Running the Bases

Last weekend, I joined in as thousands of baseball fans flocked to Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park. This by itself is not unusual. But this time, the crowd wasn’t there to throw batteries at players or puke on police officers, but to run the inaugural Phillies 5k. Not bad for a town Men's Fitness once named America's Fattest City.

I went into the race with two big goals:

1.       Pose for a picture with the Phillie Phanatic.

2.       Win some Carlos Ruiz-related memorabilia for a good friend’s mom, who has a wee crush on Chooch.  She refers to him as Mon Petit Fuego—“because he’s my little fireplug.” Adorable.

The race itself was a blast, with friendly (really!) participants and spectators, a flat, flast course that wound through FDR Park, and a post-race party on Ashburn Alley. As for my goals...well, in baseball terms, I went 0 for 2. Additionally, I managed to break just about every smart-running rule possible, including the most important one of all: Do not attempt to keep up with furry green mascots in plastic pace cars, no matter how flash you're feeling at the start.

On the bright side, I didn’t come away completely empty-handed. In addition to a bottle of Dasani and a green banana, I took home a baseball autographed by Placido Polanco. I suspect it would have been less painful to catch one during a game, but with my lack of coordination, it might be awhile before I get back to you on that one.



Polly, if this is why your elbow was bothering you last week, I owe you one.



I’d originally planned to refuel on ballpark concessions, but funnel cake and hot dogs al fresco are somewhat less enticing when its 35 degrees outside and you’re drenched in sweat. I decided to seek shelter, preferably someplace where omelets were served.  And here’s the one thing I did right: I signed up for the race with friends. Not just any friends, mind you, but the kind of pals who cheerfully help you satisfy your Oregon Diner craving, even though they just had dinner there the night before.

The best part: The Phillies threw two vouchers for pre-season tickets into every goodie bag. There’s nothing that could get me more psyched for opening day. Except maybe this video (language may be NSFW, depending on where you W).