Good Morning! đđťââď¸
While I am still not running, I noticed something. I am really not looking into the latest running shoe releases. Thatâs so healthy. Aside from the fact that my shoes last longer when I am not running, I think runners too often overemphasize on getting the latest stuff to run a second faster, but honestly: in most cases it wonât matter. Sure, I like buying and getting new stuff and it is exciting to try out new stuff, but I think runners do not need to buy new stuff all the time. Sure, if your shoes are worn out, then go ahead, but your shorts and t-shirt from last year are probably fine this year as well. And if you have found the ideal shorts, hang on to them for dear life as companies always phase out those shorts that you think are perfect.
Enjoy these Five Things Running! đđťââď¸
How to stay sane when you canât run
If youâve ever been injured, youâve probably dealt with suggestions from others on how to cope. Friends or fellow runners might tell you to treat the time off as an opportunity to rest, or suggest that cross-training will fill the hole in your life left by not running. Those well-meaning ideas donât address your late-night worries about losing fitness, or the sense that nothing quite replaces the calm you get from running.
Not being able to run sucks. Period.
The Man Who Ran Out of This World
â3:56! Holy shit!â Spencer yelled in celebration and awe. The man we trekked three days to reach had just run a mile with almost 250 feet of vertical gain in under four minutes. Brendan trudged up the hill five minutes later and confirmed the start as legit. We looked at each other, unbelieving.
The fastest trail runner on the planet, perhaps even the greatest runner on earth, period, is a hermit in Northern Idaho.
We retraced the route and GPSed it again to confirm. One mile, 244 feet. One mile and 244 feet in under 4 minutes. Many elite athletes train their whole lives to break the 4 minute barrier on a track, and fewer than 2,000 have ever done it. Sandy did it uphill, at 8000 feet, on a trail.
He was laboring (and who wouldnât be after a max effort) but quickly recovered his distant smile and springy posture.
Oh wow, what a story. Can you imagine that? Living in a hut somewhere in the mountains and just doing the simple life, including running? Reminds me of The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, just with running instead of bearsâŚ
Raziq Rauf on what running culture means to him
These days we might run to combat the hours we're sitting at a desk, or for simple competition â against others or simply against ourselves. That means that running isn't as mundane an act as breathing or driving any more. Running is a choice. It's a leisure pursuit. It's a necessary act of physical exertion. It's a place where people are more free to experiment. Sometimes that's testing their bodies and/or minds, or sometimes it's experimenting with building a community. Other times, it's understanding enough about how we run so that we know how to look for great stories.
Raz is on a roll here with his new book. Go buy it and read it!
The Ultimate Guide to Hut-to-Hut Trail Running
For those familiar with backpacking, thru-hiking or even fastpacking, hut-to-hut running trips will require a mental shift from the slow grind of a two-mile-per-hour pace to a much faster tempo. On a backpacking trip, your mind often wanders during the long, slow miles, but trail running demands more attention to the next few steps on the trail, forcing you to be in the present. That immediacy is a big reason I love it a hut-to-hut.
On top of that, hut-to-hut trail running provides a newfound freedom â you know for a fact that a warm meal and bed are waiting for you miles ahead, as opposed to a tent and a long night on your back. This freedom also translates to tangible physical lightness; you get to trade a 50-plus liter pack for a running vest that is 20 liters or less. Instead of fighting pain in your shoulders and hips, youâll have to train your lungs and quads for the adventure.
this is so on my bucket-list.
No, Your Race Isnât a Failure If You Miss Your Goal Time
Hereâs what Iâve learned from that, and so many other races over the years: missing your goal time is not the same thing as failing. Not even close, actually. Sometimes the win is that you trained through a messy year. Sometimes the win is that you showed up and finished on a day your legs just didnât want to cooperate. Sometimes the win is that you ran at all when it wouldâve been easier to stay horizontal and doomscroll.
Iâm right there with you: Goal times are fun. And PRs? Even more electric. But the finish line still counts even when the clock doesnât match the fantasy.
Run the race you have and celebrate the work you did. Yeah, maybe you missed the number, but so what? Donât miss the point.
I think a race is a race and you yourself define how well it went. If you miss your goal and had fun nonetheless, I guess that works :)
If you missed last weekâs edition, you can read it here:
Now, go running!
â Nico
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