Archives for May 2006

Sometimes you need to mix it up. I should have mixed it up a bit this past Sunday, but instead I ran on the same old trail. No matter which part of the trail I park my van at, it is still the same old trail. 12 miles of Ho-hum! The only excitement was running into an old friend along the way. We caught up a bit on eachother’s running and then continued on our merry ways (in the rain). Okay, so the rain changed things a little. I also did it as a 3:1 workout finishing strong with the last 3 miles at a faster pace (< 8:00/mile) to add some needed variety. When I was a kid, I used to complain about the lack of variety in our nightly meals at home. Hamburger, chicken, potpies...(repeat). Meatloaf must have been a frequent meal on his childhood menu. I used to hear him complain about it. Well tonight, I took a chance, and made meatloaf. Mine, however, was made out of turkey meat. I served it with red potatoes, asparagus, and some gravy. Tom took one look at the meatloaf, asked what it was and laughed when I told him what it was. He laughed long and hard. But the family ate the light colored meatloaf and the even liked it. As I think about my 20-mile run for this weekend, I need to consider driving a bit farther for it. I am contemplating a run somewhere where the run is more difficult, but also more scenic. I need to keep my enthusiasm for my training. The final 4 weeks of my training might as well be enjoyable as well as challenging.

If you’ve trained for a marathon, or any other big event, before you will know what I am talking about when I say that I don’t want it to end. I’ve been training since January 1st and am now 4 weeks away from my 10th marathon. While I am excited about running Grandma’s Marathon, I also recognize that after the marathon there is a feeling of loss. It’s when you say to yourself, “now what?” It’s not about how well you do in the race itself; it’s just that your running from that point on lacks the same focus – until you sign up for something else.

I thought about this phenomenon today as I watched BoBo’s team play the first game of the final season tournament. They are a great team. All of the boys have talent that they lend to the team. Today, however, the teamwork just wasn’t there. Balls were dropping, strike outs were happening, and innings were ending with runners left stranded on the bases. It was a sad day for the players, the coaches, and the parents watching.

I remembered, when the season was starting, wondering how on earth I would find the time to make the time for consistent, focused training AND be supportive at BoBo & YaYa’s baseball games. In baseball season the saying “Baseball IS life” takes on a litteral meaning. Now, it is months later and I don’t want the fun to stop. I love watching the kids play. I love the sun and the seeds and even the challenge of fitting it all in. Please boys, play your hardest…don’t let the fun stop now.

Can you believe it. It’s pouring down rain and my 7 year old is out playing a baseball game! The rain stopped by the time I returned from home with a sweatshirt for under his uniform. Then I had to practically wrestle him to get it on. And he was soaking wet.

Now, the final score of the game tonight was 19:8 and *we* had the 8 but the game was GREAT anyhow.

Picture this:
It’s the last inning and the other team is at bat. The bases are loaded. Our pitcher has hit his pitch maximum (40) and there are two outs. They call YaYa (MY son) to the mound.

As he is warming up, the pitches are going wildly ALL OVER. I hear the other team’s 3rd base coach say to the runner that “it’s a good thing that there is a 5 run rule.”