In baseball, a marathon is 360 ft.

Mother Nature reminded us that it's still winter here in Hog Heaven with a dollop of snow overnight.  Fortunately, it didn't stick around for long as temps warmed into the upper 30s.  The sun even made an appearance but not before I'd finished my morning run.  I went out for a one-hour run, but ended up doing 7 miles.  Felt good and kept going.  Time will tell whether that was a good idea or not.  Anyway, tomorrow is cross training.  I'll either do a hill workout or a one-hour maintenance run Thursday.  Cross train on Friday.  That sets me up for a speed workout on Saturday.  The Weather Service has put rain back in Sunday's forecast, and I've decided that rain or shine I'm skipping the Chili Chase 4-Mile. 

Since I don't run with an iPod (see here: http://runningthrutwenty12.blogspot.com/2012/02/steve-jobs-runners-bff.html), I have to think about something to pass the time.  This morning, I thought about baseball.  Baseball was my first athletic passion in life and remains an interest.  At some point, running replaced baseball as my primary athletic passion.  It matters that I can still run, but I can't still play baseball.  In fact, I even gave up slow-pitch softball long ago.  But, I continue to follow baseball.  I don't have the patience to watch baseball on television--except for "Baseball Tonight"--but I like to get out to a couple of games every season.  Mostly the local minor league franchise.  I did see the Mariners last year while visiting my son in Seattle.  Nice stadium, boring team.  Except for Ichiro. 

So, what got me to thinking about baseball in February?  Well, in Iowa it's February.  In Florida and Arizona, it's spring.  As in Spring Training.  Training camp are open, pitchers and catchers have reported, and position players will all be in camp soon.  Kind of like the robins returning to Hog Heaven.

I know what you're thinking: Why baseball on a running blog?  Well, baseball and running have some things in common.  Both are best done outdoors.  And, both require running.  The difference is in the amount.  Running is 100% running.  Unless you're following Jeff Galloway (Marathon: You Can Do It!), in which case it's not.   Baseball players usually run 90 feet at a time--the distance between bases.  The most that a player runs without a rest stop is 360 feet and that only on the rare occasion of an inside-the-park-home run.  A marathoner, on the other hand, must run 138,336 feet.  To be fair, a marathoner doesn't have to hit a projectile streaking toward him/her at 98 mph. 

I don't have a favorite team.  I grew up as a Yankees fan.  Two words: Mickey Mantle.  I stopped liking the Yankees after the Mick retired.  While I don't have a single favorite team, there are several teams that I actively root against: the Cubs, Red Sox, Mets, Brewers and Tigers to name five.  I tend to like smart teams that get the most out of what they have: Tampa Bay and Minnesota, for example.  I like teams with great pitching: Giants, Phillies, Texas.  It's early, but I'm picking two of those teams--Philadelphia and Texas--for the 2012 World Series.

The Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues kick off on February 29.  The regular season begins March 28 with Seattle taking on Oakland in Tokyo.  Opening Day for the other clubs is either April 5 or 6.

Play ball!