Beat the Heat

I live in Arizona where running during the summer and early fall months is difficult due to the heat.  Even if I get up early before the sun rises, it is still 88o or hotter.  Once the sun comes up it heats up pretty quickly making my runs really tough.  Running in the heat takes as much planning as running in very cold weather.  If you live in an area that has high temperatures or humidity, you need to know that during the summer’s heat you cannot expect to match your normal training paces.  However, if you go out and run in the heat consistently for at least two-weeks your body will begin to acclimate.  Once you have acclimated, you just need to understand the effect of heat and humidity on your pace to allow you to be realistic about your training.

A while back, I found two websites that helped me figure out what pace I should strive for during my training runs.  I find that running through the dog days of summer allows me to stay in shape for future races without risking my health.  It also allows me to not beat myself up mentally if I don’t hit a certain pace.  Knowing what a realistic pace should be given the temperatures keeps me sane and healthy.  The first website I visit when planning a training run is http://www.dpcalc.org/.  This website allows me to figure out what the dewpoint is given the ambient temperature and relative humidity.  To be able to figure a target pace, I need to know the dewpoint.  The dew point is the temperature the air needs to be cooled to (at constant pressure) in order to achieve a relative humidity (RH) of 100%.  This is a better measurement than relative humidity in predicting pace.

Once I have the dewpoint, I then go to https://runnersconnect.net/training/tools/temperature-calculator/.  This website has an online calculator that predicts how much the heat will impact my workout times.  I use this calculator to plan my training run paces to account for hot temperatures.  Once I know the pace calculated, I then adjust my goal time for each run before heading out.  I have tested this calculator against my training runs and have found it to be very accurate for me.  But it may not be exactly the same for you because we all respond differently to the heat.  For some reason, my body tolerates heat pretty well.

The general consensus among runners is that on average for every 10-degree increase in air temperature above 55 degrees, there is a 1.5 to 3 percent increase in your per mile pace.  Most runners know what pace they can hit for different distances in ideal weather.  I recommend going out for a 3 to 5 mile run test run.  When you get back check your average pace against the on-line calculator.  You can then compare the predicted pace against what the norm would be given the 1.5 to 3% increase in pace would be given the temperature.  For example, if your normal training pace is 8:00 per mile for a 5 mile run at 55o, at 75o you should be able to hit a pace between 8:07 and 8:14 per mile.  Once you compare this to the calculator, you will know how accurate it will be for you.

Once you know the right pace there are a couple of other things you can do to help achieve your training and racing goals.  First, I cannot recommend enough to run as early in the morning as you can.  I know getting up at 5 a.m. is tough.  But the simple truth is that during the summer, the coolest part of the day is before sunrise.  Running after sundown doesn’t really work as all of the heat stored in the ground during the day begins to radiate upward.  The radiant heat makes running even harder.  I have run at night and found that I prefer the mornings as it can still be in the triple digits here in Arizona after sundown.  There is no arguing that running in the early morning is the best time to beat the heat.

Next, what running gear you choose to wear can also help to keep you cool.  Frankly, the fewer clothes the cooler you’ll be.  But if you are running when the sun is out you need to wear sunscreen on all of your exposed body parts to avoid sunburn.  I choose to run in a very lightweight, breathable, and moisture-wicking fabric. I sweat a lot in the heat so I need the wicking to keep my shirt from sticking to me.  I have found that these fabrics help keep me cool as they disperse the heat.  Finally, I choose to run in light-colored shirts as they are more visible in the dark and after the sun comes up they reflect some of the sun’s incoming radiation which keeps me marginally cooler.

Finally, make sure you are fully hydrated.  Here in Arizona we like to say hydrate or die.  I keep a large 36 oz Nalgene like bottle at hand every day.  I sip on it throughout the day while I work.  I end up refilling it at least three times per day.  I find that this keeps me well hydrated and ready for my morning runs.  I don’t always carry water with me on a run.  But when I am going longer than 5 miles I do.  Because I am a heavy sweater, if I am going for a long run of 7+ miles, I like to carry water with electrolytes to replenish what I am losing on my run.  

