Review: Adidas Adipure Gazelle Running Shoe

The build up

Before I got into running, I wore some beefy, cushy shoes.  I have bad joints, and totally bought into the prevailing logic that you need shoes to fix you rather than realizing how powerful and capable our bodies are when we don't get in their way.  I basically lived in top-of-the-line Air Max 360s, and loved them.  I'd buy 'em on eBay whenever I could find them at a good price and would just stockpile them as I seemed to get uncomfortable in a pair after 4-6 months, and would need to get a fresh pair.  I was wearing them crooked, so they'd skew my stance, and I'd need to replace them.  Not cool for shoes that retail for over $160 a pair.

Anytime I tried to run, I made sure I had the cushiest pair of Air Max 360s I owned, and would be in a ton of knee and ankle pain within the first minute.  Still not cool for shoes that retail for over $160 a pair.

Then I read Born to Run by Christopher McDougall, learned about minimalist running, and decided to give it a try.  I had Nike Frees, and tried with those, but also picked up some Adidas Adipure Barefoot Trainers (basically, firmer-soled Vibram imitations), and tried running in them.  The Barefoot Trainers weren't ideal for running, but they worked, and I found I was running pain-free.  The next step was to get some Vibrams, and I chose the super-minimalist, made-for-running SeeYa model, and really loved it.

Then I had double hernia surgery, and was out of running for a while.  When I got back into it, I found that the SeeYas were uncomfortable and always seemed to cause an issue (blisters, rubbing my foot raw somewhere, etc).  I read about a new model from Adidas's Adipure line in a review at runblogger.com (excellent blog, by the way), and was really intrigued.  Why?  Read on to find out.

What it is & How it works
The Gazelle is a minimal shoe, meaning it's light and has a very low drop - that is, the difference in thickness at the heel versus at the toe. I believe it's 4mm.  Vibrams are zero drop, as are some other non-weird-shoes (or not too weird) like Altras and Vivo Barefoots and some of Merrell's 'Glove' line shoes (like the new Vapor Glove).  The bigger the drop, the harder it is to run on your mid or forefoot which is key to being minimalist in your running style.  This is how I've found I must run or my knees end up in acute pain really quickly.  The Gazelle is in the middle of the Adipure running models, with the Motion being more traditional (bigger drop) and the Adapt being more minimal.

The shoe is basically a spandex-like sock with laces.  The more minimal Adapt model actually really is like a spandex sock.  Up until now, it only came in a horrible color (the same blue/bright red that I show below for the Gazelle, but it looks even worse on the Adapt).  The Adapt lacks laces and, oddly, the 3 stripes (or any other clear Adidas branding).  The Adapt just came out in black and yellow, so I am really interested in trying it.  But that's not related to this review...back to the point.

The Gazelle has a painted on thin layer of TPU dots strategically placed on the spandex-like stuff to help provide some structure.  The material is incredibly stretchy and non-constricting, which I love (more on that in a moment).  The three stripes are hard plastic, providing rigidity in the side of the shoe, though I don't think it actually matters beyond creating solid anchors for the laces.  The sole is a mix of EVA-type foam and rubber for traction up front. The heel is basically just foam, but there's a white insert of rubber.  The impression the sole gives is that you shouldn't be using the heel much.

On the tongue (which is well-sewn in), and at the top of the ankle cuff, there's a little velcro flap.  I still don't totally understand its purpose. The one on the heel doesn't help in getting the shoes on (which is very easy), and the one on the tongue is too small to help keep the laces tied (see My Depressions below).  If someone knows what they're for, lemme know in the comments.

Currently, the Gazelle comes in a sharp black/neon yellow combo (which I have), a gross blue and light red, and a new silvery-grey and yellow, which also looks great.  Adidas had a really nice, strong red version that I bought, too, but they've dropped that in favor of the new grey color.  A shame - they should have dropped the blue.  You can see the red in the RunBlogger.com review I mentioned earlier.  Women's versions come in black and purple (very sharp), and that same red they stopped offering to men but with green rubber pods.

 

My impressions

I absolutely love this shoe. It is by far the best shoe I've ever run in, and seriously just a joy to wear in general.  It's SO light, so flexible, absorbs just enough shock while not robbing me of needed feedback...the list goes on.  I really love this shoe.

