20 FRICKIN' YEARS!

I get this Facebook notification the other day about my 20 year class reunion, and it made me think, "If I've been out of high school for 20 years, then I've been in Birmingham for 20 FRICKIN' YEARS!!" Actually, it's down to the week! This week in 1993, I loaded up the Maxima station wagon (yeah, I said it), and drove DIRECTLY, per my Mom's instructions, to 1600 9th Avenue South. How is this relevant to a running blog? Well, I remember my first run in Birmingham!


I'll start with a little background. While I had run track for 5 years and cross country for one season in my high school career, I was clueless! The majority of my running was actually on the track. It was mainly 400 meter repeats at practice, and at least 4 events at meets, twice a week. That led to a 3rd place finish at the state cross meet and a couple of 2nd's at the state track meet in the 800 and 1600, so I can't complain too much. There were a couple of calls from and visits to colleges, but by the end of the state track meet, I didn't know what I was going to do. I then received a call from a grad assistant coach at UAB, Mr. Scott Strand, who invited me for a visit. I liked UAB! It was close to home, the guys on the team seemed pretty cool, and quite frankly, UAB offered me more than the other schools.

I received a summer training schedule from my new head coach, Phil Schoensee, and it might as well have been Chinese! The easy 4 and 5 milers during the week, I understood, but there were tempos, Fartleks, HYF (How You Feel) runs, and lastly, in August, a couple of 10 milers. My longest run to this point, had been 6.2 miles in a couple of 10K road races I ran just for the heck of it, and they were races, not just head out the door for a run, type of runs! So, I did what any confused, invincible 18 year old would do! I tossed the training schedule and played 2 to 6 hours of outdoor, pick up basketball at the local outdoor court every day!

DUM, DUM, DUM! The day arrived when I had to report to school early, in my Maxima station wagon, to start training with my new team for the forthcoming cross country season! Phil told me he, Scott, and my new roommate, Bob, were going to pick me up at the dorm at 3 PM, and we were all going for a run. I unloaded the car and put on my brand new Pegasus Racers and Nike running shorts, purchased the week before at the Nike Outlet, went down stairs and nervously waited out front. Just to clarify, those guys I just mentioned, Phil - a member of 2 national champion cross country teams at Wisconsin, Scott - an All-American at Auburn in the steeplechase, and Bob - a state champ 2 miler from Michigan. Again, there I stood in my brand new pair of short shorts and running shoes!

Phil drove us to his house on Sterrett Street in Homewood. We got out, and he said, "I've got a nice 7 mile route."! Yep, my first run in Birmingham, with my new coaches and teammate, was going to be my longest, EVER! Luckily, 2 to 6 hours of pick up basketball translate to an 18 year old as at least a little fitness. We started out pretty easy, but as the pace increased, it started to hurt. I don't remember all the streets we were on, South Lakeshore maybe, but I DO remember taking a left on Ridge Road, the very same left we take on the Wednesday night 5 miler, and seeing that damned hill ahead! I was successful at faking it up until that point, but if we were going up that hill, I'm pretty sure they would have sent me packing back to Boaz! THANKFULLY, we took a right on Roseland and headed back to Phil's!

I made it through that run, learned what I could to be a better runner, and here I am, 20 years later, still making that left on Ridge, and definitely making a right on Roseland!! 

Time for a Little Change

I'll admit it! I'm pretty stubborn! When I first started writing this blog, I pretty much swore off writing any product reviews. While my intentions were innocent, basically wanting all of my followers/friends/customers to form their own opinion of a product, my reluctance left me with little content for the blog, considering all I talk about most days are running products and my training is fairly boring unless, of course, I get stalked by an owl! So, it's time for a little change! Let's face it! I don't know a whole hell of a lot about, well, a whole hell of a lot! What I DO know a little about is what I wear and use, running on a daily basis. I'm not going to get carried away though. While I want to inform and share a little about the latest gadget or footwear, the LAST thing I want this blog to be is a constant review.

I'll get started with my MO. As far as my mind is concerned, you can NOT have too many shoes! The shoe geek in me would fill the whole basement with them! I'm restrained by a. an effort to keep only the number of shoes I can actually use or train in and b. my wife and kids need some space to store things as well. HA! Since I'm not running 100 miles a week and I want to try as many as possible, I rarely put over 200 miles on a pair, so this year, I picked a style and decided to go for 400 to get a true feel of what we recommend as a maximum mileage to our customers. The "chosen one" for 400 this go 'round is the Asics GT 2000. The other shoes I'm rotating are the New Balance 880v2, Nike Flyknit Trainer, Pearl Izumi Road M3, Mizuno Wave Sayonara, and Nike Flyknit Racer (for those "feeling frisky" days). You'll notice right away, I don't stick with a particular brand or a specific category. While I should probably be wearing a support shoe all the time, I think its good to mix it up a little, and I'd go crazy if I only wore one brand or style!

Being a running specialty store worker/manager/part owner has it's perks! One of which, other than the obvious access to the latest footwear, is access to the latest gadgets, and I take advantage! For instance, I emptied my back pack the other day to make room to pack for a weekend trip. It's contents, 3 sets of Yurbuds, a Nike + Sensor, 4 watches and 2 pairs of compression socks, all of which I use. You will often see me on the road wearing two GPS watches, carrying my phone, in a belt or or armband of course, and sporting headphones attached to an iPod, all for the sake of research! This is my burden! (It was hard to write that last sentence without laughing a little!).

Just a few more things you need to know to get an idea of topics you may see in future . While I am picky about a few things, coffee - no flavored, beer - no twist cap bottles, food - no fruit, music - no country, I'm really not that picky about shoes. I'm pretty sure I have never said "I can't wear that color" OR "That shoe gave me shin splints, I can't wear it again"! While we're on the topic of "pickiness", I am SUPER picky about sunglasses! Since 1992, I have only worn Oakley and try to wear sunglasses every run, including clear lenses in the dark, if the mood strikes. I guess that's just my thing!

Well, I guess that's all for now! I look forward to writing more about the sport and products I love and hope you all enjoy!