From running log:
No entry, day off from running.
30 years later:
If you had asked me, prior to reviewing my old log for this chronicle, if I had run every day that summer leading up to my senior year of cross country, I'd had said, "Of course". In my memory, clouded by time and idealism, I picture myself making sure to get out there every day to get in my mileage, tirelessly climbing the hills of Baraboo and scouting the trails behind the High School. Of course, the reality doesn't match the fantasy. I took some days off here and there. Sometimes it was because I was tired, others because I was busy with summer jobs, others because the weather was just so steamy I couldn't get myself out the door. It was probably good that I didn't run every single day, or I may have peaked too early that season. While I hate taking days off from running even to this day, I do have to admit that I recommend it to every runner I know. A day off now and then helps to recharge the body, speeds recovery, and makes you more eager for your next run.
Friday, July 31, 2009
July 30, 1979 (Monday)
From running log:
Ran about 3 miles at 6:30 pace, including a couple fast laps on the track, in New Balance 305s. Ran with Todd Coolidge, fast as usual. Saw some other late-night freaks out running too.
30 years later:
Due to the heat of summer, we'd often run after 9pm in the streets of Baraboo. 1979 was the heart of what is now in retrospect called "the first running boom", and ordinary folks were coming off of their couches and beginning to jog. They'd often do this after dark, partly out of embarrassment. But we were proud to be part of a sort of fringe fraternity. In these days, when a small road race might have over 4000 runners, I sometimes miss the spirit and simplicity of a 70-runner race in a small town, with numbered popsicle sticks used to determine awards. Ah, the old days.
I have been searching high and low for a photo of the old New Balance 305s, and I can't find one anywhere. Below is a photo of the 320, which came out a couple of years later. Actually, this photo is of a re-release version intended for the casual shoe market about two years ago. The colors are all wrong, but the outsole and upper are almost identical to the 305. The 305 was blue, with navy blue suede trim. The main difference between the 320 pictured below and the 305 was in the midsole; in the picture below, you can see a two-later EVA midsole in the heel, with one layer in the forefoot. Both layers are about 0.5 inches thick. In the 305, the upper layer (and single layer in the forefoot) was much, much thinner, less than 0.25 inches, and was red; the lower layer in the heel was blue and about the same thickness as below. That made the shoes lighter and more flexible, but it also meant they had very little padding. Luckily, I was young. Check out the herringbone pattern, gum rubber sole.
Okay, I decided to use Photoshop to create a quick sketch of the 305 by modifying the image above. This is bad, but it's fairly close. Did any of you own this shoe?
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
July 29, 1979 (Sunday)
From running log:
Ran 3 miles at 7:00 pace in New Balance 305s, around Devil’s Lake in the evening. CC run with MikeW and Todd. Swam immediately after the run. Ran fast, felt good. (Total weekly mileage = 31.1)
30 years later:
31 miles for the week, looking back now, doesn't seem like much. On the other hand, I've long been an advocate of keeping young legs away from lots of mileage. I think what was missing from my training that summer was at least a smattering of specific workouts, perhaps hill repeats or some basic intervals. Nothing that would have caused me to get injured or reach peak fitness too early, but something that would have worked the muscles that would be needed to race successfully.
I'm also struck, reading back in my old running log, at how often I was taking a swim after a run. That wasn't really a 'workout swim', we weren't doing laps or anything like that. But we were jumping into a cool lake and probably swimming around for at least 30 minutes. Most of my friends were good swimmers, and we'd often swim across the lake (had to be about half a mile) just for fun. Frankly, it would be good to add this back to my workout routine. Although it's a little tough to find a cool, spring-fed lake in the middle of New York City.
Ran 3 miles at 7:00 pace in New Balance 305s, around Devil’s Lake in the evening. CC run with MikeW and Todd. Swam immediately after the run. Ran fast, felt good. (Total weekly mileage = 31.1)
30 years later:
31 miles for the week, looking back now, doesn't seem like much. On the other hand, I've long been an advocate of keeping young legs away from lots of mileage. I think what was missing from my training that summer was at least a smattering of specific workouts, perhaps hill repeats or some basic intervals. Nothing that would have caused me to get injured or reach peak fitness too early, but something that would have worked the muscles that would be needed to race successfully.
