My name is Tim and I’m a Tweeter.
Over the last seven months, I’ve used the social network Twitter to connect with more than 600 others (and counting) who share my interests ranging from running to T-shirts to craft microbrews. We swap advice, ambitions, idle thoughts, occasionally what we had for lunch. All as long as it’s 140 characters or less.
It’s like speed networking, but virtual.
This is all part of that phenomenon called Web 2.0. According to that bastion of digital age information, Wikipedia, the term Web 2.0 describes new trends in Internet technology and design that aims to enhance creativity, communications, collaboration and functionality of the Web.
Will it change the world? Maybe. But at least it can definitely change your workout.
John Frenette of San Francisco is another runner and blogger that I “met” on Twitter. And thanks to just that connection I learned all about custom running music mixes, ordering specialty shoes online and even knee-high racing socks. This is just one example of the power of sharing information on the Web.
And now I’m sharing all that with you. But first go get yourself on Twitter and connect with me. Do it now. I’ll wait.
….
Done? Done. OK. Now my interview with Frenette:
You have your own workout blog. Is it hard putting both your successes and failures up for everyone to see?
I’m comfortable being a crappy runner. It’s actually helpful keeping the Slow Mofo blog because it adds accountability. With each workout there’s going to be a post, and if I stop short, I’ll have to confess it. If I skip it, there will be a conspicuous gap. And if I have a great run, I’m very happy to share. Even if no one reads it, there’s still the public record element that makes it appealing.
You create custom running mixes on your Web site HellaSound. Why?
This is a marriage of things I love. I was an athlete as a kid, playing baseball, football and soccer. I picked up the guitar and drums in my teens and fell madly in love with music. After joining the cubicle herd and working in front a computer for years, I found myself quite out of shape. I started a couch-to-5k program, and really liked how running made me feel. I listen to music when I do almost anything, so running with music was a natural choice. But we all know how treacherous the “shuffle” functionality can be during a run. A great song comes on and you hit your stride, only to have the next song throw you out of sync, out of your zone and kill your momentum. I decided I could do better. It’s the direct relationship of your strides to the beat — heightened by how the music makes you feel — that is the magic formula.
You bought your new running shoes online at Zappos.com. Do you give something up by not trying them on or having a specialty store employee help select the right shoe for you?
I have to guiltily admit that I did go to a running store and try on a variety of shoes. And because I wanted to support local business, I really tried to buy the shoes from the store that was so helpful. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the size/width I need (I have Fred Flintstone-size feet). The Zappos experience was beyond fantastic. While they don’t offer coupons or deep discounts, their customer service is amazing. The shoes showed up in a day and a half. Amazing.
I read about Sugoi knee-high socks on your blog. Why do you wear them?
I was thinking how fun it would be to run a race in knee-high argyle socks – just for the spectacle. Then I stumbled across the Sugoi knee-highs. They’re pretty obnoxious and I had to get them. I’ve only run in them once, but they were fantastic. Very supportive, moisture-wicking, etc. I also got quite a few stares from people as I cruised by. I’m holding out on them until the weather gets a little cooler here, as they were warmer than normal short socks. They’d be great for anyone that runs in cooler and cold climes.
Besides appearing in this blog (of course) do you have any other success stories from being on Twitter? Twitter has been a fantastic experience for me. I can’t tell you how many cool runners I’ve met. Tim Wilson has a nice post on his blog about who to follow and every time someone else shows up they get welcomed to the fold. It’s a great, friendly, international group of people from various backgrounds with the common thread of running. It’s great sending and receiving “good luck” and “congrats” Tweets for races, hearing about people’s training and sharing tips and techniques.
Training with Tim is arguably Milwaukee’s third most underrated fitness blog. It’s updated semi-daily at trainingwithtim.com.
