I think running makes me smarter... Where running and Religion meet...

I often say to my co-workers, my job should pay me to run.  I figure out how to solve most of my work problems when I'm running.

I also seem to come up with answers to all the worlds problems, discover amazing parallels and come to complex conclusions. 

Now, a lot of my conclusions seem to come about politics, equality, women's rights and religion.  And if you know me you know I'm not religious at all.  And I do tend to offend lots of people with my conclusions and opinions.  So if you are easily offended by someone debunking religious doctrine, blasphemy, and downright disrespect for most things religions...please go away now.

When I go out for a run, one of the major things that gets brought to my attention by fellow runners and non runners alike is "Be careful", "Don't run alone","you should not be out there at night".  Many things like that.  I know the neighborhood and the places I run are full of wild animals, bears and dogs.  Well, dogs mostly that could chase me and knock me down and kill me, but for some reason I don't really think that is what they think I should be fearful of.

Another point.  I don't know if men are given this same advice.  If any guys out there who are runners are reading this, please chime in....Are you afraid to run alone at night or any other time?  Are you, male runner, advised in the most sincerest way to use the "buddy system"?  Do people tell you that you should not be running along?  Ever ?  I would venture to say that most of the times that advice is reserved for female runners.  and why?  what is to fear?....men I guess....That, other than the bears and dogs are the only other things it could be.

I have been lead to believe through my life I should fear men, men attack, rape, mug, kill.  mostly rape because they see you running and automatically think its an invitation to rape you.  I know its not really presented that way but....BUT...when you hear about a rape or anything...how many times do you hear..." she should not have been out there alone"  in other words "It was her fault for presenting herself for rape"  Come on...as much as you say "That's not what I meant!"  it is what you really meant!!!   I get asked, "Do you not run with pepper spray to protect yourself?"  I say..."well, we have leash laws in the city"  most of the time that is not what they are thinking .  They are thinking that a man could attack me an rape me.  AND it might be my fault because I was running alone, in the dark.  It sounds scary just typing it!

(Whats even worse is when the most vile and crusty of onlookers will cite the runners clothes...short shorts....jog bra...OMG  seductive clothing....she was asking for it!!!  but I don't even have to go that far in this argument)

So we have presented the argument that women should not run along because men attack and rape.

Now AT THE SAME TIME....the SAME PEOPLE....who happen to be of certain religious persuasions...(Roman Catholic).  Understand that the church (Catholic Church), teaches strict laws about Birth control and abortion.  Now I'm not going to argue pro-choice vs anti-choice laws here, I'm simply stating the position of a very large and influential governing body that has a LOT of impact of public policy in this country.  They teach AGAINST birth control...no matter what....Even for married couple who can have sex whenever they want.   When I was going to a Catholic high school I was taught that the only acceptable form of birth control under the church was the rhythm method.  Basically what this means is that you don't have sex when you think you may be fertile.  So picture this.  A man and a woman, married, obviously attracted to each other, living under the same roof, sleeping in the same bed BUT the man is not supposed to have sex with his wife when she is fertile.  He is to be the master of self control and if that couple does not want any more children the ARE NOT to use birth control and not have sex while the woman is ovulating.

Ok...I gotta call bullshit here.

So, if a man can sleep with a fertile woman, side by side in bed, be with her in the kitchen, see her getting dressed, watch her walking across the living room while the light shines through her dress and not have sex with her then why the hell should I be afraid to go for a run..

Why? Why does the church teach this?  Well, I have come to a conclusion.  In most cases, rape is not about sexual attraction.  It is about power and asserting control over a victim.  The Catholic church as been in control for so many year as a male dominated entity.  Unfortunately, they have deemed themselves impotent with the whole celibacy thing...


The First Lateran Council (1123), a General Council, adopted the following canons:

Canon 3: We absolutely forbid priests, deacons, and subdeacons to associate with concubines and women, or to live with women other than such as the Nicene Council (canon 3) for reasons of necessity permitted, namely, the mother, sister, or aunt, or any such person concerning whom no suspicion could arise.

Most cultures control their women through laws; denying the right to vote, own property and get credit under her own name.  Well, in the US, we have broken down those barriers and women can pretty much live their own lives and do whatever the hell they want without men, including have a child (sperm bank).  And when we got the right to terminate an unwanted seed in the 1960's that put the fear of women in the male dominated world....so they had to go under the radar with their control methods.  The church had to determine a way to get back their male dominated validity intimidating women in another way.    So what can you do if you can't use your penis to control women?  Take away their reproductive rights!

The only way that the church can keep women from exercising their only defense against a male aggressor, her ability to terminate his seed, is to shame, guilt, and vilify her into thinking she is a slut for wanting to ...

So when women start to become a little too powerful in a society, the church rears its ugly head with a strong conservative push to eliminate birth control, abortion rights and anything else that gives women any control over their lives.

 "Its your fault you got raped, you dressed to seductively, you went out for a run alone at night"  Guilt, shame, BULLSHIT!!! 