One of the best parts, and something I've most concerned with whenever I look at a non-toe-shoe option is the toe box.  I've found I'm more and more sensitive to toe box width, and have gone to stores to get a minimalist-yet-traditional-looking shoe like the New Balance Minimus MR00, but walked away due to how tight I found the toe box to be.  I don't have a wide foot, but because I wear minimalist shoes and run on my forefoot, my toes spread more than they did before, and I like to let them spread when I run as it's such a great and natural source of stability. That's what they're for.  The RunBlogger review mentioned the toe box being fairly wide and flexible, but the photos aren't totally clear.  Sure, it's generally more foot-shaped than lots of shoes (see how it comes out in front of the laces, and doesn't have a clear point to the toe like most Nikes do?), but it doesn't look like an Altra does, either.  It's wide enough for me, and has such a nice way of shaping to your foot and giving when you need it to give that the toe box is a total non-issue.  And it achieves that without making you look goofy.

My depressions
So, it's all good, and I have no complaints, right?  Not quite.  I eluded to my issue above, and it's mainly around the laces.  They just will not stay tied.  I pulled them super-tight when tying a bow, and basically made myself blue in the face with the effort I was expending.  2 minutes later - laces flapping around.  I double knot, and they still come undone half the time.  What I've found works best is to tie a bow, and then double knot just the loops.

This is where I thought I figured out the purpose of the little velcro flat on the tongue.  I un-velcro'ed it, and tried to put the tips of the laces in there.  The flap will fit one tip, but it's too small to take them both.  I figured that would be good enough.  Nope.

Sometimes I thread the tips back under the criss-crossing of the laces, but even that doesn't always work since the tips work their way out sometimes.  As the laces age, they get better (it's like they're too stiff when new).  Adidas, if you're listening, this is my only complaint about the shoe - surely you have other laces that don't suffer from this.  Merrell and Nike have great laces. Look at theirs, copy them, and make me smile.  K?

I did consider getting Lock Laces, but I don't know if I like the idea.  I could just get other laces, I guess.  I wish these laces just worked right and stayed laced.

To buy or not to buy?

Seriously, my only issue is the laces.  I've run well over 100 miles in them, bought a second pair, and am looking to get the Adapt for racing since they're a touch lighter and I wouldn't have to worry about the laces coming undone since there aren't any.  Does that not say these are clear "Buy" recommendation shoes?  They are.  One draw back is the $100 price. The Adapts are cheaper - I take it the crappy laces cost $10 since the Adapts are $90 (though it could be the Adidas stripes that cost the bulk of the $10...that's likely since the laces absolutely suck).  Actually, you can find them on Amazon for under $90.  They're so worth it.  Get them, start running better and enlighten.your.body.

Review: Virtual Active for iOS

The build up

When I first started running, I was pure treadmill.  I signed up for a 5K, and was really getting scared about running outside.  I don’t know why, but I dreaded the idea.  Well, I made myself get outside, and the situation flipped.  I appreciate having a treadmill and the ability to run when I can’t get outside, but I don’t enjoy it nearly as much, and am so much more aware of every minute that passes.  Last summer, I spent a week in London for work, and got to run along the Thames path every day (sometimes twice a day), and totally fell in love with the run.  I used my growing familiarity with the path to visualize while running on my treadmill when I got home.  And you know what?  It worked.  I mean, it really worked – the time flew by and I enjoyed the run.

As the months passed and my memory faded along with the black in my hair and the hair on the top of my head, the trick worked less and less.  I desperately needed a way to see something other than the wall and treadmill control screen, yet not as distracting as a TV show (which I find lowers my performance as I zone out).  An article in Runner’s World about making treadmill running more enjoyable had a sidebar on ways to see scenes while running.  It was pretty outdated in its view of what’s available as they all required special treadmills or equipment.  I did some Googling, and found a bevvy of iPad apps that showed scenes – one of them was free to buy and required no footpod or treadmill connection.  Score.

What it is & How it works
That app, Virtual Active, displays different running (or hiking, biking or walking) scenes and uses the accelerometer in the iPad to sense your movement.  It’s pretty clever.  It comes with a Grand Canyon run for free, and has many additional scenes at a $7.99 per scene in-app purchase price.  Each scene weighs in at about 850 MB, so this thing can fill up your iPad quickly.  I said I’d only use the free scene, but as I use it more and more, I decided the cost of buying new scenes was worth it.  I’ve now bought the Seattle scene (a great mix of downtown/waterfront and outdoors runs) and the Italy scene (a mix of costal runs, quaint town runs, plus Venice and Rome).  You can delete scenes to make more room on your iPad, and re-download them later.  Very smart.