The good news is that if you can keep up your training throughout the summer even at reduced paces, you will reap the rewards when the temperatures start to fall.  I find I feel so much faster in the cooler weather after a long summer of hot weather training.  I am a strong believer that as long as you plan your runs and stay safe, there is no reason to fear the heat.  Just do it!  Go outside and run!

Aug 3 – 6.50 miles (1:09:08, 10:38 pace) – Hill Repeats
Aug 4 – 3.10 miles (24:49, 8:01 pace) – Speed Work
Aug 6 – 5.10 miles (41:08, 8:04 pace) – Tempo Run
Aug 7 – 6.20 miles (56:14, 9:04 pace) 
Aug 8 – 10.10 miles (1:43:05, 10:12 pace)
Aug 9 – 4.60 miles (44:14, 9:37 pace) 
Aug 10 – 6.10 miles (1:05:55, 10:48 pace) – Hill Repeats
Aug 11 – 3.10 miles (23:53, 7:42 pace) – Speed Work
Aug 13 – 5.10 miles (42:43, 8:23 pace) – Tempo Run
Aug 14 – 5.10 miles (47:42, 9:21 pace) 
Aug 15 – 8.10 miles (1:16:44, 9:28 pace) 
Aug 16 – 5.10 miles (47:28, 9:18 pace) 

Total Miles:  68.80 miles
2020 Total Miles:   1,091.90 miles  

Vote in November to Dump Trump

I have really been struggling during this pandemic to get motivated to write about running.  There is so much bad news out there that I feel like writing about my running and training seems trivial.  I am so frustrated with the government in my state and country that my running is my only refuge to pound out my frustrations.  I am not a liberal by any stretch of the imagination.  I am fiscally conservative and socially liberal.  You can read more about my political beliefs in my post dated March 30, 2010.  I didn’t vote for Trump because I didn’t believe he could lead this country.  I didn’t vote for Hillary because she was going to bring much of the same old Democratic legislation and beliefs to the table.  Neither would bring the country together and find a middle ground that is needed to truly effect positive change in our country.  

This time even though I don’t fully support everything Joe Biden stands for; I will be voting for him in November.  I have always found it hard to explain cogently why I dislike Trump so much.  Then a post hit my Facebook page and it is the best explanation of why Trump is a cancer in the White House making our country a laughing stock to the rest of the world that I decided to share it here. 

A person asked the question, "Why are people so hostile towards President Donald Trump?"

Chris O'Leary responded:

Before you pass my answer off as “Another Liberal Snowflake” consider that

1. I'm an independent centrist who has voted Republican way more often in my life than Democrat, and
2. If you want to call someone who spent the entire decade of his 20’s serving in the Marine Corps a snowflake, I’d be ready to answer the question what did you do with your 20’s?

Why Liberals (And not-so liberals) are against President Trump.

A. He lies. A LOT. Politifact rates 69% of the words he speaks as “Mostly False or worse” Only 17% of the things he says get a “Mostly True” or better rating. That is an absolutely unbelievable number. How he doesn’t speak more truth by mistake is beyond me. To put it in context, Obama’s rating was 26% mostly false or worse, and I had a problem with that. Many of Trump’s former business associates report that he has always been a compulsive liar, but now he’s the President of the United States, and that’s a problem. And this is a man who expects you to believe him when he points at other people and says “They’re lying”

B. He’s an authoritarian populist, not a conservative. He advances regressive social policy while proposing to expand federal spending and federalist authority over states, both of which conservatives are supposed to hate.

C. He pretends at Christianity to court the Religious Right but fails to live anything resembling a Christ-Like Life.

D. His nationalist “America First” message effectively alienates us and removes us from our place as leaders in the international community.

E. His ideas on “Keeping us safe” are all thinly veiled ideas to remove our freedoms, he is, after all, an authoritarian first. They also are simply bad ideas.

F. He couldn’t pass a 3rd-grade civics exam. He doesn't’ know what he’s doing. He doesn't understand how international relations work, he doesn’t understand how the federal state or local governments work, and every time someone tries to “Run it like a business” it’s a spectacular failure. See Colorado Springs’ recent history as an example. The Short, Unhappy Life of a Libertarian Paradise And that was a businessman with a MUCH better business track record than Trump. We are talking about a man who lost money owning a freaking gambling casino.

