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.