Pre-run startup screen where you can select which segment to start with, and how long to go for

Music can play through (whatever your current playlist is in the music app will be what plays, starting from wherever you left off playing in the music app), and there are pause, forward and back track controls in the app.  You also set the duration of your run.  During the run, it cycles through the segments of the overall scene, and will loop back through if you run long enough.  You can also choose the starting segment.

The app uses the front facing camera to judge movement, so you need to ensure you a) have one (sorry owners of the original iPad or earlier models of the iPhone), and b) it isn't obstructed (e.g. by a case or something you're using to secure the iPad wherever you decide to put it for use).  When you start the run, it shows a black and white pixelated view of you via the front facing camera while telling you this is how it gets info on your pace.  Oddly, it also suggests where to put the device, and includes putting it off to the side on a chair.  How it's going to see you clearly from a chair to the side of the treadmill is beyond me, but it says it can.  You can also set whether you're on a bike, elliptical or treadmill.

My impressions
I found it did a good job of matching scenery movement to my pace, but that will depend on where it sits on your treadmill and any angulation versus your body.  My iPad is naked (case-less), sitting on the control screen (blocking it, actually, to help me detach from how long it’s been), and has a pretty good view of me.  The app will warn you if it can't sense any movement.

Venice - during a run

I have to say, I absolutely love this app.  It has really made running on a treadmill so much less tedious and the time definitely goes by faster.  It's not the same as running outside, but I don't expect it to be.  I expect it to be better than looking at my wall and the clock.  It is, and by a big margin.

The app is made for both iPhones and iPads.  While it works on the iPhone, I think it would be much less immersive, and thus wouldn't help remove the feeling of being hamster on a wheel.  For me, it's iPad or nothin'.

My depressions
Is it perfect?  No.  A common complaint in the App store is that it pauses and looks around sometimes – very unnatural when you’re in the middle of a run to sort of hover and have a look around.  That said, you’re looking at 9.7” screen on a treadmill, so why is pausing to take in the scenery despite your feet moving suddenly such a horrible and awkward thing?  I say enjoy the view and relax your mind a little.

Feature-wise, I would love the ability to skip ahead or back to the prior or next segment.  For example, when 'running in' Seattle, I really didn't want to do the downtown part - I just wanted to focus on the waterfalls, Mt. St. Helens and the rain forest.  You can't.  You can start at one of these segments, but the app will cycle through to everything if given enough time.  Ideally, you could swipe ahead or back (I prefer this to trying to use little arrows like you have to do for music), or pre-pick which segments play or don't play before a run.

Lastly, and this hasn't really been a problem but I can see it not being ideal - the music control buttons are a little small.  The app designers should remember that the user is likely sweaty and moving.  Big buttons are better.

To buy or not to buy?
Overall, I absolutely recommend this for people who run on a treadmill and have an iPad.  You can use it with an iPhone, but I would suggest saving your money.

You have nothing to lose by trying the free version, so I say go for it.  Just be warned that you will likely drop at least another $7.99 on a scene after a few runs through the Grand Canyon.  It can transform something a lot of people dread (whether they love running or not) and keep things interesting on days with bad weather or other demands that keep you home (or in a hotel gym). 

Get it here, enjoy it, and enlighten.your.body.

Recipe: GFV Maitake Spinach Flatbread Pizza

I'll preface this by saying that I am not living a gluten-free or vegan lifestyle.  That means two things:

1. I'm going by what the products I used say rather than my own deep understanding of what makes something gluten-free or vegan.
2. If I loved this food, it's not because I don't 'know any better' - that is, I have eaten 'normal' pizza recently, so loving this recipe is solely because it's damn tasty

OK, now that I've gotten that out of the way, let's get down to business.  This is a super-simple, super-tasty, super-fast flatbread pizza recipe.  It uses many pre-made products, but you could do some of it from scratch (the tortillas, for sure; the vegan/soy-free/GF cheese?  Not so much).  It didn't cost a ton, but the price will vary based on what ingredients you add.  The most expensive component is really the 'cheese'.  The recipe I made is a maitake mushroom and spinach flatbread pizza, but you can obviously switch the toppings as you please.  You'll see my son's pizza in the background, which had spinach instead of the maitake's, though he did put four pieces of mushroom on his pizza, and had a mushroom-heavy bit of mine.

