got off the plane in Atlanta that there was one last flight back to Memphis that was currently boarding in another terminal. It was my last chance to get on a flight that night without spending the night in the Atlanta airport hotel.  Jeremy called customer service while I sprinted to the next terminal.  I arrived at the gate while the last 5 or 6 people were boarding and got a seat on the plane.  I was in the Atlanta airport for less than 45 minutes.

The plane home was scheduled to leave Atlanta at 10:02pm (ET) and yet we sat, at the gate, on the plane until 10:45pm due to the flight crew looking for a animal that was supposed to be on our flight that was "missing."  About 10:45pm they announced that the missing dog was actually already in Memphis and we were going to push back.  After pushing back from the gate we had another delay to get approval for position in take-off.

I am not even sure what time I got into Memphis because I was so tired and disoriented.  I got back home to Jonesboro about 1:30am (CT).

I was a little angry, but mostly just disappointed and sad.  Many times when Jeremy travels for "work" I don't get to go for a variety of reasons.  This time I was going and I was so excited to share in this experience and honor with him.

Jeremy with Cam on the Norfolk Daily News truck

I hate to say it, but Delta has let me down again.  They are refunding us the SkyMiles used to purchase the ticket and giving us 5,000 extra miles for the inconvenience, however, this wasn't just an inconvenience, it was missed experiences and missed opportunities to create family memories. 

Olympian Returns Home Empty Handed

My husband, Olympian Jeremy Scott, came home to hugs and tears yesterday afternoon.  Jeremy had been home for only a few days since the Olympic Trials in mid-June.  He, immediately after the Olympics, competed in several meets in Germany before returning home.  And while Jeremy returned to an enthusiastic 21 month-old and teary eyed wife, he did not return to the USA with his pole vault poles.

Yesterday, Sunday, August 26th Jeremy checked in at the Delta desk in Dusseldorf, Germany for his flight home as he has done countless times before.  He was told repeatedly and vehemently that his poles would not be allowed on the plane.  After many questions and repeated assurances from Jeremy that his poles indeed have flown many times before without incident, the Delta representative flat out denied Jeremy's pleas.  The options were simple--stay or leave the poles behind.

Jeremy had been promising me (his wife) and Cam (his son) for weeks that he would be home on the 26th.  Cameron had a countdown calendar of how many days until daddy got home posted in his bedroom and on this particular day knew daddy was coming home "today!"  Jeremy did not want to disappoint his family and chose to fly without his poles.

As it currently stands, his pole vault poles (the livelihood of his profession) are still in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Delta cited changes in policy and safety issues as primary reasons for not putting his pole on-board.

This is not the first time Delta has screwed up when it comes to handling baggage--this YouTube clip details Delta charging US returning troops out of their own pockets for military issued bags.

If you think Delta should hear about this, here is their customer service information:
Jeremy Scott's flight was Delta Flight #25.

Delta Air Lines, Inc.
Customer Care
P.O. Box 20980
Department 980
Atlanta, GA 30320-2980

Phone: 1-404-773-0305
Hours: Mon-Fri, 8am-7pm ET (except on U.S. holidays)

Or email them here.

Or Tweet Delta @DeltaAssist

Other ways to contact Delta:  Below is the email address and mailing address for the President of Delta Airlines, along with the phone number for the corporate offices. 

edward.bastian@delta.com

Mr. Edward Bastian, President

Delta Air Lines Inc.

P.O. Box 20706

Atlanta, GA 30320.

Delta Corporate offices--(404) 715-2600

 


 

We Demand Change

Most of you know by now that my husband, Jeremy Scott (El Grande) recently placed 15th at the 2012 London Olympics in the Men's Pole Vault.  I have been asked many times over his career how Olympic athletes get paid.  Most athletes count on sponsorships and endorsements to earn a living.

