Spring Training 2008

(Spring training pictures. First row: Brighthouse Field in Clearwater, FL, spring training home of the Philadelphia Phillies. The second picture is Chase Utley taking a pitch inside. Second row: Pictures of Progressive Energy Park at Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg, FL, spring training home of the Tampa Rays. First picture is Dontrelle Willis of the Tigers on the mound. Second picture is of the park. And, third picture is the Detroit Tigers taking batting practice)

This entry to my blog is little about running. It is fufilling a boyhood dream. I've always wanted to go to at least one Phillies' spring training game. And, on Saturday, March 15 I did. Against the Twins. They lost 11-2 but it didn't matter. But, you have to know the whole story of what happened last year that makes this game so special.

You see, I was scheduled to see the Phillies-Yankees game last year. Had the hotel, the tickets to the game, the rental car and the flight down. We were scheduled to fly out of Newark, NJ on Friday at 11a. I woke up early that day, checked the flight on line and it was cancelled. A major ice/snow storm was predicted for the day. But, it wasn't snowing yet? How could they cancel?

I drove up to Newark (about 1 1/2 hour drive) to change my flight. When I got there, there was at least a 2 hour wait to get the ticket changed. As I was waiting at the back of the line, someone told us to go with him to a different counter. In truth, we had no idea who this guy was but he was speaking my language (and lots of other people's) and we had blind faith in him and followed.

He took us to another Continental Airline counter where we waited in a shorter line. The woman behind the counter changed my ticket and told me I had an 8 o'clock the next day. When I got out of the airport, it did begin to ice/snow and driving was an adventure on the way home.

As this ice/snow storm hit, we had scheduled family to take care of our pets. But, as the day wore on, the storm was getting worse. Yes, we had tickets to go out the next day, but, how is my family going to get to us? We didn't want to leave the pets without knowing that someone was going to be in the house.

Most airlines will let you check in on-line 24 hours in advance. So, when I got home, I decided to check in. But, it wouldn't let me. So, I waited assuming they just changed my ticket and it may not have gone through the system. An hour later, it still wouldn't let me. Then I read my new ticket. It was for 8 o'clock PM! We were suppose to come back on Monday. We were going to be there for less than 48 hours.

As Friday turned into Saturday and the storm was heading out, it was apparent there was too much ice/snow to get to Newark safely that day. So, I called Continental and they gave me a credit for my tickets. I followed the status of that 8pm flight. Before I went to bed, it was scheduled to take off on Sunday at 12:15am, arriving in Tampa at 3:00am. When I woke up to check it again, the flight was ultimately cancelled. So, I would have been sitting on the tarmac for 3 hours, have the flight cancelled, and drove home past midnight on icy roads. Sometimes the things that don't happen are the best things.

As for this past weekend, we had a good time. Friday was raining but the rest of the weekend was beautiful. Temps in the 80s. It beats the 40 degrees in Philadelphia at the time. A tip though. Make sure you have an idea of restaurants in the area before you go. We thought about it when we were hungry and wasted hours trying to figure it all out. Actually, Friday night we wound up at Disney World for dinner (about 2 hour drive) just because I was more familar with that area than Tampa/Clearwater.

And, yes, there was a little running involved as my wife and I went out Monday morning in the Harbor Oaks section of Clearwater next to the water. We didn't know where we were going when we started but ended up in a beautiful section of town. All in all, a great weekend. I couldn't have dreamed it better.

(Note: Still no word on Boston and my hopes are beginning to dim for this year. I'll give it one more shot and if not, then, try again next year. Might be better anyway as I will turn 50 (I still can't fathom that) and what a great way to celebrate. )

I hesitate to say anything!

I hesitate to share my successes because I firmly believe things even out in the end. But, the last two runs that I have done have been fabulous!

Last Wednesday night, when running with the Blue Dawgs around New Britain, I was out in front through most of the run and felt strong going up hills. And, I did nine miles on Sunday up on the Delaware River and felt really, really good. (This time I just plain forgot to bring my mini-camera. One of these days.) I wound up doing a 1:24 nine mile run. In actuality, I eased up the last 2 miles as my first 7 miles were in 1:04. I wasn't consciously pushing myself but only running what I felt.

In January, I'm usually a slug. I go out and do what I have to do to make it around the course just to get the miles in. But, I have felt strong once I start (starting is still the hardest part in the cold).

And, this is the part where I hesitate. As previously stated, I am doing a strength training regiment 2-3 times a week for 30 minutes at a time. The strength training is very basic stuff with some exercises using 5 pound weights. I've been doing for two weeks now. Is it possible that this has helped me this quickly? According to my wife (who is a scientist), yes, it is possible to show results this fast. But, is it just that or other contributing factors that are helping me? And, that's the thing that both frustrates me and intrigues me. Afterall, I'm still coughing my head off so I can't say I'm breathing better. And, I've been cheating a bit on my 'healthier' diet. (Though I have lost of my holiday weight gain)

Last May, I ran the 10 mile Broad Street Run in 1:22. That was an 8:16/mile pace. If you look on my running history, that was, by far, the fastest I ever ran a race that was over a 5k. In fact, there are lots of 5ks I didn't run THAT pace. I remember, at the start of the race, being cold and lethargic. But, something clicked that made me believe I could keep that pace that day. I still question myself what it was.

But, never look a gift horse in the mouth. If it is my new training, great, I'll keep doing what I'm doing. It is great to have positive results so soon. It keeps me motivated to continue. But, as the optimist that I am, I expect my bubble to burst any day now.

(Note: Thank you for answering last week's poll. The results were: 33% would rather run in the cold, 41% would rather run when it's hot, 8% said weather didn't affect them, and 16% only ran when it was 40-75 degrees (F). I was intrigued by the comments and, in truth, was surprised that people do read this blog (the new poll reflects that sentiment).
Right now, I'm toying with the idea of doing the Frostbite Five Miler on February 16, 2008 in Ambler, PA. It's going to depend on a few things (weather being one of them) but I will put it down as my next race.
And, I will share this story with you. I'm going down to Florida for spring training in March to watch my Phillies. Well, the Phillies aren't playing in Clearwater (where we are staying) on Sunday so I decided to catch another game instead. I saw the Red Sox were playing at the Pirates and I thought that would be fun game to go see. But, the Pirates spring training tix didn't go on sale until last Saturday at 10a. I wanted two tickets. Just two tickets. I went on-line at precisely 10a. The game was already sold out. At the precise moment they went on sale. My only hope is that the tickets DID go to fans and not scalpers. I REALLY dislike scalpers. Consolation prize is that I am going to the Devil Rays-Tigers game. Still should be fun.)