Tonight, the NLCS begins, and improbably, the Cardinals have scrapped their way once again into the League Championship Series.
It was pretty doggone cool to watch the Cards pull a 2011-style comeback against the Nationals Friday night. I really had given up when they were down 6-zip in the 3rd. Unlike last year though, I kept watching, repeating my mantra that they only needed one run an inning to get back to even. And little by little, that’s what they did. And twice, it was a painful watch to see the Cards down to their last strike of the season… and then to fight out of it. Frankly, watching the air come out of the stadium once we tied the game, and subsequently going up by a pair in the top of the ninth, well… it was fun to see.
Is this the beginning of “twelve in twelve”? Maybe. Maybe not. But there are least four more games in Red October this year!
It’s been four years. Four years since I’ve put my backside on a bike. Four years since I’ve pedaled my way down the trail.
I’ve been enjoying my running, but the weather’s gotten blistering hot, and I just can’t run in that kind of heat. I can ride on the Katy Trail in that kind of heat, though.
I put in at the Busch Greenway Trail. When I was last on the Katy, this connector was just being built. I had no idea it would turn out so nice. Three-quarters of a mile of paved path down to the Katy, paralleling and crossing little flows of water… it really turned out nice.
I hit the trail, and headed north. And rode, and rode, and rode. It was wonderful! I finally got to the end of the shaded trail, and turned around. Before I knew it, an hour had passed, and I’d ridden almost ten miles. It was just like old times.
What surprised me more was the difference in calorie burn. For the speed I run — which is glacial… three-toed sloths have been known to pass me by — it’s almost a two-to-one difference as compared to running. Add to that the lessened impact on my knees and feet, and suddenly cycling looks like my vehicle for the summer.
Yesterday, I ran in the Undy 5000. I’ve gotta tell ya, it was a blast.
I got up early, and ate a breakfast suggested by the folks at Fleet Feet — English muffin, some peanut butter, a banana and water. Becky, Sio and I headed to Forest Park right after breakfast, and started walking around the site once we got there… and then I got an incredible surprise.
Jay showed up.
Jay and Me
Jay’s been very supportive during my fight with colon cancer, so having him show up to run with me blew me away. And even though we didn’t run together — he was quite a bit faster than me! — it was great to know there was someone in the throng of over a thousand folks that was running for me. Way cool!
And I did finish the 5k run, walking at least as much as I ran. I had been targeting a finish under 50 minutes, and I was just able to do that, with my chip time coming in at 49:22.
More importantly, I helped. I helped the cause of fighting colon cancer. And I’ll be back next year, running again, and running faster!
As you’ve heard me mention, I’m taking on the Undy 5000 in a week’s time. What I hadn’t mentioned was signing up for the “No Boudaries” training series through Fleet Feet.
No Boundaries is a ten-week series, training folks that haven’t run before to walk/run their first 5K. The target event is in June, and I’m sure I’ll drop more info on here as I get it. Our kickoff is tomorrow night, and I knew I’d need shoes.
Since Fleet Feet is sponsoring the series, they’re giving the series participants a discount in their stores. For me, that meant a nice gal named Jess worked with me to find the best shoes for my particular needs. And the winner? Nike Vomero. Comfy, comfy, comfy.
I can’t wait to get ’em on course on our first training event Wednesday night!
As I talked about earlier this week on The Deauxmayne, I was diagnosed with colon cancer. I was lucky, with an early detection, and a clean bill of health coming out of taking a couple of months off from life to get healed.
Next weekend, on Saturday (March 31st), I will be walking in the Undy 5000. This is a fundraising walk to raise money to fight colorectal cancer. Given my recent history, I thought this would be a great way to work toward others not having to fight this disease.
If you’ve got a little folding money that’s burning a hole in your pocket, would you consider donating to my fundraising for the walk?
You never know… the ass you save might be your own!!!
Once again, I gave up on the Cardinals last night. I went to bed after the 8th inning, with the Cards down by two, convinced that the baseball season was over.
When Becky’s alarm went off this morning, she asked me how it felt to wake up a loser, and we both giggled about it, resigned to what surely must’ve taken place last night.