I made these tonight with my son, and we both loved them.  It was literally the fastest dinner we've ever had - he's normally a slow eater, but he scarfed this faster than 'real' pizza.

Ingredients

• 1 package Galaxy Nutritional Foods vegan mozzarella.  It is vegan, soy-free and actually melts (it actually gets gooey and sticky, unlike real cheese, but I've never seen fake cheese that can melt)
• Food for Life brown rice tortilla - 1 tortilla per person (or half if you're a 4 year old, like my dinner date was)
• Pizza sauce - I used Whole Foods prepared organic pizza sauce, but feel free to make your own, substitute another brand, skip it, etc.  You could also just brush on olive oil with some sea salt and minced garlic, which I've done in the past and loved
• 1 package maitake mushrooms (enough for 2-3 tortillas, depending how densely you top them)
• 1 hand full of baby spinach per pizza

Constructions (how my son said 'instructions' when he was younger...much cuter, and perhaps more appropriate)

• Lay out the tortilla, and spoon on 3-4 tablespoons of sauce, spreading around nearly to the edge.  Add more or less, depending on your preference, but be mindful of making the tortilla so wet that it falls apart.  Also be mindful of little kids who like to keep spooning - my son's pizza had 8 table spoons of sauce.
• Sprinkle 'cheese' evenly over the top of the sauce
• Put down baby spinach leaf by leaf, covering the pizza
• Sprinkle chopped up maitake mushrooms over the spinach
• Lay down a bit more 'cheese', or have your four-year-old just turn the package upside down and make a huge pile of it.
• Laugh, and say, "Wow, thanks!"
• Spread the pile of cheese more evenly
• Bake in a wire rack for 8-10 minutes on 350, but watch it to be sure the cheese is melting and the tortillas aren't cracking too much.  Both of ours developed big cracks, but I used that as a guide for cutting them.
• Laugh.
• Eat.
• Hope your kid doesn't finish all of their pizza so you can have more.
• Laugh.
• Remind kid how fun it was to make these, and thank them for their awesome work.
• Clean the sticky, gooey 'cheese' stuck to your fingers while laughing.
• Clean up.
• Done.

Eating smart can be fast, easy and delicious. You don't have to live on rice crackers, kale and water. You can have fun, involve your kids, and teach them to value healthful eating while seeing how easy and normal it is to do.  Enlighten them and you will enlighten.your.body.

Recipe: Optional Chili

There are a lot of great dishes with great names.  This is not quite one of these.  It's great, but the name I came up with leaves something to be desired, but it is fitting. See, this chili leaves a lot of room to experiment, adjust and meet personal preference.  I made it as a turkey chili, but it could be vegan, beef, pork or even seafood.  It has some heat (though not enough for my liking), but could be super hot or totally heat-free.  It's very low sodium, but could be much saltier.  The veggies I put in could be completely rearranged and replaced.  Etc, etc, etc.  Hence, "Optional Chili" - you basically can turn it into whatever you want.  I happen to like what I made (though I'd go hotter next time).

It's chili - of course it looks gross, but it tastes great!

Here's what you need:

• 1 large sweet onion
• 5 scallions
• 2-3 zucchini and/or summer squash
• 2 cups white button mushrooms
• 1 cup shitake mushrooms
• 2 jalapeño peppers
• 2 cups pico de gallo
• 1 cup salsa (find one with very low sugar, but with a good tomato sauciness to it)
• 2-3 cups of beans (I split 50/50 pinto and black)
• 4 cups water
• Seasoning
• Cayenne pepper (I used 1 teaspoon, but I'd at least do a table spoon next time)
• 1 tsp Turmeric
• 1 tbsp Sea Salt
• 1 tsp Ginger
• 1 tsp Coriander
• 2-5 sprigs of cilantro, chopped up
• 1-2 lbs of ground turkey (or other meat, tofu, nuts or nothin' at all)
• 1 cup millet, buckwheat, amaranth or other gluten-free grain if you want a little more meatiness to the chili (got the idea from a vegan chili recipe in Scott Jurek's great book Eat & Run)

