Since I got laid-off back in September when the start-up I was working for lost its funding (and has since gone bankrupt!) I started picking up some hours in the running store that I coach for. It's a nice change from the NYC advertising rat race that I was embroiled in previously. It's also something I can do pretty well even when I'm feeling like shit and only have half a brain… which is quite often.

Unfortunately, March is the slowest time of the year for this type of business. That's because the people who run outside through the winter already have everything they need and the fair-weather folks are waiting for more signs of Spring. This leaves the staff with very little to do on the extra-slow days like this past Monday.

Treadmill, camera… ACTION!
In the store we do a whole video treadmill analysis process on customers to see what's happening with their stride and foot strike. This helps us better determine which make and model of running shoe is appropriate for their feet and running style. However, when we don't have any customers to analyze, we inevitably end up analyzing ourselves. We ask questions like…

"I wonder what my feet look like in the new Mizunos?"

"I need a new pair of racing flats. I'm going to try on all 7 styles and see which one best addresses my over pronation."

"How do I run differently with shoes on vs. no shoes at all?"

These actually helpful experiments are good because we pride ourselves in really knowing our shit when it comes to shoes and playing around let's us learn. Of course, education is boring and our shoe geek sessions inevitably spiral down to one thing… competition.

The 10×10 Challenge
The 10×10 challenge is simple… how long can you run on the treadmill with the speed and incline jacked up to 10? In the store the men's record is 1:48. The women's is 1:30. I took a crack at it, but could only hang on for 1:10 — that's me above running on the treadmill and my boss in the foregroud being a dork. I suspect I could have done more with a little warm up. I litterally went from standing around to running full speed up hill as fast as I could — and I'm feeling it today in my legs big time.

I plan to revisit the challenge in a week or so and see if I can at least beat the women's record. I think the men's is out of my reach at this time.