You Can’t Fight Your Body
You know how when you put something off, it gets harder and harder to actually get started? And then you keep putting it off and putting it off? That’s kind of what happened with this newsletter. And here we are at the end of May.
Last time, I mentioned that I re-tore my meniscus in my knee. Coming off injury, I felt frustrated—at my body for continuing to work against me and not performing the way I want it to, at myself for continuing to fight my body, and at life for not being fair in how it doles out injuries.
So coming back from injury this time, I wanted to be smart. I wanted a plan. I decided to build up my running base using a low heart rate training plan (along with regular visits to physical therapy). I figured it would keep me from pushing too much too soon.
I’ve tried low heart rate training in the past and it didn’t stick. I wanted to run, to burn off the stress, and I hated trudging around at what felt like a snail’s pace. I was too impatient and wanted to see the results right away. I didn’t believe in the idea of slowing down to run fast.
But seven weeks into low heart rate training and I’m starting to believe. It’s been well over a year since I’ve done real run workouts. In the last two weeks, I’ve done a little speed work—5-6 x 2:00 pick-ups—and I held faster paces now than I used to see when I was doing regular workouts. But back then, I was never really running easy and I was always stuck in the grey zone.
More than the fitness piece of this, I’ve realized that I can’t fight my own body. It’s counterproductive. By paying attention to just my heart rate, I only worry about my heart rate and what my body is telling me. Not pace or mileage. It’s helping me take each training day as it comes—not define myself by “good” or “bad” runs—and to let go of all the external stuff.
(Also this episode of the podcast For the Long Run between Jonathan Levitt and his coach, David Roche, touches on a lot of similar ideas and was really good.)
The moral of the story? Slowing down is good for you.
Maternity Leave and Sponsorship
It’s been really interesting to watch the the whole maternity leave and sponsorship debate play out over the last couple of weeks. In case you missed it, on Mother’s Day, the New York Times released a video and op-ed drawing attention the irony behind Nike’s marketing and promotion of gender equality in sport versus the company’s lack of maternity policy and protection for its female athletes. It started with former Nike-sponsored runners Alysia Montaño, Kara Goucher, and Phoebe Wright and snowballed from there when Alison Felix shared her story and her difficulty renegotiating her contract with Nike. (In a story for Sport Illustrated, Natasha Hastings shared the challenges of being a pregnant Olympic hopeful.)
There was a lot of debate online and many of the con arguments being that sponsors shouldn’t have to pay female athletes in full because they choose to have a baby and that athletes are contractors, not full-time employees and therefore not entitled to maternity benefits.
I don’t think that anyone is arguing that athletes should be paid their full salary or what an ideal policy would look like. However, the real issue, I think, is the lack of a clear policy disproportionately affects women, making it hard to plan when athletes don't know what they can expect. And when an athlete’s body is her livelihood, the stakes are much higher and effectively cuts her career short.
Then, Nike announced that it will end financial penalties for pregnant athletes.
While this is a step forward, for me, it was heartening to see how journalism can help move the dial on important issues.
What I’ve Written
A couple of fun stories to share this time around including how new tricked out treadmills and a ton of on-demand workouts have refashioned my relationship with the OG cardio machine, how walking can boost mood, a senior design project from five college students that could make a common medical procedure much safer, and your ultimate vegan pizza round-up. Plus, nature is increasingly considered legitimate medicine and I got to peek into the future and try to predict what’s next.
What I’ve Been Reading
Running Home: On losing a parent, becoming a parent, grief, postpartum anxiety and running. A beautiful memoir from Katie Arnold, a contributor to Outside and winner of the 2018 Leadville 100.
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle: Interesting look at the new science behind stress, especially how women experience burnout differently than men, and how to manage the stress cycle.
The Library Book: OK, I didn’t expect to like let alone enjoy a book about libraries but Susan Orlean creates a pretty compelling narrative about a massive fire at the LA Public Library in 1986 and the role libraries play in our lives.
Fleishman is in Trouble: I love Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s nonfiction writing—I aspire to write like Taffy when I grow up—and was super excited for her first novel. I had a hard time getting into it (the characters weren’t immediately likable) but I’m glad I stuck with it. It’s a really honest look at the big messy and complex truths in our lives—how we love, how we change, how love turns to resentment, how we often miss the mark with those we love
You Accomplished Something Great. So Now What? (NY Times): I finally have a word for it: arrival fallacy. That belief that you’ll be happy once you get that promotion/book deal/race time/[enter goal here] and why you can feel like something in broken even after you achieved your goal. This is so good and so relatable.
A Penny for Her Thoughts? Women in the Gig Economy Struggle to Get Paid (Glamour): The dek of this article says it all: “How is a woman supposed to value her time in a culture that tells her it's worthless?”
Mary Cain Is Back: Where Has She Been For the Past 2.5 Years? Leaving NOP, Moving to NYC (Citius Mag): Too often, young runners blaze on to the scene and then disappear so it was really nice hearing more about where Mary Cain has been and what’s she’s been doing since she left the Nike Oregon Project.
When a Fatal Grizzly Mauling Goes Viral (Outside): What happens when a story about a death in a small, tight-knit community goes viral and the national and international media descend?
Psst. Kid. Wanna Teach Some Yoga? (New York Times): Yes, there’s definitely a global, corporate yoga complex at work.
How I Learned to Love Being Swole and Asian (SELF): I could hear my mother’s voice in my head when I read this—“Why are your legs/arms so big? You shouldn’t work out so much.”
Forget Self-Driving Cars. Bring Back the Stick Shift. (NYTimes): +1
Seeking reform, a neuroscientist argues against ‘sexist’ beliefs that keep research focused on male animals (STAT): “'If you think that females are more variable than males, that is not based in reality,' Shansky told STAT. ‘That is based on your perception of what you think ovarian hormones do to a female animal, and that’s sexist.’”
The Model Minority Myth Has Gotten A Millennial Makeover (But It’s Still A Trap) (Refinery29)
The Most Badass Woman in Bike Racing is Back (Bicycling)
What I’ve Been Watching
So much...
Killing Eve
Dead to Me
Knock Down House
The Bold Type
Avengers Endgame
Brene Brown: The Call to Courage
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