I'm also struck, reading back in my old running log, at how often I was taking a swim after a run. That wasn't really a 'workout swim', we weren't doing laps or anything like that. But we were jumping into a cool lake and probably swimming around for at least 30 minutes. Most of my friends were good swimmers, and we'd often swim across the lake (had to be about half a mile) just for fun. Frankly, it would be good to add this back to my workout routine. Although it's a little tough to find a cool, spring-fed lake in the middle of New York City.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
July 28, 1979 (Saturday)
From running log:
Ran 5k road race in 17:22 at the Volksfest Run in Waunakee, Wisconsin, plus about a mile of warmup and cooldown. Wore Brooks Texan racing shoes. It was hot and sunny, 78F. My mile splits were 5:20, 5:46, then 5:42. Not too bright a performance. 12th out of 250 overall, and 6th in my age group. No award. Knees sore, and left leg sore.
30 years later:
I had been looking forward to this race for about a month, and had ridden down with Jim Clark, one of my neighbors and a High School teacher who loved road racing (see the Comment following the Introduction for more about Clark). I thought that I would tear this race up and prove that my summer training was really paying off. Of course, as I've mentioned here before, that summer training was totally unstructured and unsupervised, and included nothing more than trying to get out for a short run every day. In retrospect, I was no match for the other teens who were following a summer program outlined by their experienced coaches.
In looking at the mile splits, you can see the classic high school approach to the race: go out as hard as you can, and then just hang on. Too bad I didn't take just a little off that first mile, because then I'd have felt stronger in the next two miles and been passing the runners who had (like me) stupidly gone out too fast on a hot day. But in those days I lacked that kind of experience and wisdom, I'd have to learn my lessons myself, over time.
It's also funny to think that I was so disappointed with finishing 12th out of 250 runners. In those days, 250 was a pretty big field for a small town road race, and most of the top 50 were fairly serious about running and racing. Not to mention, I'd happily take a couple of miles in the 5:40s now!
The Volksfest Run, under a slightly modified name, is still in existence to this day. In fact, its 31st annual edition was run just three days ago, which tells us that 1979 was only it's 2nd year of existence. In the years just after I graduated high school, I would come back to this event to run the 10 mile race, always a tough test because of the heat and the lack of shade on that course. But those stories are for another time.
Meanwhile, here's an excerpt from The Running Book, published in 1978 by the editors of Consumer Guide, about the Brooks Texan racing shoe (which came as a highly-recommended racing flat, despite its hefty price tag of - gasp - over 28 dollars!). I especially love the last line, that the shoe is "designed for hard running". Right on.
Ran 5k road race in 17:22 at the Volksfest Run in Waunakee, Wisconsin, plus about a mile of warmup and cooldown. Wore Brooks Texan racing shoes. It was hot and sunny, 78F. My mile splits were 5:20, 5:46, then 5:42. Not too bright a performance. 12th out of 250 overall, and 6th in my age group. No award. Knees sore, and left leg sore.
30 years later:
I had been looking forward to this race for about a month, and had ridden down with Jim Clark, one of my neighbors and a High School teacher who loved road racing (see the Comment following the Introduction for more about Clark). I thought that I would tear this race up and prove that my summer training was really paying off. Of course, as I've mentioned here before, that summer training was totally unstructured and unsupervised, and included nothing more than trying to get out for a short run every day. In retrospect, I was no match for the other teens who were following a summer program outlined by their experienced coaches.
In looking at the mile splits, you can see the classic high school approach to the race: go out as hard as you can, and then just hang on. Too bad I didn't take just a little off that first mile, because then I'd have felt stronger in the next two miles and been passing the runners who had (like me) stupidly gone out too fast on a hot day. But in those days I lacked that kind of experience and wisdom, I'd have to learn my lessons myself, over time.
It's also funny to think that I was so disappointed with finishing 12th out of 250 runners. In those days, 250 was a pretty big field for a small town road race, and most of the top 50 were fairly serious about running and racing. Not to mention, I'd happily take a couple of miles in the 5:40s now!
The Volksfest Run, under a slightly modified name, is still in existence to this day. In fact, its 31st annual edition was run just three days ago, which tells us that 1979 was only it's 2nd year of existence. In the years just after I graduated high school, I would come back to this event to run the 10 mile race, always a tough test because of the heat and the lack of shade on that course. But those stories are for another time.
Meanwhile, here's an excerpt from The Running Book, published in 1978 by the editors of Consumer Guide, about the Brooks Texan racing shoe (which came as a highly-recommended racing flat, despite its hefty price tag of - gasp - over 28 dollars!). I especially love the last line, that the shoe is "designed for hard running". Right on.