G. He behaves unethically and always has. As a businessman, he constantly left in his wake unpaid contractors and invoices, litigation, broken promises, whatever he could get away with.

H. He is damaging our relationships with our best international friends while kissing up to nations that do not have our best interests in mind. To his question “Wouldn't’ it be great to have better relations with Russia?” The answer is Yes. But it is RUSSIA who needs to earn that, who must stop doing the things that are damaging to that relationship, or we are simply weaker for it.

I. He has never seen a shortcut he didn't like, and you can’t take shortcuts in government. “Nuclear Option, Remove the Filibuster, I’ll change the Constitution by Executive Order…Don…what happens when you remove the filibuster and the other side retakes the majority in the Senate? Suddenly want that filibuster back? What happens if you manage to change the Constitution by Executive Order and an Anti-2A President wins the next election?

J. He behaves and has always behaved as an unabashed racist. Yes, I’ve seen your favorite meme that claims he was never accused of racism before the Democrats…Absolutely false. Donald Trump’s long history of racism, from the 1970s to 2019 See the Central Park 5, the lawsuits and fines resulting from his refusal to lease to black tenants, the 1992 lost appeal trying to overturn penalties for removing black dealers from tables, his remarks to the house native American affairs subcommittee in 1993. The man sees and treats racial groups of people as monoliths.

K. He is systematically steamrolling regulations specifically designed to keep a disaster like the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis from happening again.

L. He speaks and acts like a demagogue. He sees the Legislative and Judicial branches of government as inconveniences, blows up at criticism no matter how deserved and actively tries to countermand constitutional processes, not to mention attempts to blackmail and coerce people who are saying negative things about him

M. His choices for top positions, with the exception of Gen. Mattis, who is a gem, have been horrendous. A secretary of Education without a resume that would get her hired as a small-town grammar school principal, A secretary of Energy who didn't know the Department of Energy was responsible for nuclear reserves, an EPA head whose biggest accomplishments to date had been suing the EPA on multiple occasions, an FCC head who while working for Verizon actively lobbied to kill net neutrality, and an Attorney General who thinks pot is “nearly as bad as heroin” and asked Congress for permission to go after legal pot businesses in states where it is legal. (There goes that great Republican States rights rally cry again, right?) *Crickets* An Interim AG after Firing his First AG whose appointment is probably unconstitutional.

N. He denies scientific fact. Ever notice that the only people you hear denying climate change are politicians and lobbyists? 99% of actual scientists studying the issue agree that it’s real, man-made, and caused by greenhouse gasses. Ever notice that every big disaster movie starts with a bunch of politicians in a room ignoring a scientist's warning?

O. He does not have the temperament to lead this nation. He is thin-skinned, childish, and a bully, never mind misogynistic, boorish, rude, and incapable of civil discourse.

P. He still does not understand that the words he speaks, or tweets, are the official position of 1/3 of the US government, and so does not govern his words. He still thinks when he speaks it’s good ol’ Donald Trump. It’s not. It’s the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. You have probably spread a meme or two around talking about how no president’s every word has ever been dissected before…YES, THEY ALWAYS HAVE. It’s just that every other president in our lifetime has understood the importance of his words and took great care to govern his speech. Trump blurts out whatever comes to his mind then complains when people talk about what a dumb thing that was to say.

Q. He’s unqualified. If you owned a small business and were looking for someone to manage it, and an unnamed resume came across your desk and you saw 6 bankruptcies, showing a man who had failed to make money running CASINOS, would you hire him? He is a very poor businessman. This is a man it has been estimated would have been worth $10 BILLION more if he’d just taken what his father had given him, invested it in Index Funds, and left it alone.

R. He is President. But he refuses to take a leadership position and to understand that he is everyone’s President. Conservatives complain about liberals chanting “Not my President” while Trump himself behaves as if no one but his supporters’ matter.

S. He’s a blatant hypocrite. He spent 8 years bitching Obama out for his family trips or golfing, or any time he took for himself, and what does he do? He was already on his 20th golf outing in APRIL of his 1st year in office. He constantly rants about respect for the military yet can’t be bothered to attend the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day because of a little rain. (And that excuse about Marine One not being able to fly in the rain is HILARIOUS.)

