Chesterton and Shaw

The average age (longevity) of a meat eater is 63. I am on the verge of 85 and still work as hard as ever. I have lived quite long enough and am trying to die; but I simply cannot do it. A single beef-steak would finish me; but I cannot bring myself to swallow it. I am oppressed with a dread of living forever. That is the only disadvantage of vegetarianism.

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

G.K. Chesterton and George Bernard Shaw were friends in life. They had little in common. Chesterton would go on to become a Roman Catholic while Shaw was an atheist and a socialist. Chesterton ate meat and enjoyed the table while Shaw was a strict vegetarian. Chesterton obviously was sedentary from the size of his girth while Shaw was an avid walker and gardener and was slim. It is a useful thought exercise to compare the beliefs and lifestyles of these two men.

When it comes to worldview, I am mostly in agreement with Chesterton. I am a Roman Catholic and a conservative. When it comes to lifestyle, I am mostly in agreement with Shaw. I eat a plant based diet. I like going for walks. I have a modest garden in my backyard.

I learned a long time ago to shamelessly steal from the successful strategies and ideas of other people. I am too old to go reinventing wheels. I look at what others do now and in the past to see what works. Then, I modify those things to my particular circumstances.

Most people who eat a vegan diet tend to be atheist Marxist perverts. Most people who are Catholic and conservative eat steak and drink alcohol. They may even have a cigar with that alcohol. Consequently, I always find myself in circumstances where I am the odd one who is causing a great deal of controversy because of my diet, my religion, or my politics.

The soul is more important than the body. Shaw outlived Chesterton, but Shaw still died. On that, Chesterton made the better choice because I expect that he died in a state of grace and the friendship of Christ. I cannot say the same for Shaw. But while they were alive, I think Shaw lived a better lifestyle. We take health for granted until we no longer have it. Then, we wish we could go back in time and uneat all those cheeseburgers and fried bologna sandwiches.

I have been vegan for about the same time as I have been a Roman Catholic. Both decisions have benefited me immensely. My health is good except for my accumulated injuries. What can I say? Life has beaten me up. As for my faith, I have not yielded to the despair that plagued me in my atheist days. I know that God is in control and brings all things to His good end.

My biggest regret in life today is the one I can't do anything about. People don't listen. I see people suffering needlessly from both despair and from poor diets. Some part of me thinks that yelling very loudly at these people might change them. The rest of me knows that this is not true. The only person that I know that changes is me.

I pray for people. God can change people. But even God will not deprive someone of their freewill. That's the loophole in the grace contract. Grace requires your cooperation.

Aside from prayer, there is little else that you can do for people. They are too stupid to listen to your preaching on a matter. And your material support will go to a bad end. You can wish for the good of others except they do not wish for their own good.

Life is too short to tiptoe around in the minefields of other people's stupidity. It is enough labor to police yourself. The only strategy that I have for dealing with these people is benign indifference. I want what's good for you, but that is not up to me. That is up to you.

I don't think Chesterton or Shaw listened much to each other's advice or opinions on things. And they certainly preached at each other. And they were both right and wrong on things. The wise men learns to just listen and observe and take notes.

I tell people often that the purpose of my blog is to allow me to publish what I know while giving everyone else the opportunity to ignore it. So far, the C-Blog has achieved its purpose. I know that some fool will claim to have never known the truth, but this is a lie. People don't want the truth. They want their lies to be made true. This is why they ignore you and don't listen to you. And that is fine. Just don't use the selective memory trick where you claim that you were never told. You were told. You knew better. You had a duty to seek the truth. It's not my fault that you didn't listen.

Shortwave Radio Is Dead

If something is too hard to do, then it's not worth doing. You just stick that guitar in the closet next to your shortwave radio, your karate outfit and your unicycle and we'll go inside and watch TV.

MATT GROENING

In the nineties, I loved reading Paul Theroux travel books. Those books were the only way for me to experience the wider world back then. Because of those books, I had a desire to buy a folding kayak and a shortwave radio. I couldn't afford the kayak, but I was able to buy a cheap shortwave radio from RadioShack for about $30. You can buy one today from Tecsun that is almost the same as that RadioShack radio for less than $20. Despite the low cost of these radios, they are a waste of your money. This is because shortwave radio is dead.

