Homerun

On Friday, Yumke and I talked about running through Scarborough on Saturday morning, the suburb where we both grew up and where our parents still live. I planned a route to a softball diamond where CMan was participating in the annual company tournament, and it happened to pass by Yumke's parents' house, somewhere he wanted to visit this weekend. But it was still a hard sell -- rain, night-before activities, and departure times were considered -- and we didn't go. In fact, I was very happy that Yumke didn't phone me on Saturday morning because I slept til noon. And it was raining. All day.

Today it was still raining when I woke up. That didn't spur me into faster action. I didn't even want to meet the Sunday group to motivate me, and besides, it was already past meeting time.

By 9am, it looked like the rain was letting up, or at least to a gentle misty drizzle. I convinced myself to do the planned Scarborough route because I wanted to go see some softball.

And so I left. I packed the car with a change of clothes and a granola bar and wished CMan good luck on his second day of the tournament. I'd miss the first game, but hoped that his team would win so that there would be a second game for me to watch.

What occured over the next few hours was a trip down memory lane. The first 2mi were familiar territory, a stretch of road that I've been using since I moved into the neighborhood. And maybe it was that familiarity, or maybe it was because I was well-rested, but I did this stretch with much ease. Which was nice, because the next 10 were just as easy (Ya, that's right. I said easy). Then I crossed into Scarborough.

Mile 3: Sent some silent hellos to my best friend since Gr.3, my real estate broker, and CMan's manager, all who live within five minutes of each other. And briefly stopped at the park where from Gr. 1-6, I competed in annual track meets, representing my school with pride in standing long jump and relay (I'd usually be the third relay runner, but I think I started one year. What I don't remember is if we ever placed. I'd like to think so, but my memory won't go back that far).


Mile 4: Hey, the Tara Inn Irish pub. Oh, nevermind.

Mile 5: Scarborough Bluffs! Sight of some late night bonfires during high school. And underage drinking. Time for a gel.

Mile 6: Passed CMan's dad's house. Thought about stopping in for a bathroom break, but didn't.

Mile 7: Wow, this Kingston Rd. doesn't really offer a whole lot of scenery. Motels and strip malls. Ick. Hey, Yumke's street.

Mile 8: Turned into Guildwood, one of the nicer neighborhoods of Scarberia. The scenery has turned into lush trees, tended gardens, and much less road traffic. But I'm not completely sure where I am ... I lived in the northwest part of Scarborough. Best to stick to following the bus stops to get me out of here.

Mile 9: Hmmm.. the Guild Inn. Should I hold my wedding reception here?

Mile 10: Where am I?

Mile 11: Oh the park is close. I recognize that ghastly garden from last year. Yay!

Mile 12: Arrived at park. Took a much needed water/pee break. Said hello to CMan, who said they had two more games for the day, having won the first one. Awesome! Stretched a little bit. Listened to his teammates call me insane for running there, and then them calculating how many times they'd have to run around the bases to equal the distance. (That would be about 264 times, if the math is right. Or a lot of homeruns!)

I had 4 more miles to do. We found out there was going to be an hour before the playoffs began, so I guess this was the window of opportunity to get the lead out and finish off. Time for another gel. It was an uninspired out-and-back jog from the park.

When I returned to the park, I was still short a quarter mile.

This is the first year in a long while that I hadn't played organized softball. I am a little sad about it because it feels like summer is a little bit incomplete. Last year, I played with CMan's team -- which, by the way, repeated a bronze medal effort -- but this year they decided that it would be employees-only, which is fair enough. Since the whole run today was through many of the neighborhoods of my youth, I relived one more memory. I ran the whole softball field, around the warning track, and then a smaller homerun trot around the bases. Touched homeplate. 16.02mi completed.