Post #4

THE RUNNING GOT MORE SERIOUS 

 

After I purchased the two books I mentioned in the previous entry I started running at the YMCA track at lunch time. I started counting aerobic points using Cooper's system. I wanted to average at least 50 points a week since that indicated that you were in really good aerobic shape. 

I finally made it to about 21 miles a week and thought I was putting in a lot of miles. Then I read in a running magazine that the world class guys were running from 85 to 120 miles a week. That was when I realized there were different levels of seriousness about running. I decided I could still be serious about running and work up to running about 30 miles a week.

When I moved to the Atlanta area in 1978 my running really picked up. I joined a club called the Northeast Striders in Tucker, GA. I also joined the Atlanta Track Club, but the club that I really got involved with was the Bell System Running Club, this was before the Government broke up the Bell System. 

Our club had two big corporate rivals in the Atlanta running scene: Coca Cola and Delta Airlines. There were many corporate track meets and running events from 1978 to 1984. In 1984 when the Government split up the Bell System our club was split into 3 pieces, BellSouth, AT&T and Lucent.

I stayed with AT&T and we still had a pretty strong team, but after 1984 it was never the same to me. I ran less and less in corporate events and started running the Atlanta Track Club Grand Prix Series.

During this time I hurt my right foot, plantar fasciitis. That really slowed me down. I have never completely come back since that injury. More later.