WHAT A GREAT CENTURY!

The Adidas Country's are laced. Black, baggy sweatpants, bearing the image of a tiger, mascot of Southern Columbia High School, where I had completed my student teaching and assisted as a coach of the track team the year before, are pulled up. White sweatsocks cover my feet, a white Henley longsleeve top, and a bulky sweatshirt warm my upper body. 99-cent painter's gloves and a pull over hat complete my winter wardrobe. An brand new, state-of-the-art LED watch (the face was black and the numbers glowed red) adorns my wrist. It was January of 1977, and I was on my way out the door for a winter workout.

Today, I laced up a bright yellow pair of Nike Pegasus shoes, after I donned my dry-fit socks. My tights were black and sleek, the Under Armour turtleneck kept me warm and dry in the face of a persistant wind. Hat and gloves were lightweight and kept me warm and dry. My running vest protected my upper body without creating too much sweat on my arms. My Garmin GPS watch told me my time, distance run, altitude change, and calories burned.

On Christmas morning I really showed my age. My wife bought me a new Ipod. As I anxiously unwrapped it, I wondered why there was a chip, smaller than a pack of matches that obviously fit inside a larger Ipod. Well, that WAS the Ipod!

I also had the option of running on the treadmill today.

If I want to self-rehabilitate, I own a portable TENS unit, as well as an ultrasound wand.

Although I religiously record my workouts by hand in my running logbook, today, I posted my workout on Facebook, Twitter, and on a shared workout page.

We have 'minimilist' shoes, chip timing, more races and distances than ever.

Do I become nostalgic for, "the good old days" of running?

Are you kidding me?? I love every new innovation and gadget. Do they make us run faster?

No!

Proper training achieves that goal.

But if we feel better, look better, and are able to run more safely, that's all the validation we need.

I love this journey into the new millennium!