According to online surveys it appears that the majority of people (who take this survey) believe Olympic athletes get paid.  There are some countries who pay their Olympic athletes and allow them to train full time.  The United States is not one of these countries.  Sponsorships and endorsements are key to an athlete making money.  However, very few Olympic athletes actually have these types of endorsements.  It has been estimated by sports marketing experts that Michael Phelps will make $100 million in his lifetime from sponsorships and endorsements.  This is extremely rare!

In a startling statistic from the United States Track and Field Foundation, only 50% of athletes ranked in the top 10 in their event make more than $15,000 a year!!!!

Why compete?  These athletes love what they do.  They are some of the most gifted athletes on the planet that have the desire to represent their country and strive for gold.

Gold may pay off, earning an athlete name recognition and the potential for endorsements and/or sponsorships.  These things are not automatic seeing as companies want someone who is a good fit for their company, has physical appeal, is charismatic and a good spokesperson.  Most nations do have an "incentive" for athletes who win a medal ranging in creativity and amount (for example Australian athletes who win gold get a $20,000 feature on an Australian stamp and an upgrade on the flight home).  The United States offers $25,000 to an athlete winning a gold medal.  Pretty good pay day, except for when you break it down to look at how that is supposed to sustain an athlete for 4 years while they train for their next chance to potentially win another $25,000.

Look at it this way, your odds of giving birth (women) to identical quadruplets is 1 in 15 million.  Your odds of becoming President are 1 in 10 million.  Your odds of becoming a movie star are 1 in 1,505,000.  Odds of dying from flesh-eating bacteria or being struck by lightening are 1 in 1 million.  The odds of a person becoming an Olympic athlete are 1 in 636,000.  However, the odds of winning a gold medal are 1 in 22 million.  So, you are more likely to be struck by lightening while giving birth to identical quadruplets as you are sworn in as President than winning an Olympic gold medal.  Yet, somehow it seems that those are the only athletes that are actually making money from their sport.

This is not a pity party, this is a wake-up call.  Athletes everywhere are demanding change.  Sanya Richards-Ross (@SanyaRichiRoss) is one of the few athletes that has big name appeal and big name sponsorships, but she is leading the way in the campaign to demand change.  Some of her recent tweets include:

     "We must break our silence... WORLD your Olympians are starving while others make a fortune join in as #WeDemandChange"

     "Hard working Olympians leave the games with no financial support while $6billion earned around these games #WeDemandChange"

     "Lots of money spent around games but it's not reaching the athletes that need it most! Your super heroes are left out! #WeDemandChange"

And my favorite:

     "We love to entertain, inspire, and encourage the world but Olympians are going home unable to pay their bills! #WeDemangeChange"

This demand for change comes on the heels of Rule #40 which prohibited athletes from using social media to promote their sponsors during the times of the Olympics if their sponsors were not "official" Olympic sponsors.  This new rule hindered many athletes from fulfilling their promises to sponsors or losing out on the opportunity to gain new sponsorships.  One athlete was asked to remove a picture of his Nike spikes from Facebook.  Nike was the official uniform provider for USA track and field athletes, but not an official Olympic sponsor, so when his new uniform and spikes arrived, he proudly posted about it on Facebook and was immediately told to remove the photograph or be subject to a fine.  The rule was put into place to protect official Olympic sponsors, but are they succeeding?  

Most people when asked believed Nike was an official Olympic sponsor.  The official sponsor of the Olympics was Adidas, but Nike's clever campaigns had many people fooled.  The rule, instead of protecting official sponsors, just served to further stifle athletes in their attempt to earn a living.  

Join Sanya Richards-Ross and athletes everywhere, #WeDemandChange 

Thanks for listening ;)  

Competition Times for El Grande (Jeremy Scott)

After repeated questions about when Jeremy competes I did some research and found the following:

Jeremy competes in the qualifying round on August 8th at 10AM London Time which is 5AM Eastern Daylight time (4am PT).  I looked at the NBC website and they list pole vault qualifying round coverage from 1:15PM to 2:00PM along with other qualifying events on August 8th.