T. He’s a misogynist. It's not really ok in this day and age to be a misogynist, but it’s not a huge deal if you’re a private citizen. It’s a pretty big deal if you hate half the people you’re elected to lead. The disdain for women seeps out of his …whatever…. and he just can’t hide it.

U. Face it. In any other election “Grab Em’ By the Pussy” would have been the end of that candidate’s chances. Back in the 90’s I used to marvel about how Teflon Bill Clinton was. I no longer do. The fact that he managed to slip by on that is as much a statement about how much people hate Hillary Clinton as it is about what is wrong with politics in this country right now.

V. He has one response to a differing opinion. Attack. A good leader listens to criticism, to different points of view, is capable of self-reflection, tries to guide people to his point of view, and when necessary stands his ground and defends his convictions. Any of that sound like Trump? His default is not to Lead, its’ to attack. Scorched Earth. The Jim Acosta reaction is a good example. There was no defense of his convictions when Acosta was asking him repeated questions about his rhetoric on the caravan. His response was to attack Acosta.

W. He takes credit for everything positive while deflecting blame for everything negative. Look at him with the Stock Market. He’s been bragging about it since day one, and to give credit where credit is due, speculation on coming deregulation early in his presidency did fuel some rapid growth, but to pretend that it’s all him, that we’re not in the 9th year of the longest bull market in history and THEN, when the standard market volatility that deregulation inevitably brings about starts to show up? Yeah. Look at yesterday. Hey! Stock Markets losing because the Democrats won! Do I need to bring out the Stock market chart for the last 10 Years again?

X. He emboldens the worst among us. Counter-protesters are slammed into by a car while countering actual Nazi rally, and the response is there’s fault on “Both Sides” The media is at fault for a nut job sending them and Donald’s favorite targets pipe bombs. The truth is not all Republicans, not all Trump supporters are racist, fascist lunatics. Many are just taken in by the bombastic personality and are living in an information bubble made worse by the fact that they unfollow anyone and ignore any source of information that makes them feel uncomfortable. People on the left do that too. The Biggest problem the right has right now is that the worst of the Right is the loudest and the most in your face, and the actual right, especially the Freaking PRESIDENT needs to be standing up and saying No. Those are not our values.

Y. He seems to think the Constitution of The United States, the document that IS who we are, the document he took an oath to support and defend is some sort of inconvenience. He demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of the Constitution, from believing he can alter the 14th through executive order, to thinking the free exercise clause in the first amendment somehow supersedes the establishment clause (not that he really understands either) or that the free exercise clause only applies to Christians. Or his attacks on freedom of expression and the press. He repeatedly makes it clear that if he’s read them, he does not understand Articles 1–3, and that’s something he really should have before he took the job, because they’re not going away.

Z. I’ll use Z for something I do blame him for, but the rest of us have to carry the blame too. Polarization. This country is more politically polarized than I can remember in my lifetime. Some of you who are a few years older than I may remember how it was in the late ’60s when construction workers in New York were being applauded for beating up hippies, I think it’s pretty close to that right now, but that was before my time. And he is the cause of much of the current level polarization, but also the result. It didn't’ start with Trump. We’ve been going down this road I think since the eruption of the Tea Party in the early years of the Obama Administration. I do hope the tide turns before it gets much worse because the thing that scares me more than anything is what if that keeps going the way it has been? "

So if you do not like what is happening in this country it is time to exercise your right to make a change at the ballot box.  And don’t just vote for the President.  It is really the Senate and Congress who are as much or more to blame for the divisiveness we are seeing across the country.  Vote them out as well.  Let’s get back to civil discourse and try to find a middle ground from which to build this country back to the nation it once was and gain back the respect of the rest of the world.

