Cardio Training via Cardiac Cowboys

Oh my.

Day 2 back in the saddle had me riding during the first half of the Big 12 battle between Oklahoma State and Texas. Both ranked teams, both sporting big time stars and Oklahoma State desperately needing a win after taking a serious shellacking on the road at KU last week.

At halftime, I finished up my 1:20 minute ride and showered up. I probably should have waited to shower till after the game though. The 2nd half of the game was a slugfest. Texas Freshman Kevin Durant is a freak. He hit tough shot after tough shot, but it is already frustrating to see him getting calls he shouldn't in his 3rd game in the league. He's a ridiculously good player who needs no help.

The game was back and forth and upside down then inside out. Byron Eaton hit a 45 foot falling out of bounds shot as the shot clock expired, JamesOn Curry hit many big threes and knocked down lots of crucial freethrows down the stretch. And Mario Bogan is sick. 37 points and 20 boards, and as clutch as they come.

I was up and down, screaming, heart pounding as the game ended deadlocked and headed into OT. The first OT the Pokes got up by 5 only to have Texas fight back and force a 2nd OT. OState was down to 5 players for all purposes, and the longer the game wore on the less the chances they'd pull out a win. The 2nd OT also had OState jumping out to a 5pt lead, and once again failing to hold on.

A 3rd Overtime. I wasn't sure my heart could take it. The losing team was going to be exhausted and have a frustrating loss. I thought I was done with cardio after the bike ride, but that was just the warmup as my heart raced for the 3 hours of the game.

In the 3rd OT, OSU again got out to a lead, and then squandered it again. UT took a 1 point lead with less than 5 seconds, which I thought was pretty much the nail in the coffin for the Cowboys. In very un-OSU fashion, Super Mario hit a running 20 footer. UT grabbed the ball, forced it up court and tried to get a shot off but they turned the ball over.

Holy cow, I'm exhausted. I thought I had learned to cope with OState sports, but I was on the edge tonight.

Well played Pokes, nice win.