Ben's NCJA Travel LiveBlog

3/15/13

10:00 PM

Conclusion: Iowa is too cold to take video of- I'm hydrating, studying, and get focused for tomorrow!

6:57 PM

12:30 PM

In my little cubicle at Chicago Midway Airport.

12:15 PM

Text from my mom: "Good luck with judo. Do not break bones"

My bones or someone else's? Both have been proven to stop me in my tracks. =P Also, if I was reading this I would probably think "What unwarranted self-importance! Where are his medals and national titles?"

12:00 PM

I realize that many of you were looking forward to a witty video of my travel shenanigans, but in my rush this morning I packed my camera in my checked baggage. (Yes, I have a dedicated video camera.) This will have to do- it may help the experience if you read it in my sweet, chocolately voice.

In case you have no idea what's going or why I'm writing again, I've flung myself back into the competitive judo world with the blessing of my parents and coaches. Part of the sudden motivation is this regret I've been starting to feel about having taken such a long break from judo in general. How good could I have been and how far would I have gotten? Statistically, eh and not particularly far, but entertaining the idea of a successful me has been drawing my ass to the tatami over the past couple of month all the same. Tomorrow I am competing in the NCJA Championship at Iowa State University, while will the biggest tournament I've competed in. This one is actually worth points on the national roster (which at this point, I have none), which I assumed wouldn't be the case given how restrictive the entry criterion are. Regardless, I'm not assuming my opponents will be any different than usual since 60-66kg players are usually on the young side anyway.

Speaking of which, cutting weight has to be the most annoying sport-related practice in the world. Boarding the plane I was 2-3 pounds over my goal weight and I'm definitely going to have to bike/treadmill/sauna when I arrive at the tournament site. I wonder if they'll let me check myself on the official scale. While it seems like I'm generally on top my stuff, I almost didn't make it to this layover in Chicago (which is where I'm writing from). Basically, I underestimated how much 2ish hours in the sauna would exhaust me, so I completely overslept and I had to borrow money from my girlfriend for an emergency cab to LaGuardia. In addition, I didn't completely grasp the fact that having membership in USA Judo vs. USJA vs. USJF actually meant anything until my USJF card was rejected for registration. Basically, try to jump head first into this student-athlete thing has not been as smooth as I imagined. Finally, while I have been granted informal permission to stay at the Iowa State Beta house, I do not have the contact info of anybody who will be able to pick me up from the airport/let me in. Great start, right?

I'm going to go work that out now- I'll probably post more after weigh in's about how much cutting weight sucks and how I deeply regretted not getting a deep dish pizza while in Chicago.

Thanks for stopping by! You're alright.

-Ben