June 29 – 5.50 miles (55:16, 10:03 pace) – Hill Repeats

June 30 – 3.10 miles (1:02:38, 7:32 pace) – Speed Work

July 2 – 5.10 miles (41:26, 8:08 pace) – Tempo Run

July 3 – 5.10 miles (47:36, 9:20 pace) 

July 4 – 9.10 miles (1:25:04, 9:21 pace) 

July 5 – 5.10 miles (48:45, 9:33 pace) 

July 6 – 5.70 miles (59:04, 10:22 pace) – Hill Repeats

July 7 – 3.10 miles (23:38, 7:37 pace) – Speed Work

July 9 – 5.10 miles (45:16, 8:53 pace) 

July 10 – 5.10 miles (47:11, 9:15 pace) 

July 11 – 8.10 miles (1:15:00, 9:16 pace) 

July 12 – 5.10 miles (47:18, 9:16 pace) 

July 13 – 5.50 miles (58:25, 10:37 pace) – Hill Repeats

July 14 – 3.10 miles (23:31, 7:35 pace) – Speed Work

July 16 – 5.10 miles (41:45, 8:11 pace) – Tempo Run

July 17 – 4.20 miles (39:07, 9:19 pace) 

July 18 – 8.10 miles (1:17:59, 9:38 pace) 

July 19 – 5.10 miles (46:49, 9:11 pace) 

July 20 – 5.80 miles (1:02:02, 10:42 pace) – Hill Repeats

July 21 – 3.10 miles (24:19, 7:51 pace) – Speed Work

July 23 – 5.10 miles (45:27, 8:53 pace) – Tempo Run

July 24 – 5.10 miles (49:16, 9:38 pace)

July 25 – 8.10 miles (1:18:59, 9:45 pace)

July 26 – 3.10 miles (28:40, 9:15 pace)

July 27 – 5.90 miles (1:02:29, 10:36 pace) – Hill Repeats

July 28 – 3.10 miles (24:23, 7:52 pace) – Speed Work

July 30 – 5.10 miles (41:37, 8:10 pace) – Tempo Run

July 31 – 5.10 miles (46:49, 9:11 pace) 

Aug 1 – 8.10 miles (1:19:36, 9:50 pace) 

Aug 2 – 4.10 miles (38:07, 9:18 pace) 

Total Miles:  158.00 miles

2020 Total Miles:   1,023.10 miles  

My Experience with the Run-Walk-Run with Jeff Galloway

The weather here in Arizona is starting to heat up and I am finding that the temperature at 5:00 a.m. is usually in the mid-80’s now.  This means that when I am going out for a long run, it will be pretty warm after the sun comes up.  Obviously, this means that I will have to accept the fact that my paces will suffer as the heat rises.  While that is generally true, I have found a way to actually reduce the impact of the heat on running my long, speed, and tempo runs.  I have been able to run them pretty close to my normal training goal paces.  How?  By using a run/walk/run method I adapted for myself from Jeff Galloway’s program.

If you don’t know who Jeff Galloway is let me tell you a little about him.  Jeff is a US Olympian who competed in the Olympic 10K race in where he placed 11th in a time of 29:35.0.  He also is also a key organizer of the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta.  In the mid-70’s Jeff thought that there might be a better way to train than just pounding out huge mileage weeks.  So Jeff changed his own training program to emphasize more rest and less weekly mileage.  He would only run his long runs every other week.  Jeff soon realized the benefits of this training method and knew that it would benefit amateur runners as well.  So in 1974, Jeff launched his method to the public to help beginner runners and show them that they can run any distance up to a marathon using this method.  Basically, Jeff’s method adds strategic walk breaks during a training run or race that allow a runner to control his fatigue and significantly reduce the occurrence of overuse running injuries. 

When I moved to Arizona, I read up on Jeff’s run/walk/run method.  I thought that it might help me train in the heat of the summer and allow me to still be able to hit my goal paces.  If I was going to use Jeff’s method, I had to first run a “Magic Mile”.  I would then use that time to predict the pace I could run at any race distance.  Once I knew how fast I could run a measured mile at a hard pace, I could use Jeff’s chart to predict my race pace for various distances:

• Add 33 seconds to your magic mile for your pace for a 5K

• Multiply your magic mile time by 1.15 for 10K pace

• Multiply your magic mile time by 1.2 for half marathon pace

• Multiply your magic mile time by 1.3 for marathon pace

These predictors have been very helpful and accurate at least for me in my racing.