2 portions set aside for eating now, 4 ready to freeze for later

Chop up the various veggies as finely or coarsely as you like, making sure everything is rinsed well.  If you are using dried beans, be sure to soak them for at least 8 hours.  I don't like to use canned vegetables due to the BPA exposure, so I picked up some Tetrapak beans from Whole Foods (365 brand has an organic option).  It's for this reason that I used salsa and pico instead of canned tomatoes, which are a common component.  I found that the pico and salsa worked really well anyway, so I would do this from now on regardless.  If you are using canned beans or ones like I used, be sure to rinse them until the water flows cleanly through them - no residue or you'll have gas issues.

In a large pot, cover the bottom in an oil of your choice, but I'd recommend coconut oil or olive oil.  If you can find and afford macadamia nut oil, that would work nicely, too.  Stay away from canola and general 'vegetable' oil.  Bring the oil up to a good heat (have on medium high), and add in the onions, scallions, zucchini and seasoning.  Stir around a lot, sautéing the veggies and spreading the seasoning around for 5-10 minutes.  You want the onions to start to get transparent.

Next, add in the rest of the veggies and mix everything up.  Make sure you're now on a medium heat, and break apart and add in any meat or tofu.

Add the beans, salsa and pico, and stir it all up.  If you are putting in hot peppers, now's the time to do that.  I recommend keeping them in big pieces so you can fish them out if you find the chili is hot enough.  If you want more heat, you can fish 'em out, cut them up, and mix 'em back in.  That's what I did after deciding I wanted more heat.

Just as gross looking in a single portion, but still super-tasty

Pour in 3-4 cups of water - basically, it should be enough to cover everything.  If you're adding a grain, throw it in now, and stir it all up.  Lower to medium low heat, cover, and let it simmer for at least an hour, but ideally two.

If you are adding meat, in a skillet, cook it with a bit of olive oil so you aren't sticking raw meat into a warm vat of veggie goodness that might result in salmonella risk.  I find this also adds a really nice flavor if you let the meat brown a bit.  Once it's cooked, make sure it's broken up, and drop into the chili and stir.

That's it.  If it sounds like a lot of work, look for pre-cut veggies to help out.  There are great diced onion options in the frozen veggie section, and probably others that would work well here (e.g. corn, though I don't want that much sugar in my food).  Whole Foods has lots of pre-cut veggies in their produce area, so if you have access to one, I'm sure you could find a good mix of veggies to use.

All in, it probably took me about 25 minutes of prep, and 10 minutes of clean up and storage.  I got 9 adult servings out of this.  I'm also uncomfortably full from this tonight.

So, go for it, enjoy the process and the result, but don't under-heat and overeat like I did, and you'll enlighten.your.body.

Only You Are Right - For Better and Worse

We all suffer from a tendency to be close-minded into a state where we can only truly see things through our own lens. I know some very open-minded people, and they even suffer from this - even if only fleetingly or in certain situations. The thing is, this is both bad and good for us and those around us. The differentiating factor is self-awareness, self-trust and self-satisfaction.

Let's start with the 'bad' side of the coin as it is a little easier to grasp and can take less personal work to improve upon. I was talking to my wife today, and we were talking about the judgment someone was giving based on their choices and how what we were doing was "wrong" since it isn't what they'd do. The thing is, they live a totally different life with completely different priorities, demands, preferences, etc. they are a different person in a different situation. Our choice has worked really well for us, and theirs likely wouldn't have been as good in our situation just as our choice likely wouldn't have worked as well for them as for us.

So why the insistence that we were wrong, even though our "being wrong" has zero impact on them? Many of us (or all of us at least sometimes) fail to interpret situations through the lens of others. With extreme differences in situations, many of us are ok (we don't call someone crazy for walking two days for clean water if they live in the Sahara despite our not needing to do that). But when the differences are subtler, we tend to fail to put ourselves in so,Rome else's shoes before passing judgment. "Oh, she's nuts, I'd never run a marathon!" "Why are you eating your money on Accupuncture? It doesn't work for anyone." "What do you mean you aren't going back to work and putting your baby in day care?"

