The Logic of Long Distance

One of the most difficult things in running is coming to terms with yourself. Indeed, part of the reason we run is to avoid this task: how much easier it is to change ourselves, than to live with ourselves! The truly uplifting stories that are passed around in running mostly have to do with leaving old selves behind, whether that old self was a couch potato, overweight, slower, a slave to the tv or computer, etc. While it is true that these stories inspire, I think that perhaps the elation we feel when we hear these stories might also be a feeling of relief. In addition to wowing us, don't these stories also whisper to us a little lie: "You don't have to live with yourself. You can become someone else." We do have to live with ourselves. So, on behalf of this truth, I want to shift this lens of running as a practice of self-transformation a little. If running is about changing the self, making it better, it is also about coming to terms with the self, learning t...

This interview is the fifth in a series of exchanges with local elite runners. These are the men and women who train hard, take their running seriously, and work to compete--and win--on all levels. For all of these folks, running is a hobby. None of them make a living doing it. They continue to represent the best of amateurism, the idea that excellence in athletic endeavor is valuable for many reasons beyond financial compensation. Most of these folks are friends that I have met during my time as a runner. They have offered me untold amounts of training advice, motivated me to get out the door, whipped my butt in races, and shared many a post-run beverage. Though this sort of runner is not famous at a national level, they are often locally known and help establish and maintain local standards of racing and training. Scott Wietecha is, simply put, the fastest of my running companions. The interview is long, and it's great, so I don't want to waste much of your time with int...

Alright, something new from LLD, my first podcast. Here's some real-time thinking about Hegel's strange notion of freedom and how it helps us understand what it means to listen to your body. Hope this works! Let me know whatcha think!

" Intimacy is a direct experience. It is not a theory, it is not something to be documented, it cannot be photographed; intimacy must be felt. The ability to share our feelings begins with us actually feeling the feeling." --Timothy "Speed" Levitch The whole idea behind money is that things can be exchanged, one for the other. A second of time for a second of time. A book for a book. A seed for a seed. Wires and plastic and electricity for wires and plastic and electricity. Transaction after transaction we whittle our lives away, exchanging one moment for the next. Yes, we aim at efficiency of exchange , second for second, word for word, gasoline fumes for gasoline fumes, a cup of coffee for a cup of coffee. Swipe swipe there goes the time, an endless line of credit until it ends, until it ends. youth-youth-youth-age-how long the chain? But there are times when we wake up and [here's Levitch again] "put aside Wall Street consciousness and see beyond ...