Hello. Running Newbie in Erie, PA. :-)

<p>Howdy.</p>
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<p>My name is Erik. I'm actually an owner of another Huddler-run site at <a href="http://thesandtrap.com/" target="_blank">http://thesandtrap.com/</a>. We deal in golf, and I'm a web and software developer and a golf instructor.</p>
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<p>In other words, I sit around a lot. I used to play a lot of golf (I've worked for myself most of my life) and walk, so that kept me healthy. I played soccer as a kid. I've always been active.</p>
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<p>The past ten years, except for a few years playing hockey once a week, not so much.</p>
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<p>You can't inline skate (lower impact, more interesting because you can actually go somewhere) very well in the winter, and one of my best friends is a big big runner, so I'm now into running. With music it's not too bad. ;-)</p>
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<p>I'm starting with Couch to 5K. I don't know if I'll ever race more than a 10K and my interest in racing is somewhat limited. Perhaps I'll get hooked, but I haven't really yet, so that remains to be seen. I'm only in week three but I'm doing fine. I'm not super fast, but I'm taking the "run fast enough to have a conversation" to heart so I'm running about 8:00 miles during the running parts of C25K.</p>
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<p>As a golf instructor I find things like running form <em>very</em> interesting. I've recorded myself running with high-speed cameras (not thousands of frames per second, but 240, which is more than enough) and done some analysis to improve my gait. It's nifty stuff.</p>
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<p>I read <em>Born to Run</em> and as I tend to do I disbelieved everything said in it, then launched into full research mode. Contrary to what many people thought, I loved Chapter 28 and really couldn't care less about Barefoot Ted or Scott Jurek or Jenn or Billy or the Indians. I liked the science. I'm looking at trading in my 4 billion mm heel drop Asics Gel Kayano-17s for a pair of Saucony Kinvaras or perhaps the Brooks Pure Connects or Pure Flows. I pronate a little but I always ran around barefooted as a kid and want to get back to that. At this point I don't have any bad habits and I'm consciously trying to avoid them, so no pun intended, but I'd like to get off on the right foot. Or the left one. So long as I do it with a mid-foot strike. ;-)</p>
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<p>Anyway, I hope to be around a bit more. A lot of the other running forums are really really ugly, and for obvious reasons, I'm accustomed to the Huddler look and feel, so I know what to expect.</p>