Striding Through

Competitive masters runner, high school cross country coach and personal trainer of adult running clients. Running keeps me feeling young and powerful. How could I not want to share it with the world?

[cmjhawk86]

Friendly PSA: Just as I do at BlueSky, I block any trolls or followers here that appear to be bots or pornos. If I check your profile and you prove to be someone with meaningful organic content, all good. 👍🏻

[cmjhawk86]

I’ve been ramping back up to training after the half marathon nearly a month ago. This is my first week of doing what I would call “real” training again. So far it has gone well. I think the break did me some good. I also signed up for a track 5K (aka the 5000 meter) at an upcoming distance track meet. So I have been adding in some quality. Yesterday I did some 800s, not at full race effort but at tempo effort, and they felt pretty good.

The big target later this year will be Richmond Half Marathon, 11/14. Looking back on the mountain half I just ran, I was not prepared for the physical challenge, beyond that of simply running a half for the first time in 7 years, of running down a mountain at high altitude. Somehow, I persevered and got it done. Richmond is a more typical urban race that I know how to train for. I’ll be ready in November. No doubt about it.

[cmjhawk86]

Went to the Bruce Springsteen show at Nationals Park in DC last night. It was my 4th time seeing The Boss and j can say without reservation this was the best of them.

A few weeks ago I saw an article that asked why the 76-year old Springsteen is carrying the most powerful musical argument against this dictatorial presidency, while other bankable left-leaning artists like Taylor Swift have been so quiet. Maybe it’s because Bruce is a legend whose star will always shine brightly, someone who will be remembered fondly when he is gone, unlike someone else. and maybe at 76 he is just out of fucks to give for these morons. In any case, he delivered last night. Every song in the set list was part of a collective story - of resistance, resilience and a belief that we hold the key to once again advocating for justice and finding our own joy in being Americans. This country has many flaws; it always has. We have many injustices to undo. But the potential exists to build a better country that acknowledges and then leaves our sins behind. As The Boss sings, “I believe in the promised land.”

[cmjhawk86]

It's not much, but it was my first run since last week’s race. I took a full week off - no running but I did do some cycling - and added a recovery plan from Mcmillan Running. Today, that meant 2 miles, and I threw in 8 x 100 strides on the turf after that just because I felt like it. This little 2-week plan should get me back into the swing of things. The key goal right now is to stay healthy so I can start a buildup in late July or early August for a fall half. In the meantime, some maintenance running and maybe the occasional short race just to keep things interesting.

[cmjhawk86]

I've taken a week off from running since last week’s mountain half marathon. Finally, I am feeling more like my old self. But I know recovery is a process, so rather then jumping into full-speed training, I plan to spend the next two weeks in a slow gradual ramp-up back to the old routine.

I'm leaning right now towards Richmond as my fall target half (11/14/2026). If I do that, I would start training in late July. Until then, I can do a couple months of maintenance, and maybe run some short races to build up speed. It will be nice to just do what I feel like for a while before I have to lock in again. And maybe take a nice summer vacation, too.

[depsidase]

[raindropcascade]

@isuggesteatingtherich

[cmjhawk86]

Sad but true

[cmjhawk86]

I finally got to race day yesterday and it was a tough one. I did the best I could to train for this event, a mountain road half marathon that started at 7800 feet and finished at about 4300. My training really was a typical half marathon plan, with some downhills thrown in when I could add them.

As it turns out, that was woefully inadequate for this day’s course. You just can’t emulate the elevation or even the grade of Utah mountains in Virginia, not even in the Shenandoahs.

I didn’t have a particular time goal for this, and I just decided to see what the day holds. But I also knew from training about where I should have been, which was somewhere in the 1:50s. That pacing lasted until 8 miles, when the constant downhill pounding simply overwhelmed me. First the quads started to hurt. Then the hips. Then the hamstring felt like it was about to pull. My “run” slowed to a shuffle and I bled time away with every tiny step. I staggered across the line in 2:17.

Despite the trials, I am glad I did this and I’m proud to have been able to run a half again after 7 years away. Yesterday was not my day, but I’m on my way to getting better again. That said, I think this fall, I’ll stick to a “normal” HM like Richmond or Philly. Now for some rest and recovery.

[cmjhawk86]

I’m putting the finishing touches on training for next week’s half marathon. Today the long run was just 8 miles, the first 7 of them easy and the last mile at goal pace. I’ve come a long way in this training cycle, and while I am not where I want to be yet, I am pleased with where I am. I am avoiding the temptation to pin a time goal on this race, but I’m feeling optimistic about a good outcome. 6 days until start time.

[cmjhawk86]

I did the capstone long run for my race in 2 weeks today. The plan called for 8 miles at easy effort, followed by 4 miles at half marathon goal pace. I felt really good the entire way and got through 12 miles in 1:57. I added on a slow crawling cooldown after that just to get to 13.1 and pick up the Strava half marathon badge. I didn’t quite hit the goal pace target on the 4-mile segment but I also had several stoplights that slowed my momentum. When I finally got onto the quieter streets of my neighborhood I was able to hit it.

I have two weeks until race day. This week coming up won’t be a full taper week but I’ll be looking to get sharp in key areas. And next weekend’s long run will be “only” 10 miles. I feel like I am ready for race day, now I just have to make sure all the hay is in the barn.

[lizardsfromspace]

People still doing "do you think voting can fix this" memes when the answer to the question "when did voting last end an authoritarian regime" is "two days ago"

[qqueenofhades]

Reblogged this earlier, but doing so again to add:

Hey we all remember 2020, right? When we voted out Donald Trump the first time??? That was a thing that happened a mere six years ago, and yes, America subsequently massively fucked it up and voted him back in, but we did remove him by voting once before.