So, my conclusion is.  Taking away reproductive rights is simply the churches way of denying women any defense against male dominance, Teaching shame and fear is how they enforce it.   These though patterns are so engrained in the human psyche that even non Catholics are buying it.

... "you should not run at night, you could get attacked or raped"....

...."If a married couple does not want any more children they should not have sex while the woman is fertile"

How do these two statements even exist in the same culture?  Why are women buying this bullshit?  They contradict each other so much that I think if they got together they could create dark matter!  Yet it occurs...

I hope we begin to evolve from this so that the next generation can live with out fear, guilt and shame. 

Latest ITunes Download!

Gotta love my iPod.  At Bed Bath and Beyond right now you can purchase a $25 iTunes gift card for just $20!  So I did and redeemed that sucker yesterday.  My latest purchase is Free the Robots !!!

Great addition to my running playlist!

5Ks, Painful, but you get done real quick...

So one of my running friends belongs to an organization that raises money to feed poor and homeless.  It's a religious organization, and anybody who knows me knows I'm not religious at all, but since its raising money to feed the poor I figured it was a good cause. 

On a side note, I see lots of homeless who have pets (dogs mostly) and I would love to challenge any organization to raise money to neuter/spay and vet pets of the homeless.  hint, hint...

Any way, this organization hosted a 5K this morning to raise money for their cause and I decided to run it.  Now, I normally am not a fan of 5K's but I made a concession for this one since my friend was helping to organize it.

Also, my wonderful friend, Misti Harper came in from Fayetteville and ran it with me and that made things even more fun!  She has become a really good runner over the last year and I'm really proud of her.  Yay Misti!!!

So we started the run in a much needed steady rain and finished in a drizzle.   The course was flat, mostly on the river trail and adjoining roads.  We started out at the soccer complex and ran along the road splashing though puddles like children, dodging goose poop and struggling to breath through the soupy high humidity that accompanies all those things.  The 5K is an icky distance, basically you kill yourself for 3 miles trying to run the whole thing as fast as you can.  You cat and mouse with people and pass and think you have overcome just to see them get their second wind and pass you 5 feet from the finish....fun.   But today was pretty good, no last minute passers and I managed to run pain free for the entire race.  I also won in the Masters age division.   Yep, Masters...that means I'm getting old.

When you get older you have more opportunities to win.  You have age group awards then if your over 40 you get Masters awards.  I'm not sure how this came about but I like it!

I heard my name and I went up to get my bobble head award.  She will go on my self at work and keep my other bobble head company.  Getting awards here and there like that makes running really fun.  You never know what you might come out with.

My Running Music or I'm an Itunes Junkie

Way back in the past I never ever ran with music.  I though ear buds were dangerous and I though people who wore them in marathons were rude when they did not respond to me when I talked to them.  I also hated the fact that people with headphones could not hear me coming from behind and would not make room on the course, and that using music during a marathon diluted the experience the marathon organizers put forth for you as far as their own entertainment. 

Well that was then....

I started using an iPod during the Frisco Rails to Trails 2011 when a friend had an extra iPod with a music mix on it.  I borrowed it, played the tunes which were current pop songs at that time.  I don't know what it is about the music,  the beat, the noise: for some reason, it helped me run faster I think.  Perhaps it was the tunes blocked out the sound of my own breathing, something that has always bothered me in the past.  It's weird being a runner and freaked out about the sound of your own breathing, but it happens to me...

Anyhoo, it all went by like lightning, Before I knew anything I was at mile 20 and I ran a great race.

I decided to have my friend put the mix on an extra iPod I had lying around and continued to use this for every race, marathon, and training run....I was one of THOSE people now!

Now I have expanded on the mix, recreated it completely to reflect my style of music more.  Every other Friday I'm allowed to download one new album.  In a lot of cases it's something I heard about on NPR.  Diplo's Express Yourself was one of those as well the Tribal album I downloaded.  Researching Diplo lead me to more electronic selections and my most recent purchase was Ninja Tuna, by Mr Scruff.  Perhaps if I'm good with my money I will download Free the Robots. 

So I have developed my own playlist that includes Lady GaGa, Katy Perry, LMFAO, Rihanna, DJ Morphius, Madonna, Asteroids Galaxy Tour, Gotye, T-Pain,  and of course Diplo, and Mr. Scruff.  .....to name a few. 6.6 hours of music that should keep me entertained on even the longest trail run. 

I highly recommend getting musical recommendations off NPR, All things Considered.

The River Trail and Two Rivers Park

I'm so happy I live in a city that values trails, outdoor spaces and develops a culture that encourages fitness.  Little Rock has slowly but surely developed it's River Trail system to include 20 miles of running and biking trails.  We have built 4 bridges that connect Little Rock and North Little Rock, and Little Rock with Maumelle Park and Two Rivers Park. 

