-
Everyone Gets a Trophy
Today, in the “Everyone Gets a Trophy” society that is often condescendingly critiqued, I get nervous about falling victim to the entitlement mentality. “Doesn’t this teach kids that they don’t have to try that hard?” we say. “This is why young people these days don’t know how to work hard!” “Won’t they feel entitled to disproportionate success despite having put in less effort than their peers?” Uh… I don’t know. I’m not really trying to take a stab at answering those major psychological questions. But they’re good questions worth asking. I, who barely qualify as a Millenial on the cusp of having been a Gen-X-er, don’t see myself as…
-
Races: Traverse City Bayshore Half Marathon
It’s Monday afternoon, Memorial Day, and although I’ve just now begun to move on to those tedious and slightly depressing “end of the weekend” chores… (you know – laundry, groceries, making a decision about whether to vacuum or try to keep “not seeing” the tumbleweeds of dog fur for another few days), I am nevertheless still basking in the happy glow of what was a really phenomenal race weekend. I almost didn’t get a spot in the Traverse City Track Club’s Bayshore Half Marathon. By the time I got wind of the race, it had already filled to capacity. I was listening to the Runner’s World podcast and editor,…
-
My 2017 Training Goals
My competitive running history goes as follows: Full-on emotional immersion in 7th and 8th grade track and field. (Emotional involvement largely predicated on fear of failure and discomfort during a time in my life when a) it was extremely important to be well-liked and b) I was kind of wimpy.) 10th grade track season that I participated in for lack of anything better to do Participation in massive road races open to the general population with very little formal training program So here’s the thing. In 8th grade, I wasn’t terrible. I wasn’t amazing, but I was decent for an 8th grader. I showed promise. I probably didn’t work overly hard…