People who listen to shortwave radio as a hobby will beg to differ with me. There are stations all over the world broadcasting on the shortwave bands. What they neglect to tell you is that those stations are worthless. The bulk of them are propaganda stations run by various governments. The rest of them are religious stations run by various Protestant groups. Finally, many of these stations broadcast in foreign languages you don't understand. The only thing you can get from listening to shortwave radio is a momentary thrill of hearing a broadcast from a far off place which is what shortwave hobbyists seem to like. Beyond that, these stations provide nothing practical or useful. Buying one of the $300 shortwave receivers is not going to change this.

I realized this all the way back in the nineties with that first shortwave radio I bought. I satisfied my curiosity over a couple of weekends until I grew bored with the thing and packed it away. That radio has since been lost, and I have never missed it. What I listened to instead was my local AM and FM stations that actually delivered things worth my listening. With a more expensive shortwave radio, I could tune in some ham radio geeks, numbers stations, and pirate radio stations. But none of this was worth the price tag of the more expensive unit.

You do not have to take my word on this. You can listen for yourself on any of the online SDRs that cover those bands. You will find most of the action on the Medium Wave band which we know better as AM radio. I am grateful for the SDRs because it allows me to listen for free. If you find things on shortwave that you like, then go ahead and get a shortwave radio. I have yet to find anything worth the price of even a cheap radio. I do not expect this to change.

Preppers feel the need to buy radios to prepare for various scenarios. Naturally, there are outfits willing to sell them radios for these needs. These radios are usually some form of shortwave radio they do not need. Shortwave radios are not readily available on the shelves of your local Walmart, so this forces preppers to buy from prepper suppliers. They buy the radio and end up listening to the same stations they could have used a Walmart AM/FM radio to get. The shortwave bands end up being a useless feature.

The best radio that I recommend is an AM/FM/WX radio. Those are the only bands you need. I listen regularly to the weather radio and stations on the AM and FM dials. At night, the AM band is alive with stations from across the country. These are stations you actually enjoy. There is music, news, sports, talk, and on and on. AM radio is still very much alive in the USA. As for FM, you are limited to local stations, but I enjoy them as well. The two FM stations in my town provide more value to me than the entire shortwave spectrum.

I post this as a warning to people to not waste their money on equipment that they will not enjoy and do not need. People who listen to shortwave radio as a hobby like to waste their money on radios. This is why shortwave listening is a hobby and not a useful activity. For the rest of us who have better things to do and buy, an AM/FM/WX radio is all you will ever need. Save your money for food and ammo.

Be Your Own Hero

 A boo is a lot louder than a cheer.

LANCE ARMSTRONG

I don't follow sports anymore. I don't watch ball games or stock car races. I don't tune in the Olympics. I have no use for sports. I was not always this way. I used to love sports, but the disgrace of sports beat the love out of me.

The first things that soured me on sports were the scandals involving performance enhancing drugs. Lance Armstrong was the big one for me because he was a hero to me. But before his confession to Oprah, I had already concluded that Lance was dirty. After that, you had the steroids controversy in Major League Baseball when Jose Canseco got his revenge on the sport that turned its back on him by outing his friends in the league who were juicing. As for the NFL, I firmly believe that every player in the league is on steroids. Those scandals brought me to the most cynical statement I have ever made in my life. A winner is a cheater that never got caught.

Whenever I utter that line, those who hear it rebel against it. But they do not dispute it. In your gut, you know it is true. Sports is a spectacle of make believe heroes. It would not surprise me if it was all scripted like the male soap opera that is professional wrestling. People need to wrap their minds around the idea that their heroes are just frauds. They are not worthy of your devotion or respect.

Some people like Canseco have argued that we should go the libertarian route in sports and allow PEDs. But should any athlete be required to do catastrophic damage to their bodies and health to compete in a game? That seems too obscene for us to tolerate the same way that libertarians look like fools when asked about 7-year-olds doing crystal meth. Abolishing the laws doesn't end crime. Abolishing the rules will not end cheating either.

The reason this cheating exists is because there is big money in professional sports. I don't see anyone going to the same extremes for the sake of an amateur sport that has no money prizes. Your local softball league is probably clean. But put money in it, and that will change. Recently, two fisherman were caught putting lead weights in their catches to win the large cash prize in a fishing tournament. There are are also allegations of cheating in chess now. This is because chess tournaments pay big money now. If there is money in it, there will be cheating.

