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  • Road Trippin’

    Binging as night settles. My seductive drug of choice. Pitch black beach dirt back road crunches. Battles crickets. Climbing, 12 seconds at a time Speedballs. Zero visibility, angry waves my eyes, an epic fix. Sobering thoughts of a dangerous Hawaiian crash, steer clear, caffeine Another hit? Another hill. No heart rate variability A passionate love…

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  • Open Thread – Week 7

    Welcome back to our open thread. Let’s get straight to the action. M. squared writes: Kap- How often are you eating meat per week? Any cardiovascular concerns..? Have you ever flushed this out with a heart doc? Today you spoke of a planned indulgence… Were you referring to the bun and beer? All of the…

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  • General

    Here at Morning View, concrete lions provide sanctuary on either side of the road. The freedom fighter wanders the middle. Peculiar. A snails pace’s the sweet spot. Just far enough away; she’s not too loud. Still close enough to smell her. 50 years ago, the old man walked this path. Wandering. Dreaming. … [Read more…]…

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  • No Lo Entiendo

    Ask most folks if they speak Spanish (or any other foreign language), and you might hear them say, “I understand more than I speak.” I’ve always called bullshit. Before now, that usually expressed to me one of two things. Either they speak more than they understand, or they speak and understand very little. This occurred…

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  • Beach Running

    Running on the beach has its virtues and its downside. Tailor the activity to meet your personal needs. A few times a month, I take my sprints to the beach. Fall and winter mornings are especially quiet in north Malibu, as the tourists have split and only the hardcore surfers remain. Zuma beach provides a…

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  • Red Cabbage

    I’m sure you’ve seen the commercials for the pills and gels promising to reduce the symptoms of “low T.” “It’s just a number,” they say, then promise increased muscle and bone mass, elevated mood, more energy and a whole host of other benefits. Sounds appealing. Perhaps you can skip the pills. I have an alternate solution.…

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  • Problem Solving

    I want to work with people who flag problems and then offer up solutions. Whistle blowers, tattletale, and rumormongers are a dime a dozen. If you took one-tenth the energy you put into complaining and applied it to solving the problem, you’d be surprised by how well things can work out… Complaining does not work as a…

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  • Meat or Dessert

    Motivation comes in all forms. There’s no cookie cutter formula, and there’s no one right answer. Some folks sponge intrinsic desire to drive them forward, others look to outside forces for their inspiration. In the world of athletics, we can strike a healthy balance. You may remember our discussions surrounding doing good work simply for…

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  • Traveling? Get Outside

    I’m on the road right now for World Series pre- and post-game coverage with my FOX team. Travel can present unique challenges to our well-being, so I work harder to stay on point when I’m away from home. How often do you travel for business and find yourself eating meals in your room or the…

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  • Continuing Education

    Educating others is exhausting, but also fulfilling and one of the most worthwhile endeavors we can pursue. It is well-documented at this point that we care deeply about mining for value at the margins around here. In our day-to-day jobs, we may be ultimately responsible for hundreds of people or just a few. Whether we…

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I aim to plan and consciously choose all of my indulgences. I have the knowledge and willpower to do so, but occasionally, I will have a substantial misfire.

I was in Boston, my home away from home, for the 2004 World Series reunion. I splurged nutritionally as I had intended, but I didn’t map out my large nutritional stumble while watching the game.

I had it all pre-navigated. My two men (12 and 14) and I love to experience travel through food. We think it’s the most efficient and interesting way to explore the culture of a city. We discussed the trip ahead of time and decided on three restaurants where we would fully indulge and eat like kings. We’d start with the team dinner at a fine steak and seafood house, follow it up with breakfast the next morning at a bakery, and finish it out with lunch at a tapas joint in the South End.

The first night the three of us shared bone in filets, swordfish steaks, oysters, giant shrimp, crab cakes, lamb chops, chocolate cake, apple crisps and cold vanilla ice cream. I enjoyed a few glasses of whiskey, neat, and my boys drank Sprite. We left the restaurant 1 for 1. Remember, this indulgence was planned.

The next morning, we went to a bakery suggested by a Boston-based chef friend. The boys picked up scones and French toast; I scored big with a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on a crusty roll with spinach and tomato. The bite came complete with a Dijon mustard finish that struck a chord with me, managing to last all day. 2 at bats, 2 knocks.

After mobbing around on the T train all morning, making our way to Harvard and back to Downtown Crossing, we landed at our destination for lunch, Toro. Theo Epstein made the recommendation after I mentioned that my boys and I were on a food adventure. This is the guy who went out to get the “washed up” 2002 version of David Ortiz, so he’s proven his scouting mettle. If he thinks it’s a worthwhile trip, I’ll take his advice.

Back to food.

Rather than turn this post into a restaurant review, I’ll keep it simple. I had an out of body experience. Every small plate that arrived was visually captivating and stunning on the palate. We sprinted the gamut. From spicy curry beef empanadas to cauliflower with golden raisins and pine nuts to the pièce de résistance, roasted bone marrow with radish citrus salad and oxtail marmalade. This dish, holy fuck. Our waiter described it exquisitely as “like rich, hot, beef flavored butter.” I was now 3 for 3 and ready for my final at bat.

A theme throughout this entire trip was advance planning. My first mistake was not preparing for this final meal. I figured my boys and I would just eat at the ballpark and didn’t put much thought into it. I knew that the options would be plentiful and come in large quantities. I wasn’t necessarily wrong, but I quickly got off course.

I was running around at Fenway from this place to that, answering questions and meeting folks. My boys were on their own and already up in the suite by the time I arrived around the start of the first inning. They had eaten pizza, snacks and fruit, totally what I expected for them. I walked in starving, my second mistake.  I reached for a plate and piled on decent looking veggies, a huge mound of guacamole, and the only available protein, stale fried chicken strips. I could have reached into my bag and opened a can of wild caught salmon. I didn’t. My defenses were down. I hadn’t snacked. I ingested that garbage and suffered strike one.

You know my stance on processed foods. Those frozen chunks of flour covered meat product provide little nutritional value. I had already experienced a whirlwind day filled with emotion and exertion, and the pizza under the heat lamp began to look lovely.

I advocate indulgence, but I advocate planned, quality indulgence. This was neither. I scarfed down a piece and the drugs hit my bloodstream. I couldn’t chew fast enough. Strike two.

The final pitch of the at bat came in and I chased it. I scarfed down a few more slices, knowing even as I did so that it wasn’t my finest hour.

3 for 4. In baseball that’s a hell of a day. Nutritionally, I expect 4 for 4s from myself almost always. I’m in control, so the high bar is appropriately set. Rather than dwell on it, I’ll do what Manny tells us to do after a rough at bat. “Turn the page, papi.”

I write this from the plane the following morning. I’ve turned the page. Today, I’ve ingested steel cut oats, fresh organic blueberries, a pile of kale, a chunk of a ham steak, a few fresh scrambled eggs and organic black coffee.

In my bag, I have a large salad with tons of fresh veggies, almonds, chicken, organic Hannah yams. I also still have that wild salmon I passed over for pizza in a box.

I’m back on track. I remember last night’s at bat and will make the adjustment without carrying the emotion of yesterday over into today’s game.

I hope you’ll share your stories of strikeouts or home runs in the comments section below.

Kap