Gear UP!

I love to gear up!

Every hobby has its own set of gear. And I believe if you are going to do something, do it. Now I don't condone spending a ton of money on something that you never use. I'm not wasteful.

I usually absolutely loath spending more than $35 on a pair of sneakers. I am not a sneakerhead by any stretch of the imagination. I keep one everyday pair of sneakers and one old pair for dirty work.

My current Filas are blown out by the right pinky toe but the soles don't have enough wear to justify a new pair. Heck, I just bought these 6 months ago. These are my "new" shoes.

My wife gets a new pair of $100+ running shoes every 500 miles?

Wait, what?

Don't think I'm put out by the $100. It's the 500 miles that get me. Every time she shows up with a new pair of kicks, I think, "She just ran another 500 miles!" I'm lucky to run 1/2 a mile around the neighborhood on a really ambitious day. My step count hovers around 7000 steps on an active day.

I've decided that I'm going to give myself the best chance of success and get some good gear.

Today I went to the running store and got a pair of running shoes. The kind that wear out every 300-500 miles, my mileage might vary says the sales lady. They are like tires I'm told. I seriously don't think I've run a total of 500 miles in all of my 50 years of life. Well, there's a first time for everything.

Brooks Ghost 10. Size 12. 1.5 size larger than my blown out current shoes. My wife was impressed.

Add to that a cheap Bluetooth earbud and I'm all ready.

One more thing-

I've learned over the years that, yes I do in fact have some weaknesses. My 50 years worth of wisdom is to say I don't know everything even though in my teens, early twenties, and early thirties I thought differently. After 40 you begin to understand there is more in life that you don't know than you do know.

I don't know anything about running other than in the past I have not liked it and I have no idea how to progress to success.

Another lesson I've learned is that there are not enough hours in life to become an expert at everything. In my professional life I hire for my weaknesses and play to my strengths. I need an expert to get me from couch to 10k.

I have CPAs doing my taxes, attorneys doing my will, economists doing my IT 😄, and when I decided to become a pilot, I got a flight instructor. So part of my journey and gearing up will be with the help of a running coach.

I could and probably should just ask my wife. She's a pretty good runner and studies running and training. She reads a lot about running. I'm more than confident in her knowledge, however,

1. I'm too proud.
2. She's really busy.
3. But Mostly - I think she will let me off the hook too easily. Because she loves me and doesn't want me to be in pain, hurt, fail, etc.

I'm using Dr. Jeff Bangle of prrunningcoach.com. He can virtual coach but he is local to Athens so I like that. Plus he's a Veterinarian so I know he's real smart. Most vets are.

We've had an initial consultation. We've discussed goals and fitness levels. He's working up a training schedule right now.

And he's recommended some more gear, a running watch.

Well I'm all geared up. My training plan starts Monday but I'm itching to give these Brooks a run for their money (literally). Tomorrow's post might be about the first run of 2018 and my first run as a runner instead of a hater.