Ice Running, the ipod and 9/11

It is winter here in New England. Bare trees, snow on the ground, kids sledding. For the runners out there, today was one of those perfect days. Sunny, not too windy, and air just cold enough that you are not sweating profusely and warm enough that your lungs aren’t getting sliced by the rawness. Went to the local track to do some speed workouts. This time of year, only the first 100 yards is accessible as the remaining 3/4 is covered by snow and ice, and sits in the shade away from the warming sun. Today, however, my sacred 1/4 plot was a mix of ice and slush so I deferred to the parking lot. I am still up in the air when it comes to the ipod and running. I love music and running, but the two together don’t really mix for me. If I am on the road, it is a definite no for me, I don’t want to end up road kill (which reminds me of how awful this month has been in terms of the number of people who lost their lives while walking in the streets because the sidewalks are not plowed). Certainly, during a race it is a no. But when I am on the track, it has been 50:50. When I first got an ipod, I used it all the time. Now, it is more of a distraction/annoyance than anything. Besides the ear phones falling out, cords hitting my face and out of sync rhythms (yes, all can be fixed) I lost out on the whole point of running for me: to enjoy it. I recall reading this excellent article in Runners World a ways back about
John Moylan, an avid runner who worked in the twin towers. He almost lost his life that day, and was unable to run for almost a month likely because of the emotional toll it took on him. Running is a way for me to get some perspective everyday. In the daily grind of life, it is my release. Whether its exercise, reading, driving etc, having some kind of way to deposit these pressures is a good thing. If you have never run or walked for exercise, or have gotten distracted from the routine, there is no better time to get back on the horn. Grab a pair of sneakers, and walk for 10 or 15 minutes. Try it a couple of times a week. My bet is that you will get addicted to it because of how good it makes you feel. God, life isn’t easy. All you can do is keep keepin’ on. Like the wise man Red once said “Get busy livin’ or get busy dyin”.

State of the Boston Sport Union

Can I just put it in writing how great a year it has been for Boston sports? The Sox have won the series twice now, in under 5 years. And the Pats are attempting to go 15-0 this week. The Celtics are on a tear, Dustin Pedroia was rookie of the year. The downside of all of this, as discussed by many, is the performance enhancing drug situation. I see a guy like Pedroia, 5′9″ 180lbs, hitting the ball consistently, fielding like a seasoned veteran. It makes you wish that baseball, well all sports, were still being played by exciting guys like this, and that monster home runs arent the point of the show. I mean, this is a game. For us fans, who get up every day and go to work, we come home and step outside of life for a few hours and entertain ourselves with these games. We wish (I do) we have that kind of talent to perform like that, but I cant, so I watch others do something I know I cant do. The competition is awesome, the huge stadiums, yelling fans. What must it be like for the athlete, trying to compete in this, especially as they get older, get hurt, or are fighting for the job when a new rookie comes on the squad or high profile player? They cheat. Look at the incentives – fame, fortune etc. I dont know about you guys, but I would never want that pressure. As I was eluting to earlier, I am having trouble with this whole drug thing. What is the difference between steroids and eye glasses? You get a guy who works hard in the off season, is jacked, and can crank the ball – as Bonds did in his first few years. He gets on the bean, and the HR numbers sky rocket. Ok, but he still has to have the skill to hit the ball. But now he is stronger, and with growth hormone, maybe he rebounds quicker. Well, what if he has piss poor eyesight? Without glasses, guy cant hit the ball, on drugs or off. Arent glasses a huge enhancement? Are we trying to make a game with men of natural talent? Then take away everything that the players use that they werent born with – no contact lenses, titanium screws in their knees, vitamin supplements. Who is to say what is fair and what isn’t? You think high school football is fair? Take a poor town vs a rich town. Rich town has great coaches, athletic trainers, nice gym, summer camps. Poor school has old equipment, less successful coaches, certainly no recruitment of players. How can a player from a poor school ever have a chance of making it if he isnt given the opportunities? In this day and age where fans pay astronomical ticket prices to watch sporting events, maybe we are the problem. The players deserve the money because it is the players who we are going to see (if you think their salaries are ridiculous, dont pay to see them) but like everything that revolves around money, obviously the players will do whatever it takes to compete. Maybe some guys do it for the money, some for the trophy. Regardless, how can we bring the games back to where they were? Short answer – we cant. This is the way it is, it starts in high school, if not sooner, and unless you stop it at that level, it will just continue. Maybe I should start watching poker.

Curt Schilling

So I am entering the blog world due to Curt. I am a Sox fan, born and raised in the city and after reading his blogs decided what the heck, why not start this blogging thing. This was the post I just entered on his recent comments

Where is the line drawn? These components athletes are taking are typically found naturally in the body – creatine, testosterone, growth hormones etc. So do you ban everyone taking creatine? Protein shakes? What if an athlete genetically over produces testosterone or growth hormone, is he/she banned from professional sports? My personal opinion is that you cannot strip a baseball player of their accolades because you will be penalizing the few who are caught, and not the majority who are using. Jones was stripped of her olympic medals for individual efforts AND the relay but how can you fairly take away medals from say, Clemens, when the batters he faced likely were using some kind of enhancer? In this day and age of medicine, heck, isn’t a knee operation a performance enhancer? Or glasses/contacts? Where is the Darwinism here? Clearly that athlete was not the strongest to survive, but with modern medicine we can put almost any athlete back on the field or improve their output. And what is going to happen in say 30 years when parents genetically design their children to be more intelligent, taller, left handed? Yikes, we are going to need new leagues – the boring natural athlete, and then those that will do anything to be the best. I better take some sleeping pills right now so I can best compete for tomorrows boardroom meeting. And right before, a redbull. We are all competing against each other…