3 miles

I just did my normal three mile run about 3 minutes faster than just last week. It's really cool to see improvement.
I ran the first mile at about a 9 minute pace.. then I slowed to 12 minutes, but threw in a couple of intervals (to the music I was listening to). That last interval was an honest 10 on the bill phillips intensity scale. Then I jogged the last half mile. Awesome workout.

Did well on softball last Thursday. 3 for 3 with 4 rbis and a triple. My shoulder kept me from throwing the ball (as catcher I under-handed every ball back to the pitcher), but I was able to to pretty much everything else. There was a little shoulder pain on the swing, but it obviously didn't keep my from swinging well. The field we played on SUCKED ASS! It was directly under the 59th street bridge. Literally. Between 59th and 60th, and 1st and York. No grass anywhere. Rectangle. The right field fence was a good 250 feet or so, center was probably 400 feet, left field was only about 150 feet. The left field fence was so shallow, in fact, that if you hit a fair ball over that fence for about the first 100 feet from the foul ball line, it was an automatic out.

My first at bat was with two outs and the bases loaded. on a 3-0 count, I hit my triple - into deep center field, almost to the fence. in most of the other fields we play at it would have been a home run. The next batter scored me, and the blue said, "That's what you do on a 3-0 count - you knock the hell out of it."
Next was a decentlt-hit ball into right-center. Found a hole, on a 2-0 count this time. That resulted in a RBI too.
My last hit literally hit the bridge overhead (probably 100 feet up). The blue called it a "ground rule single." Strange rules happen on strange fields.

There was some torrential rain + thunderstorm during this game, starting in the third inning. Now the 59th street bridge makes a hell of an umbrella - Most of the field stayed dry. But along the first base line, for about 20 feet in along the entire length, there was no bridge cover - and that portion turned into a 1-inch deep mudpit that wasn't really good for playing ball. It's a wonder the blue didn't call the game sooner. My last at bat (the ground rule single), I tried to run from first base when the next hitter hit a ground ball, but I ended up not moving. I just slipped and fell into the mud. Got a lot of looks on the train-ride home.

Oh yeah, we won. 7-0 now.

-steve