The second thing that soured me on sports was the damage from concussions. Part of me suspects that many of the concussions in football come from getting slammed way harder today by players juiced up on steroids. Other sports like hockey, MMA, and auto racing have similar damage to the brain. As someone who still endures the aftermath of head trauma, it is hard for me to watch something similar happen to someone else on the screen. This is why I can't watch the brain buster sports anymore.

The third thing that turned me against sports was watching the recent controversy surrounding the athletes kneeling during the national anthem. This began with one player who otherwise was riding the bench during the game but wanted to make a spectacle out of himself. It worked because he has made more money from not playing football than playing football. Somehow, this jerk is a hero for his fearless display on behalf of his Marxist beliefs. I have a friend who tuned it all out completely over these displays of wokeness. It is sickening to behold.

The fourth thing that makes sports sick to me is the low character and criminality of many of the athletes. As another friend told me once, if it wasn't for the NBA, we would have a lot of tall janitors. He should have gone all out and said we would have a lot of tall prison inmates. So many of these guys do drugs, beat their wives and girlfriends, and have even committed murder. None of this seems to matter as long as they make bail by game time.

The fifth thing that adds the insult to the injuries is when a team owner demands that taxpayers build him a new stadium or arena or he's leaving town. It infuriates me to watch taxpayers capitulate to this extortion only to watch it get repeated a few years later as the owner demands another new stadium.

Professional sports is utterly corrupt, but this corruption extends down to college and high school as those young athletes aspire to play in the professional leagues. I have already heard stories of steroids in high school and even middle school programs. This is sick.

Finally, there is the oldest corruption in sports which comes from the gamblers. The most famous example would be the Black Sox scandal in baseball as the players threw the World Series because the gamblers paid better than the sport. I think gambling is what ruined professional boxing, and it has certainly threatened to ruin college basketball.

All of this garbage is enough to turn me away from watching and following sports forever. But there is nothing inherently wrong or evil in sports. I don't think kids playing kickball on the playground are juicing or point shaving. That is one of the awesome things about childhood. You're not old enough to become corrupted or cynical. When it is just play, sports are wonderful. It is when it becomes serious that things go down the dark path.

I think that adults should stop watching sports and go back to playing sports. When I drive by the basketball courts, the tennis courts, and the fields in my community, they are empty. But the sports bars are always full of people watching games, fights, and races. They are watching their heroes who are not heroes at all. They should become their own heroes by actually playing sports and games or doing other activities like going for walks and hikes. They would be a lot healthier if they did this and way happier.

Be your own hero. That is the antidote to the cynicism that a winner is a cheater that never got caught. When there's no money riding on the outcome, the only person you can cheat is yourself. Becoming your own hero is fairly simple. Turn off the TV and go outside. Play sports instead of watching sports. If everyone did this, the disgrace of professional sports today would vanish.

6 Things I Like About Walking

Above all, do not lose your desire to walk: every day I walk myself into a state of well being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it.

SOREN KIERKEGAARD

This post is a companion to my earlier post, Walking Is Better Than Running. That post focused on the subject of injuries related to running and how walking is the antidote. That is the number one thing I like about walking. Walking doesn't hurt. Here are six more things I like about walking.

1. Walking requires no special clothing.

Runners typically dress in shorts or tights along with singlets, technical shirts, and other items. Cyclists also wear similar gear along with helmets and special shoes. Then, there are the gym rats who typically wear shorts and a T-shirt. All in all, I have always felt like an idiot when dressed in gear like that. I won't even take out the garbage in my sleepwear much less exercise in clothes that are less than the sweatpants I wear to bed.

Though some people dress for walking in athletic apparel, I prefer walking in the same clothes that I wear for work. I am usually dirty and sweaty from yard work and chores, so I never understood why you need another outfit for getting dirty and sweaty. Walking does not require special athletic apparel, and I like this. I walk in normal clothes.

There are a few special things I put on for walking. The most obvious would be comfortable shoes. I like the New Balance 608 shoes paired with a thick pair of Thorlo socks. Some people will mock these shoes as "dad shoes." I think they are awesome. If you are going to walk, you should invest in comfortable footwear. I like New Balance because they offer these shoes in wide sizes, and they don't make radical changes in their designs from one year to the next. Plus, these 608s are cheap.