If/When he makes the finals he will compete on August 10th at 7PM London time which will be 2PM Eastern Daylight time.  NBC coverage of the finals will probably be in their 8PM to 12AM coverage on Friday Evening  August 10th. 

These times are for our local cable carrier, so you may want to verify them at www.nbcolympics.com and look at the tv schedule for your zip code.

NBC claims there is live coverage of every event at http://www.nbcolympics.com/liveextra/ but it looks like you have to be a Time Warner or other cable customer to access this feed.

For those who are interested I just figured out that you can go to www.nbcolympics.com and click on videos and then click event replays to see replays of all events and some events live from the olympics.  This might be the best way to see the pole vault qualifying round and not have to get up at 5AM.

*All of this information is from my dad, so if it's incorrect, please blame him!  ;)

Olympic Wife, Olympic Life

Apparently the idea that things would slow down momentarily after the Olympic Trials was not only wrong, it seems downright laughable.  I wrote earlier about the "goings on" (as we say in the south) immediately after the Trials, but we have not lost momentum.  This is what has been going on lately.

Jeremy was in San Diego at the Olympic Training Center to work with a doctor and physical therapist to continue improving his strength in his "bad" knee. He was in San Diego for about three weeks,  returning home Tuesday morning (about 2am) where he made a quick turn around to be at the local radio station to do three back-to-back radio interviews from 7-8am, the same morning.  Jeremy's parents were in town and we all sat in their mini-van in our pj's drinking coffee listening to the interviews.  (No, I do not have a radio in the house.)

The time since the Trials has been a whirlwind experience.  Sadly, in the days after the Trials, one of Jeremy's uncles passed away.  Due to Jeremy's training schedules we were unable to attend the funeral.  But I know that his uncle was always supportive of Jeremy's Olympic dreams and will be watching over him, helping pull him up to new heights!

Jeremy and I were also asked to be Godparents to our new nephew, Isaac Henry Smith.  Isaac was born on June 19th to Jeremy's youngest sister, Diana and her husband, Chris.  We are honored!

Isaac Henry, seen here wearing his El Grande wristband!

 Our church, First United Methodist of Jonesboro, AR honored Jeremy with a special reception Tuesday night (July 24th).  The church looked amazing with flags and artwork decorating the entire Fellowship Hall!  What an amazing support system we have here in Jonesboro! The Jonesboro Sun and our local news station, KAIT were both in attendance to capture the events.

FUMC Reception

Today, BBC--that's right--the British Broadcasting Corporation, came to our house(!) to interview Jeremy.  I got to be there to watch the interview and am very excited to see it air (speculating sometime next weekend).  Immediately after the BBC interview Jeremy had another interview set up at Bell Athletics with the Jonesboro Sun.

And me?  What have I been doing?  I have been working (as I am teaching this summer), shipping t-shirts and wristbands to the many individuals who have been gracious enough to support us, frantically cleaning for aforementioned BBC interview and trying to prepare (mentally and logistically) for London.

I realized that sometimes I let my to-do list overwhelm me.  Sometimes I drive Jeremy (as well as myself) crazy with worry.  But a wise woman (I call her mom) keeps reminding me that I need to take a moment and embrace this experience.  This is an AMAZING time--- I am trying to remember that always!

Jeremy will be leaving the first of next week for London, electing not to participate in the opening ceremony in favor of continuing to train.  Preliminary round of the Men's Pole Vault will be at 10am, Wednesday, August 8th--approximately 4am central time.  



If you have missed some of the Jeremy Scott (El Grande) press, here are some links to some of the coverage.  If you are my friend on Facebook, however, you have seen this all!

Arkansas Methodist Magazine

Radio Interview for 103.9 The Game

Article written by my mother about Jeremy and our family for the Salisbury Post

Guest Blog I wrote for East9thStreet on the truth about Olympic athletes

Omaha, NE Newspaper Article about the Trials

Press Conference from the Trials

Jeremy's hometown paper, Norfolk Daily News, after the Trials


It is not too late to order your El Grande t-shirts or wristbands!  Order now and receive them before Grande competes on August 8th!






