Running? What the Devil?!?!

Well, I'm trying something new with my down time ... running.

It's a big leap for me, because, frankly, I'm not a runner.

It's not the act itself that worries me ... it's the huge mental block I have towards the activity.

You see, I grew up a baseball player. And in baseball, running is punishment.

We would begin practice indoors in March, and play catch in the school gym.

Coach would say "Every time I hear a bad throw rattle off the bleachers ... the team runs a lap." Needless to say. you grew to hate that noise ... and those laps.

Then, once we moved outdoors, we would end particularly bad practices with the baseball version of a suicide. It involved running out a single, double, triple, and home run .. from home plate ... in succession ... at full speed.

Now, running 90 feet as hard as you can, followed by 180, 270, and 360 doesn't sound like a lot. But, as John Kruk once so eloquently said, "Honey, I ain't an athlete, I'm a baseball player."

So, running has always been a bad, bad thing in my mind.

But, since I have some time on my hands, need to get outdoors, and frankly, need something to take my mind off my situation ... I'm giving it a shot.

Look, I'm never gonna run a marathon ... nor would I ... because frankly, I'd lose interest a few miles in. And, I vow to never be one of those people who feel the need to tell you how many miles they ran that day.

I don't look graceful doing it. I don't feel graceful doing it. All I'm trying to do is avoid hearing my old Coach yell "That's another lap!"

But, if it keeps me moving ... I'll give it a shot.