Another thing I wear is a Carhartt boonie hat. A friend of mine wears a broad brimmed hat on his walks, and he has become famous around town for that hat. I wear a similar hat. I believe in protecting your face and ears from sun exposure.

A final thing I wear is a yellow and orange reflective vest I purchased from Harbor Freight. I only wear this when walking on the road. People will run you over especially when it is dark. I know to always walk facing traffic and be visible.

I have some gadgets I use for walking. I do not use a smartwatch or a pedometer or a fitness tracker like the FitBit. Some people like to quantify every aspect of their walking, but I don't care about that. I prefer wearing a cheap Casio G-Shock watch. There are more expensive models of the G-Shock that have all those tracking features, but I only need a stopwatch or a timer. I walk for time, so I only need a watch to keep track of what I am doing.

Another gadget I carry is an old school compass with a clip on it. I think it was $5 on Amazon. I call it the poor man's GPS. I find it is easy to get disoriented on a path or trail or even a neighborhood of homes that look the same. I clip the compass to the string that has my safety whistle and homemade dog tag.

One of the great advantages of wearing regular clothes is that you have pockets. Runners go out almost naked. The bulkiest thing they might carry is a music player or smartphone. I think this makes them bait for pit bulls and criminals. Because I have pockets, I can carry my cellphone and some pepper spray and even a snack if I feel fainty. If I want to carry more like a water bottle, I throw on a backpack. Walking isn't bouncy like running, so you can go heavy if you need to do that.

2. Walking strengthens your legs, feet, hips, and back muscles.

One of the pleasant things I have discovered from walking is how much stronger my body has become from the lower back on down.  You don't have to worry about skipping leg day with walking. I am amazed at how my legs feel. Walking is cardio with strength exercise as a bonus. I think pairing walking with bodyweight exercises like squats and push ups is a perfect combo. Runners tend to become scrawny and weak while bodybuilders become bulky. The walking/bodyweight exercise combo is the perfect midpoint between these extremes. You can have both strength and endurance without compromising either.

I also think walking helps to rehab injuries. I have a few of those. I have to say that my knee feels worse when I don't walk than when I walk. Additionally, walking has had a significant impact in helping me recover from TBI. I think sitting does more harm than walking.

3. Walking builds community.

When I started walking, I finally met my neighbors. I also met other walkers. I also inspired others to take up walking. One neighbor started walking with his family, and he wore a boonie hat like me. I can't help but think I had some kind of impact on him. Either way, his family took up exercise.

I have read that walking your neighborhood drives down crime. This is because the criminal element sees the walkers and doesn't want the attention. When you walk, you automatically become a part of the neighborhood watch. Walkable neighborhoods are safe neighborhoods.

4. Walking improves mental health and thinking.

I always feel better mentally after a walk. My wife says I always come back in a better mood. Walking also gives you time and space to think. Walking's reputation for improving mental health and thinking has a long history. Many writers and thinkers were walkers and found the exercise to be essential to their creative work and mental health.

I prefer not to listen to music when I walk. I think earphones and headphones are unsafe, and I find that distraction is a waste of the walk. I think far too much of our lives are consumed by distractions, and we would all benefit from a daily time to reflect without those distractions. Walking gives you that time.

5. You can walk anywhere, and it is a great way to see new places.

You can't run in a mall without someone thinking you are a shoplifter. But you can walk in a mall. That is why walking is so convenient as an exercise. I see people walking the parking lot at work on their lunch breaks. Smart workplaces go ahead and build a walking path on campus. You can walk downtown. When you travel, walking is the best way to see the sights.

6. There is no competition in walking.

Runners, cyclists, and triathletes like to enter races. Even gym rats have gotten into the competitive action with those CrossFit games. I don't know what it is about these people that feel the desperate need to validate their existence through competition, but I find it ridiculous.

Walking has a competitive element known as racewalking. It is the most ridiculed sport at the Olympics as these people contort their bodies in the desperate effort to walk fast without bursting into a run. I have zero interest in racewalking. If it was up to me, I would ban it from the Olympics.

I am never training for a competition when I walk. I just walk. The only organized events that I might do would be some walks for charity. But these aren't races. You just join up with other walkers to bring attention and raise money for a cause.

