Hello, friends.
Welcome to the first edition of Rundown (collector’s item, obviously), where we peek over our shoulders at the past month, then down the road at what’s ahead.
Next week, some Running Lightly content becomes paid-only, but Rundown will remain free. Maybe the snippets here will convince you to become a paid subscriber at just fifteen cents a day (less for Annual and Founding Member plans).
Please help shape this project by offering your thoughts in comments, polls, and other interactive goodies. It’s more fun when we’re all in.
Run lightly,
-mike
Over the Shoulder
Curated: Issue 1
Published June 5 - I’m excited to bring you this format, where I share a few things that moved me in the past month. The inaugural issue recognizes Roger Bannister’s eclipsing of the four-minute mile, asking us to consider the concept of “enough.” We also get inspired by Zegama and read about the unexpected, life-affirming qualities of goo. Plus, you get a recap of my month spent struggling to simply notice and journal about one thing on each daily run. Noticing is haaaard.
Only the Zen You Bring With You
Published June 13 - Any Running Lightly race report will be served up with a side of introspection. This recap of my 5k run at Helena, Montana’s “Governor’s Cup” (an event I’ve done since childhood) looks at the amplified role nerves and tension play in short races. And, lest you think any runner is immune from low motivation and physical weirdness… I share five more ways my running was human in May.
What is toughness, anyway?
Published June 22 - June is Men's Mental Health Awareness Month. I hope this piece reaches a few fellas open to questioning how toughness has been modeled and marketed to them. But really, anyone stands to benefit from thinking about:
Notions of external and internal toughness
The role of old school “run hard, party hard” heroes
Moving toward resilience and antifragility
Whether a little “bad” helps make a good athlete
I’ve wanted to write something like this for a long time. Sobriety has helped clarify the perils of constructing my identity toward inherited ideals and external influences. So, the time is now. Here it is, and here I am.
Down the Road
Book Goals
I have ideas that might help people in their running journeys, but which don’t fit in a newsletter. I’d like to try my hand at longer format writing this year: to self-publish something, and also to get a separate idea together as a pitch to traditional publishers. There are six months left in the year. We ride at dawn.
Have you written a book? Please share your best advice in the comments.
More Like YAY-cation
I’m taking “paid vacay” from Running Lightly the third week of July (thank you, paid subscribers), so no post on the 18th. Lisa and I are spending the week with all our kids in Seattle, then camping our way home through Canada in the little GMC Safari van we’ve nicknamed Gladys (as in, “Glad-dis thing didn’t break down”).
Our Adventure With Gladys Last Year
What’s Next
Curated: Issue 2 will publish on the 4th of July, and boy howdy do I have something to say about freedom. In the second week, I’ll have a 5 at 50 update for those of you on the edges of your seats about whether this geezer-in-training still has half-marathon legs. For the longer article (around July 25th), I have a couple ideas.
Can’t guarantee I’ll go with public opinion, but please sound off:
Hey, you. Thanks for being here.