Monday, July 27, 2009
July 27, 1979 (Friday)
From running log:
Ran about 3 miles at 7:30 pace around the high school, some trails, wearing New Balance 305s. Beautiful sunset was high point of run. Relaxed. Race tomorrow morning. Everything felt fine. Hope to win tomorrow. Maybe.
30 years later:
I chuckle when I look back and read things that I wrote like "Hope to win tomorrow". Ah, yes, the hubris of youth. Winning a race, any race at any age, is never a given. After all, the vast majority of runners never even get close to winning races. Over the years I've moved so far away from basing the success of my races on whether or not I win, that is, on comparing myself to those around me. For a long time I've seen running a race as something more akin to a personal challenge. After all, my placing among others is something completely out of my control, because it depends on who shows up and how they run on that day. The only thing that I have some control over is how I perform on that day, how I deal with my personal demons, how I overcome the inevitable adversity that presents itself during every race.
Look at it this way: If I run a small race against weak competition and manage to win, the feeling afterward is mixed, unsatisfied. But if I run a race against strong competition, come into the finish line in 193rd place (or worse), but have a really strong race both physically and mentally, I'll feel truly satisfied afterward. In other words, it's the actual accomplishment of the run, of me against me, not whether or not I manage to walk home with a trophy or medal afterward.
Not so as a teenager. At that time of my life, it was about the competition. The urge was to stomp on my rivals, and to approach them with a touch of venom. I'm sure some of that attitude was simplistic adolescent thinking, some of it was the effect of testosterone, and some of it was peer pressure. In retrospect, I believe I might have run even better in high school if I'd not wasted so much energy on feeling aggressive and spiteful toward the runners from other schools; instead, I should have seen them as friendly rivals who would help me get the most out of myself on any given day. By having strong competition nearby, I would be pushed toward even better personal performances.
Of course, all of that is said from the vantage point of hindsight. Now I'm too old and slow to ponder winning races anymore. Sigh. As they say, youth is wasted on the young.
Well, maybe not entirely ... after all, I did write that seeing the sunset was the high point of the run.
Ran about 3 miles at 7:30 pace around the high school, some trails, wearing New Balance 305s. Beautiful sunset was high point of run. Relaxed. Race tomorrow morning. Everything felt fine. Hope to win tomorrow. Maybe.
30 years later:
I chuckle when I look back and read things that I wrote like "Hope to win tomorrow". Ah, yes, the hubris of youth. Winning a race, any race at any age, is never a given. After all, the vast majority of runners never even get close to winning races. Over the years I've moved so far away from basing the success of my races on whether or not I win, that is, on comparing myself to those around me. For a long time I've seen running a race as something more akin to a personal challenge. After all, my placing among others is something completely out of my control, because it depends on who shows up and how they run on that day. The only thing that I have some control over is how I perform on that day, how I deal with my personal demons, how I overcome the inevitable adversity that presents itself during every race.
Look at it this way: If I run a small race against weak competition and manage to win, the feeling afterward is mixed, unsatisfied. But if I run a race against strong competition, come into the finish line in 193rd place (or worse), but have a really strong race both physically and mentally, I'll feel truly satisfied afterward. In other words, it's the actual accomplishment of the run, of me against me, not whether or not I manage to walk home with a trophy or medal afterward.
Not so as a teenager. At that time of my life, it was about the competition. The urge was to stomp on my rivals, and to approach them with a touch of venom. I'm sure some of that attitude was simplistic adolescent thinking, some of it was the effect of testosterone, and some of it was peer pressure. In retrospect, I believe I might have run even better in high school if I'd not wasted so much energy on feeling aggressive and spiteful toward the runners from other schools; instead, I should have seen them as friendly rivals who would help me get the most out of myself on any given day. By having strong competition nearby, I would be pushed toward even better personal performances.
Of course, all of that is said from the vantage point of hindsight. Now I'm too old and slow to ponder winning races anymore. Sigh. As they say, youth is wasted on the young.
Well, maybe not entirely ... after all, I did write that seeing the sunset was the high point of the run.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
July 26, 1979 (Thursday)
From running log:
Ran about 3 miles at 7:00 pace on trails near Devil’s Lake, wearing Nike LDVs. This was a CC run, but only Ben showed. We went out and ran woods with Todd Coolidge. Got all scratched up and went swimming. My right hip is sore, and also the knee.