Now that I knew the goal pace for my races, I could look at Jeff’s recommended run/walk/run strategies.  I tried several different run/walk/run strategies using Jeff’s calculator.  The first strategy I used for a while was running for 5 minutes and then walking for 1 minute.  While it definitely worked for me, I really struggled with the monotony of the constant watch gazing to make sure I was staying on track.  After a while, I switched to running a mile and walking for 1 minute.  That seemed to help reduce the number of times I had to look at my watch.  I used this strategy for several years of training and it did help me keep my running fitness level during the hottest summer months.  More importantly, I had no injuries.

When I decided to run the Dopey Challenge, I wanted to try something totally different.  Since I knew I would be running two long runs each weekend to simulate having to run on tired legs, I changed my run/walk/run strategy to running 5K and then walking for 1/10 of a mile.  It significantly helped me maintain a good training pace throughout the months of preparation for the Dopey Challenge.  I was able to run most of my long runs throughout the late summer and fall right on my goal training pace which hopefully would allow me to hit my goal race pace.  When I arrived in Orlando for the Dopey Challenge, I was ready to go.  I ran the 5K with no walk break.  Then I used the same strategy I had used during my training for the 10K, Half, and Full Marathon.  I was so proud to have been able to hit my total goal time for the four races.  I attribute it solely to using my version of Jeff’s method.

Since the one race I was scheduled to participate in this year was canceled, I have no races to train for which is sad.  But I am still out there running.  I have changed my run/walk/run for now to running for 2 miles and then walking for 1/10 of a mile.  It is allowing me to continue to run 8-10 miles on my Saturday long runs and at a pace that would allow me to hit my ultimate race pace when the time comes.  Best of all is that I have had no running injuries since my hamstring injury in 2014.  I attribute it all to using Jeff’s method.

As Jeff says on his website (http://www.jeffgalloway.com/):

Walk breaks…

• Speed you up: an average of 7 minutes faster in a 13.1 mile race when non-stop runners shift to the correct Run/Walk/Run ratio – and more than 13 minutes faster in the marathon

• Give you control over the way you feel during and after a run or race

• Erase fatigue

• Push back your wall of exhaustion or soreness

• Allow for endorphins to collect during each walk break

• Break up the distance into manageable units

• Speed recovery

• Reduce the chance of aches, pains and injury

• Allow older or heavier runners to recover fast, and feel as good as in the younger (slimmer)  days

• Activate the frontal lobe – maintaining your control over attitude and motivation

I will continue to read Jeff’s advice and use his methods to train.  I am certain that it will allow me to be able to run until the end of my life on this planet.  If you have been struggling with your training or feel that you could never run anything further than a 5K, I would recommend you go to Jeff’s website and read about his method.  He has several great books that I would also recommend you read.  What’s the worst thing that could happen?  You could decide you don’t like it and go back to your old training routines.  Regardless, I know that periodically shaking up your running routine is critical to avoid plateaus in your fitness level and training.  Give it a try, you may even find out that you like it and it leads you to a new PR whether it be distance or pace.

June 1 – 6.00 miles (1:02:38, 10:06 pace) – Hill Repeats

June 2 – 3.60 miles (28:06, 7:48 pace) – Speed Work

June 4 – 5.10 miles (41:01, 8:03 pace) – Tempo Run

June 5 – 5.10 miles (46:30, 9:07 pace) 

June 6 – 10.10 miles (1:33:40, 9:16 pace) 

June 7 – 5.10 miles (48:27, 9:30 pace) 

June 8 – 5.10 miles (56:25, 10:16 pace) – Hill Repeats

June 9 – 3.60 miles (28:13, 7:50 pace) – Speed Work

June 11 – 4.50 miles (40:24, 8:59 pace) 

June 12 – 5.10 miles (1:03:33, 7:57 pace) – Tempo Run

June 13 – 3.60 miles (58:15, 16:10 pace) – Injury

June 15 – 5.60 miles (56:59, 10:10 pace) – Hill Repeats

June 16 – 3.50 miles (27:56, 7:59 pace) – Speed Work

June 18 – 5.60 miles (44:48, 8:00 pace) – Tempo Run

June 19 – 5.10 miles (45:15, 8:52 pace) 

June 20 – 8.10 miles (1:16:28, 9:27 pace)

