Old School

One of the interesting things about older runners, especially those who take up the sport later in life, say in their late 20's, 30's and 40's, is their fascination with gadgets. Weekly I get asked about on-line running logs, Garmins, heart-rate monitors, water bottle belts, ipods, and types of tech clothing. Not that there is anything wrong with those items, but seriously, have you seen some of these people out running? They look like they just came from the science fair flea market. I kid you not, the other day I saw I guy running with 3 watches, an ipod and cell phone! Curious, I ran up behind the dude, he had no clue that I had snuck up on him, and asked him what was with all the clutter on the arms? Apparently in order to be a serious runner, one must have a Garmin in which to know your precise mileage and pace, a heart monitor in order to know your optimal pace to run, tunes to keep you relaxed while running and your cell phone so you don't miss any calls or texts. Oh yeah, and every serious runner must have a running watch! I waved and proceeded to leave the man to his serious running.

I have to admit, I am old school. What is old school? Old school is that class of runners who do not run for exercise or to raise money for charity, we are animals that know our primal urge is to move one leg in front of the other as fast as we can. We see another runner ahead of us and we automatically pick up the pace to hunt down the prey. We wear real split leg running shorts and cotton t-shirts that make our nipples bleed, because The Firecracker 10K logo looks better with sweat stains in the pits and blood streaks on the front. Old school means we tell how far we ran by how long we have been out and by the effort we put in that day, because we don't listen to i-tunes when we run, we listen to the I tune of ourselves. Old school means we don't need some device to tell us we are working hard, because when we can't hardly breath and the sweat is dripping we can feel our stinking heartbeat in our throbbing hands, feet, chest, and ears. (Have you ever had a throbbing ear? Then you are old school!) Old school is black toe-nails falling off and leaving it on the night-stand as a trophy! Old school is drinking coffee after a run and blowing snot rockets while you talk and no-one cares. Old school is knowing that the next water stop is 12 miles away and not sloshing around on your butt. Old school is looking at your watch and seeing that you are running 4 seconds faster on a loop and feeling like a champ or running 4 seconds slower and feeling like a slug. Old school is about you, the course and putting one foot in front of the other with nothing else but your shoes, bloody socks, and giving it your best effort for that most glorious time of day when you get to run!

Now, you may be a serious runner, not that there is anything wrong with that, but if you really want to experience the running life, well I suggest you try old school and then tell me which one you prefer. Don't worry, your nipples will harden up!

Until the next time, keep running, stay healthy, and wash that old bloody stained t-shirt!
SP