Monday, June 25, 2012

Web wrap-up: June 18 to 24

Gems from the Google Reader account this past week — some fluffy, some serious.

Other Voices: Being Chased Down By A Car. Mom Dorothy Beal thought her biggest obstacle was her mindset going into a run pushing three kids in a stroller and sweating under the hot sun. Instead, it turned out to be a psychopath driver who pulled up beside her, screamed obscenities at her and followed her as she tried to run away.

Beal's post isn't just about adding to the unfortunately large pile of stories in which "running while female" proves to be a huge liability — she wanted to share what she did right and wrong in handling the situation, and several commenters joined in the discussion. (I always bring my cellphone now that I'm in a new city; this is a good habit, according to the post and the law enforcement official who commented.)

Still, it's incredibly frustrating that on every blog I read (no matter the topic) there has to be a story on how to protect yourself simply because people are bat-shit crazy and because you are female.

Running Is Funny: Women Marathoners Rank 978th on This List. On a somewhat lighter note, Mike at Running Is Funny shared a Deadspin post whose topic I will delicately summarize as "what women's sport has the most attractive participants?" After the top 10, the author jumps to 978th and ranks both women's basketball and women's marathon:
"I can’t imagine anyone getting off on watching 80-lb. women struggling to finish a full marathon."
Wait, has he ever seen pictures of female marathoners? Every Runner's World I receive shows toned — not gaunt — athletes of both sexes with defined-but-not-gross six-packs. And I really don't understand the "struggling" reference ... no doubt professional athletics, particularly marathons, are physically demanding, but these people train intensively for competition. 

On the bus ... Running: Sweating the Details. This post, on being dedicated to a serious training regimen, has been rattling around in my head for a few days. Blogger Brad links to the post-run strength routine he does as well as a training article called "The Kenyan Summer," intended to help high school runners build a base for fall cross country.

For a few minutes, I pictured myself jumping in. I clicked on the link, read it, thought about the heat and realized that I'm approaching a critical point in both of my sports: deciding how much effort I'm willing to put into each, and how I'm going to adjust my attitude and expectations accordingly. More on this later, I'm sure.

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