Those are six things I like about walking. There are two things I don't like about walking. That would be rainstorms and darkness. I have a raincoat and a headlamp, but I don't gamble with thunder and lightning. I don't encounter much snow and ice where I live, but I have a plan for that stuff if it comes. Because I like walking, it is the exercise that I find myself doing on a consistent basis. I think if you like your exercise, you will keep doing it.

Walking Is Better Than Running

An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.

HENRY DAVID THOREAU

I am not a doctor or any sort of exercise expert. This essay is merely my opinion as a nobody in the medical and physical fitness worlds. Finally, you should consult a physician before beginning any exercise program. I have to put that there because idiots will go out and have a coronary event while exercising and want to sue someone over it. You've been warned.

There are many forms of cardiovascular exercise. You can ride a bike either on the road or a stationary version in a gym. There are the rowing machines and the stair climber machines. There is the pool for the swimmers. There is cross country skiing if you can find the snow. But the most popular form of cardiovascular exercise in our time has to be long distance running.

The reason running is popular is obvious. It is free. You put on shoes and running clothes and go outside. That's it. From there, you can run to modest goals like losing weight or bigger goals like completing a marathon or an ultramarathon. Running has a lot to offer. Unfortunately, it has one gigantic drawback. Running is an activity filled with various and chronic injuries.

Runners reading this may jump on the defensive, but this is an argument they are going to lose. Pick up a copy of a running magazine, and you are guaranteed to have an article about an injury, preventing an injury, treating an injury, or buying a particular shoe or other product that may help you with an injury. Additionally, you will read some heartbreaking article about some professional runner who had to pull out of a race because of an injury or is trying heroically to come back from an injury.

Injuries are common to runners. You get the clue when you see so many podiatry and orthopedic clinics sponsoring road races. They know their customer base. For a free sport, it sure ends up costing a lot of dough in medical expenses and equipment to deal with all of those injuries. I recall one ultrarunner who lost a year in dealing with Haglund's deformities on both heels that required surgery and rehab. He is a professional ultrarunner, so I assume he has good health insurance. I just know that most people don't.

That is the irony of running. It improves your cardiovascular health at the expense of your knees, hips, back, and on and on. There are studies that suggest that runners can run a lifetime without serious injury, but I think those studies suffer from survivorship bias. This is because seriously injured people wise up and quit running. There are 90-year-old smokers, so it is no surprise that there are 90-year-old runners.

The reality is that running is an activity of the chronically injured. Running is what you do between lying on the couch for days or weeks recovering from running injuries. Many have tried to cure this injury problem. For awhile, running barefoot or in minimalist footwear was offered as a solution, but this fad suffered a mortal wound when the biggest proponent of barefoot running was revealed to be hiding his own injuries. The minimalist argument is that running barefoot or in minimalist footwear requires an adjustment period. I can't speak on that except anecdotally. I just recall another ultrarunner who ran in minimalist shoes who now runs in conventional shoes after a long time away from the sport battling injuries.

There are those who take the opposite extreme who run in maximalist footwear that resemble marshmallows that you put on your feet. These cushy shoes promise a sweet ride that is injury free. The reality is that the injuries move up the leg to the knees and the hips.

With all of the frustration over running injuries, the advice for injuries is some variation of the same formula--stop running. This may be cutting back, taking a rest, or doing cross training. Regardless, the one sure cure for running injuries is to stop running.

Fortunately, there is a cardiovascular exercise that offers most of the same benefits of running but without the high injury rate. This exercise is walking.

Walking is better than running. The injury rate is much lower. It is more pleasant. It gives greater peace of mind. You don't need special clothes to walk. You can do it anytime almost anywhere. And almost anyone can do it. The only thing running has on walking is that running burns more calories in a shorter time period. I think this is an acceptable trade off to avoid the injuries of running.

Walking is an underrated exercise. It doesn't get promoted because there's not much money to be made from walking. Walking shoes last longer than running shoes, so there's not a huge market there. The ones who do promote walking are health insurance companies wanting to save on healthcare expenses. That should be a big clue about the value of walking.

Speaking from personal experience, I used to run when I was younger, but I ended up hurting myself. I have had sciatica, plantar fasciitis, ITB syndrome, shin splints, knee issues, and Achilles tendonitis resulting in a lump on the back of my right heel which is there to the present day. That lump is why I threw in the towel on running as exercise.

