Saturday, March 14, 2009

Did I really say this in 1993??

ORN: 13.5 miles, 2:18:03, R5/W1, 10:14/mile

Man, it was nice to run in shorts in the sunshine this afternoon. My first outing over 2 hours since the Memphis Marathon felt really good; no pain, no twinges, just running long on a Saturday. Sweet.

But I digress.

A few weeks ago, while perusing an old file folder, I came across this little item of historical interest. February, 1993 must have been a terribly slow news period for our local newspaper. They put out a request to learn if ANYONE besides the Purdue basketball team did any physical activity during the wretched Indiana winter. I gave them a call and must have been the only respondent. A rookie reporter came to our office and interviewed me. This was the result...you can click on the image if you'd like to read the breathless prose.


Pulitzer Prize Winning Interview...ha!

I think at least two people actually read this watershed report. It's funny to me in a couple of ways, 16 years later. One was I had a system, even then, to know what to wear for certain temperatures. Some things never change. Second is that the things I thought were important in both clothing and training then sound quite absurd now. At the time, most training programs had you pounding out the same distance, day after day; no emphasis at all on the weekend long runs. Tech fabrics were either non-existent or in the closet as a 1970's leisure suit. Some things change a lot. Unfortunately, my moustache has also turned grey since then.

It's a hoot to look at stuff like this. But at least I was running then. And am running still.

Persevere. And laugh at yourself; it's good medicine.

8 comments:

Sarah said...

What a neat thing to have. Count on you to have a system! I like that you gave yourself gold stars. : ) Do you still do that?

Pat said...

I want to know what the cost of the prime rib is in the ad?

Darrell said...

How cool. There is still plenty of good stuff in there. Especially the consistent routine part.

I particularly like that they hyphenated ot-her in the 3rd paragraph. that would be an English teacher's nightmare.

John said...

This is great!! I love the fact that they came out to interview you AND get a photo.

I can visualize the new triumvirate.. Galloway, Higdon, and Ely!

Backofpack said...

Gee Joe, you haven't changed a bit! That was a great article - I wondered how many you inspired? Either that, or scared them off with all the engineering type charts. Too funny!

Karen said...

This is a classic, Joe! Certainly much of your philosophy has remained the same. I could comment on the haircut, but then you'd have reason to spar back with your sister.... so I won't!! Nice article!

Karen

Wes said...

I died laughing reading the clothes to wear from your "chart" back then. Ha!!

Unknown said...

Great article, Joe! You always have a logical plan, or at least what seems logical and doable at that time.