Don't renegotiate, steeper is cheaper and turning 99

I just got back from a visit with my grandmother who recently turned 99. Imagine seeing this past decade and all that has changed. My niece asked her what her favorite era in fashion has been and she said it was the miniskirts of the late 60s and early 70s. Love that! She thinks she is losing memory but I think it is fair to assume you won't remember all the things that happened when they are 40, 60 and 80 years ago. She is sharp as a tack but cannot understand my career, am I an adult gym teacher? She also can't understand how I get paid through the TV. (I don't but thank you Venmo) 

Her mother lived to 99 and now here she is at the same milestone. It makes me wonder if I will see the age of 99 in 2074. Genetics seem to be strong here, I just might and the year 2074 feels like science fiction. I am guessing super shoe mid-soles will be about four inches high, we will have seen a women break the 2-hour marathon barrier and I don't even want to know how many grams of carbs per hour we will be up to by then. Long races will be weeks long and I will be messing up and calling it a 50k. I do hope if I live to 99 that it includes quality time outside, friends (better start making much younger friends!) and something that gives me as much purpose as running. Stay tuned, maybe I will still be sending Tuesday emails. 

STEEPER IS CHEAPER
"A steep slope will have a shorter course distance but be harder to run up. A gentle slope will be easier to run up but cover a longer total distance. For a given finishing time, what’s the sweet spot?" The article in Outside Magazine, Why Steeper Is Cheaper for Climbing Hills, by Alex Hutchinson answers the question how to choose a trail up a hillside for maximum speed, the longer but less steep way or right up. "If you’re choosing between two routes, remember this: If one route is twice as steep as the other, you’d have to walk twice as fast up the gentler route to reach the top in the same time. Counterintuitive though it may sound, that data shows that under most circumstances, twice as steep is easier than twice as fast."

A FEW GOOD READS

• "I got my first period in 15 years the morning of a big race, and didn’t know what to do". An article by professional bike racer, Sarah Sturm. 
• “The primary lesson from the monks is one of commitment. When you commit to doing something—do it! Don’t make excuses. Don’t renegotiate. Just do what you said you would do—as if your life depended on it.” -Stan Beecham, Elite Minds: Creating the Competitive Advantage, the next book on my to read list.
• Words From the Wild is written by Heather Anderson, National Geographic Explorer of the Year and famous thru-hiker. She writes monthly articles and if you are thinking about going long, read here.

STRENGTH TRAINING
Change out of your work pajamas and into your workout pajamas tomorrow night for Strength Training for Runners. Live to your screen on Wednesdays, stay home, get strong. Information here. 
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