导出博客文章I dread solo runs the way the average person hates tax time.
Tony Gonzalez Jersey . The solitary nature of the run forces me to turn inward, and as a goal-oriented overachiever with a fear of failure, I hate the introspection that these runs cultivate.The thought of spending hours wrestling with my body, willing it to keep going, with no distractions and no community support makes me question my sanity. Ive tried all of the recommended tips and mental tricks, as well as fitness gadgets and apps to make solo running for long distances better.Only one thing has done the trick: virtual runs.I joined two virtual running groups on Facebook because of my love for Harry Potter --?Nerd Herd Running, with money going to the nonprofit Stupid Cancer, and the Hogwarts Running Club, who donates to a different organization every race. When I ran the Dementors Kiss 5K with the Hogwarts Running Club, we raised $45,000 for Miles for Cystic Fibrosis. I liked the idea that the money I spent fueling my running habit also had a larger purpose.Virtual races are runs of a predetermined length that can take place at any location of your choosing during a particular week. You pay the race registration fee and receive a runners bib in your email. Certain running groups require that you submit a proof of time, and after a couple of weeks, you receive a finishers medal.These races dont require travel, so theyre easier on the wallet. And best of all, there are no long lines at the porta-potty.For me, these runs are the perfect combination of nerd culture and running community. Running is one of those activities I never thought I would do. I abhorred physical exercise as a child. I was sedentary in my early 20s from a combination of depression and self-loathing. I wanted to be invisible.One phone call changed my life.It was my 27th birthday, and I needed serious convincing that I should live another year. My childhood friend Jillian called. Buried under the floral comforter in my bedroom, iPhone on speaker, I told her that I am not sure I wanted to continue living.She persuaded me to make a list of all the things I couldnt do, but that I dream of doing. On my list was a completing a marathon.Jill suggested we start small, with a princess-themed 5K. We registered, trained and finished the race together. From there we took on 10Ks and half-marathons and multiple-day challenges.Ive been running, off and on, ever since. Exercise is my version of Defense Against the Dark Arts.?I let my imagination loose on these runs.***Its 5 a.m. when my earbuds go in, and the fusion of sight and sound begins a seamless transition to the Harry Potter Universe. My mind fills in the gaps of my elaborate fantasy. Everyday sights and sounds, with their metronomic regularity, transform into rhythmic spectacle.My environment becomes animated -- lampposts change into floating candles, illuminating my path. The local YMCA, which towers above the rest of the landscape, morphs into the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, strong dramatic architecture silhouetted against an enchanted navy sky.For the first half of my run, I evade the dark forces. Halfway through, my left heel is sore, and my right knee threatens to be uncooperative.I stop.Thats when the Dementors show up. In the Harry Potter Universe, theyre mystical figures shrouded in black gossamer cloth, and they thrive on despair. Their main purpose is to suck the happiness and good memories out of the people that they come across.In my mind theyre always hovering on the periphery, waiting time until I let my guard down. Doubt doesnt take long to blossom once its taken root -- I know that from near fatal bouts with depression. Those brushes with the spectral always left me listless and unmotivated, wracked with nightmares and harboring the belief that I was devoid of talent.I have to keep running. I make it past a large tree Ive dubbed the Whomping Willow before I was forced to stop again. Up ahead I see a Boggart, a shape-shifting creature that takes on the form of the thing you fear most.The resurrected corpse looks like me, but smells like betrayal -- wet, decaying flesh giving way due to neglect. Brain slightly atrophied, cloaked in anger, frustration and fear. She utters sharp, mean statements: I am not fast. I am not brave. I am a failure.My run has a new sense of urgency, to prove the other me wrong, to conquer the things that threaten to drown me if I ever give myself permission to think about them.I am the protagonist. I cant outrun this variant of myself. I have to face her. I surrender to the run; I stop obsessing about the time.I pull the terrible memories and places out of myself and leave them on the pavement. In this alternate universe, I could be gifted and hardworking, and villains were always vanquished, even though all enchantments come with a price. I dont have to be fast -- I just have to finish.Monsters, after all, can be defeated. I know I deserve to cultivate hope, to have peace. I understand it is my right to be happy. My creativity allows me to believe in the incredible, to not be limited by the bounds of my own experience. I know, at the end of all of this, that I can endure.Latria Graham is a writer, editor and cultural critic. She is currently living in South Carolina. Follow her @LGRaconteur
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http://www.falconsrookiestore.com/Falcons-Julio-Jones-Jersey/ . Giroud, who wasnt in the starting lineup for two matches after allegations about his private life and a decline in form, scored twice in the first half. Tomas Rosickys chip made it 3-0 before half time at Emirates Stadium, while defender Laurent Koscielny scored an unmarked header in the second half. RIO DE JANEIRO -- The first Olympic rugby gold medal in 92 years has gone to a group of Australian women that includes a mechanic, an elite former sprinter and a 21-year-old newcomer who has traveled around Rio de Janeiro carrying an inflatable kangaroo.Australia absorbed an expected early battering from New Zealand and conceded an early try before responding with four consecutive tries to win the womens rugby sevens final 24-17 on Monday.It was a typical trans-Tasman battle, Australia co-captain Shannon Parry said, referring to the intense sporting rivalry between her country and neighboring New Zealand. Very excited, very elated with what weve achieved.The sevens world series-winning Australian women extended their streak to five straight wins against 2013 World Cup winner New Zealand, quite a change in fortune in the broader rugby context.Australias mens team, the Wallabies, have struggled against New Zealands famous All Blacks for more than a decade in the traditional 15-a-side game. The All Blacks have not only retained the Bledisloe Cup, theyve also won two World Cups -- beating Australia in the final last year.The womens sevens team usurped New Zealand in the rankings, winning the world series for the first time last season. The Australian Rugby Union put them on contracts, set up an academy for sevens and allowed them to train as professional athletes.When I started the game, womens rugby in Australia wasnt very big, Parry said. It was very much a minority sport.To think, eight years down the track, Im an Olympian, I play rugby as a full-time job. I just think how far the game has gone.Rugby is back in the Olympics for the first time since 1924, but in the condensed sevens format and with women competing for the first time. Canada beat Britain 33-10 for bronze, avenging a 22-0 loss the previous day at the end of the pool stage. The United States beat France 19-5, after a come-from-behind 12-7 win over Fiji, to secure fifth place.The mens tournament kicks off Tuesday, with Fiji the favorite for gold.Each tournament is played across three days and involved 12 tteams.
John Cominsky Falcons Jersey. The top eight from the pool stage advance to the quarterfinals, and the winners of those matches go into the playoff for medals.Australia beat Canada 17-5 and New Zealand beat Britain 25-7 in the womens semifinals to set up the long-anticipated decider.It was all going New Zealands way when Kayla McAlister scored the first try, but the Australians rallied with tries from Emma Tonegato and Evania Pelite before halftime.Tonegatos early equalizer was contentious as she crashed over near the corner flag, but referee Alhambra Nievas awarded the try after checking with both assistant referees.A yellow card for New Zealand star Portia Woodman resulted in a significant momentum swing for the Australians.Pelite ran on to a long, floating pass from Alicia Quirk and scored out wide on the stroke of halftime, moments after Woodman was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on.When Ellia Green and Charlotte Caslick scored to lift Australias lead to 24-5, the final was as good as won. New Zealand cut the margin with a second try for McAlister and another for Woodman, her 10th of the tournament.Its an international fact that New Zealand and Aussie are just really good at competing against each other, Woodman said. They love it, and rugbys in our genes, and we knew they were going to bring it.Shes targeting Olympic gold in Tokyo, saying Im not feeling like this again.Until then, the Australians have gold. Pelite, who has to carry around the boxing kangaroo and place it beside the field for each game because shes the youngest member of the touring squad, will probably get to turn over the rookie duties to somebody else.The Aussies expect to keep the squad together and keep promoting the sport for another generation, meaning co-captain Sharni Williams wont have to go back to working as a mechanic -- unless she wants to -- and Green may stick around as the fastest women in world rugby instead of trying to become an Olympian in track and field. ' ' '
