Thursday, April 17, 2008

JT Says "Bag it"

My previous post talked about going back to my roots and so I have been doing a bit more running on trails than in the past. I have written before about how much I love North Chagrin Reservation. The Bridle Paths. The Trails. So many ways to run. So little time.


Squires Castle might be the signature place in the Park, but its just a great place to explore. My love of the place goes back to days when I was about 5, and our family came here sometimes to skate on Strawberry Pond.


I have been hitting the Towpath more and more. Have to thank the Cavaliers for that. They built a state of the art training center on Route 21, about a half mile from my drop in point to the Towpath. The Trailhead near Lock 39. Until this season, the Cavs trained downtown at the "Q". My most recent run on the Towpath was an 8 mile, out and back. Averaged 9:00 per. Good workout. Have a Half Marathon in a month.

My first Triathlon this year will likely be the Edinboro Triathlon, (LINK) May 31st. Done it about 7 times...Just shy of a Olympic Distance. The run is a bugger. First 3 miles are uphill. You don't get your stride til your about to loop back. Its been touted in past years as one of the best Triathlons around. The water is usually pretty snappy. To think I did it 3 times before I got a wetsuit!!! Brrrrrr!!!!

HELP HELP HELP HELP!!!!!!!!!!



Its me....yeah...the bag that you see. Heres a photo of me and J.T. when he was doing some work at the ballpark. I'm almost 15 years old. I'm tough. I'm made of leather. I was raised by the Tumi's. Anyway, I'm crushed. J.T. was telling his colleagues he's thinking of trading me in for a newer bag.. What an ungrateful lout he is. I have been with J.T. through thick and thin ever since the Bride gave me to J.T. for his 40th birthday. I mean, I lug around his notes, his laptop, credentials, cellphone, makeup. (Yeah, the goofball wears makeup for his job.) We have been like Batman and Robin all these years. I mean, sometimes he leaves me alone by the camera...... Sometimes he just puts me in the dugout, while he's out on the field yapping away with the players...or even the guys he works with...



Theres Photographer Dough Herrmann trying to save me from certain death... But no one cares about my plight.

Ohh the places we've been.,NBA playoffs, NBA finals...Lots of major league playoff games...2 World Series. The Dominican Republic where J.T. spent 2 weeks traveling the country to do baseball stories. A crooked Domincan cop pulled J.T. over and hit him with a bogus violation!!! The cop wanted ME as a bribe. J.T. said no!!! I don't know how he talked his way out of that one!!!!! We've been to BCS title games, OSU-Michigan tussles, Browns-Steelers games..High school football. High school basketball..even when that LeBron guy was a sophomore. JT left me out in the rain a few times!! Once he left me on the ground outside the press room at Firestone Country Club and some guy named Tiger almost tripped over me.!!!! Could you imagine the headlines. "Tiger Trips over Tumi, Breaks Ankle. Oh, its been a blast but J.T. obviously could care less. I hear my replacement is not even leather. Some canvas thing he got at the NBA Finals... Some Damn Bag with...get this...Wheels!!!! Can you believe it??!!! Sheeeesh!!! This is killing me.. Help!!! I don't want to go to the Goodwill Store!!!

27 comments:

crazy tri mama said...

Hey Bag, I bet that if you got JT to get some of his "friends" to sign you that you'd be worth more than J.T. thinks you are worth right now!

Tribe kickin' some Tiger tail tonight.......it's about time!!

triguyjt said...

you got that right,

professor crazy tri-mama!!!!

thanks

Rainmaker said...

A wheeled bag? That's where I draw the line...

rocketpants said...

I have to agree with rainmakers...a wheelie bag? Really? Maybe the bride needs to get you to more pilates ;-)

Charlie said...

Offer the bag "special" assignments from time to time. Also I woldn't let it spend to much time with the new one.
North Chagrin has great trails.

Viv said...

