The Goodyear Heart and Sole Run

This morning's 5k was at the site of the Brand Spanking New Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, AZ. The spring home of the Cleveland Indians and future spring home of my Cincinnati Reds.

Lots of Indians fans, but the home opener next Wednesday is not sold out. Tickets are from $12 to $80. I think ticket prices are way too high at all the Cactus League stadiums. It's cheaper to go to a regular season game. Which is why I haven't been to a spring game since Ken Griffey Jr. was a mariner. Hey, I guess I can go again now.

Anyone visiting this blog for the baseball pics, can skip down to them. I talk a lot about running on this blog.

I ran the 5k and was about the 10th person over the start line. And about the 100 person over the finish line. My garmin split for the first mile was 8:16, the fastest one mile in my racing life. My first half mile was at 7:46. I tried to keep up with the rabbits, but it wasn't to be.

My second mile past the practice fields was at 9:43, much more like me.

My third mile was at 10:22. I think I had one walk break during the second mile and a couple in mile three. That first mile was getting to me.

But, I rallied to do the home stretch in 7:28. The Scorpion Cheer squad cheered and I got a finishers ribbon. Finish time was 29:16. Just 27 seconds from a PR.

The sculpture outside the stadium. It's 60' 6" tall ( the distance from home to the pitchers mound) and is supposed to looks somewhat like a planes wing. Goodyear/Phoenix airport is right next to the ballfield. This picture makes it look like a bat, but that's not the intention. If they would have made it out of used tire rubber, then it would have represented Goodyear even more.

Down the third base side of the ballpark are Reds photos. On the left side are the Indians photos.

I asked a stranger to take my picture. He said sure, so I asked him if he was with the city. Turns out he's with HOK, the builder. They introduced him during the ribbon cutting ceremonies.

Goodyear Stadium.

See the ball in midair?

From centerfield. It's a nice facility, but Camelback Ranch, the new home of the Dodgers looks better.

Run a 5k, go to the ballpark and have a dog and a beverage of your choice. It doesn't get any better.

*A side note - as I walked around the facility in my Reds attire, about a dozen Indians fans mentioned I was a year early.

The Mitchell Report

I wanted to clear up reports that my name is on the Mitchell Report. As I went from being in my 30's to being 46 today I noticed injuries lingered longer and that my athletic ability was declining. I wanted to compete with the best in the world and knew that supplements would enable me to do so.

As you can see I have set many personal records in running distances from 5k's up to the half marathon and recently improved my HM time by over 10 minutes. So, do I regret taking these supplements. Not on your life. They have made all the difference and I will continue to consume them for the betterment of my running career.

For the record I will continue to drink Gatorade in all flavors, Gu and gel's in most flavors and those little chocolate squares my wife gives me for calcium or something. I, also, consider all things made at Dairy Queen as performance enhancing in nature and I will continue to frequent DQ.

For more reactions to my being named in the Mitchell Report please refer to ESPN.

News Release: I was not named in the Mitchell Report . . . never mind.

My All Stars

As you know I really like baseball. Here's my National League All Star Team.

Carlos Lee, Houston Astros - Outfield
Matt Holliday, Colorado Rockies - Outfield
Jason Bay, Pittsburgh Pirates - Outfield (I showed his house here in AZ last month)
Aramis Ramirez, Chicago Cubs - 3B
Jose Reyes, New York Mets - SS
Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies - 2B
Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers - 1B
Paul LoDuca, New York Mets - C
Jake Peavey, San Diego Padres - SP
Francisco Cordero, Milwaukee Brewers - RP

I really wanted to pick some Reds and Diamondbacks, but none made the cut. I do think that Griffey(Cin), Dunn(Cin) and Byrnes(AZ) are having great years. I'm glad to have two brewers on for Big Mike up in Wisconsin. I would have had Hardy on too, but I like Reyes for his speed and better defense. That was the hardest pick for me.

American League All Stars on another day.

Ran tonight. 5 miles in a little over 1 hour. The lower mileage has taken a bit of a toll on me and I've been fighting to get back to where I was at the end of last year. Tonight I felt much better and ran for longer times. I'm still taking more walk breaks than I used to, but that will change.

I mixed in some tempo runs tonight. I would run about 100 yards at a 7 or 8 minute pace (I'm guessing) and then would walk. It felt good to run at a faster pace.

That makes two runs in two days. Hopefully, my knee won't bother me when I wake up.

My Oldest Baseball Card

I've been scanning my baseball cards. I haven't looked at them in ages. It's kind of nice to relive my youth. This is my oldest card, from the 1957 season. It's not in great shape, but it's the only one I have from that year.

Happy Birthday Pete Rose!

Yes, it's Pete's birthday today. I believe he turns 66.

I grew up in Cincinnati during the 70's watching the Big Red Machine. It's was a great time, as we got to watch a team with every position player good enough to make the all star team and 5 of them good enough for the Hall of Fame. They won the World Series Back to back in 75' and 76'. The leader of the team was none other than Pete Rose.

Pete wasn't the greatest player of his generation, but he was the best team mate to have and the hardest working player in the game. He holds two records which tell alot about him. One, he has more hits than anyone to ever play. He has this record because he hustled and never quit. Two, he has played in more winning games than any player ever. This happened because he was on great teams and he made them better.

None of us are perfect and neither is Pete Rose. But since I like to look for the good qualities in people, Pete Rose the ballplayer is one of my favorites.

On Pete's birthday I ran 5 miles in 1:01:11 for a 12:13 split. My knee felt good after the first mile or two and I enjoyed the run. Oh yes, I hustled all the way for Pete.

Would have been nice if the Reds had won, but they did not.

The Beginning of Baseball Season

I am sorry I haven't posted much lately. There's two reasons.


One. My knee has been bothering me. If I run 2-3 times in a 3-4 day time period, my knee starts hurting. It's getting better, so I am resting it. Last week I ran 15 miles over 3 days. I'm hoping I can get it calmed down so that I can get back up to the 25 miles per week I was at.

Two. It's baseball season and I love baseball. The last three nites I went to the Dbacks games against my beloved Cincinnati Reds. When I can go see the Reds, I watch them on Directv. When the Reds aren't on, I watch other teams. Right now I have the Twins-Devil Rays game on. You know you love baseball when you're watching twins/devil rays. Usually I watch Reds, Dbacks, Cardinals, national league and then american league. In that order. Below is a picture of the Reds celebrating a win over the Dbacks. The Dbacks took the first two games in the series.



So, due to the lack of running updates and the lack of time from baseball I haven't had much to write about.

Tonight I was planning to run. But, it is extremely windy. If the wind dies down, I'm runnin'.

Pat