Lots of Joy in Muddville!!!

I have often heard the excuse of “I don’t have the time to exercise” and I have taken the position that anyone dedicated to exercise must find the time. Well this morning with softball and baseball games taking up the majority of the day the only time I could find was very early this morning before the very busy day commenced. I was out of bed at 4:00 am in order to get in a 20 mile run so I could be back at the house in time to depart for my daughter’s softball game. I had mentally prepared for only getting a few hours of sleep so when my alarm (yes, I needed the alarm this morning) went off I was out of bed ready to get the day started.

The next few weeks are very intense in my training program for the Long Beach Marathon and today marked the first of a few heavy mileage weeks. Since I had a 20 mile run this morning I had to allow for the 2 ½ hours in order for it to not interfere with the softball and baseball games. I found the time and it was a wonderful run and a fantastic way to start the day. I have less than a month before the marathon and I have logged more miles now than the marathon I ran in June. I still have some work to do in the next month because I was feeling it at the end of the 20 mile run. However; any aches or pains completely disappeared after the 8th mile and I was feeling great from mile 8 to mile 20.

I have read articles on how a marathon begins at mile 20 and having run 6 previous marathons I agree. Sure it is only six miles remaining but after running 20 miles the leg muscles are screaming to stop. The key is to move past the pain and keep the legs moving. I have a few more long runs to accomplish in the coming weeks and I feel great about my preparation for the marathon. I will be ready and look forward to the run. This morning I was looking forward to the very active day on the diamond.

My daughter was first as her game commenced at 9:00 am which meant she had to be there an hour prior. No matter how hard we try we are always 5 to 10 minutes late and today this was the case. My son was the first to awake and I thought with the impending softball game my daughter would have been incentive to get out of bed by herself. No, this did not happen as I had to coax her out of bed and get her going. As I mentioned my son was ready because he gets to utilize the skate park. He had donned all his gear and was ready well before my daughter and wife.

We made it to the field and the morning was cool along with being overcast. This is usually the case in June but the “June Gloom” had moved in this September morning. It felt very nice and didn’t seem to affect the girls on the softball field. My son was all ready to venture into the skate park but since we were there so early the skate park had yet to open. This disappointed my son very much but he kept himself occupied. We tried to find out when the skate park would open but no one had any answers. The skate finally opened 2 hours after our arrival. This made my son very happy and he had a wonderful 45 minutes in the skate park.

My daughter’s team did very well and they won their first game of the season. My daughter didn’t do as well as she did in the first two games but she continues to the hit the ball. Unfortunately she hit the ball at people making two outs. She did drive in a run with her ground out; however; seemed a bit despondent when she popped out to the first baseman with the bases loaded. This feeling subsided as her team did when the game. My daughter puts so much pressure on herself and has very high expectations. It was good to see her enjoying the game with her teammates and there were a few smiles. I guess there can be some joy in Muddville!!

As my daughter’s game ended we headed home for some lunch and prior to lunch I was outside with both of my children taking some batting practice along with having a game of catch. There wasn’t much time to relax because after lunch we had to head over to my son’s game. My son got very quiet after lunch and he informed my wife his tummy hurt. He sat down after donning his uniform and I had a conversation with him. As it turns out he was nervous about his game because he was going to be the catcher. I did my best to alleviate any concerns he may had and basically I told him just to have fun. He did have fun and any concerns he had were eliminated very quickly.

This was my son’s first game of the season and it was a blast. These are 6, 7, and 8 year old little boys and the rules have been modified to accommodate this skill set. Each child is allowed only six pitches and if three strikes occur they strike out. This means there is no walks and either the child strikes out or puts the ball in play. Pitching is performed with a pitching machine which eliminates any issues. I was amazed because no child used all six pitches and either put the ball in play or struck out before the sixth pitch.

I was able to coach third base and the game went very well. My son’s first at bat didn’t go very well as he stuck out but the next three at bats went very well. He had three singles with three runs batted in and two runs scored. His last at bat was the most impressive because with two strikes on him and the base loaded he lined a single to centerfield. I was very impressed and I could see his confidence improving with every at bat. My son did play Little League baseball in the Spring back in New Jersey but he was grouped with 9 year olds which may have been too big a jump. The league out here seems better suited for him and he will learn the game of baseball much better. It was a remarkable day and there was total joy in Muddville.