I Am Baseball

Post Race Wrap Up

A little over a month ago, I did something that 2 months before that seemed like a good idea. I did two half marathons within a few weeks of each other. And as has been the story with my last few runs, I struggled with my motivation to properly prepare for them. From bowing out of one race, to doing just enough for others, my last few races have been just OK. I'm by know means a world beater at these things, but I know where I can finish and my last few haven't been there.

May 15th I returned to where I made my first foray into the sport two years ago, the Mississauga Marathon.  Was I happy with my finish? Yes. But again, it wasn't quite where I know I can be. I crossed the finish line in 2:12 which was right about where I figured I would.

Two weeks later on May 29th I ran in Ottawa. This was fun. My finishing time at 2:21 I wasn't overly happy with, but the whole experience of Ottawa Race Weekend was amazing. It is an event the whole city embraces. Road closures weren't bemoaned like they tend to be in races around the GTA. The whole city gets behind it. At no point during the race is it just the thousands of runners plodding along. There are people everywhere. I think the only one who didn't get behind it was Mother Nature. It rained - constantly. But the rain did little to dampen the spirits of those that participated. I will most definitely be back to do this race.
And next time my showing will be better.

I'm not quite sure where my motivation has gone for running this past little while. Yes, it's punishing, but that's not what has drained me. I've heard it said that when you do a full marathon you must respect the distance. Train appropriately and don't take it lightly. And I wonder if that's my problem. My fear of running 22.1 km is gone. Prior to my first  few races I was afraid. I didn't sleep well. I feared going out too fast and burning out. I worried about missing one training run. The (ahem) run-up to the race consumed me. Now, not so much. I run. I finish. And what happens in between doesn't really phase me, but for when I look up to see the time I cross the line.

This isn't uncommon for this sport so I hear. People go through lulls and struggle with their motivation. My lull just seems to be elongated. The ever quotable Yogi Berra once said (of baseball) that, "Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical." And so it is with running. It is both mental and physical. Now I just need to employ more of my 90%.

tryout day

"There are three things you can do in a baseball game. You can win, you can lose, or it can rain."       Casey Stengel

I find Casey Stengel's quote funny. Funny because it's not that it can rain on the day of tryouts, it's that it will rain. Anyone who has ever been around little league baseball knows this. You might be soaking up the early spring sun in the days leading up to it, but come that fateful day soaking is all you will be doing. And this year was no different. Sun. Then rain. Lots of it.

I can remember many such tryouts as a kid. There I sat shivering in the cold, barely able to feel the ball, and begging for this hour to be over.  And now that I'm a little older I can assure this mindset does not change - for parents, kids, or coaches. The difference being I now have a coffee in hand to provide me brief moments of comfort.

Such is spring in Canada. Short, cold days of baseball tryouts and long nerve racking nights of watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs.