Week 4: One Man's So(u)l
I’ve thought over and over about how I wanted to approach writing my blog this week. Frankly, I don’t know that it really matters one way, or the other. I’m not sure how many people this blog reaches (I’d have to pay $5.99/month on Wix, and I’m cheap as hell). I’m not sure if the people that it does reach even read it all the way through. Nor do I know why people read the blog. Maybe it’s to check to see my progress. Perhaps, it’s to read some trivial anecdotes about my life, or to see how I’m doing. The only thing I know is that I wanted to do something in my life that made me feel better (running a marathon), and in the process, I decided to practice another thing that made me feel better (writing), too. So, when it came time to write the blog for this week, I knew I had to stay true to that idea: doing what I love. At first, I worried about what people might say to me about my thoughts and reflections. I worried about whether I should even mention them. I worried that I wouldn’t go about this particular blog perfectly. And now, as I’m writing it, I feel myself caring less and less about those things. I’m doing this for myself, and I feel as though that’s the only justification I need.
So, without further ado, here’s my entry for week four. These are my thoughts, feelings, and reactions to the outside world. And this is also my love. If you’re reading past this point, I hope you enjoy.
After I suffered some setbacks last week, I decided to push through the lingering tightness and bruises that I’ve developed, and set out for a mile run on Monday. It felt refreshing to get back out after having taken the previous three days off. My legs received a healthy stretch, and much of the previous week’s pain had eroded by the time I finished. I also purchased a foam roller to add to my post-run stretching and core exercises. All I can say is: thank little 9 lb. 6 oz. baby jesus for whomever came up with foam. Also, praises go out to the person that decided it would be a phenomenal idea to make foam into a tube shape, and roll it up and down their hamstring in a seated position. You sir/madam are the real M.V.P.
One other take away from my Monday run, and my Tuesday run, is that my pace on the mile runs has been steadily increasing. It’s only a few seconds each half mile, but it does feel rewarding to see myself naturally coming into that pace. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it an exorbitant amount of times over the next year: I don’t need to run this marathon fast, but I want to run it as fast as I can. So, the more I can increase my pace as I go, the better. I’ve also come to realize that this period of time in the training isn’t actually a part of the actual marathon training at all. For those of you new to the marathon game, runners typically don’t actually start a training regiment until about 18 weeks out from the race. I’m only some 34 weeks early on that time frame. It really doesn’t matter that I build up any sort of pace for the time being, but it definitely doesn’t hurt either. And considering that I could barely make it through a ½ mile a few weeks ago, these runs feel encouraging.
Then came Tuesday.
Let’s just start with the run, and we’ll take it from there, I guess, or something. Tuesday’s run was remarkably similar to Monday’s. I think that the extended time that I had taken off may have actually been a blessing in disguise. I increased my pace again on Tuesday, and felt no ill side effects from the run. After daylight savings, most of my runs have been held in a much more “dim” environment, aka pitch black. Since I’ve never run at this type of workload before, I’ve never had a reason to own any sort of safety equipment for night runs: reflective strips, bright clothing, flashing lights, etc. I’m looking to invest into some of those items, and if anyone has any ideas please feel free to send them my way on facebook or via email. Also, I noticed on these past two runs that I could probably use some gloves. Winter is coming people. If you have any recommendations on adequate running gloves, please throw those suggestions out, too. I think what I’m trying to say is that running is becoming an investment. I don’t like it (see the section earlier where I referred to myself as “cheap as hell”), but sacrifices must be made.
After Tuesday’s run, I’ve also thought about the fact that I need some quality running shoes, and I need them fairly soon. I’ve been running in some stock Nike running shoes that I bought from Dick’s Sporting Goods at the beginning of this year, but the craftsmanship just isn’t there. They’ve been serviceable to me for what they were purchased for (walking summer shoes and music festivals), but there’s an obvious investment to be made here. From a practical standpoint, I should have just let this be my Christmas present, but Roger Waters came around, and...well...you know. I couldn’t just say no. Over the course of the past few weeks, I’ve been doing some research and I really like the Nike shoes that are available on the market. Specifically, I’m into the Pegasus models that are currently on shelves, and if I pull the trigger on these you can anticipate me sharing multiple photos. In the meantime, as with the other items, if anyone has recommendations, please let me know.
Before my run on Tuesday night, I made sure to pull my civic duty, and I voted. If you’d like to skip the next few paragraphs, I can totally understand that line of thinking. Like I said previously, I’ve been debating in my head just how I wanted to go about handling the rhetoric that I put on the web this week. If you’re exhausted, or if you think you’ll despise me by the end of this, please feel free to skip ahead, or to the end and donate to St. Jude. However, if you’d like to hear one little voice in this boisterous and suddenly divided nation of ours, please keep reading.
I voted for Hillary. I didn’t want to vote for Hillary. I didn’t want to vote for Trump. Admittedly, as I watched the election coverage, I rooted against Trump. I’m not positive that I even rooted for Hillary. In moments like this, I believe that we all get swept up in the exhilaration of watching the horse race that is election night, and I was no exception on Tuesday. I hung to the word of every update, and I ached and pained over every state decision. I applauded Virginia, and I scorned North Carolina. I detested Florida (I stand by that even in non-election years, but I like having you around for Disney World). By the end of the night, with Trump seemingly putting this election out of reach, I went to bed in deflation.
Then I woke up. No fires had been set in the neighborhood. No fireworks had awoken me in the night. I was alive.
Now, I live in Illinois. We were pretty much one of the only states in the midwest on election night to back the Democrat’s vision as it has unfolded this year, and perhaps to a larger degree, over the past eight years. We gave Hillary our 20 delegates. We elected Tammy Duckworth to the senate. We pushed and pulled against the rest of the midwest to keep the balance shifted towards the left. So, I do realize that this may have been the reason for such a calm atmosphere in my immediate environment. My point, though, is that Trump being elected was not a death sentence. The world did not end. It was actually quite far from that.
In the days after election night, I am sure that there will be millions upon millions of voices telling you how to think about this election. They will tell you how to judge this president, the woman who ran against him, and your fellow voter. They will tell you what went “wrong” and what went “right.” They will tell you how the next four years will be worse than the last, and others will tell you how they will be greater. I think if anything is clear from this election; it’s that we can’t buy into what others say about the way we live our lives. In the coming days, weeks, and months, there will undoubtedly be those that try to tell you how to react. America wasn’t founded upon the idea that we simply embrace what others push upon us. In fact, it was born out of a revolution: a revolt against another group’s ideals.
I’m not calling for a revolution. I’m calling for you to trust yourself. Whether you voted Democrat, or Republican. Whether you put in optimal research, or none at all, trust yourself.
With that being said, don’t cheat yourself. If you came to a decision about your standing in this country, and you don’t know how you got there, don’t accept this lackadaisical approach. Educate yourself. Inform yourself. Strengthen yourself. My greatest regret from this election cycle is that I didn’t value either candidate. I gave each of them a shot, and after observing their platforms and rhetoric, I discovered nothing that I deemed fruitful. Was I angry? Absolutely. But, was I true to myself, in giving my support to the candidate that I did feel deserved a shot? No.
I learned a valuable truth about our political system in this election. You can’t simply look for change, and expect it to find you. Search it out.
Moving on.
I incorporated a slight variation into my Thursday run. Thanks to Roo waking me up around 5:00 a.m., I suddenly found myself with three hours before work. Turns out this is more than enough time to get a run and workout in. Since I haven’t been running in the mornings, I greatly underestimate one vital element: temperature. My grandpa has various sayings to describe how cold the weather can be. A coal-digger’s hind parts came to mind on this morning. Mother of god was it cold.
Yet, as I was on my run, I remembered that cold weather is actually perfect weather when it comes to distance running. After your legs acclimate themselves to the conditions they actually become the preferred setting. The blood starts to flow, and before you know it, you’re done.
On Friday night, Cera and I had a couple of tickets to see Australian trio, Rüfüs Du Sol. These guys are a house music group that doesn’t necessarily stray too far from your typical radio friendly electronic music. Yet, they’re just so infectious that the corniness factor isn’t nearly as thick as other acts (looking at you Chainsmokers). It was precisely what the doctor ordered after a loooong week. We had some drinks, listened to tunes, and grooved. One takeaway from the show: DJ opening sets are always 10x more interesting than opening band sets. There’s a community at dance shows that just doesn’t seem to exist to the same degree at other events. Most everyone is there to dance, and they really don’t care who’s causing them to move. Just as long as the beat is constant, and the crowd is right. Not all shows reflect this mentality, and it can seem more of an exception than a rule, but when it’s satisfying, it’s unmatched.
Saturday was also a positive output for yet another mile. I made an effort to work on my strides in this run. Previously, I was slowing my pace down so much, in an effort to not overexert myself, that my strides were becoming choppy and abbreviated. On this run, I attempted to lengthen them out a bit more, striding outward so that there was a clean strike from my heel to my toes. This helped in multiple areas: I found there to be minimal stress on my feet, no lingering soreness in my calves, and my pace was actually much steadier than in previous runs. All in all, it was a promising end to a week full of progression.
Week 4 Breakdown:
Mileage
Week: 4 Miles
Total: 11 ½ Miles
Daily Mileage/Playlists:
Monday: 1 Mile
Playlist: Rüfüs Du Sol - Bloom. Rüfüs makes the type of music that soundtracks festival beer gardens all summer long. For some people, that can be an instant turnoff. They think it lacks the musical depth of other contemporary electronic artists like Nicolas Jaar, Leon Vynehall, Floating Points, etc. And, if you allow that mentality to take over, you can easily dismiss their music as trivial. If you turn a blind eye to that notion, you’ll most likely realize the misguided nature of these opinions. The music is lush and lavish, and it hits with an energy that is pure and joyous. If you allow yourself to be swept up in the big room beats, all the better for you. You can leave the critics to stand idly in the corner.
Tuesday: 1 Mile
Playlist: U2 - The Joshua Tree. U2 has always been a band on the fringe of my musical taste. I’m aware of them. I think they’re okay, but nothing special. They’re just kind of, there. Well rumors have surfaced that U2 are set to be headlining a certain festival that I may/may not attend every year. Only time will tell if that rumor comes to fruition, but the prospect had me reexamining their collection. There aren’t any more significant albums for this band outside of The Joshua Tree. For a band that defined “epic” there isn’t a release that pushes the band’s music into the vastness quite like this. I never realized this, but the first three songs are “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” and “With or Without You.” Are you kidding me? There’s never been a more pristine run for arena anthems on any album, in any genre, in any decade. And yes, I am speaking in hyperbole because it’s U2.
Thursday: 1 Mile
Playlist: Common - Black America Again. Common has been a mainstay in “conscious” rap for decades now. Your interpretation of that term, and it’s usefulness in hip-hop, is up for debate. What’s not up for debate is the fact that Common is an essential part of black music, no matter what. Black America Again may never seem as pointed as it is right now. It’s lyricism is poignant and succinct, and the tone that the musical composition creates is all at once unsettling, breathtaking, and hopeful. Yes, it’s all of those things and then some. This project represents an artist pursuing a mission. And more often than not, Common accomplishes his purpose with flying color.
Saturday: 1 Mile
Playlist: A Tribe Called Quest - We got it from Here...Thank You 4 Your service. I don’t know what to say. I heard this for the first, second, and third time, and I was flabbergasted. I love it. I cherish it. It’s impeccable. I’m running out of damn adjectives. If you worship ATCQ, like myself, or if you’ve never listened, this deserves your attention for a very, very long time. That’s it. That’s everything I can think to say. If you need me, this will be where you can find me.
-Ryan