Thursday, April 10, 2008

FINDING YOUR ROOTS

Our friends in Seattle are trying to recapture the glory days of 1971 when the behemoth of beans began life as a little coffee shop.



So they rolled out a new-old look. This is the vintage logo from years ago. Yep, just like the sports teams that sell "throwback" jerseys or caps and stuff, the Seattle people are going back to their roots. Coffee. Pure and simple. Its daring strategy. Will it work??? many are wondering.

I just think they are returning to what they do best. Brew those beans and rake in the cash. Whattya think of the mermaid??? Little risque???? LOL.


In our training, sometimes we need to just go right back to what we are good at. Period. You began your endurance career as a swimmer. Hey get back in the pool and refine your stroke. You are Norman Stadler on the bike??? Try to shave even more time off your rides. I wish I had a penny for every ground ball I saw Omar Vizquel take as shortstop of the Indians for many years. A magician with the glove and he still, was taking thousands and thousands of grounders. 5 years after he takes his last grounder, he could be on the grounds of the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Those were his roots. He fielded balls with gloves made out of cardboard as a kid in Venezuela. He always thought he could improve.


I was a cross country runner in 8th and 9th grade, and ran as a sophomore and junior before I was cleared to play football, the sport I really loved. I had a bad back. Through it all, I came to love running in virgin wilderness..on trails not taken often. Free running, mind drifting, taking in the elements...breathing easy, sweating, pounding...Listening to the woodpeckers jackhammers, the birds choruses in the trees..the sound of the water in the creeks trickling past. I did that this morning...getting in an hour at North Chagrin. Brought the Silver Bullet Sebring. Took the top down, even though it was only 49 degrees. BUT IT WAS AWESOME.


As I ran, I thought of Americas poet, Robert Frost, and of one of his most famous poems. The Road Not Taken. I thought of how its just ME and the elements. How I make decisions on the fly. While I see the beauty and the incredible benefits to using Garmin while running, I could not resist the urge to take a gentle jab at the technology while in the Robert Frost State of Mind... so...with apologies....my version of


THE ROAD NOT TAKEN


Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
I checked my garmin of where I stood
and I looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth

My garmin gave no clue, that wasn't fair,
I took the other road just the same,
because it was grassy, but I hadn't a care
Though my lame garmin filled me with despair
both roads were worn really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
in leaves no GPS would likely track
Oh, I kept the first for another day!!
Yet knowing how way leads leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back

I shall be telling this with a mournful sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
Used my Garmin and took the one less traveled by,
And ..... fell into a trench.


Happy Training

19 comments:

Rainmaker said...

Being a Seattle native...I'm not so sure I'm convinced on the coffee cup thing.

On the flip side - it doesn't take much convincing when it involves half-naked ladies.

jbmmommy said...

If I'm running in the woods the only thing I can think about is not falling. I like you take on the poem, though.

I'm not a coffee drinker but if it works like Coke Classic, they should be fine.

Marcy said...

Nah the Starbuck's thing won't work because everyone knows Dunkin Donuts is better :P

Wes said...

Running through a trench is part of trail running, no? LOL!! I refuse to pay Starbucks for coffee I can brew myself. I'm cheap like that :-)

Viv said...

Nice on the throwback cross crountry run. I love how you always tie your posts so well together. I guess it comes with being on the news you peeps are expert sewayers..LOL!

I wonder if the vintage coffee will come with vintage prices?

Lily on the Road said...

Nice rendition....

Believe it or not, I started cross-country running around the same time and just the loneliness of the forest, birds and thoughts..., yup and I fell too...knee surgery no less....hahahaha, kindred spirits we snakes.....

;D

Kurt said...

I enjoyed your post on the garmin less traveled.

I am from Seattle and never did starbucks. Never drink coffee myself. Diet Coke is my poison.

Unknown said...

I like the retro starbucks label myself. Although now that you mention it, the mermaid is a bit underdressed...

Triteacher said...

Lovely rip-off,triguy - and it sounds like a good trip to your roots. I'm a (non-Garmin-wearing)"free running, mind drifting, taking in the elements" kind of runner too.

Afternoon Tea With Oranges said...

LMAO...That's my favorite poem - and your version is hilarious! Love. It.

Marni Sumbal, MS, RD said...

ummmmmmm...starbucks!!!! Love it! I was never a coffee drinking until I met my now fiance (karel) who is from Europe (Czech republic). Starbucks is the closest thing to real coffee for him. Everything else tastes like water :)

GP said...

Because I started as a swimmer, I think I take that part of my training for granted — I haven't been in the pool since January.

Right now I'm struggling to balance training across discipline. What to improve? Where to focus?

On one hand I want to capitalize on swimming because it's my strength; on the other hand, I want to work on my running because it's not my strongest suit. If only I could muster the energy to realize how important cycling is. Sigh.

Great vacation photos! It's great to have you back!

Also: you asked about the animation I made of my brother a few weeks ago. It was done in Flash — albeit not a great use of Flash. But it worked. You could also use Adobe ImageReady or a host of online tools to achieve the same end.

Anonymous said...

...you had me at Starbucks :)

Great post!

Donald said...

Great thoughts about Vizquel. He's been one of the only respectable Giants for the past several years - I had forgotten he was with the Indians prior to that. I always felt bad for him that he didn't have a better team around him here.

I wish the Starbucks dude would get WAY back to his roots and buy the Sonics back, too.

TriDaddy said...

Starbuck's will probably do fine with whatever they do. I like the paper coffee bags. Reminds me when they would give a discount if you brought one in to be re-filled. As for the free-running stuff... HRM's and Garmin's have their place, but I have been low-tech for about a year now. I think the Heart Monitor was holding me back!

Mnowac said...

You really should come out for a HB swim. THe pool is so nice and there's only like 4 people there, so you get your own lane. 7:30-8:45 Tues & Thurs.

Mnowac said...

You really should come out for a HB swim. THe pool is so nice and there's only like 4 people there, so you get your own lane. 7:30-8:45 Tues & Thurs.

Vickie said...

Hey, triguyjt, I found your blog on others I read, noticed you are a triathlete/Ironman, and recently went to the Mayan Peninsula. I too was there in Feb., but the weather was very bad, and our day trip to the ruins was cancelled. Maybe another time. Nice to read of your experience there. And about your comment, getting back to your roots, I said that last year about getting back to and working on my running, after doing triathlon for so many years. Its been a struggle, but I still enjoy it more than a bike ride.

Vickie said...

Oh, and p.s., I am the same age as you and Lily. Finally I find some people to join my club!