El Grande Wristbands

Sizes

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Or simply make a donation--every penny helps!

Support El Grande!

*** We are COMPLETELY SOLD OUT of El Grande T-shirts!!!***

They're here!  We are currently pre-selling t-shirts for Jeremy Scott, World's Tallest Pole Vaulter (nicknamed El Grande).  They are currently being printed and will be delivered to you before El Grande is scheduled to compete on August 8th, 2012 in the London Olympics.

Support Team USA!  Support El Grande!  All money raised will be used for coaching, training and medical costs.

The shirts will come in Men's sizes, S, M, L, XL.  The shirts are an ash gray color with this image on the front. (Graphic courtesy of James Mullen Design.)  Price is $20 a shirt + $5 shipping. 

Local pick-up is available in Jonesboro, AR at Bell Athletics.  No shipping fee for local pickup.  

We are also selling  El Grande Wristbands.  These are the popular lazer-cut silicone bands.  Here is the image for the El Grande Wristbands.  They are red and blue to support Team USA!  They also come in various sizes, S, M, L.  They are $5 + shipping (no shipping fee for local pickup!).  See below for Wristband size information. 

Wristband Connection Size Chart Information

To purchase a t-shirt or Wristband, use the "Buy Now" buttons on the right hand side of the screen.  All purchases will be secure using PayPal.


Thanks for your support!

Questions?  Let me know and I will be happy to answer any questions you might have!

Update:  I had several people ask if they can make donations in support of Jeremy.  I have added a "donate" button on the right hand side of the screen.  Please put your address in the "notes to seller" section if you choose this option.  Thank you!

El Grande Olympic Wristbands Sizes     Small    Large

Pole Vault Basics

Ok, so in hindsight maybe I should have begun with a blog about pole vault itself rather than the trials.  Many of you have had questions about the actual sport and rules of pole vaulting.  I am going to give you the BASICS--as that is all I know!  Ha!  I am not a pole vaulter and have never attempted the sport.  But, I am married to one [vaulter, that is] and have learned a thing or two in my years of attending track meets.

This is my attempt at explaining this to "normal" folk--meaning all of us people who have jobs and lives that do not involve running around in circles or wearing spandex. 

Basic definition-- "The pole vault is a track and field event where the participant runs with a long pole for a short distance, then plants the pole in the ground and uses it as a lever to propel himself into the air and over a bar. Pole vaulting has a high degree of difficulty, and takes quite a lot of time to learn. Executing successful jumps includes many basic elements that all have to be working together at the same time."

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/184035-pole-vaulting-basics/#ixzz20FAXHgKq

Basic terms:

The pole vaulter is the athlete.  The pole vaulter carries a pole and runs down a runway.  They plant their pole in a box (white box in front of the pit), to jump over the crossbar that is held up by the standards (the vertical poles that hold the bar up) that are either side of the pit (the foam mat that the vaulters land upon).  

Pic from EverythingTrackandField.com

The goal is to pole vault over the bar and have the bar stay!  If the bar falls, it is called a miss.  If it stays it is called a make.  You get three misses before you are "out" (if it helps to think of baseball terminology).  Similar to a baseball player who gets two strikes and then hits a homerun, the next time "at bat" he/she begins fresh--without any strikes.  A pole vaulter can miss once or twice and then make a bar, and the tally starts fresh.  But once they have three consecutive misses, they are done. 

On result list, a make is represented by an "o" and a miss is an "x."   

Ok, got all that!  Good...moving on.  

Most meets would not have a preliminary round and a final round, but major events like the Olympic Trials and, of course, the Olympics, will have two rounds.  The result sheet for the Olympic Trials preliminary round looks like this. 

Results from Tracktown 12.

