Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad’s Birthday. It got me thinking about how my parents influenced me early on that incorporating exercise into your life is important. Growing up my Dad was a “runner”, most likely a child of the running boom in the late 70’s and early 80’s. I always remember him coming back from his runs in the morning as I was getting up and getting ready for school. Saucony Jazz was his running shoe of choice. For years he wore a Busch light (or maybe Natural Light) running jacket and a white Olympic hat during the cold months in Michigan He owned a valuer jogging suite replica of those worn by the USA in the 1984 Olympics. I vaguely recall one time running about a half block with him while my Mom waited at the driveway so that I could turn around and run back to her. I was not an endurance athlete as a kid. I enjoyed team sports, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer and a little football. As a result I viewed running as a way to get in shape for those sports. We had a large block around our house that was about a mile. I would run that and that was it. It wasn’t until I met Erica that I realized that running can be “fun”. My Mom was a phenomenal tennis player, one of the best in the state of Michigan as a kid. There is also a legend that she scored all 48(?) points for her team in a basketball game in high school. I remember going to the racquet club with her and playing in the daycare center while she had her weekly tennis games. She even used to “Jazzercise” when that was hot in the 80’s. I believe she might even have been an instructor. Maybe that’s why I have an affinity for wearing fuzzy leg warmers when I’m working out. It is through their example that I was exposed to fitness. I guess you can truly say it is in my blood.