Some judgment is innocuous and good-intentioned. As I recover from knee surgery, those with old-school views on recovery tell me I am doing the wrong thing by exercising (despite my docs and physical therapist insisting I do it, and my experience with recovery from 13 prior surgeries). People tell me I'm wrong for eating fat and avoiding "heart healthy" carbs like bread and pasta. If I'm wrong, why is my body fat lower than ever, my cholesterol and other blood test numbers all in a better place than they've ever been, my supposed liver condition no longer shows on tests and I have more energy than I've ever had? And "ever" includes when I cut fat and cholesterol religiously and ate complex carbs regularly (yet still have >15% body fat and borderline cholesterol levels even with at least 5 work outs per week of at least 30 minutes of intense cardio).

Before you judge anyone else, ask if you are judging the choice as your own in your life, or even attempting to be the person making the choice with all of their pros and cons to weigh. Better yet, ask yourself why you are judging them at all. For what purpose? Does their action actually impact you (beyond your distaste for it)? I would wager in most cases there is no purpose and no impact.

Realize this when you are being judged - have their put themselves in your shoes? Does your decision impact them? Really? If not, let it roll off your back.

So, what should you do when you are judged? Let's look at the other side of the coin to understand better.

If you receive such judgment - and we all do from time to time - don't let it hurt you or sway you. Be mindful of the difference between judgment and advice, and actively let the former roll off your back while seeking out and considering the latter. Advice isn't all good or apt, but even bad advice can spark different thoughts than your have developed without some contrarian views. Judgment does not achieve anything productive.

It is in your reaction that the lesson resides - be sure of your own ability to find the right path for your unique situation. From that feeling of self-trust, go ahead with what you feel is right. Be aware of yourself and your surroundings to ensure things are going the right way, and don't be afraid to course correct if needed. In this way, you will be even more satisfied and content since the decision came from you, your understanding of your life and how to improve it and your ability to be resilient despite any unproductive doubt people send your way.

2 Running Movies Going In Different Directions

I just finished my second movie featuring ultramarathon runner going across country. This one, 2010's Running America, features Marshall Ulrich and Charlie Engle, as they try to break the record for the time it takes to run across the US.  The other movie, 2009's Ultramarathon Man, follows Dean Karnazes during his 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days during The North Face Endurance 50. The two movies couldn't be more opposite in terms of the tone or how they make the viewer feel.


Karnazes, the self-styled Ultramarathon Man, really leaves you feeling inspired in Ultramarathon Man.  You feel brave and like you could tackle anything after watching his movie.  After watching Running America, it's hard to feel anything more than upset or maybe like there's little hope for the future (especially the future of the US economy...I know what you're thinking - "Huh?  Did he just say 'the economy'? Huh?  Isn't it a running movie?" Read on.).  Reading the book about the Endurance 50 (Run!: 26.2 Stories of Blisters and Bliss by Dean Karnazes), you see all of Karnazes's struggles as told through his eyes, but the movie takes a decidedly more positive position and leaves the bulk of this out.

Running America, by contrast, really focuses on the trials and tribulations of the two ultrarunners, their various medical elements, and the terrible state of the US economy during the running (2008 financial crises and election).  It focuses on depression, feelings of failure, and a sense of hopelessness. It might be reality and it might be a good representation of how the runners felt, but it's very hard to walk away and feel inspired by this movie.  Karnazes's movie leaves you feeling the opposite way.


What I really didn't get or expect in Running America was just how much focus the movie put on the economy. The financial crisis was possibly the lead character or at least the main story. I would have preferred it play a much smaller role to leave time to properly dig into the running.

One other odd thing is the negative the movie didn't address, namely the failure of the runners to break the record they set out to break.  The whole purpose of the run was to break a long-standing record of running across the country in 47.5 days, requiring a daily distance of 70 miles on average.  I won't give too much away, but they didn't hit this goal, and there wasn't so much as a passing mention when they flashed the text about what they achieved at the end (e.g. "Although they didn't break the record they set out to break..."). This isn't a big deal, but it struck me as odd that a movie that focused so much on the negatives of the financial situation didnt even make passing reference to the failure of the mission the movie was supposed to capture.  For the record, two other records were set, and the finish line was reached (in something like 52 days) which is amazing into itself given the 3k+ distance involved, so it wasn't all bad.  It was just odd to me what they did and didn't focus on.

