Episode 4-440 – Run Grateful with Mark White

The RunRunLive 4.0 Podcast Episode 4-440 – Run Grateful with Mark White  (Audio: link) audio:http://www.RunRunLive.com/PodcastEpisodes/epi4441.mp3] Link MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Intro: Hello and welcome to episode 4-441 of the RunRunLive podcast.  This week we talk about ‘Grateful Running’ with Mark White from the UK who is leading a movement to combine gratitude and running. Gratitude is a powerful thing.  If you are feeling low or anxious, gratitude can alleviate those negative emotions and feelings.  It’s really hard to feel bad when you are grateful. It’s powerful and centering.  You can always be grateful for what you have.  You can always adjust your focus to what you have versus what you don’t have.  By definition gratitude engenderers an attitude of abundance over an attitude of scarcity.  It’s been fairly quiet on the athletics side as we continue to ride out the apocalypse here.  I’ve been sticking with my down schedule of 3 runs a week, 3 core workouts and a bike ride.  At this point as we get towards November we’re losing the sun and that makes things a bit more challenging.  We’ll turn the clocks back in a week.  Right now the sun doesn’t come up until after 7:00 in the morning and sets before 6:00.  Next week we’ll get the morning sun back but will totally lose the afternoon.  There it will dither about until the winter solstice in December to begin the slow climb back into the light in the spring.  I’ve always been night runner.  It has its advantages and drawbacks.  The leaves are mostly down now as we have gotten a hard frost and a number of heavy rainstorms with wind.  I’m finding my eyes aren’t as good as they used to be either.  It can be challenging running in the woods at night.  I have to slow down and pick my way along to keep from falling or turning an ankle.  The apocalypse hordes have added noticeable wear to the trails.  The increased volume of foot traffic this summer has brought out the roots and rocks.  There are positives about running at night.  I don’t have to worry about any time constraints.  No sense in hurrying.  I don’t have to worry about sharing the trails with people. Which means I can have Ollie off leash without problematic interactions.  I suppose there’s a greater chance of running into some wild animals in the dark.  I’m not generally worried about that.  We don’t have anything too dangerous in our woods.  The coyotes have been very active recently and that worries me a bit.  I’m not sure how Ollie would react. A couple nights recently the coyotes have been very vocal and quite close to the house.  They have their ceremonies.  I think it’s when they kill something.  They all yip and howl for 10 – 20 minutes.  It’s quite eerie.  Unnerving.  To be woken up in the dead of the night by their canid keening. Last year was a mast year.  Meaning there are certain years when the oak trees produce more acorns.  The trees do this as a defense mechanism to outwit their predators.  They basically produce more nuts than the squirrels and chipmunks and deer can stash away.  The carryon effect is that this creates a population boom in the squirrel and chipmunk and deer.  I’m guessing this year that meant a baby boom for the coyotes.  That and the uncommonly warmer weather.  Why I care is that all this potentially means a bunch of hungry coyotes wandering around in the woods.  And with coyotes, like humans, you don’t really need to be afraid of them unless they’re hungry and desperate.  Or if they get their hands on some ACME products. on with the show. About Zero ZERO — The End of Prostate Cancer is the leading national nonprofit with the mission to end prostate cancer. ZERO advances research, improves the lives of men and families, and inspires action. Link to my ZERO page: (for Donations) … I’ll remind you that the RunRunLive podcast is ad free and listener supported.  What does that mean? It means you don’t have to listen to me trying to sound sincere about Stamps.com or Audible.. (although, fyi, my MarathonBQ book is on audible) We do have a membership option where you can become a member and as a special thank you, you will get access to member’s only audio. There are book reviews, odd philosophical thoughts, zombie stories and I curate old episodes for you to listen to.  I recently added that guy who cut off is foot so he could keep training and my first call with Geoff Galloway.   “Curated” means I add some introductory comments and edit them up a bit.  So anyhow – become a member so I can keep paying my bills.   … The RunRunLive podcast is Ad Free and listener supported.  We do this by offering a membership option where members get Access to Exclusive Members Only audio and articles. Member only race reports, essays and other bits just for you! Links are in the show notes and at RunRunLive.com … Section one – Google - Voices of reason – the conversation Mark White – Run Grateful At Run Grateful, we organize two types of gratitude-based running events: The 26.2 Mile/24 hour Run Grateful challenge, which involves starting with a 5km distance run, followed by running a mile on the hour, for twenty-four straight hours (amounting to  a full 26.2 mile marathon distance) — dedicating each hour to someone or something you feel gratitude towards. Please watch a powerfully  emotive 1-minute highlight of the event here. To compliment the 24 Hour Run Grateful Challenge, the One Grateful Mile was launched across the world, connecting hundreds of runners from 20 different countries - from Nigeria to Oman to Australia, through  the power of gratitude. The appeal of the One Grateful Mile is in its simplicity of practice that can be incorporated into any training run: simply think of something or someone to dedicate at least one (or more) training miles to. The idea is simple, yet the One Grateful Mile transforms any regular training mile into one that can completely shift one’s life perspective into one of positivity, personal growth,  and an enhanced connection to others. We believe that the spark that can ignite a trend towards global gratitude is the enthusiasm of all runners, of all backgrounds, who discover that grateful living makes life meaningful, fulfilling, and richer. We consider gratitude as a universal currency that can be practiced  by the world at large; thus, our hope is to see the One Grateful Mile or the 24 hour Run Grateful Challenge expand into every country,  connecting the world through the transformative power of gratitude. Our ultimate goal is to have each and every runner in the world  run a grateful mile.   