Home Run Trot 5k Race

So I get into Hickory on Thursday night and am asked by Ryan McNeal, the strength and conditioning coach, if I want to run a 5k on Saturday. If you don't know, I'm training for a marathon in October. I needed to run 3 miles on Saturday anyway, so I figured I would do it. I wouldn't have to figure out a route and I have never run in a race before, so what better place than here.

Now, having never run in an actual race before, I had no idea what was going on. I got there about 30 minutes early, changed in the clubhouse, and headed out. The GM had already gotten our numbers for us so I pinned it on and headed to the start line. There were probably about 150 people or so running so it wasn't too bad. They told us to start and we were off. It was kind of strange starting out with a bunch of other people. I usually go at a slower pace, but since this was just 3 miles I was able to pick it up a bit, especially with the adrenaline of competition. It was a bit of weaving and winding around people at the beginning for about half a mile where it started to spread out a bit. The other challenge for me today was the hills! Everywhere I have ran in the past has been flat. This was my fist experience with a hill. The ones at the beginning weren't too bad, but just over 2 miles in there was a doozy for me. I made it up, but when I rounded the corner I have to walk for about 10 seconds. After that it was smooth sailing. It was flat for a bit and then a small hill before heading downhill into the stadium for the finish.

It was a pretty cool race to run in and having people cheering you on and seeing the time on the big clock was fun. I know it was just a small little race, but I enjoyed it as a first experience. My finishing time was 26:36 which was way better than my goal of 30:00. My next race will be in Spokane where they have an 8k. I think it will be a little better having this one under my belt. Running 26.2 is going to be an adventure for sure.

One more thing. As a bonus I was announced as 2nd in my age group. I also didn't hear them announce a 3rd, so there may have only been 2 entered! I like to think that I was so excited about hearing my name that I just didn't hear anything after that.

Hickory, NC

Right now I am sitting in my hotel room in Hickory, NC. I made this same trip last year for a few days. The athletic trainer here is taking a few days off so I get a break from Arizona to come up here and cover for him. I flew out of Phoenix yesterday morning into Charlotte. Hickory is about an hour drive from the airport there, so after I picked up my bags and a car I hit the road and arrived in Hickory about 5:00. I checked into the hotel and headed to the ballpark. It is always nice to walk into the clubhouse and see the guys I haven't seen since spring. A good chunk of the guys here played in Spokane at some point last year so I know a lot of them. Last year was my first year with the Rangers, so when I came to cover I only knew a couple of the guys that started in extended or that I got to know a bit from spring training. After saying hello to the staff and getting dressed, it was back to work. One of the good things here is that there is only about 25 guys compared to the over 50 in AZ. The injury report is not too big and there are only a handful of guys that need some maintenence work, so the workload is also getting a break for me. Unfortunately, the Crawdads 9 game win streak came to an end last night so I took plenty of heat for coming in and changing things. At least the outfield/baserunning coordinator also came in yesterday so it did not all get put on me.

The difference between extended spring and Hickory baseball-wise is not that big (tehy are basically just 1 level apart), but the atmosphere is worlds apart. The main difference is the fans. I think the most I have seen in AZ is probably about 10 people and that was a HUGE crowd. I think one of the Padres guys had his whole family at the game. The noise at the game is nice here also. There is the buzz in the stands, the announcer introducing the hitter, the music between pitches and batters, and all the usual dugout chatter. The guys that haven't played out at an affiliate definitely have a reason to get out of AZ once they experience this brand of minor league baseball. The Hickory Crawdads are also a class organization that treat the players and staff awesome along with L.P. Frans stadium being a great place to watch a game.

I will be here through Monday's 11 am game, so I will get some pictures and post at least one more time while I am up here. Here are a few Hickory guys you can follow to get their perspective this season.

Pitcher Josh Lueke - @josh_lueke on twitter
ATC Jeff Bodenhamer - @BODE_ATC on twitter, http://dadsdugout.mlblogs.com, 'Dads Dugout on Facebook