Liftoff

18 miles, ~7:15 pace.

My family went to Jacksonville for Easter to see my wife's parents. Normally, they invite me along on these outings, but this weekend I was frantically packing.

AM: 6 miles.

Usually, when Opening Day rolls around, I'm pretty stoked to see the Rays in action. Last year, David Price & Co dismantled the Yankees for the season opener. Everything seemed to go their way- perfectly positioned shifts, some actual offense, Sabathia was sweating...

It was tough watching the season unravel, as almost every player went on to underperform. I was hoping Price would finish the year with the Rays in the postseason before being traded, but that was not to be.

Then, in the offseason, seeing the departure of the Rays excellent GM and manager combo was bad. More trades came- Zobrist (one of the most valuable players in baseball), Myers (his talent remains to be seen, but we did give up James Shields for him), Joyce, SRod, Hellickson (another former Rookie of the Year).

Even with that, I had been nuturing hope in the face of the faded AL East. Then 3/5 of the starting rotation hit the DL during Spring Training.

The great thing about this time of year in baseball is that all the stat lines are zero, all the teams are tied, and unless you are settings lines in Vegas, any fan can imagine their team in the World Series.

PM: 6 miles at track. We settled on 8 x 800s broken into two sets. It was a real struggle. I tried to keep within a few paces of Mike, but couldn't help pull the pace at all.

First set was: 2:38, 2:40, 2:34, 2:31. Jogged a quarter, tried to get going, then pulled off the track and walked 200. Jumped back in on the 6th repeat, ran 2:45, and quit the workout for good.

With everything that's gone on in the last week, there's no big mystery why my running is off. Looking forward to running better, next time hopefully.

PM: 7 miles of slogging at lunch with Quint.

Another zero day. I planned to run during lunch, but work obstacles cropped up for both Quint and myself, and a co-worker ordered a 28" pizza. He was very excited about the place - supposedly the most authentic NYC pizza in Tampa, even shipping in the water for their dough.

So basically, I sat on a pointless conference call, holding the phone away from my mouth, while I shoveled in greasy, overrated pizza, instead of running.

AM: 10 miles. Woke up very early and got the run out of the way. The inspections on the new house are happening today, and a meeting about our new, shiny mortgage is this afternoon. Somehow I'm working today too.

Lots of thoughts rolling around this morning on the run. I'm uncomfortable with the  house purchase. It will be nice when we're settled in, no doubt. But it's big, and expensive, and I am very much a less-is-more type of guy.

I don't own nice things. I drive a 2004 Civic without power locks. I don't like shopping. It's not that I'm some ascetic purist - I just don't have any interest.

With the house though, I'm pulled in by the thought of a haven for my family, particularly my daughters. My current situation is not ghetto, but it's not a place where I'm comfortable with them being outside, or someday riding bikes, without supervision. That's pretty much what it boils down to.

I've been working hard on all the moving parts involved in that transaction for the past month, and running has taken a back seat. I'm OK with that, but I'm also conflicted there. There is a local track meet tomorrow night I can't even decide on.

Behind all of this, moving is a clean slate, and I have been feeling for months, if not years now, that I need a fresh start. I think I'm a solid B student in the game of life right now- as a father, husband, employee, runner, friend. Sadly, as a son and brother, I probably score even lower. The point is, I've been comfortable with doing pretty well, but I think there is a lot I could do better, if I can find my way to it. That gets into motivation and focus, which is another thing I want to think and write about, but this is already long enough.

PM: 2 miles.

Busy day, almost didn't run. But when I finally got the girls down I got in 2, just to avoid the zero.

On the positive side, I worked the yard, fixed things inside, dropped off junk at the storage space, went to Home Depot, Bed/Bath/Satan, replaced the dishwasher, etc....

I didn't magically appear at the track meet tonight and knock out 5000 meters. Not even close.