Our First 10K

Before you get the idea that we’re runners or anything, understand that we don’t run races, we run/walk them (4 minutes running, 1 minute walking). That method pretty much rules us out of any runners of the year type of awards.
That being said, in the winter, Jim needs a motivating exercise event. When the weather is nice, he can play tennis forever. But he hates exercising for the sake of exercising. (Exercise relaxes me and gives me peace of mind—I like it.) So we came up with the idea of signing up for a race.
There were multiple factors in deciding where and what to enter. First, wherever it was, the weather had to be pleasant—not too hot, not too cold, not too humid. (Yes, we are high maintenance runners.) Second, while we ran a half-marathon several years ago, it wasn’t an ideal distance. Mentally, you’re done when you hit the 10 mile mark, and you still have 3.1 miles to go. And, third, the destination had to be one of the rewards for doing the run.
We found one race that fits all of the criteria—the Disney Princess Enchanted 10K. First, Orlando in February is usually lovely (it wasn’t this time, but more on that later). Second, a 10K is perfect as it requires training but not a lot. And, third, what better place to go to race than Disneyworld? (I know, I know—reasonable minds disagree on that last point.)
In the end, it was unseasonably hot in Orlando last weekend, but, fortunately, the race was held at 5:30 in the morning, and there was a breeze, so the temperature wasn’t a problem. (What was a problem was that we had to get up at 3:00 am to get to the race on time—it was not this non-morning person’s favorite part of the race.)
The 10K is also a great distance because it’s not considered a “real” distance by serious runners, which means the bulk of the runners were doing it for fun and not taking it too seriously. There was wonderful camaraderie on the shuttle bus as we were waiting for the start.
And the Princess Marathon weekend itself is a hoot. For those of you familiar with the Bay-to-Breakers race, think costumes along those lines but without the sexually inappropriate ones. For those of you who are not familiar with Bay-to-Breakers, a large number of the runners are dressed in variety of elaborate princess outfits, tutus, tiaras, and other Disney costumes.
The race itself included live music and characters along the route, and many runners stopped to take photos with the characters. We were more concerned about being able to finish so did not succumb to the distractions as we wended our way through Epcot.
We both finished in 1:14.42 and are quite happy with our time and finishing the race without any trips to the emergency room (my threshold for a successful trip of any kind!). It was so much fun that we might even do it again next year!

Jim motivated to run!
running (actually, walking) together
enjoying the sunrise

Book review: The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff & Jonathan Haidt

The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure

The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Greg Lukianoff

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The authors set up the book with 3 Great Untruths that they think are endangering future generations. These Great Untruths are (i) what doesn’t kill you makes you weaker; (ii) always trust your feelings; and (iii) there is a battle of good vs evil (and you and your beliefs are, of course, on the side of good). The book posits these Great Untruths, demonstrates with data how these untruths have spread throughout society, and documents the harm these Great Untruths cause. (Among those harms is a higher incidence of depression and anxiety.)
The authors further propose solutions to combat these Great Untruths, the groupthink that accompanies them, and the institutions that cave into them.
I found this book especially interesting because the direction K-12 schools as well as college and universities have gone is in the direction of the Great Untruths, all from the best of intentions. And I especially think it is important for educational institutions to teach its children that reasonable minds can disagree and disagree with respect and civility. As the authors state, “Having people around us who are willing to disagree with us is a gift.”
Four stars and highly recommended.



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Vaping: Facts & Thoughts

For those of you who have been living in a cave the past few months in order to survive the winter, vaping is technically inhaling water vapor into the lungs. The term is more commonly in reference to an electronic cigarette. A device heats up nicotine liquid that then turns into water vapor, which you then inhale.

The federal government, specifically the Food and Drug Administration, is concerned about the addictive nature of vaping and how it is being marketed to young people.

But what are the actual facts around vaping?

First, there’s no doubt that vaping is safer for you than smoking tobacco. While both contain nicotine, the particulate matter from tobacco is more harmful than the nicotine from either. (https://academic.oup.com/ntr/article-abstract/21/1/41/4956222?redirectedFrom=fulltext)

Vaping is also an effective means to quit smoking. A recent study (https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1808779) in the New England Journal of Medicine by a British public health researcher demonstrated that vaping was more effective than nicotine replacement treatment for smokers who wanted to stop. In addition, it is easier to quit vaping than smoking, and, as I’ve mentioned, the risks of vaping are also lower than that of smoking. In fact, the British Public Health Service doesn’t even consider vaping to be a serious health risk.

A different study (https://academic.oup.com/ntr/article-abstract/19/2/160/2631650) found that switching to vaping resulted in the same reductions of biomarkers of exposure to hazardous chemicals as quitting all types of smoking altogether. In other words, current smokers who switch to vaping dramatically reduce their health risk.

But what should you as a parent think about vaping?

There’s no doubt that, in an ideal world, your child would neither vape nor smoke. But all parents know that the desire to experiment (not to mention the lack of a frontal lobe) means that you should realistically expect that your child will try something (or perhaps many somethings) that you would prefer them not to try. And if the choice is between vaping and smoking, the clear winner from a health and safety perspective is vaping.

I am the mother of a 20 year old and a 17 year old. My husband and I count ourselves fortunate that they are both great kids with an excellent set of friends. But we are also realistic about the many choices available to them regarding experimental substances, now and in the future. And if they have to experiment, we’d much rather they choose something that, from a health perspective, is the best of an admittedly not ideal set of choices.

Let me be clear—I am not an advocate of vaping. But I would much rather my child vape than smoke (either tobacco or marijuana) or experiment with any other illicit substances. And even there is disagreement about my choices (and reasonable minds can most definitely disagree about this issue), those are my choices for my children. It should be up to each individual family to make its own decision in accordance with that family’s values, not for the government to make that choice on the family’s behalf.

What we as parents need is unfettered access to the facts so that we can make the choice that’s best for our families. What we don’t need is fear-mongering by government agencies and distorted interpretations of the available data by a government who, however well-meaning it may be, wants to substitute its judgment for ours.