Ahh, the life that bag has lived...it is a sports fan's dream
:-)

Cleveland 1/2 is getting close, huh?! I am starting to get nervous and excited!

beth said...

those trails sound awesome...all of my favorite runs are now on trails..better for the legs and the soul!

Jodi said...

I LOVE North Chagrin. Running in it, riding through it. We are so fortunate to have the MetroParks here!

Jodi

Matt Collister said...

It's just broken in, right?

My favorite section of trail at NCR is the section of the Castle trail north of Ox Lane. If you've run it, you know the bridge to nowhere, and the deserted camp.

jahowie said...

That bag has a lot of character. Our teams are trading punches huh? I can't help but be very disappointed in my Tigers.

Brian said...

I motion to trade in bag for backpack. Much easier to carry a backpack then over the shoulder bag of 20+ lbs. Plus they look more hip.

Vickie said...

The tri sounds interesting. Maybe you could use the Bag for tri gear?

Wes said...

{chuckling}

That's what I liked about Cohutta. It was 2 miles up hill then 2 miles back down hill...

I think that maybe the ole bag just needs some sprucing up. Looks to be in good shape to me, kinda like my 8 year old car :-)

Eric said...

That bag is awesome. No need to replace it with some lame canvass.

Hitting the Buckeye trail this weekend. Can't wait.

Anonymous said...

That bag has been through a lot!

It's the same age as my younger son...I'm not trading him in just yet.

I say keep the bag for sure...what a nice reminder of memories :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for commenting on my blog.

I have to say I loved this post. I was rolling with laughter! Poor bag. Hope you are going to keep it for a souvenir. Or, maybe you could sell it on ebay - after all tiger almost tripped over it.

GP said...

You're thinking of replacing that thing? It's beautiful. People pay hundreds of dollars to buy things new for that look. Perhaps you should sell it...

All this talk about the Towpath lately! A couple weeks ago I didn't know anything about, and now it's all I read. How did I miss out on this thing for so long?

I'm glad to hear there are drop points in Cleveland (I go to Lock 29 in Peninsula)... but I'm really looking forward to being near N. Chagrin again. Woo hoo!

Lily on the Road said...

mmm, mean, mean, JT!

I mean a good bag gives you all he's got and what does he get in the end? Well, the end...that's just not right!!

Crazy Tri Mama, has a good, no a great idea. Get Mr. Bag signed by a bunch of the sports guys and auction it off at a public charity...money goes to charity, bag still keeps his pride....

JT gets the "wheelies" and everyone wins.....

Keep us posted as to the ending....

Formulaic said...

No bag, don't go!

You've seen more and done more than most people have in their Human lives

(i don't think I've ever been jealous of a bag before! new low??)

I like the idea of a tri bag (but it might not work)

or the idea of auctioning it off. I bet with some good polish it'd look spankin' new.

Let us know what bag's future is!

Go Bucks!

Unknown said...

I really want to do more trail running myself. It's nice that you're getting out on tails again.

Donald said...

Hey, bag - you've seen all of those great events, and didn't even have to buy tickets. 15 years is a good run - don't take retirement so harshly. You can always fall back on broadcasting.

tracie said...

awww poor bag! jt what are you thinking?! i'm sure that he will let you make special guest appearances from time to time bag, don't worry. you won't be forgotten!

Trisaratops said...

Poor Bag! I bet the Bag thinks wheels are for sissies...

:)

Some fantastic pics you've got here!

sRod said...

Hey! thanks for stopping by.

TRI TO BE FUNNY said...

Don't do it!!!! Who wants a new bag when the old one is just so damn perfect?!?!

RunBubbaRun said...

Hey Mr Bag, you've been through alot, been handled by the best. BUt time to rest before you totally fall apart. That's gonna hurt when your leather starts peeling off.

Great job running, yes back to the roots, trail running, goota luv it.

JenC said...

Maybe I'll see you out there on the N. Chagrin trails some day - they are the best!

I hang onto bags until they die a slow, painful death, so probably not the best for giving advice on that one.