30 years later:
Devil's Lake is a treasure of a state park near Baraboo, Wisconsin. If you've never been there, it's worth a trip, if just to see the crystal clear water and the lavender-hued quartz cliffs. It isn't the Rockies or the Sierras, of course, but it's very pretty. By "CC run", I was referring to organized weekly runs that we had decided to conduct over the summer to build team unity and help all of us get in shape. Problem was, as you can see, very few ever turned up.
We ran on some overgrown trails which were probably someone's private property, but those kind of things didn't seem to matter as much 30 years ago. We were local boys and we were doing no one any harm. A quick dip in the cool waters of Devil's Lake was not only refreshing, but helped clean and heal the scratches from the brambles on the overgrown trails. If you look at the modern day training practices of Meb or Deena or Ryan, you'll see that they all incorporate some form of soaking their legs in cold water post-run ... I guess we were ahead of our time!
Ran about 3 miles at 7:00 pace on trails near Devil’s Lake, wearing Nike LDVs. This was a CC run, but only Ben showed. We went out and ran woods with Todd Coolidge. Got all scratched up and went swimming. My right hip is sore, and also the knee.
30 years later:
Devil's Lake is a treasure of a state park near Baraboo, Wisconsin. If you've never been there, it's worth a trip, if just to see the crystal clear water and the lavender-hued quartz cliffs. It isn't the Rockies or the Sierras, of course, but it's very pretty. By "CC run", I was referring to organized weekly runs that we had decided to conduct over the summer to build team unity and help all of us get in shape. Problem was, as you can see, very few ever turned up.
We ran on some overgrown trails which were probably someone's private property, but those kind of things didn't seem to matter as much 30 years ago. We were local boys and we were doing no one any harm. A quick dip in the cool waters of Devil's Lake was not only refreshing, but helped clean and heal the scratches from the brambles on the overgrown trails. If you look at the modern day training practices of Meb or Deena or Ryan, you'll see that they all incorporate some form of soaking their legs in cold water post-run ... I guess we were ahead of our time!
July 25, 1979 (Wednesday)
From running log:
Ran about 4 miles at 7:20 pace on a hot, 85F sunny day, wearing Saucony 1980s. Felt dizzy and wobbly, but ran hilly course. Hot! I’m tired, need rest. Going to race 5km on Saturday. Hope I do decent. Have to back off this training in the HEAT!
30 years later:
My struggles with running in hot, humid weather have never left me, even after all of these years. Folks think that Wisconsin is a kind of frigid place, always cold and windy. That may be generally true in January and February, but summers in Wisconsin can often be steamy ... perhaps not as hot as places like Houston or New Orleans, but nearly as humid. Wisconsin gets all four seasons and the weather that comes with each.
Saucony was still relatively new to the serious running shoe biz in the late 70s. The "Trainer 1980", also known as Trainer 80, had a black carbon rubber sole with circular lugs. It would still be a few years until Saucony came out with the Jazz model that would establish its signature triangular lugs that they still employ to this day.
Ran about 4 miles at 7:20 pace on a hot, 85F sunny day, wearing Saucony 1980s. Felt dizzy and wobbly, but ran hilly course. Hot! I’m tired, need rest. Going to race 5km on Saturday. Hope I do decent. Have to back off this training in the HEAT!
30 years later:
My struggles with running in hot, humid weather have never left me, even after all of these years. Folks think that Wisconsin is a kind of frigid place, always cold and windy. That may be generally true in January and February, but summers in Wisconsin can often be steamy ... perhaps not as hot as places like Houston or New Orleans, but nearly as humid. Wisconsin gets all four seasons and the weather that comes with each.
Saucony was still relatively new to the serious running shoe biz in the late 70s. The "Trainer 1980", also known as Trainer 80, had a black carbon rubber sole with circular lugs. It would still be a few years until Saucony came out with the Jazz model that would establish its signature triangular lugs that they still employ to this day.
Friday, July 24, 2009
July 24, 1979 (Tuesday)
From running log:
Ran 5.5 miles at 7:00 pace in the pouring rain, wearing Nike LDVs. Fun run in the rain. I must start taking every conceivable step toward keeping healthy. I must make it a habit. Knees a little stiff. Felt strong.