Now this isn't to say that Running America is a failure or a bad documentary, it's just to say that it's not this uplifting inspirational movie that you might expect it to be. If that's what you're looking for, this isn't the right one to watch.  Instead, watch Ultramarathon Man since it will make you want to go out and run, and think you can run forever.  If you want something grittier and more in-your-face about the mental and physical toughness of running that much for that many consecutive days, then go with Running America.  Personally, I could have skipped this one, and would have shut it off if I didn't plan to write this blog post (and needed something to watch to pass the time anyway).

Eh, what do I know? Watch 'em both, but be warned either way.

And, actually, don't just watch them, but read the books behind the stories.  Charlie Engle is also a prolific blogger, and has had an amazing life story overcoming adversity, a major drug problem, and a recent stint in prison for a BS mortgage fraud issue (long story, but worth reading...it's shocking what happened to him).  And when I say, "don't just watch them," what I mean is, "Read the books."  You can read and workout, but watching something and working out (or just watching something) is more zoning out and disassociating than not.  That's not ideal.  Read instead.  That's the best way to enlighten.your.body.

Q: Isn't It Good to be Pessimistic?

Q: I see all this happiness stuff you're talking about, but isn't pessimism ultimately better so you're never surprised or let down?

A: Not exactly.  Don't confuse pessimism for preparedness or scenario planning.

I'm part of the global operations leadership team at my company.  We have several all-day meetings a year, and at the last one, we spent some time on leadership skill building.  I took the opportunity to weave Shawn Achor's The Happiness Advantage into the discussion at several points in the day.  One of the senior people in the room countered me by asking, "I see all this happiness stuff you're talking about, but isn't pessimism ultimately better so you're never surprised or let down?"

I see her point.  She's suggesting that pessimism means you will think about the bad outcomes so you're neither let down when they occur nor caught off guard.  Fair point, but she's confusing the issue a bit, and I think it's a common and easy misstep, so I wanted to share my thinking with you.

Pessimism is having the negative view of a situation.  That's it.  It doesn't mean you do anything to stop that negative from playing out, or to turn it around into a win.  If you were a pessimist, you wouldn't be able to do that since you'd be stuck looking at things negatively, so you'd miss the win.  And you wouldn't appreciate not being let down since you'd look at it all negatively anyway.  The pessimist would expect to lose when playing the lottery, but would still feel miserable when they lost because they'd focus on losing.  Actually, let's be honest, they wouldn't play in the first place.

What I think she meant is really that we must not be so over-focused on only the good side of things that we miss the potential pitfalls or bad outcomes, and wind up in a bad place as a result.  A fantastic example from my recent experiences is with Winter Storm Nemo.  My staff and I decided that we needed to prepare for the storm as if it ended up as bad or worse than the media was making it out to be.  In doing this, we ensured that we'd keep the operation up and running even if we lost power and people were stuck at home.  Best case scenario, our staff would be prepped for a future event thanks to having a good re-education on what to do in such situations - like a fire drill that people actually take seriously.

Were were running around like mad about the impending white doom?  No.  Were we hopeful that it would be fine and we wouldn't have any issues?  Of course.  But we were also ready for it not being that way.  The result - we had lots of snow, the staff left early, and we were shut down for a while.  But what didn't happen is that we didn't get behind on our work, and we kept the parts of the country that weren't snowed in functioning.  That's directly a result of our looking at the storm and finding ways to keep it all 'happy' in the end.  We did it.  It wasn't pessimism.  It was realism and control.

Achor talks a lot about happiness coming from perceived control of situations.  I think this is a key to our success.  We took a negative situation and decided that there is a lot we can control about it beyond the inches that fall.  We used that control to our advantage, and it really amazed me how smoothly things went.

We had a similar situation with Hurricane Sandy, though we didn't go about it the same way.  The result was not complete chaos, but a markedly worse outcome than here.  I think we learned a lot with Sandy on how we can and should respond, and it really boiled down to control.  Control in our attitude, control in our plans, and control of the things that we directly - well - control.

The pessimist would just think we'd get 10 feet of snow, and we'd be unable to do any work, and everything would fall apart.  Try to plan for a solution, and the pessimist would see it failing.  How are you supposed to execute and impress your customers when you're too busy making mountains out of molehills (of snow)?

You can apply this to all sorts of situations tied to your healthy, fitness and well being.  Feel a cold coming on?  Not getting enough sleep?  The list goes on.

Be a controlled, planning optimist.  That's how you enlighten.your.body.