She got up, took the dogs out, and went to the ‘Net to confirm what we already knew — that the Cards had lost.
And then she came running up to the bed, excited, and saying that the Cards had won. Of course, I thought she was kidding.
She wasn’t.
The Cardiac Cards came back not once, but twice, after we gave up and went to bed. They played for another 90 minutes after we crashed, coming up with a victory, and pushing into a Game 7 in the World Series.
I really can’t believe it. I just can’t. I’ve said it before, I’ve given up so many times this season, only to be proven wrong by this crazy comeback team.
I won’t be giving up tonight, and will be staying tuned through the very last pitch!
Many times, in fact. I gave up on the Cardinals loads of times this season. It seemed like every time I gave up, they did something to shine, and I started having hope again, only to have it dashed by some awful loss.
But now, we’re off to the World Series. Unbelievable!
I’ve gotta admit, I’m worried about facing Texas. Those guys can really score some runs…
OK, so there’s no question that NASCAR, with its roots in the South, has a tight religious tie. However, I don’t think anyone’s ever quite tied so many things together quite like this before!
Folks at work have had the pleasure of listening to me talk about this all week. The folks at the Talladega Superspeedway hosted an event benefitting the Alabama Red Cross in aid of the tornado victims in Alabama. Basically, for a $50 donation to the Red Cross, you could take your vehicle out for a couple of laps on the track. How could I pass that up?
The way it was advertised, it would be two laps, running at about 65-70mph. I figured I could do that. I asked my mother if she’d like to go — she’s a VERY nervous rider — and she decided she’d give it try. I drove to The Mountain yesterday, and we took off for Talladega early this morning, with the goal of being in line an hour before the event started.
Frankly, as we drove down, we were reminded why we were doing this. Passing through Trenton, GA, and Rainbow City, AL, the devastation was evident. Any picture you’ve seen of homes exploded by tornadic destruction couldn’t do justice to the scenes we saw. Those two areas — and I know there was way more destruction than just what we saw — were simply blown away. These folks needed help, far more help than just our running around the track could do. It’s a start though.
We got to the track, dropped the top, got the cameras ready, and waited. The folks there were great, and the other would-be drivers kept looking in amazement at this big ol’ Jeep, chocked full of camera gear. We were definitely out of place against a tapestry of Corvettes, Mustangs, and regular ol’ passenger vehicles.
The pace truck took us to the track, and in short order, we were lined up and ready to go. The folks at the track came by to give us the rules… stay in line, stay close to the person in front of you, don’t lag behind, and we’ll be going about 85mph.
Waitaminute… 85? Really?
Mom and I looked at each other, and began pulling out in line. We were third in line, and the pace truck and first two vehicles pulled out like they were shot out of a cannon. The Big Green Box lumbered along, and when we hit the first turn, we were at about 65-70mph, trying to tackle the center lane, just like the cars so far in front of us. It was terrifying.
I couldn’t get past the feeling that we were gonna tip over on the 33° banking. I mean, I was sure we were gonna tip over. And so both of us instinctually leaned right to hold the wheels down. 🙂 There just aren’t words to describe how taking a vehicle so aerodynamically poor through turns designed around being very aerodynamically sound.
By the time we’d finished the first turns, we both decided that we’d take the bottom-most banked lane the rest of the way, hoping it’d be less unnerving. And, frankly, it was, although still pretty dang “tilty”!
After two laps, we thought we’d be brought in, but the cars in front of us — now almost a full straightaway ahead — kept going. And going. And going. After four laps, we were brought in, having finished our run. The highest speed I noticed on the speedometer was about 95mph, but the GPS indicates that we may have been closer to 110mph during some of the turns. By far, that’s the fastest my lil’ ol’ Jeep has ever gone.
Mom squalled the whole way — if you watch the video below, you’ll hear her squalling everything except “Help me Baby Jesus! Help me Tom Cruise!” (with apologies to Ricky Bobby) — and said she was glad she did it, but never again. She also said this was the most unique Mother’s Day gift ever. I’ve gotta give her that. It was definitely different.
If you ever get a chance to run at ‘Dega, you should. It is an amazing experience, one that will defy description, and leave you breathless.
