Unintentionally I ended up with another stronger effort for a second day in a row. Curtis and I both wanted to get some more hill work in as a bit of a test before the hills we'll face in the race. We thought Friday would work but changed to today at the last minute in order to coordinate both of our schedules. So we hit the hills of Pilot Knob (second highest point in Iowa) with purpose this morning. I could feel the effort of yesterday's run but we stayed steady for a good 6 mile loop that hit many of the rolling hills at the park.
I had begun thinking about the past and, simply, how things have changed through the years. So I started a list of...
You Know You've Been Running A Long Time When...
- You not only remember names like Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, Jeff Galloway, or Billy Mills but also remember seeing them race!
- You could wait until the day of the race before deciding whether or not to enter rather than commit to it months in advance.
- Race entry fees were in the range of $10.
- Race shirts were always all cotton so you took a size larger than what you thought you would wear. Technical shirts were, technically, not yet existent.
- Races were primarily on the roads with very little mention of ultras or trails in the periodicals.
- The only periodicals available for running were, basically, Track & Field News, Runner's World, and The Runner.
- Internet and online were thought to be terms reserved for the fishing industry rather than a source of running information or race entry.
- Race-day supplements consisted of only a handful of choices rather than more than you can imagine today.
- You could buy 3 pairs of running shoes for what one pair costs today.
- It now takes as long to get ready to run in the morning as it used to take for the entire workout.
- Clipping your toenails was straight off the front rather than top, sideways, and whatever direction they decide to grow!
Six miles with Curtis at Pilot Knob in the AM. The routine evening hike tonight.
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