There are 24 names on this list.  The goal of prelims is to get a smaller group of athletes to the final round.  Here they were aiming for about ten to move on to the final round.  In prelims you don't compete for a winner, just to narrow the field, so there is no 1st, 2nd or 3rd place.  

A prelim round will begin with an opening height.  This meet was 17' 4 1/2".  All athletes get a chance to make this bar.  Those who do not make the opening height appear with an NH beside their name--this means no height (they failed to clear a bar). Once that height is complete the officials will evaluate how many athletes are left and whether or not they need to move to the next height to continue narrowing down the field.  In this example 12 athletes were left after the opening height.  That is a good number to move forward to finals, but....

You will notice there are several athletes would have "PASS" beside their name.  An athlete can pass a height at any time.  This is done for a variety of reasons, which I won't get into now, but it basically means they skip that height.  If every athlete left in the top 12 had jumped and cleared 17' 4 1/2" would have jumped and made the opening height there would be no need for the next height.  However, you can't move forward to finals without making a height, so those athletes who passed the opening height needed to clear the second bar in order to advance.  Of the 5 that passed the first height, four cleared the bar at 17' 8 1/2" which means 11 athletes will advance to the finals. 

Now, finals are where vaulters are jumping to win.  The result sheet for the trials looked like this...

Results from Tracktown12.

You see our 11 athletes left from prelims are now listed on our start list for the final round.  Again, "o" is a make and the athlete would advance to the next height.  An "x" is a miss and three in a row means you are done for the day.  You see two athletes have NH for no height.  

The pole vaulter who jumps the highest without three misses in a row is the winner.  If more than one vaulter goes out (meaning fails to clear that particular height) on the same height, then the winner is the vaulter with less (total) misses. 

I would say "normally" at an Olympic Trials meet the top three finishers would be the athletes to represent their country in the Olympics.  The interesting thing about this year's results is that the third place finisher failed to jump the Olympic A standard this year which means the 4th place finisher will go to the Olympics. Ok, what did I just say?

The Olympics have an A and B standard, which the minimum expectations they set for every event.  In this case, the A-standard for pole vault is 18' 7 1/4".  Five pole vaulters had met the A-standard prior to the Olympic Trials, but in order to go to the Olympics for the USA you have to have the A-standard and finish in the top 3 at the trials.  Athletes have until the end of their event at the Olympic Trials to meet that standard.  In this case, the 3rd place finisher failed to meet that standard this year.  He had met the B-standard, however.  So.....if he had placed 3rd and there were no other athletes would had already met the A-standard, he would be going to the Olympics.  However, in this case, Derek Miles who placed 4th had already met the A-standard and will, therefore, be part of the Olympic Team (his third, might I add!).  

Apparently it helps if you make this face while vaulting :)

So, the 2012 Men's Pole Vault Olympic Trials top three finishers were Walker, Je. Scott and Roth.  However, the Men's Pole Vault Olympic Team will consist of Walker, Je. Scott and Miles.  

Clear as mud? 

Post Olympic Trials

On June 28th, 2012 I got to watch my husband pole vault, in the rain, onto the USA Track and Field Olympic Team!  It was one of the coolest experiences of my life!  To see Jeremy on the medal stand, wearing the new Olympic uniform, was very special.  In the aftermath of the trials there is, well, CHAOS!  Lots of friends and family have been asking us questions, so I thought I would answer some of the more common questions here.

My Olympic Trials Feet!

Do family members get to go to the Olympics for free?

 No!  An Olympian gets two free tickets to their particular events.  All other tickets must be purchased.  Tickets have been sold out for months, so to obtain tickets you must go through a broker (such as an "official" ticketing agency or travel agency that bought tickets in bulk).  Tickets range (from what I have seen) from $100-$1,500.  Most of the tickets available at this late date are definitely in the higher price range.
Friends and family attending the Olympics must also purchase airfare, ground transportation (to and from airport and around London) and hotel accommodations.  Hotels close to the Olympic venues are about $500 a night and airfare depends on your city or origin and carrier.
The athlete is required to stay in the Olympic Village.  No friends or family may stay with the athlete.  Security to get in the Village is very strict and very few guests are allowed.