June 21 – 4.10 miles (36:18, 8:51 pace)

June 22 – 6.10 miles (1:01:34, 9:56 pace) – Hill Repeats

June 23 – 3.10 miles (24:21, 7:51 pace) – Speed Work

June 25 – 5.60 miles (45:29, 8:07 pace) – Tempo Run

June 26 – 6.20 miles (55:45, 9:00 pace) 

June 27 – 3.10 miles (27:48, 8:58 pace) 

Total Miles:  113.00 miles

2020 Total Miles:   865.10 miles  

“We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.” - MLK

I started to write a post about the disappointment I was feeling after the Wild West Relay race was cancelled due to the COVID crisis.  I decided to put that side for a later date as I had to express my thoughts and feelings about what it is happening right now in my country.  I was a child in the 60’s but remember vividly watching the news most evenings and seeing what was happening in the country and the rest of the world.  The news most nights was dominated by the war in Vietnam.  Even though the war led the news each night, there was so much more happening.  My clearest memories of those news reports are from 1968 through today.  Yet those of us who lived through the tumultuous period from 1968 through President Nixon’s resignation in August 1974 through today, don’t seem to have learned anything from what we saw and fought for so long ago.

If you are too young to have lived through it, 1968 was a year of major turmoil.  In addition to Tet offensive in Vietnam, it was the year that brought us North Korea’s capture of the USS Pueblo, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. (which led to several days of rioting in inner cities throughout the U.S), the assassination of Bobby Kennedy, U.S. athletes taking a stand at the Summer Olympics in solidarity with the Black Power movement, and violent rioting and police brutality in Chicago outside the Democratic National Convention.  And that was only 1968.  1969 was no better.  We had the People’s Park riot, the Stonewall Inn riots, Altamonte, the Zodiac and Manson murders and on a better note the moon landing and Woodstock.  Then the 70’s arrived and this country felt a crisis of confidence.  The key events that led to this crisis were Watergate, Roe v Wade, Kent State, Inflation, the Energy Crisis, the end of the Vietnam War which only lead to a much colder and potentially more dangerous Cold War.

As a pre-teen and early teenager, I truly believed that all of those events changed our country in positive ways.  I believed that we came together and found common ground on which to build a better society.  I even mistakenly believed we had turned the corner when we finally elected a man of color as President.  Yet, in the past several weeks we have witnessed the brutal killings of George Floyd (by the police), Breonna Taylor (by the police in her own home) and Ahmaud Arbery (by neighbors while out jogging).  These events have led to people protesting in peaceful and not so peaceful ways.  As I watch the news, it is like déjà vu.  Those protesting whether peaceful or not so peaceful ways are being dealt with in a similarly to 50 years ago.  Are we heading to another Kent State?  Our President’s rhetoric on Twitter and in public statements makes me wonder.  

Being a privileged white man means that I can never fully understand the feelings that the black community members must be feeling.  They have every right to be outraged, traumatized, fearful and in profound pain.  I totally empathize with them and sit here and wonder when things will change in this country.  As I sit here in Arizona far removed from the events, I feel guilty for not doing more.  I feel helpless.  And I feel isolated.  I want to march with the protestors.  But am fearful of contracting the virus by not practicing social distancing and seeing many of them marching together in close proximity without masks.   I am saddened when I see looting and violence.  I suspect that it is being done by individuals who don’t care about the protest.  They are just opportunists and criminals taking advantage of the unrest.  Nonviolence and peaceful protests will do much more. 

“Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

The protests, uprisings and riots I remember from my childhood in places like Watts, Detroit and Newark were much too big and too well-known to be forgotten.  But the revolts at that time happened in smaller communities across the country like Hartford, Fort Lauderdale, York and Harrisburg, PA too.  Sadly most people don’t remember those protests.  It may surprise you that the protests 50 years ago were in response to the unequal living conditions black communities were forced to endure alongside the unequal justice system.  Doesn’t that sound familiar.  Nothing has truly changed or improved for our black community. Not only that, our politicians simply ignored the nonviolent protests being instigated to try and fix the inequalities and prejudice inherent in the system.   

