Baseball is back!

Friday, April 1, 2011

It was the Home Opener, which for most Indians fans is a time when hope springs eternal that this will be the year they finally win the World Series. Okay…maybe not this particular year…but at least before the first game is played most of the diehard Indians fans can fantasize to some degree about how they will perform this season…which is likely better than the reality of September will prove to be.

I spent many seasons attending the Opener, most recently with Savannah as her interest in the Indians grew with each passing year since she was about twelve. She’s away at Ohio State now, but insists that we see a game as soon as she returns. Without her here, it was not nearly as important for me to attend, but I did at least watch the game on TV.  As I watched, I was quickly reminded of things that happen at the Ballpark which really tend to annoy me. I know things have changed dramatically in the world of communication and entertainment and ballparks are not exempt. Music, flashing scoreboards, movie clips, people dressed up in Hot Dog suits and having races, giant stuffed animals dancing and launching t-shirts into the stands with powerful rubber bands, to name a few. None of them add anything to the game for me…in fact they are a huge, annoying distraction.

Anyway…if you were attending…or watching…the Opener, you may know at one point the Indians were trailing the White Sox by two touchdowns – 14 to 0. The Indians were up, had one out and nobody on base when the PA system sent the music for “charge” ringing across the stadium…and into my brain. I…mean…really – they think the fans are so ignorant that they’re going to start yelling 'charge' when we're down my fourteen runs and not even a hint of a rally brewing? Do they really suppose they can manufacture excitement out of nothing? Knowledgable fans react to what is happening ‘on’ the field and not simply in a sound byte? Holy crap, PA people…get a clue!

I managed a good 30-minute run, which is to say nothing hurt too badly, I didn’t cough uncontrollably and my hips were dog-tired at the end of the run. I came home from the park and decided it was a good day for a double, so I began preparations for a ride. I say this because it was in the low 40’s, which is quite chilly for me to be riding. I put on a long-sleeved t-shirt over a short-sleeved, actually wore socks, put a head band over my ears and searched for some lighter-weight gloves to wear. Finding nothing rider-appropriate, I grabbed my Isotoner’s out of the closet and went with them. I was a very styling cyclist, but was missing something rather important, of which I became very aware as I raced down a hill over 40mph…hair. I felt pricks of cold as ice began to form on the top of my head…I suppose the chill factor at that speed is around zero…and wished I’d worn my bandanna. There’s always tomorrow to correct those apparel guffaws…

Run duration: 30 minutes. Bike duration: 85 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 140 bpm running, 130 bpm biking.
Calories burned during workout: 500 running. 1275 biking.