Running in November in Michigan

I am normally a morning runner.  There is something tremendously satisfying about kicking off your morning with a run (topped perhaps only by kicking it off with a hockey clinic).   A morning run starts the day with fresh possibilities, allowing time for planning and reflection.  And even if all you plan out is your outfit for work that day, having that thirty to forty-five minutes to zen out  while  pounding the pavement is priceless.    Best of all, it is done.  Nothing in the day that comes after your run can take it away. That good running feeling lasts the whole day and makes it better.

That said, I don't like to run in the rain.  Especially if there isn't a soccer ball involved.  But I hate missing a run.  Especially in November when I know my days of running outside in Michigan are numbered.  And so this morning, despite the relatively warm temperatures, I went to work in the rain without my run, only to watch the sky brighten throughout the day.  And an idea took hold.

I arrived home about 6:30, and quickly changed into running gear (shorts and a t-shirt as it was over 60 degrees out) before I could talk myself out of it.  After all, the house needed cleaning,  the cats missed me,   I had email to answer, lunches to assemble,  and a hockey bag to pack for my Wednesday morning clinic.  But nothing could deter me.  I was going to have at least one more sixty degree run this year. And it was going to be tonight.

What an awesome run it was!  Summer bugs still chirping and calling yet I could smell fall in the  leaves on the ground and hear them crunch under my feet.  The air warm with a breeze out of the south on my skin.  Perfection.  

And I know winter is coming.  But it isn't here yet.  And I will hold onto this run as long as I can, until spring if need be.  And whisper a quiet thank you for the beautiful day we had today.

Team Sports and Life

Life would be better if we all played team sports as adults.   There is the obvious reason - physical activity is good for the body and the spirit.   And a lot of folks who don't like to run,  walk or go to the gym will show up once a week to chase a ball or a puck and have a great time doing it.  There's the psychological benefit - almost everyone I know who plays a team sport as an adult talks about how awesome it is to lose all your worries and cares for the hour you are on the field or the ice or the court.  Not to mention, as we get older it is harder to fit time in to see our friends. Playing a sport with your girlfriends is a great way to guarantee seeing each other once a week.  And it keeps us young in body and in spirit.

Team sports remind us of the things we learned as kids. Many of the life lessons we learn in grade school are emphasized by playing sports.  And when we move into adulthood, we lose the daily or weekly reminders of these important rules.  The intangibles.   The following life rules we learned as children but sometimes forget as adults:

1.  Play nice.  You never know when the player on the other team will end up playing with you.
2.  Pass the ball.  That's the nice thing about being part of team.  You don't have to win by yourself.
3.  Back up your teammate.  Every one makes a mistake from time to time.  If you back up your team mate, odds are good she'll back you up as well.
4.  Keep your head up.  It's easier to see what's coming if you are looking for it.
5.  Keep your stick on the ice.  It's hard to score if you aren't ready.
6.  Pump up your team.  At least half the battle is mental.  If you think you can win, you CAN win.
7.  A team is greater than the sum of its parts.  Find a place for everyone and play to their skills.  Everyone has something of value to contribute and the best teams find a way to get the most from all of their players.
8.   There's a reason they play the whole game.  The team that scores first doesn't always win.  The game winner can't always be predicted ahead of time.  And, if you do lose, it is better if you win the second half.  Plus, few things in life feel better than a come from behind victory.
9.  Sports give you a (well-deserved) excuse for beer and pizza.  In my case, at least tonight, a Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA (yum).

And that brings us to the most important factor in the equation.  Life is short.  Have fun. And very few things are more fun than playing a game.  Kicking a ball.  Shooting a puck.  Laughing with friends.  Cheering each other on.  And celebrating life.

Brussel Sprouts - a Yummy Vegetable?

Wow!  Yum!  Who knew?  I only regret the 42 years I had no idea how yummy a brussel sprout could be.  Try this recipe and you will be a convert as well....  I didn't even use the cheese.

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/goldencrusted-brussels-sprouts-recipe.html

Thank you CSA box for pushing me out of my comfort zone, once again!

The Last of the Raspberries

I just ate the last spoonful of raspberries from the quart I bought in Ann Arbor at the Farmers Market last Saturday.  And I am sad.  I wanted to hold those last berries on my tongue forever.  While I know it has been fall for a month now, somehow summer just ended today.  And it wasn't with my last outdoor soccer game, or Labor Day Weekend, or the start of football or the Tigers' season ending.  Although all of those things were a little bit of the end of summer.   It was the last, beautiful raspberries that turned the page on the season and landed me squarely into autumn.

And as much as I love fall in Michigan with the football and hockey and sweaters and apples and colorful trees and brisk air, I'm still never ready for summer to end.  A holdover from childhood when the end of summer means the beginning of the school year?  Perhaps.

But more than that, recently I have just wanted to stop time and freeze moments forever.  Time goes by way too fast these days.  And very rarely do I stop to savor the good stuff in life, as I'm too much in a hurry to get the next thing done.

But I savored those raspberries. And now I'm going out in my backyard to sit in the sunshine with my fifteen year old cat and watch the leaves fall off my oak tree, grateful we are both still here to enjoy the day.

Thank you, Tigers!

I am thankful I am just now saying goodbye to the Tigers in mid-October, when the leaves have started to fall in earnest and the air has a definite chill.  What a great season by a terrific team!  Justin Verlander, possibly the  AL MVP and Cy Young award winner, making every game he pitched an event.  Miguel Cabrera, making every at bat a possibility. 

And then there was  the post season and the thrill of victory in beating the Yankees.  Then came the Rangers and we saw Alex Avila, Victor Martinez and Delmon Young, playing through pain.  Brandon Inge, playing his heart out. And in game six of the series, despite losing by a landslide, the Tigers never gave up.  And when Cabrera homered in the 8th inning, his last at bat of the season, allowing me to ask one more time  "Why do they keep pitching to him?", I was at peace.   They had done their best. 

And now it is over.  And I will miss it.  I love the "every day-ness" of baseball.

Thank you Justin Verlander, for one of the most amazing seasons by any pitcher, ever.  Thank you Austin Jackson, for making some of the most spectacular catches in center field I've seen this season.  Thank you, Alex Avila, for the terrific regular season and for playing through the pain in the post season.  You block stray pitches like no other catcher.  Thank you Victor Martinez and Delmon Young - your bats gave us life in the post season.  Thank you Don Kelly and Ryan Raburn and Ramon Santiago - you came through when it counted and propped us up when we needed you.  Thank you Miguel Cabrera, possibly the best hitter in baseball, but so much more than that. I  will never forget your face after the 3-2-3 double play in game 2 of the Rangers series.  What a competitor!  Thank you, Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde and Doug Fister for your outstanding pitching efforts.  Who knew, except perhaps Dave Dombrowski, how key the additions of Doug Fister and Delmon Young would be to the Tigers?  And thank you, Brandon Inge, for being the athlete that you are and playing your game until the end of the series - rock on!

But what will I miss the most?  Sitting in my office at home after work and listening to Dan Dickerson and Jim Price, the voices of the Tigers as they describe every play, every detail of the game so clearly I can picture it.   I know where Brandon Inge is lined up at third.  I know if the infield is at double play depth.  I understand the pitches, the strike zone, and the calls.  Thank you, gentlemen, for another outstanding season.    And I look forward to next season.  We'll get 'em next year.  And I can't wait!

Bring on the Rangers

And on and on and on and on.....  Don't stop believin' Tigers' fans.   Go Tigers!

Baseball - Just Sayin'

Dan Dickerson and Jim Price + MLB Game Day > TBS.  Let's go Tigers!