The Running of the Wolves

Sunday morning my daughter Ally and I completed a 5K Run/Walk that was organized and sponsored by her grade school. Really they didn’t name it right. It’s not a 5K Run/Walk. It’s a 5K Run/Walk/Crawl/Bend-over-at-the-waist-to-desperately-catch-your-breath/Dry Heave-at-the-side-of-the-road. Not sure they measured it right, either. I swear it was a full marathon length. At least that’s what my knees were telling me.

Ally faired better than I did, or at least seemed to. I didn’t notice any profuse sweating, knee popping or lung wheezing for her.

It got me to thinking about the physical requirements of being an everyday adult vs. an athlete. As adults mostly we’re charged with walking up and down stairs at work and home and perhaps engaging with our kids in sports for a few minutes each weekend. Running out a lazy groundball to short would cause most of our legs to seize up and make us walk funny for the next few days. There is an amazing amount of athleticism involved for Aramis Ramirez to (sort of) run out that lazy groundball to short that allows him to do that four times a game.

MLB Channel has the Pre-Game Look In where they show batting practice and players warming up playing catch. Watching them throw just to warm up made me realize that if that was me, my arm would be in traction before the game even started.

Adorned with lucky number 1526 (a shout out to my home boys Steve Dillard and Larry Biittner yo!) off we went. The course wound throughout the housing communities surrounding the school and within the first half mile Ally was off to a four house lead.

Disappointingly there was a water station along the way but not the important stuff like crash carts and portable defibrillators.

Halfway through, we started passing the early sprinters. One look in their eyes and you could tell they were done. And here's where I had plenty of time to contemplate life, the CFCL and my crackling lungs. As I passed a few runners I thought "Cool, I'm really advancing!" Then my pace would slow and those same runners I passed, moved ahead of me and it got me to thinking of the CFCL standings. If the Rebels (or any team really) have a good day (ok, let's imagine the Rebels having a good day) and pass a team or two in Total Bases, I start to think "OK, we're making progress." But then those teams that were passed have their good days later in the week and regain their position, pushing the Rebels back down in points. To gain position and maintain it, you need a prolonged surge of productivity, not a short burst, unless you're near the finish line. There are many, many, many parallels between the CFCL, or fantasy baseball, and life.

At the end there was a lot of cheering of support and the official time clock clicked 33:58 slotting me in as the Aramis Ramirez of the racing set.

While waiting for the official results there were bagels and bananas to snack on, massage tents to collapse into, good music to listen to and teachers, neighbors and classmates to chat with and compare notes. For the Inaugural Running of the Wolves, it was a really well organized and sponsored event. Best of all it was a great way to spend time with Ally on a Sunday morning.

Oh, Ally’s time? 32:00 – 8th in her age group and 113th in a field of 379. Did I mention she's ten year's old? Kicked my butt.