Does a coach get to go to the Olympics for free?

It depends.  An athlete gets two free tickets, so if the athlete chooses to use this for a coach, then the coach gets in free.  If the athlete uses those tickets for others then the coach does not have a ticket and must purchase one like everyone else.  Airfare and accommodations must also be arranged.
Once a coach has a ticket into the event, they may sit in the Coach's Box, but they must first have a ticket to the event.  To get credentials to sit in the Coach's Box the coach must have cleared security and background checks since they will have access to the athletes.

Cam's Artwork

What happens next?  [meaning immediately after the Olympic Trials]

An athlete, immediately after knowing they placed in a position that makes them eligible for the Olympic team (meaning immediately after competition) will be interviewed and drug tested. [You can watch part of Jeremy's press conference, here.]  In the days following they will go through "Olympic orientation" (my term).  This involves meetings where athletes are given basic information from the Olympic committee, as well as information on what to expect when arriving in London and throughout the Olympic experience. Athletes also get measured for their uniform for the Opening Ceremony, as well as competition uniforms.

For the wife or loved one of an athlete, the few days following the trials are spent being travel agent and public relations specialist.  Coordinating 5 different families schedules, preferences and budgets to find airline tickets, hotel accommodations and event tickets is no easy task!

How am I feeling?

I feel like I made the Olympic team!  I can't quite describe it, so this is my best analogy.  I compare Jeremy making the Olympic team to me giving birth (I have yet to come up with a better analogy, so just stick with me).  I endured hours of labor and physical pain, not to mention 10 months of pregnancy (Cam was a few weeks late), to give birth to our son, Cameron, who is the light of my life.  Jeremy was with me every moment of labor, so supportive and encouraging--he was always by my side!  I couldn't have done it without him (let's face it, it took two people to get in the situation to begin with), but he didn't physically do the work of child birth.  That's how I feel about this experience.  I haven't done the physical work, but I have been with him through this process.  I feel so proud and honored to be part of this experience with him.

How is Jeremy's family feeling?

I can't speak for everyone else (even though I am going to), but his parents and sisters (and their husbands and children and in-laws) are all beyond excited.  I don't even have the exact words for it (again, I am speaking for me, but I would assume they would agree with me), because it's this sense of amazement, excitement and pride.  It's the understanding that this moment is the opportunity to actually see a dream become a reality and that's an amazing thing to witness.  But it's also knowing that every single person who has encouraged, prayed for, supported, coached, mentored, or befriended Jeremy has a part in that dream.  Jeremy is an amazingly talented athlete, but no athlete gets to this place alone--it does, in fact, take a village to get an athlete to the Olympic Village.

So proud of his daddy!

What do I want to say to everyone (ok, no one has asked this, but I want to tell you)?

Thank you!  I have been blown away by all of the encouraging and congratulatory messages, phone calls, emails, etc...  It is amazing to see how many people love and care for, not only Jeremy, but our entire family.  We are so blessed to have such a community of support!  I can't wait to share this experience with every one of you! 

Jeremy's approval of the Olympic Trials Feet

* If you want to follow Jeremy on Twitter to get more timely updates, use @elgrandeusa

A Walk Down Pole Vault Memory Lane

Ok, in my obsession to all things Pinterest I wanted to pin my favorite picture I have ever taken of my husband pole vaulting.  I, in full disclosure, have absolutely no photography skill what-so-ever, but I really like one particular picture I took years ago with my little point-and-shoot camera.  I learned, however, to my dismay that I can't pin pictures directly from Facebook (which makes sense, but I never actually knew this was a "rule" prior to trying this).  So, I decided to use it in a blog post.  The picture inspired a walk down memory lane and I decided to post a few of my favorite pictures from some of our pole vault adventures.  I lost many photos in the great hard drive crash of '06, but these are a few that I still have and that hold special memories for me. You will notice a lot of these photos are not actually of anyone vaulting, but rather the amusing things that surround the events.  Let's face it, you can look online and find great pictures of people pole vaulting that actual photographers took.  You can't find these pictures anywhere else!  Enjoy....