I walk now. I have experienced no injuries from walking since I started doing it a year ago as rehab in my physical therapy. Walking has helped me tremendously. I can't recommend it enough. Conversely, I see running as utterly stupid, and I don't recommend it.

Sometime in the seventies, running was sold as good exercise. It was a fad for the time, but it has persisted for some odd reason. I think its persistence comes from the combination of two factors. The first is the low barrier of entry to running which entices beginners, and the second is the money that is made from those beginners as they start getting injured. Running gets promoted while walking doesn't. So, this is how you get thousands running marathons each year, but they fight for the closest parking space at the grocery store.

There is also no vanity in being a walker. Walking is something old folks do at the mall. Runners take pride in running as evidenced by all of those races and finisher's medals. Walking is humble. That humility has inspired a saying I tell myself each day. The gentle path is the certain path.

I enjoy walking. I can't say the same for running. I hated running and still hate it. Running is more about masochism than health and fitness. And I find that the most enthusiastic promoters of walking are ex-runners who got tired of the injuries.

Walking is better than running. If you are one of those rare types who can run without pain and injury, continue running. Just don't sell me on it anymore because I'm not buying it.

UPDATE #1: Here is a relevant article from the NYT:

Running vs. Walking: Which Is Better for Lasting Health? - The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/14/well/move/walking-running-health-benefits.html

https://archive.is/z2HI2

Walking is underrated because running is overrated (and oversold.) As usual, you find the truth in the combox not the article.--C.

From the combox:

I am a veteran of more than 100 triathlons, including 3x Ironman. I've run five marathons, and countless road races. For so, so many years running was definitely the "winner." Even after I stopped training for events, I ran for fitness for years. Until...

One day I walked. I don't know why, but the universe just made me walk instead of run. Never looked back. And trust me, my knees, tendons, ligaments, and psyche are better for it. My health and bloodwork is as good, and my heart is definitely happier less stressed. Pairing walking with strength training is a very effective healthy match.

I've seen the running mountaintop, and in the end, meh.

***

Maybe running is better from a purely physiological point of view, but a form of exercise that people can stick to over the long term, enjoy, is accessible to people of most ages, and that they can do in regular clothes is practically much better than one that requires special gear and a high level of baseline fitness and health to perform.

Unfortunately too many MDs and exercise influencers make the perfect the enemy of the good when it comes to health, discouraging many who could benefit from light to moderate and sustainable exercise like walking to get started.

***

I find running very often leads to a minor injury, which leads to not running for a while.

Walking, on the other hand, has produced no injuries, and I can walk 5 miles every morning, enjoying the quiet and solitude.

My vote is for walking.

***

NYT… Really? Please don’t discourage people who have found better health by walking. So, so many folks have found their way to exercise by incorporating a walk into their daily or weekly regime. It can be done anywhere… alone or with a friend… and it’s free!

An article like this makes people who have incorporated something healthy into their lives lose their incentive.

To my fellow walkers…. keep up the good work!

***

The best exercise is the one you actually do.

***

When I run, all I want to do the entire time is to stop.  But when I walk, I walk for miles without even thinking about it.  I do it every day, and it's enough.  There is a happiness factor to attend to.

***

These studies, or at least their reporting,  is wrong headed.

The bulk of health gains come from increasing the amount of walking from zip to some. If everyone did that the nation as a whole would be fine.

One of the biggest hindrances to getting people to walk is to tell them that running would be better! Give me a break. That attitude implies that walking is a waste of time.  And Mr Couch knows he's not going running.

Get people walking some, and save the optimization reports for Running magazine.

***

"Running is better."

This advertisement brought to you by orthopedic surgeons, Drs Payme, Idrivabenz, and Letsgetoperating.

In ten years of clinical practice, I have yet to see an American in good enough shape where running would be safer and more efficient than walking. No only is it associated with less wear and tear on knees and ankles, but the average American is overweight enough that significant gains can be made with weight and health simply by walking and increasing distance. Further, it has the distinction of being associated with reduction of inflammation which simply is not true of running.

The overwhelming percentage of people would benefit more from dietary changes, walking, and strength training. Running is a very unpopular sport in the rest of the world, and it's simply not sustainable for most people.

