Reimagined Resolutions

By Laura Clark

Even if you have long ago given up on the typical New Year’s resolutions – eat healthy, save money, clean your clutter – chances are you are still a closet practitioner. Once the holiday celebrations have ended, most runners and triathletes set exercise goals for themselves, including perhaps a target race, a time objective or a destination race.  

But not this year. In one fell swoop, Covid has managed to derail not even the resolutions that were always doomed to failure, but also those running expectations that were good for the long haul. How many of you scrapped marathon or triathlon vacation plans? Or that weekly run with mates that always seemed to end with a few beers and a plate of nachos?

The first half of 2021 promises to be a Groundhog Day repetition of 2020. We are all Zoomed out, weary of virtual races, and yearning for just a smidgen of normalcy. But you can derail potential negativity by reimagining your exercise goals and finding satisfaction beyond the acknowledged thrill of crossing a finish line. All you need to do is personalize your endpoint:

Trying a Solo or Partner Challenge – Go beyond the obvious running streak (running every day for a set period of time, quarantine be dammed) or the mostly unattainable FTK (fastest known time for a famous route, like Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim). Despite the current media hype, FTKs are achievable by anyone if you think local and plot your own personalized route. Craft your unique path, run it, and then hit submit for instant fame and glory. Learn more: fastestknowntime.com.

If that isn’t enough of a math workout, spend those icy winter days designing a path where you run every single street in your city or neighborhood, with the least repetition. For inspiration, check out UltraRunning contributor Rickey Gates: everysinglestreet.com. This could be enough of a project to take you straight through to herd immunity time. On the local level, reexplore the Athlete Profile (August 2020) on Dallas DeVries, where he explains that heatmapping “is an overlay on a map that shows you where you have run and where you have run the most. There are also crowdsourced heatmaps that will show where people in general run the most in a given area.” Enter the pandemic, and Dallas shares his passion for heatmapping. You’re welcome to join his Facebook.com “Capital District Heatmapping” where members share tips and plans to run every street.

Exercising your Mind – While the publishing industry has taken a hit during this Covid year, there are still plenty of selections worthy of a mug of hot chocolate, and a relaxing fireplace read. Recharge your batteries with the following:

I initially learned of the Great Bunion Derbies of 1928 and 1929 when I read C.C. Pyle’s Amazing Foot Race by Geoff Williams, where he documents the first transcontinental run across America. Intrigued, I later read Tom McNab’s fictionalized account, Flanagan’s Run. Now, Charles Kastner’s Race Across America: Eddie Gardner and the Great Bunion Derbies, adds another layer of complexity, fitting in with our current focus on social justice. At a time when outright racial discrimination was accepted, there were five African Americans enrolled in the landmark integrated sporting event. This book traces the journey of Eddie Gardner, the overlooked hero who paved the way for Jesse Owens’ Olympic triumph. Eddie risked his life as a frontrunner through the southern states, eventually escorted to the safety of the northern states by his white fellow athletes.

In a similar vein, Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon Through North America’s Stolen Land, by Noe Alvarez, the son of Mexican farm immigrants, follows his attempt to discover his roots and his quest to make a real difference in the issues that matter to him. As he traces the route his parents and ancestors had journeyed, through participating in Ceremonial Circles he becomes part of each culture, of each landscape he explores. As he opens to his experiences, he decides to strengthen his advocacy by continuing his college education, learning that “…if we imagine a better future, and speak it with words and the soles of our feet, we just might see it come to fruition.”

Entering the realm of training, there were two standouts this year. The first is The Athlete’s Gut: The Inside Science of Digestion, Nutrition and Stomach Distress by Patrick Wilson. What is most important to an athlete on race day? A convenient parking space or a lucky bib number? Not even close. A short porta potty line and plenty of TP. Patrick encourages us to embrace the emerging science of the gut as the second brain, influencing mood and emotions. He claims it is possible to train your gut to behave by discovering your individual Goldilocks zone of correct fueling. All this in layman’s terms, spiced with a first-grade potty-humor style, and an impressive thesaurus of poop look-alikes that make this the perfect Reading Room selection.

The other is Heart Rate Training: Customize Your Training Based on Individual Training and Goals. In this second edition, authors Roy Benson and Declan Connolly acknowledge that there is no one size fits all for heart rate monitor calculation, with the basic premise being that every workout is a scientific experiment, where you select one thing you want to find out about yourself by combining it with a set of givens or certainties. A perfect creative, in-charge approach for those “don’t tell me what to do” individuals.

And for those of us who want to survive to make it through many more New Year’s resolutions, be inspired to get out there by reading What Makes Olga Run? The Mystery of the 90-Something Track Star and What She Can Teach Us about Living Longer, Happier Lives, by Bruce Grierson. Olga’s motto? “Break a sweat daily, and differently, with others.” Following this rule, Olga never takes a day off. There is never a day when she is unmotivated or has to talk herself into a workout. It is simply who she is. And who she is, typically involves 11 events in a track meet where she competes against folks much younger, simply to add an element of competition. While this 2014 book is not exactly just off the shelf, it was new to me and is just as timely as when it was first written.

Whatever your particular challenge will be this year, own it and embrace it. Strike out with something new and add an element of uncertainty and daring!

Laura Clark (snowshoegal133@gmail.com) of Saratoga Springs is an avid trail runner, ultramarathoner, snowshoer and cross-country skier. She is a children’s librarian at the Saratoga Springs Public Library.