It is hard to believe it has only been 6 years from the protests and riots in Ferguson, Mo.  It is obvious that nothing has changed.  The issues from 50 years ago have not diminished.  It is obvious that black Americans continue to face the same racist challenges with no less severity today than they did 50 years ago.  And we have an administration in Washington that like 50 years ago is ignoring and some might say actually exacerbating the problem through their rhetoric.  

It is time that we have to all stand up and say enough.  We need to ask for public oversight of the police forces across our country.  There should be no tolerance for police brutality, racism or unjustified killings.  If an officer like Chauvin has been the subject of 18 prior complaints filed against him, he needs to be removed from the force.  There should be policies in place that weed out the bad cops who besmirch the reputation of the rest of the police force who do the right thing every day as they keep us safe in our communities.   One or two bad apples do spoil the whole bunch.

My Rabbi in his sermon last week reminded us of what the Mishna says regarding human beings being created in God’s image.  The Mishna explained, “When a mortal sovereign stamps the royal image on a coin, every coin made from that image is exactly alike.  However, when God put the stamp of the first human on humanity, every person deriving from the original one is different from every other one.”  Our Rabbi explained that each of us has our own role to play in this world.  If we are truly going to repair the world (tikkun olam) each of us must play our part.  This means that every life is valuable and every person on this planet should be treated with dignity.  If we don’t understand this simple concept, the world will continue to remain broken.

“The most modern and broadly understood notion of tikkun olam is that of "repairing the world" through human actions. Humanity's responsibility to change, improve, and fix its earthly surroundings is powerful. It implies that each person has a hand in working towards the betterment of his or her own existence as well as the lives of future generations. Tikkun olam forces people to take ownership of their world. It is them, not God, who will bring the world back to its original state of holiness.

More simply, it is important for Jews to participate in repairing the world by participating in tzedakah (justice and righteousness) and g'milut hasadim (acts of loving kindness). Without their stake in the improvement of their environment, injustice and evil will continue to exist.” - https://www.learningtogive.org/resources/tikkun-olam

While the concept of tikkun olam is an essential part of my Jewish faith, isn’t it something that we should all strive for?  At this time, we should all be seeking justice for the oppressed and finding ways to reach out to others with loving kindness.  Violence and hatred only begets more violence and hatred.  It is time to step back and understand that while we may have been created in God’s image, we are all individuals.  We are all valuable.  We all have a stake in this world.  We all must come together as human beings whether we are straight, gay, bisexual, transsexual, black, white, Asian, native American or in whatever skin we exist in.  The skin is only the surface, we are all the same beneath that surface.  The only difference between us is what we hold in our hearts.

Let’s hope that justice prevails and that finally we can truly see a difference in how we as human beings live together going forward.  Let’s bring God’s light back into the world and finally live in love, peace and harmony.

“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

May 11 – 6.20 miles (1:03:33, 10:15 pace) – Hill Repeats

May 12 – 4.20 miles (35:07, 8:22 pace) – Speed Work

May 14 – 5.20 miles (41:48, 8:02 pace) – Tempo Run

May 15 – 5.20 miles (46:52, 9:01 pace) 

May 16 – 7.20 miles (1:24:40, 11:56 pace) – Trail Run 

May 17 – 4.10 miles (38:39, 9:25 pace) 

May 18 – 5.50 miles (57:07, 10:23 pace) – Hill Repeats

May 19 – 3.10 miles (23:34, 7:35 pace) – Speed Work

May 21 – 5.20 miles (40:56, 7:52 pace) – Tempo Run

May 22 – 5.10 miles (47:48, 9:23 pace) 

May 23 – 8.10 miles (1:13:35, 9:05 pace) 

May 24 – 5.10 miles (44:52, 8:48 pace) 

May 25 – 6.20 miles (01:04:26, 10:24 pace) – Hill Repeats

May 26 – 4.10 miles (34:16, 8:21 pace) – Speed Work

May 28 – 5.10 miles (41:06, 8:04 pace) – Tempo Run

May 29 – 5.50 miles (49:31, 9:00 pace) 

May 30 – 8.10 miles (1:17:34, 9:35 pace) 

May 31 – 5.10 miles (48:00, 9:25 pace)

Total Miles:  98.30 miles

2020 Total Miles:  752.10 miles