30 years later:
I remember worrying about staying healthy. My previous season had been cut short when I contracted a very bad upper respiratory infection. It did not develop into pneumonia, but it was pretty close. I was determined to stay healthy for what would be my final season of cross country in high school. Of course, as a teenager, I didn't really know what that entailed, but at some basic level I knew it meant eating healthy and getting plenty of rest. In addition, I knew we had to change the culture of competing against each other every day and learn how to be more of a team. The previous year we were all exhausted from racing each other every day at practice, a symptom of not really having a coach (the girls' coach had taken on both teams, but bless her she had no idea how to deal with us boys, and not being a runner herself she literally wasn't with us during the workouts; most of what we did took place miles away from her). I had been reading the early books on running by Jim Fixx and George Sheehan, the former for ideas about training and gear, the latter for more general philosophy. Plus, by 1979 I'd already been a two-year subscriber to Runner's World magazine, which was a growing publication in those days and had only recently switched to color photography (funny to think that only 30 years ago that was a big deal). All of these sources were more than just inspiration, they were helping me to understand the sport and to think about how we could approach it successfully.
Ran 5.5 miles at 7:00 pace in the pouring rain, wearing Nike LDVs. Fun run in the rain. I must start taking every conceivable step toward keeping healthy. I must make it a habit. Knees a little stiff. Felt strong.
30 years later:
I remember worrying about staying healthy. My previous season had been cut short when I contracted a very bad upper respiratory infection. It did not develop into pneumonia, but it was pretty close. I was determined to stay healthy for what would be my final season of cross country in high school. Of course, as a teenager, I didn't really know what that entailed, but at some basic level I knew it meant eating healthy and getting plenty of rest. In addition, I knew we had to change the culture of competing against each other every day and learn how to be more of a team. The previous year we were all exhausted from racing each other every day at practice, a symptom of not really having a coach (the girls' coach had taken on both teams, but bless her she had no idea how to deal with us boys, and not being a runner herself she literally wasn't with us during the workouts; most of what we did took place miles away from her). I had been reading the early books on running by Jim Fixx and George Sheehan, the former for ideas about training and gear, the latter for more general philosophy. Plus, by 1979 I'd already been a two-year subscriber to Runner's World magazine, which was a growing publication in those days and had only recently switched to color photography (funny to think that only 30 years ago that was a big deal). All of these sources were more than just inspiration, they were helping me to understand the sport and to think about how we could approach it successfully.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
July 23, 1979 (Monday)
From running log:
Ran 3.5 miles at 6:40 per mile pace with Todd. Hot and muggy, 80F. Wore New Balance 305 shoes. Must start doing longer mileage per run. Feeling good, knees a little wobbly. Anxious for cross country season to begin.
30 years later:
Todd is referring to Todd Coolidge, a former teammate who had just graduated and was heading off to college at UW-Oshkosh later that summer. Todd liked to run fast in those days, so we usually did so. The day before I'd done an easy run with a few teammates (see Cast of Characters), including Todd, Mike, Stew, and Lane. I was looking forward to a road race 5k coming up the next weekend, which I thought would be a good test of my summer fitness. We were still several weeks before CC season officially began, so these were summer miles. On a lighter note: does anyone remember New Balance 305s? They had only a quarter of an inch of EVA for a midsole, and a tan, gum rubber outsole. Classics. I'll bet if you wander around SoHo here in NYC, you can still find a pair in one of the retro shoe stores.
We were pretty much on our own over the summers then. There were strict rules against having contact with your coach over the summer, but the fact is that we didn't even have a coach at that point (seriously). We just ran how we felt, following no plan other than to get out there and run. It was fun, but perhaps a little more structure would have been helpful.
Ran 3.5 miles at 6:40 per mile pace with Todd. Hot and muggy, 80F. Wore New Balance 305 shoes. Must start doing longer mileage per run. Feeling good, knees a little wobbly. Anxious for cross country season to begin.
30 years later:
Todd is referring to Todd Coolidge, a former teammate who had just graduated and was heading off to college at UW-Oshkosh later that summer. Todd liked to run fast in those days, so we usually did so. The day before I'd done an easy run with a few teammates (see Cast of Characters), including Todd, Mike, Stew, and Lane. I was looking forward to a road race 5k coming up the next weekend, which I thought would be a good test of my summer fitness. We were still several weeks before CC season officially began, so these were summer miles. On a lighter note: does anyone remember New Balance 305s? They had only a quarter of an inch of EVA for a midsole, and a tan, gum rubber outsole. Classics. I'll bet if you wander around SoHo here in NYC, you can still find a pair in one of the retro shoe stores.
We were pretty much on our own over the summers then. There were strict rules against having contact with your coach over the summer, but the fact is that we didn't even have a coach at that point (seriously). We just ran how we felt, following no plan other than to get out there and run. It was fun, but perhaps a little more structure would have been helpful.
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