This morning I ran from a parking lot near my home, over one of those bridges to a place called two rivers park.  This place used to only be accessible by driving far out of town on Hwy 10 then more driving on country roads.  At that time, it was rarely used.  I used the park a lot when I was first learning how to run though.  I knew the narrow lolly pop shaped loop was three miles and started out by trying to run the entire thing without stopping.  I remember the first time I did it.  I was shocked that I just ran three miles without stopping.  Later I went on to do two loops, then three.  The day I ran 9 miles was a huge milestone for me.  And I did it all at two rivers park way before there was a bridge, any homes or trails out past the road turn around.  It was deserted, quiet, and filled with wildlife.

Now the wildlife is still there remarkably!  I'm delighted at how all the new foot traffic and visitors have not deterred the deer from grazing and raising their young in this space.  but now it seems so much closer to the city.  Connected to Midtown/West Little Rock by a foot bridge.  Pretty amazing.  It crowded on the weekends but the weekday mornings are still severely quiet with the sound of frogs croaking up from the swamps and summer bugs.  I don't know what they are but they make that low buzzing sound that reminds you of summer. 

So Here is where I ran this morning in the sticky thick humidity dripping from low hanging vines off branches stretched over the trail creating a soggy canopy.  green specks floating over the water and the musky smell of swamp. 

I love this place!

Quote for the day!

"THERE IS NO BETTER

And what I am expressing to you now is that there is no better. This is entirely a design and an illusion which is set forth through the influence of an aspect of the belief system of duplicity.
You are already best. You are already creating perfectly. Your beliefs are influencing your perception of yourself that you are not creating perfectly, and therefore you create judgments, and this sets in motion a very large wheel which moves quite rapidly, and it continues to turn and turn and turn, for as you create the judgment, you also reinforce the duplicity, which expresses once again to you that you are not adequate enough yet, that you could be creating better, that you will be experiencing no conflict at all IF you are creating better.
ALL of these expressions are influences of duplicity. ALL of these expressions camouflage the now and camouflage your perception, dictating to it that you are presently not adequate enough, not good enough, and not perfect.
And therefore, in the influence of that belief, as it dictates to your perception, you create an actual reality in which you view yourself to not be accomplishing perfectly yet, and you reinforce this and reinforce this and reinforce this with judgment and the continual perpetuation of viewing that you need be creating better.
I shall express to you what shall be better -- what shall be better would be for you to be eliminating the word "better" from your language! HA HA HA! "

 Elias Session - 619

from:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6vsvUAtuXM

I know little about this Elias..I plan to learn more.  Basically what I interpret this to mean is that we are wonderfully made just the way we are.  We don't need to wait or hope for better because we are the best we are right now.  I don't think this means there will never be improvement, because we always strive to improve.  I think it means we need to be happy with ourselves in our current state, and do what we want to do now and now wait until we think we are qualified to handle it.

I also think it is important to trust ourselves and our instincts.  Not rely on others for validation of our internal dialog that is telling us what is right for us.  To continue to look outward for validation will only wear out the people around you.  Inevitably you will start to value certain peoples opinions because you perceive they know something more than you do when actually they are only going by their own instincts.  Self doubt can be so crippling that you fail to develop your own inner dialog and instincts.

I also think there are times to just keep a low profile.   To not disclose every move and plan.  Here is a clue....if nobody knows your plans, and they fall through, you don't have to explain it to anybody.....There is nobody to report to afterward.  If you want to disclose your success after the success has been obtained, that's the ultimate reward! Go for it!

Ok, so I'm doing this differently

My last post was a while ago.  I  have been away.  Away from posting, and running.  I went through a physical injury (IT band Syndrome) and a bit of a mental hurdle as well.

I think my knee was trying to tell me something.  I was doing so well doing things my own way, then I began to doubt my own inner running brain and tried to start altering my training based on other people.  I was doing way too much mileage way to soon after Cowtown thinking I needed to pile runs on top of runs to be successful.  Well, success for one person is not the same as success for another.  I find success in completing things and being happy about my accomplishment.  NOT Comparing myself to others.  I do however love coming home with rewards for a job well done.  So I realize I need to alter my training and running so that I have the best outcome for ME.  I know that trails here in Arkansas are very technical,  There are lots of races here that are far to technical and I know they will not be happy runs for me.  Those I will avoid from now on.  I know that there are certain situations in the past that I have put myself in that are stressful. .  I will avoid those.  Choosing running partners is a tricky thing also. Sometimes it's best to run alone when you can so that you don't stress your body unconscionably.   Yes, unconsciously!  You can think your run is an equal event but you don't know your not running your race, your running somebody else s and you will end up with an injury.  The same goes with training schedules, training styles and techniques. 

I will make my own schedule because I know my own body and I will not let anything outside influence me.  I have run over 24 marathons and two ultra marathons and I'm pretty sure I know what I need to do to increase mileage in my own way.  I need adequate rest after an event.  EVERY event.  I need adequate rest after every long run.  I don't care what others say about training any more. ....I'm going to do this my way because when I try to do things like others do them I end up with an injury.  I know I can do this....I will do it my way.

So!

This weekend I'm planning to hit the trail again.  :)  whoo hoo
I spent 11 weeks recovering from IT band syndrome, hopefully that is behind me now and I can continue training for my big events.  I can't wait!

Poky Ultra is back and Pokier than ever!  :)