Section two – Returning to Getting Things Done -   Outro Ok my friends we have run a mile every hour with gratitude to the end of Episode 4-441 of the RunRunLive Podcast.   I I didn’t hear from anyone in response to my question last week, as to whether or nor they have binge listened to all the RunRunLive Podcasts from the beginning and are just now arriving at the end.  Of course, unless I get eaten by a coyote, or a giant tree sloth, this won’t be the end by next episode.  Time flows on by.  It’s fall the leaves are down.  The harvest is in.  The frost is one the pumpkin.  The sun has moved it’s seasonal home to more southern climes.  And here we are, you and I, staring down another long New England winter. Today I have a bunch of product reviews, shopping suggestions for you.  It’s the traditional gift-giving season.  First, in general.  Think about pulling back a bit from the big guys.  Those monopolistic on-line retailers.  Think about helping someone smaller or someone local.  One of the ways to do this is patronize the starving artist websites for your holidays.  Like Etzy or some of those other aggregators.  They have some unique stuff that folks make in their garages with 3D printers.  Made with love by anarchists and crafters.  And think about your independent or university bookstores.  I ordered some tote bags from the .  These aren’t easy times for them.  More homeless than scholars wandering Harvard Square these days.  I have a couple products that I’ve found that I really like.  First is a company called .  They make clothes, but specifically technical underwear.  Not specifically for athletes, but I’ve found it to be affordable, super comfy AND I can run in them.  I got some of their t-shirts to wear under my dress shirts and those are comfy as well. I don’t have any sponsor relationship with them, just like the product.  Of course I’m talking about men’s underwear.  I don’t know anything about women’s underwear.  I think I may be violating local laws just uttering the phrase ‘women’s underwear.  But they have that too.  Another Product I’m surprisingly happy with is a Bluetooth headset from .  I got them off of Amazon for $20.  They are cheap but are holding up well and the controls are easy to work with, and the battery life is great.  I’ve been using them to listen to podcasts while I’m painting.  I also have ordered a bunch of stuff from .  Surprisingly they sell nuts.  But, they also sell loose tea.  Now that I’m stuck at home I’m going through a lot of tea.  I like to make my own dosage with the reusable silicon tea bags.   The trick with nuts and dates and nay dried fruit is you want to read the label carefully.  You want to make sure they don’t have added sugar or sulfur.  I make my own trail mix by buying the dried fruit and nuts in bulk and mixing it together.  The problem with commercial trail mix is that it always has the sugared fruit in it.  Last but not least I have been experimenting with running vests.  I bought one from and the first one they sent took 4 months to get to me and was tiny when I got it.  This was an order from an outfit called Wish.com.  Terrible service.  If anyone needs a small running vest shot me a note and I’ll send it to you.  Then I got the right size from another outfit, I think I actually ordered it from an Instagram add, and it is good.  It hangs high and light on your shoulders for those times when you just want to carry your phone and the dog’s leash.  I have the 2 liter bladder and the bottles for it as well but I haven’t tried those yet.  I think it’s a good alternative to the old style hydration backpack that I’ve been using for a decade.  Finally, a startup company called sent me a vest to try.  This vest is specifically to carry your phone in such a way that you can get to it without taking it out while you’re doing you sport.  It’s a lot like a sports bra in construction, I would imagine, because I have never actually worn a sports bra.  You put the phone in a pocket on the front of your chest, like where IronMan’s reactor is.  The pocket flips down with a snap so that you can poke at your phone without taking it out.  That’s what it does.  It’s a single purpose piece of equipment.  I will confess right now to not being their target demographic.  I’m probably not going to use it much, so if one of you thinks this is a problem you need solved I will regift it to you.  Speaking of re-gifting, I have read through the in honest to goodness mass market paperback.  If anyone likes hard SF with not much hard thinking required, I’ll send you that as well.  It’s like Horatio Hornblower in space.  That’s enough shop talk for today.  If anyone ever has something they’d like me to write about please send me a note at cyktrussell at gmail dot com – I’m always looking for content and topics.  As our friend Mark White would remind you, it’s always a good time to focus on gratitude.  These days we are all stressed out about what we can’t do or don’t have.  You don’t have to be that way.  You can flip that around.  I’m sure we’ve got things we can be grateful for, like trails and dogs and fresh water and sweet fall air crisp to the taste.  Take a second, wherever you are and think of three things that you are thankful and grateful for.  Right now.  Then carry that with you into the swirl of your week to counter balance the buffeting drifts of scarcity. Happy Halloween.  I’ll see you out there. Only two songs left - Track number 19 from Brian Sheff The Rock Opera by - Called "Brian Sheff”  Rock on my pretties. MarathonBQ – How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon in 14 Weeks - Rachel -> Coach Jeff ->