Month: October 2019

Second Place Feels Rad

Today I ran The 2nd Annual East Stroudsburg, PA Run For Resilience Ostomy 5k. It was a brisk morning, with temps down in the 30s to start the day, but it was perfect running weather.

It was a small field, just about 50 people. I had intended to “take it easy” on this run, as I have a 10 mile trail race tomorrow, but when I saw it was a smaller crowd, I figured I should put my year of training and running to some use!

I was in third place for most of the race, but in the final 50 yards or so I moved into second place. That’s the second time I’ve made a “late race move,” and it usually leaves me scared, waiting for that person to make their move and pass me! But thankfully that didn’t happen, and I finished in second place overall, with a time of 25:25, my fastest ever.

Today I ran my fastest mile, too: 7:49. When I was in high school, back in the mid 90s, I ran a seven minute mile. All these years later, to be just 49 seconds off is okay with me.

Looking back at my training, I’ve been mostly running at a slower pace, from 10-12 minute miles, for about an hour at a time. About once every two weeks I’ll do a speed run using the Nike Training App, with their treadmill runs. It’s wild to think that easy running, with the occasional half hour speed workouts, really make a difference. That, and losing 15lbs since June, of course.

The joy of this blogging thing is that anyone could read it. Sure, I could post some thoughts on Twitter, and some people could read it. But there are people who don’t use Twitter. Same with Facebook. Or don’t have an Instagram account.

If it’s on the web, it’s free and open. You don’t need an account to read this.

Social media lured us with the LIKES and “engagement,” but blogs, or writing on the internet in general, has much more room to grow. Longer legs.

What’s posted on Twitter at 8:03am on a Tuesday is gone by 9:12am, and the next week? Practically gone forever.

But a blog – I’ve only restarted my own domain name just a few years ago, but it’s all here to see, for anyone and everyone, and not locked away in some social media silo.

Capitalism at Any Cost

This just blew my brain wide open, from “Misogyny, male rage and the words men use to describe Greta Thunberg.”

At a deep level, the language of climate denialism is tied up with a form of masculine identity predicated on modern industrial capitalism – specifically, the Promethean idea of the conquest of nature by man, in a world especially made for men.

Naomi Schalit

Via Aaron Davis

Capitalism depends on obedience, blind trust. From churches, to politicians, to wall street, the message is TRUST US. Don’t question, don’t doubt, don’t stray.

And then Greta Thunberg comes along, or anyone that doesn’t conform, or fit the capitalist narrative, and men everywhere lose their collective shit. As if it’s a threat to very lives.