***

This seems to be written by and for that sub set of people who are not satisfied with exercise unless it hurts. Also making walkers think they are inadequate is a common past time as well. Move your body--every day. From what I understand the main benefit of running over walking is that the benefits are gained in less time. But at what cost?

UPDATE #2:

Running is an injury-prevention game. If you can stay healthy, you will see improvement. But running’s super abusive, so it’s hard to stay healthy. You’re literally just pounding the ground with your body. It’s really destructive.

ANTON KRUPICKA

Mountain athlete defined: Anton Krupicka talks trail running

https://www.themanual.com/outdoors/anton-krupicka-trail-running/

Krupicka has been one of the most chronically injured athletes in the sport of ultrarunning. He is a great example of why I think walking is better than running. He should keep his other outdoor pursuits and take up hiking instead of running.--C.

Housekeeping

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

TEDDY ROOSEVELT

The Gentle Reader will be forgiven for thinking that I have abandoned this blog because of the long hiatus since my last post. I have not abandoned the blog, but I did take time away to work on things in my personal life that needed my full attention. One of those things was a 9 year project that has come to a satisfying end. I thank God for helping me on that.

I have been rethinking my life for the past year and trying to decide where to go from here. My projects are the same, but I have made some adjustments to those projects as my situation has changed. It's like picking a destination but changing the route on the way because of road construction or what have you. I call these adjustments "pivots." They are not major changes but minor changes.

My first pivot has been to abandon fiction writing completely. The biggest reason I did not write more fiction was because I lacked the time to write short stories and novels. Now that I have time for that stuff, I have a better reason for not writing fiction. I'm not good at it. I am good at writing non-fiction stuff. It comes easy for me, and people say good things to me about my non-fiction pieces. The same is not true for my fiction. I also hate writing fiction. It takes too much out of me, and I never feel satisfaction about the results.

I am not a perfectionist, but I do believe in not wasting time on things you're not good at doing. I am not good at fiction. I think most fiction writers are not good at writing fiction.

I am also not good at writing poems. I've written a few, but I just don't care to write poems. My problem is that I have imagined myself as some kind of full spectrum writer, but I am mostly good at writing essays and journalism. And let's admit something to ourselves. We always prefer a true story to a fake story.

My second pivot has been taking up walking as my cardio exercise. I used to run in my younger days, but I see running as stupid now because of the high injury rate. I like walking, and it fits my writer's lifestyle and mind. A lot of my writer heroes were walkers. Walking gives you time to think. I'll have more to say on this topic in a future post.

My third pivot has been embracing what I call "strategic rest." For the last two decades, I have been concerned with time, money, and energy. I figured out the time problem and the money problem. But I never figured out the energy problem until now. Then, I had an epiphany while out for a walk.

I used to sleep six hours each night. I admired people who bragged about getting by on four hours. One of those people was Arianna Huffington. Then, Huffington fainted from exhaustion and smashed her head on a desk cutting her cheek. She woke up in a pool of her own blood and decided she needed a saner lifestyle.

I don't believe people sleep four hours per night. I think they deprive themselves during the week and catch up on the weekend. They lie. When someone like Huffington does it, it doesn't go well.

I could never get by on four hours of sleep. On six hours, I functioned normally but never at what I consider an optimal level. The result has been lethargy and a lack of energy. My answer was to drink large quantities of coffee and Mountain Dew. I now see this as stupid. I still drink coffee, but I believe in getting eight hours or more each night. And if you need a nap, take it.

I don't believe in being lazy, but I also know that you don't get more done when you burn the candle at both ends. The reason people don't have energy and feel bad all the time is because they are sleep deprived. When you sleep, you recharge the battery. When the battery is charged, you can get more done.

Life has limits. Because of this, I now have a rest strategy. I also believe in taking a day of rest on the Lord's Day. I don't care for vacations or leisure. I just think eight hours of sleep each night, a daily nap, and a day of rest are what helps you recharge. If you schedule your work around your rest, you will have more energy and get the same amount done.

I have a lot of challenges in my life right now, and those challenges are the primary reasons for these pivots. I have less to give now which means I have to be wiser in what I spend the rest of my life doing. I am old and beat up. I'm just not dead. So, I am going to do what I can with what I have where I am at. That's all any of us can do.