The first set of photos is from Indoor Nationals in Boston, MA.  Our friends, Rosemary and Aren live in Brookline, MA and were gracious enough to be our hosts.  They did not, however, realize they were getting a lesson in using mass transit whilst carrying 18' long pole vault poles.  Here, Aren helps Jeremy load pole vault poles through the window of a bus.

You go through the window!

Ever wondered how you get pole vault poles on a bus?

The next photo is from the Olympic Trials in 2008.  It seems like a million years ago now as we are approaching the 2012 Olympic Trials in June.  This sign was posted outside the stadium and listed the "prohibited items."  You will notice the fourth item down lists "poles" as a prohibited item and I remember musing over the irony of hosting the pole vault Olympic Trials.  I realize now that no one else might find this as entertaining as I did.

Prohibited: poles

Leaving Eugene, OR after the Olympic Trials

These last two pictures are from a beach vault in Michigan (holy cow--can't remember what year this was!).  Jeremy and I met in Wilmington, NC when he was in town for a beach vault.  My very first meet ever seeing Jeremy jump was on a beach.  Even though I am hesitant to call anything a beach that is found on a lake, not an ocean, this meet was pretty cool.  The first picture is just a picture of poles lined up against the runway as the high school kids were warming up.  The second picture is my favorite pole vault picture I have taken to date.  If I could photoshop people out of the background it would be perfect.

Pole vault poles on the "beach"

Ha, I made it extra large to enjoy the awesome-ness! 

Hope you enjoyed just a couple of my random favorite pole vault pics.  I am hoping to ransack Jeremy's computer soon to find more that I lost on my old hard drive, so you may be seeing my favorite pole vault pics, volume II soon! 

Gluten Free Appetizers

I recently tried two different appetizer recipes I found on Pinterest.  Nothing fancy, just good ole' classics done with a twist.  I am not going to lie--I love bar food type appetizers like potato skins or nachos, so when I saw these recipes for sausage balls and mozzarella sticks I had to try them.  One success and one epic fail later here are my results...

I found this recipe for Sausage Balls on Pinterest.   The difference between these sausage balls and many traditional recipes is that this recipe uses cream cheese.  I, of course, also altered the recipe to make it gluten free.  I used Gluten Free Bisquick in place of traditional Bisquick in the recipe.  I have tried sausage balls with Gluten Free Bisquick in the past and found them to be dry, so I thought the cream cheese addition would be helpful.

My ingredients pre-mixing

Results:  Fantastic!  I used regular sausage instead of hot since I thought my son might try one; he barely got to taste any because I ate the entire batch within the first 12 hours!  The cream cheese gave the sausage balls a nice texture and helped with the Gluten Free Bisquick.

Mixing my ingredients--I used a plastic bag on my hand because I ran out of gloves!

What I would change:  Even though these were great, I felt like the regular sausage lacked a lot of flavor.  I would either use the hot sausage like the recipe recommended or cut back on the amount of cream cheese used (maybe 4-6oz rather than 8oz).  But overall, I would definitely make these again.  In fact, I am thinking about it right now....

The second recipe I tried was for these Baked Mozzarella Sticks.  These were a disaster.  I used gluten free panko-style bread crumbs to make this recipe gluten free.  Other than this substitution I followed the directions verbatim.

Results:  These were not tasty and not crispy which I am not sure is a result of the baking or using the gluten free panko crumbs rather than "normal" panko crumbs.

What I would do differently:  I would use the tortilla-style gluten free crumbs I have used previously when making mozzarella sticks (see the previous blog post here).  I would also fry instead of bake them! :)  I understand the reason for baked mozzarella sticks, but these did not hit the spot.  Despite the fact I ate the entire batch, I would not make these again.