🦥 Looks like cruising’s made you soft, Dawson
Ep 53: Running as a veteran, cutting out background noises, and remembering September 11.
A warm welcome to all of my new subscribers this week! Really happy to have you here. And all you regulars: you already know I love you. Great to see you!
A Tip for the Modern Worker
Cut out your background noise. Life goes on around you every day. Lawn mowers, family members, loud pets, emergency vehicles, and delivery trucks can all impinge on an otherwise quiet day. When you’re on a call, think about the effect those background noises can have on others. You can try to insulate yourself from noise intrusion by closing windows or doors. Or, use your mute button, noise-canceling earphones, or software like krisp.ai.
This tip is one of 365 in my Handbook for the Modern Worker. Ah, it’s time to plug my Work-From-Home Soundscapes app again. What are the background noises that absolutely crush your flow when you work from home? Leafblowers get me every time. We’re approaching windows-closed season soon, which should help tamp down aural intrusions.
#365DayDraw
I drew this and wrote the accompanying annotation as part of my #365DayDraw project 7 years ago today.
The helmet of a hero @FDNY
It’s September 11. I’ll never forget where I was when the towers fell, and reading, watching, and listening to dispatches of what happened that day from so many perspectives. The sacrifices firefighters made hit me particularly hard: firefighters are in my family tree (my grandfathers on both sides). I volunteered with Mineola’s Truck 2 for two years while working in New York City. This is me during a training night at Nassau County’s Fire Service Academy.
Commentary
Here’s a throwback: Amy and I ran the Ithaca 5 & 10 on September 9, 2012. We returned this year to find a few changes, most notably that the distances are now measured in kilometers, not miles. We were both up for a 6.2-mile (10K) run, so registered a few days prior and made it part of our Sunday plans. It was a delightful day for running: on the cooler side (yet humid, ugh), overcast, and dry.
I had a fantastic time socializing pre- and post-run, but the best part of the day was Ian Golden’s on-course encouragement as he guarded one of the many intersections. It went a little something like this:
Looks like cruising’s made you soft, Dawson!
Ha! He knows about my recent cruise since both Xander and Elizabeth work at the store, but he also has a sense of humor very much aligned with mine. It was a welcome departure from the traditional canon of race encouragement, like “You’ve got this!” or “Great job!” or the venerable “You’re almost there!” (you never are). I thought about this for literally the next mile. The beauty and humor of his words was that they weren’t true, and Ian knew it. Nothing’s made me soft, but most things have made me strong. My running volume is way down, but my cross-training is way up. I was having a good race. Soft? Pfft. Onward!
Here’s a side-by-side from 2012 to 2023. I’m smiling more this year because I won the Veteran’s category for this race (that’s 50-plus as a category). Amy’s sporting bling since she won her age group, too!
Eleven years ago, the story was different for me: my bib in our gym has a big asterisk next to the word INJURED. It’s probably about the time I was experiencing IT band pain, and that’s the worst. That I could muster a smile at all is impressive. Looking back at my photos, I see we ran the Rochester Marathon a week prior, and I remember walking a good part of the latter miles of the race, crying when I saw my kids. I remember being in so much pain.
Shortly after that period, I remade my stride with the help of sports medicine and physical therapy. I continued running. I’m so glad I did!
Miscellanea
📻 Check out this time machine: radiooooo.com lets you pick any country and decade and stream songs from that place and time.
🔪 Amy and I are tearing through Only Murders in the Building. Martin Short and Selena Gomez are both fantastic, but Steve Martin’s antics are taking the cake for us. Hilarious!
Love that you have the side by side pics of then and now for us. I wonder if this will now become an annual race for our schedule? It was so much fun!