"It was a Passed Ball"

My 3 1/2 year old boy just corrected my baseball viewing yesterday. We were watching the Red Sox and Orioles for a few mintues. I caught the very end of a pitch as it scooted under the catchers mit and through to the screen. I also noticed the batter in the last part of a swing. This all equaled a foul-ball to me. My son said, "That was a passed ball, Daddy." I told him that it was actually a foul ball. He promptly told me, "No, the batter didn't hit it so that means it was a passed ball." The replay revealed that he was right, except that there were no runners on and therefore no advance on the play, but we'll leave the finer details for later.

Now I Want to do a Triathlon

I wanted to get back to exercising quickly this year so as not to get out of the habit. On Monday and Thursday of this week, I rode a bike in our gym at work and swam on Tuesday and Friday. The bike doesn't seem to be much of a challenge for me. Swimming is another matter. I did more resting on Tuesday than I did swimming. After reading some suggestions on beginningtriathlete.com, I was able to work a little more efficiently in the water on Friday. Knowing that I can run, that bicycling seems easy, and that with enough work I should be able to handle a long swim, I've decided that I at least want to start training as if I were going to do a triathlon. Two practice swims have taught me that I definitely need some goggles. I keep reading about wet suits - we'll see about that. They're expensive. Add the cost of a wet suit to the price of a decent road bike and we could be in the poor house rather quickly. Train for a few months and see if I am going to stick to it, then I'll consider some of these other purchases. That's my plan.

A Cold Day for Running

My time for the mini ended up being 2:09:55 for a 9:55 per mile pace. It was a little slow of the time I wanted, but it was still four minutes better than last year. I didn't get to bed as early on Friday night as I should have and I'm sure that affected my energy level some. There was a significant wind with the temp in the lower 50's and no sun. My children made the race a lot of fun for me and the weather was worse for them since they weren't running.

My foot hasn't given me any problems this year and I've just had a normal amount of muscle tenderness. I am already looking forward to next year.

9:09 Pace?

In order to finish the mini-marathon in 2 hrs, I have to run at least a 9:09 mile. Earlier in the year, I was running 8:30 pretty easily. Eventually, I was having too much pain and had to back off. With the Tylenol I got for free, I should be able to endure a little faster pace after I get warmed up. There's plenty of recovery time later when I am sitting in the theater watching Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I don't go to see many movies these days, but since I saw the PBS version, I need to see what they have done with the story now. Hopefully, I won't be in too much discomfort to understand the reality that "42" is the answer.

Check out AlabamaJenks' post on Buzzard's Root today about the impact that failing to raise children properly is having in the school system. The young boys of the children he describes have fallen way off the pace toward becoming biblical men as rendered by Dr. Albert Mohler.

What's in the Bag?

Today's the big day for picking up runner's packets at the Runner's Expo for the Kentucky Derby Festival Mini-marathon. This year they threw in some energy gel with caffeine and carbs galore. There is also one dose of 8-hour Tylenol and some pain relieving cream. I have no excuse for hurting this year. The forecast looks dry for Saturday morning, with substantial winds. I'm going to give myself about 3 miles to get loose and then I hope to pick up the pace over last year's 10:12 mark. I want more like 9:30 this time.

Narnia to Hit the Screens in December

Just yesterday, I saw that there will be a new movie coming out in December. Big deal, right!? There are always new movies coming out in December to get the Christmas dollars. This movie, if they do it right, may end up being my favorite movie ever. C.S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is being made into a new movie. It's been out before in cartoon and PBS versions. This time, we'll get the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings quality movie.

While I am very interested to the see the movie, there a couple of reservations I have. My first fear is that they are going to dumb down or eradicate the Christian imagery. Lewis was retelling the story of Christ's redemptive work through Aslan. Maybe Aslan will not turn out to be just some magical, mystical, animal guru.

The other fear is nothing that anyone else can prevent. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is my second favorite book for all time. It runs a very close second to The Voyage of The Dawn Treader - another book in the series. I know what things look like in these books and there is no way that the movie will look like my images. In watching the movie, I will lose touch with my "Aslan" and my "Lucy." My "Cair Paravel" will be gone. The only real solution I have to this problem is to read the series one more time before the movie. I can say goodbye to the old version of those characters and places then. It'll be tough - I've known them better than 20 years.

Running in the Rain?

This coming Saturday will feature my second mini-Marathon. I've been training off and on since December for it this time so as to avoid increasing my mileage too quickly and having an overuse injury. Last year, the running resulted in a stress reaction in my knee. There wasn't any of that this time around, but I have had some real problems with my calf in the left leg and lower shin in my right. Just last week I finally put it all together that I had been running too many hills. The mini that I am running is part of the Kentucky Derby Festival. It does have some significant hills, but I have made them too much a part of the training routine. While doing a 95% flat track for last week, my legs have fared much better. Now I know. The only hindrance to a great run on Saturday appears to be a good chance of rain, but it's still several days off. Maybe the meteorologists have it wrong. After the Thunder Over Louisville disappointment, I hope they are. For the record, I will not be going to Cincinnati the next day to run a marathon like Gary Van Kuiken.