Anyone also remember 2024, when Jair Bolsonaro was removed by voting in Brazil? And when he tried a coup, Brazil actually fucking punished him, disqualified him from running, and sent him to jail, instead of letting him off scot-free to do it again?

Also a spate of worldwide post-Trump elections, where the far-right wasn't in power per se but was gunning to be, and voting ensured they stayed out (2025 Moldova, 2025 Romania where massive protests annulled Russian meddling and forced a re-run where the pro-EU candidate won, 2025 Canada where the Conservatives lost after previously being up 20 points, 2025 Australia where the far right was just fuckin wiped out, 2025 Netherlands where Geert Wilders lost, AND SO FORTH).

And of course, the result referenced in the original post, 2026 Hungary where Viktor Fucking Orbán was removed by voting? Despite the massive structural hurdles facing the Hungarian voting public, far more than is the case in America even now?

(Lololol the Kremlin and Trump have immediately pivoted to "Orbán who? Never heard of him. Never knew him. Shh.")

Anti-voting has always been a deeply stupid ideology by people who want miraculous revolution to be suddenly achieved with no downsides and no widespread catastrophe, by doing nothing more than posting violent rhetoric online. Because they have no interest in actually doing the kind of hands-on, slow, systematic work that leads to positive social change in real life, and because they have no understanding of how anything actually works.

Relentless, hypocritical, purity-test politics are literally the best friend of authoritarians everywhere, because they ensure that liberal/left coalitions will never get their fucking act together long enough to put their weight behind the non-authoritarian candidate.

We've all said this before, but sometimes it bears restating.

Nobody has ever suggested that social change can be achieved solely by voting in decent or lesser-evil candidates. Voting is one tiny part of that effort. "Oh so you just want us to vote and do nothing else??" No. No, nobody has ever said that. You can and you should do a lot more than that: protest, mutual aid, fundraising, organizing, pressure campaigns, community protection groups, literally whatever. You can and should continue to hound the politicians you voted for if they're not living up to their campaign promises, as long as you actually voted for them in the first place.

The end.

[cmjhawk86]

This is pretty much where I am and have always been on this topic. If you don’t vote, don’t bitch. It’s really that simple.

[cmjhawk86]

Been a while since my last post but the work has continued. I have 3 weeks until race day and I feel like things are starting to come together. The workouts have upped in intensity but even when I’m feeling tired I have been able to meet the challenge of the next session.

As for today, I had 4-6 x 1200 repeats plus 3 x 200 on tap, and it was nearly 90°. I started conservatively on the 1200s and let myself acclimate to the conditions. I figured I could get 4 x 1200 in for sure, but did I have enough in the tank for 5? It turns out I did. As soon as I finished the 4th I told myself, “let’s do one more.” And that 5th rep ended being my fastest one.

I didn’t think my paces were super-fast. But a couple of folks at the track complimented me on my running which felt pretty cool. A soccer coach working with his team on the turf said I was cooking and the school security guard called me “Superman,” lol.

I sometimes lament that I am older and slower now, but I guess I still have a little juice. In any case it is nice to get some unsolicited support like that.

The grind continues this weekend with a fast-finish long run.

[cmjhawk86]

Sometimes life forces you to make constant adaptations. For example, this past weekend, I had to postpone - mind you, not cancel - the Sunday long run. That meant I was slipping out tonight to get the run done. And of course, because it’s a weeknight, I did not have the time to run 13-14 miles. So I decided ”OK let’s just run faster. I started out at threshold effort (4 miles), then pushed it to HM effort. The results were pretty solid overall. At 6.56 miles, I basically had done 6.56 miles, basically a half a half marathon. By the end of it I was going at sub-9 miles pace. Ran 1:01 for the whole thing and felt like I still had at least another gear in reserve. I’m calling it a win on the night. 6 weeks to go.

Also, I forgot how much I really like my Asics Magic Speed. That may very well be the shoe that toes the line next month.

[cmjhawk86]

It was another 10-miler this weekend, actually planned as a 90-minute run with the last 20 minutes at a “faster pace.” The first 70 minutes went smoothly but then when the 20-minute segment started I was at the bottom of a steep hill. So even though I stepped up the effort, I was just not hitting the target pace. I had to settle for the satisfaction of at least getting faster as the segment progressed. Some days go like that. But I’ve been there before and I’m not worried. I know that as long as the effort is there, the performance likely will be there on race day. On to the next workout…race day in 6 weeks.

[cmjhawk86]

I finished up a step-back week in this half marathon cycle today with a long run that a few weeks ago would have felt very long, but today, not so much. I’ll be back to hitting 13-14 miles next weekend. As for today, since it was shorter, I added in some threshold miles to keep things interesting, 3 miles with a half-mile recovery after each of them. The first one was pretty quick but on the next two I slipped back. I guess that just means there is more work to be done. And it will be. I will be fit by race day. 7 weeks to go.

[cmjhawk86]

What's with all the big to-do about changes today at Tumblr? It looks the same to me as it did yesterday.

[cmjhawk86]

Solid steady state run today, 50 minutes at SS effort. I can definitely feel myself getting fitter, but a big test awaits this weekend as my long run steps up to 13. That will be on Sunday. Tomorrow I’ll do an easy run or cross train to be ready.

[cmjhawk86]

So glad for Monday rest days after Sunday long run days.