There’s a lot going on in the world right now. This week was particularly full of thought-provoking quotes, so rather than tarnish them with my commentary I’ll just leave them here instead:
A person’s dignity is determined by the way they achieve a goal, not by the fact that they have achieved it.
– My good friend Armen
No society has a monopoly on violence or moral behavior. We’re all equally amazing and equally horrible. And the task of any society is to be well-defended enough so that you don’t get overrun by the barbarians, but gentle and kind enough so that you can provide a moral existence within your community.
Sebastian Junger
In the age of Twitter… you have to write each paragraph with the knowledge that people might only see that paragraph.
Noah Smith
Yes, life in Osaka would be difficult, but things would change for the better. They’d make a tasty broth from stones and bitterness.
Min Jin Lee (Pachinko)
The Red Hook 100
I’ve teased it a bit in previous newsletters, but I’m running a 100 mile race this summer on July 24th. Consider that my commitment to all of you that I’ll finish. No promises on time, since it’ll be mid-July and I have zero idea how the second 50 miles will go, but as with all of these long distances, finishing is the goal.
I’m calling the race the Red Hook PR Painfest, and hosting it at the track in – you guessed it – Red Hook, Brooklyn. The idea is that friends in the city will come out and run sections with me, setting their own painful personal distance records in the process. The setting means I won’t be dealing with any elevation, but will somewhat make up for it in monotony and direct sun exposure. Hopefully having running buddies alongside me will help out on that front.
I’ve chosen to run on the track for two reasons. The first is that a run of this distance would be far too challenging for me to do alone, either in New York City or on a trail somewhere. I’m going to need a lot of water, an accessible bathroom and plenty of food. It just doesn’t make sense to try to organize that logistically for myself when I could sign up for a race somewhere else that takes care of everything. And since I’d like to do this in my own “backyard,” where others will be able to run with me, the track was the best option.
The second reason is there is something pure about tackling 100 miles on a flat loop. My first exposure to ultra running was through David Goggins, an insanely bad*ss Navy SEAL who ran his first 100 mile race on a track with very little preparation. He just gutted it out. And one thing I’ve learned over the years, as I’ve gradually stepped up my “longest” run from six to 50 miles, is that gutting it out is 90% of the battle. It’s mostly mental, particularly when you’re going from 26 miles (where you’re in pain) to 50 miles (where you’re also in pain). So stripping the run down to mindless circles around a track feels like a great test of willpower, even if it’s not as challenging athletically.
Ultra running – absurd name, I know – has been my best evidence of a great Jamie Foxx line: There’s nothing on the other side of fear. It’s a sport that tricks you into thinking something is “impossible” until all of a sudden you look up and realize you just ran twenty miles farther than you ever have before. I’ll never forget the feeling last summer, at the end of 50 miles, when I realized: I could keep going! I’ll also never forget my running mate in an earlier race, who had weighed 350 pounds the year before and lost it all out on the trails. If he wasn’t afraid to try to run 50 miles, what was my excuse?
So I know I can finish. Just a matter of gritting my teeth and doing it. Between now and then will be a lot of mileage and a very concentrated period of pain, self-loathing and doubt on July 24th. But at this point, still a ways out from the day, I’m excited! And I’m looking forward to getting to spend the day outside with friends, who will also be fighting their own mental battles out there on the track.
So if you’re planning to be in New York on July 24th and want to run, let me know! The incentives to do so are many: the sense of accomplishment and camaraderie, junk food and finish line pizza and/or McDonald’s, and…
A free t-shirt!
Because the best part of organizing my own “race” is getting to design a shirt.
Like I said – all are welcome. The track is wide enough for us all.
Also – the masks are slowly coming off! Time to celebrate!
– Emmett
Recent Posts:
Training Update, May 14th – Negative splits, rest week and the months ahead.
What I’m Reading:
50 (Short) Rules For Life From the Stoics – Ryan Holiday
“I’ll leave you with the one rule that captures all the rules. It comes from Epictetus: ‘Don’t explain your philosophy. Embody it.’”
The Shopping Cure – Anne Helen Peterson
“You buy the tools for backpacking, go once, and then spend months thinking about a new item you can purchase to deepen your enjoyment of the backpacking experience.”
What I’m Listening To:
Prince Harry – Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
“Now looking back on it I realize that helping other people helped me.”
Berkshire Hathaway, Part 1 & Part 2 – Acquired Podcast
Six hours on the greatest investor of all time. Head out for a walk and listen.
Forever Country – Artists of Then, Now & Forever (Youtube, Spotify)
Highwayman – The Highwaymen (Youtube, Spotify)
I was a highwayman
Along the coach roads I did ride
With sword and pistol by my side
Many a young girl lost her baubles to my trade
Many a soldier shed his lifeblood on my blade
They finally hung me in the spring of twenty-five
But I am still alive.