$50 Haircut

That's some long ass hair.

Every Monday and Friday morning I catch the 8:25 up-town 1-train at 116th and ride it to 168th St. before walking to the Armory to get picked up by my coach and taken to practice at Rutgers. Public transportation, while sometimes packed with people like sardines in a can, can be a nice treat. There is always a person on each bus/train that is “that guy.” The person you look at because they’re either yelling or singing, or just in need of a shower. One of my trips I was looking around the subway car and didn’t really notice anyone of the sort, but then I saw my reflection in the window across from me. I was “that guy.”

I was dressed in running pants, a big winter coat, and my hair was out of control. I had showered the night before, but with my hair looking like a rolling tumbleweed of the old west, if visible stink lines would have emanated from me, I wouldn’t have objected.

The hair being out of control thing isn’t for any reason, I just decided not to cut my hair other than a trim until New Years. I used to never cut my hair during the season. This all started because when I was a seventh grader, my brother and a group of his buddy’s told me they’d give me $50 if I didn’t cut my hair until the cross country season was over. Meanwhile, I was already a month removed from cutting my hair. By the end of the season I was Tom Brady as Bieber before Brady or Bieber even existed.

Now, I’ve gone with the no haircut until 2011 to go along with my current life mantra of trying to be a blue collar runner while being a white collar worker. Don Draper meets Rocky in Rocky IV.

Running wise, things are going very well and all the cross training (oh that god-forsaken cross training!) seems to have payed off some as my workouts have been going great and my mileage is up in the 70s again. We are starting to piece together somewhat of an indoor season and I am starting to get that racing itch, even if the real racing of the year is a long ways away.

It’s cold again, but Michigan boys love the snowy running. Plus, I have a lot of hair to keep my head warm.