Happy Mother's Day

As I went down in the river to pray
Studying about that good old way
And who shall wear the starry crown?
Good Lord show me the way.

O mothers let's go down
Come on down, don't you want to go down?
Come on mothers, let's go down
Down in the river to pray.

We drove north on Pioneer Highway and played Emmy Lou Harris as loud as we could stand with the top down heading into a rainstorm hitting the curves at full tilt singing at the top of our lungs and laughing until it hurt.

It was good to spend Mother's Day not feeling guilty about not being on my bike.

Primative Week

It's been days since I've slept for real.

Mike has been away and somehow it's become impossible to sleep alone.

And because I can't sleep, I'm not hungry. I have no desire to fuel up, and maybe as a result I've lost my appetite for speed in the pool.

Tomorrow will be better. Counting the minutes until NWA 165 from MSP touches down tonight.

Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Lose, Sometimes It Rains.

“It’s a beautiful day for a ballgame. Let’s play two.”

Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks was known for this catch phrase, expressing his wish to play a doubleheader every day out of his pure love for the game of baseball, especially in his self-described "friendly confines of Wrigley Field."

Two simple words “Play Ball” evoke the very essence of baseball. The smell of hot dogs and mustard and freshly cut grass. The sound of ash connecting with leather. And the leisurely, sexy pace of America’s game on a sunny, Saturday afternoon.

Calling baseball our national pastime, and as American as Mom and apple pie, to my way of thinking, is not enough. Certainly, baseball has found its way into our hearts, but more interestingly perhaps, its words have become a part of our national idiomatic lexicon.

You all know what I mean when I say “we didn’t make it past first base” or “I went shopping for shoes but I struck out.”

It’s worth mentioning that baseball movies have re-purposed the sport’s language to America’s vocabulary. In business we might say “If we build it, they will come” to underscore the potential success of a project. At home, when my nieces and nephews squabble over pointless things, they are told “there is no crying in baseball.”

But“play ball” has its own idiomatic meaning. It describes a situation where a person chooses to go along with someone else’s idea, perhaps despite their own misgivings.

My favorite baseball movie quote addresses just this situation.

In Bull Durham, Kevin Costner’s character, Crash Davis, wants Susan Sarandon’s character, Annie Savoy, to “play ball” with him. At a pivotal moment of their courtship, Annie asks Crash, what do you believe in?

And he says:

Well, I believe in the soul, the small of a woman's back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days."

Do you think Annie played ball? Absolutely. Wouldn’t you?

Odds and Ends

ODDS

Odds are good that I will swim these races this summer:

5/31 Hagg Lake 2 or 4 K
7/1 Canada Day Challenge 2 or 4 K
7/18 Fat Salmon 3 mile
7/19 Kitsilano 6 K
8/? Lake Padden 2.5 or 5 K
8/16 Emerald City Open 1 mile
9/13 La Jolla Rough 3 mile


ENDS

Today the Seattle Times announced the end of the University of Washington Swimming program. Football revenues have been abysmal, so other sports are paying the price.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2009157966_budgetcuts02.html


When I was in Las Vegas last week Mike moved my bike out of our theater room where it had been on the trainer since January and hung it up in the garage.

Yost Pool Will See Another Summer

Some say a parent should teach a child to swim.
The Talmud

Withdrawal Symptoms

I guess we're down to the practical things now.

Dear Phil has stepped up with interest in my Penticton accommodations, which could be great because it would facilitate a quick transaction that I wouldn't need to think about much. I need to yank off the bandaid and minimize the drama.

The next step is to go to the IMC Web site and officially withdraw. I have time to do it -- right now, in fact. I even have motivation -- I want to get it overwith. And yet, I just can't seem to bring myself to type in the URL and read the fine print.

Tomorrow, maybe.

I've re-arranged my emotional furniture about this summer's race plans and for the most part it is starting to feel like home.

Swam well today despite being out of the water since Tue. I'm looking forward to a solid week ahead, though I left my swim suit at the pool (drat) this morning so will need to do at least 1 GLAD workout to retrieve it.

Speaking of water fashion, I need a new wetsuit. Mine feels like a pair of pajamas. I know I didn't shrink, but that thing got humungous over the winter. And open water swim season starts soon!!

Swimming Like It's 1996

Last week I swam five consecutive days. Each workout was over 3000 yards. I don't think I have done that in over a dozen years.

I used to live to swim. But then, after getting serious about triathlon, swimming became a 2-3x weekly "recovery" session between cycling and running workouts. While the summer lake swims have always been heavenly, especially over the last few years I have carried a lot of fatigue with me even into open water.

It feels good to be swimming for its own sake, and watching the clock become increasingly generous. There's a threshold for everyone; we'll see where mine is at 40. When I was 15, I set the Mariner High School 50 freestyle record at :25.2, and could hold race pace 100s around :56. When I was 28, I came within a second of each of these times. Not sure what will happen with a dedicated effort 12 years later, but you never know. Think of Dara Torres and what she has achieved. I have no aspirations for fast sprinting these days, but love how my 500 times keep dipping.

This week's highlight was "breastroke day" at the 5 am GLAD workout Thursday. I kept up with Bill (OK...I so I just streamlined in his wake for most of the workout) then was able to hang with the speedy John S during side-by-side 50s as the session wrapped up.

I am going to Las Vegas Tue for a couple of days, and am hoping to connect with the UNLV Masters while there.