the morning shakeout | issue 490
A conversation with Sebastian Junger, groundhog day for marathoners, what we're willing to endure, and a lot more.
Good morning! Last Friday afternoon, I published the latest episode of the morning shakeout podcast—a nearly 90-minute conversation with Sebastian Junger, best known as the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Storm, Fire, A Death in Belmont, War, Tribe, Freedom, and In My Time of Dying. He’s also an award-winning journalist, Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker, and just generally a pretty fascinating dude.
What most people don’t know about Sebastian is that he was a hell of a distance runner back in his day, with personal bests ranging from 3:55 in the 1500 meters to 2:21 in the marathon. After reading Tribe several years ago I did what I often do and dove deep down a rabbit hole to learn as much as I could about the man whose book I had just blown through in a matter of days. Sebastian, who is now in his early 60s, does not have much of a personal online presence (his website and social media accounts are all managed by his publisher), but he’s done a fair number of interviews over the years. In a few of them, he casually mentioned that he used to be a pretty good distance runner, but that was the extent of it—no follow-up questions from the interviewers and no elaboration on his part.
Well, come to find out he was, in fact, a pretty dang good distance runner and even ran collegiately at Wesleyan in the early ’80s. (n.b. Wesleyan is the same small Connecticut school that produced marathon legend Bill Rodgers, 1968 Boston Marathon champion Amby Burfoot, Olympian Jeff Galloway, and others.) Anyway, Sebastian quickly rose to my short list of people I’d like to interview someday, but I never pursued it with any real effort.
Fast forward to last June. I had spent a good chunk of the month in Missouri helping take care of my father-in-law, who was recovering from quadruple bypass surgery. While waiting at the airport to fly home, I went into the bookstore and Sebastian’s latest book, In My Time of Dying, was right there staring me in the face. I bought it without hesitation and finished it on the flight. It’s a captivating, front-line account of his near-death experience after a ruptured aneurysm, coupled with a simultaneous exploration of mortality, the afterlife, and the mysteries of the universe. I was hooked from the get-go. In the weeks and months that followed, I recommended the book to anyone who would listen.
One of those folks was Phil Shin, who, unbeknownst to me, attended one of Sebastian’s readings last November in Southern California. After the event, Phil texted me a photo of himself standing with Sebastian and a copy of the book. My response was, “Dream podcast guest!” Phil replied with Sebastian’s email address and said, “He's very interested in chatting with you!” I was floored. Talk about mysteries of the universe. Phil, who shared his own story on the podcast a few years ago and has since become a dear friend, made one of my wildest dreams come true without me ever telling him that it was a dream of mine. I couldn’t be more grateful.
Well, a little over a week ago I was in New York supporting a few of my athletes at a race outside the city. Knowing Sebastian was based in NYC, I reached out to him ahead of time to see if he’d be willing to sit down and have an in-person chat with me for the podcast. Not only was he game, but he couldn’t have been more generous with his time, or more excited to talk about running, something that is still a huge part of his identity and has had a profound impact on how he sees and moves through the world.
I thoroughly enjoyed learning about his background in the sport and how his relationship to running has evolved over the years. Sebastian told me about the lessons running has taught him, particularly the importance of not negotiating with yourself when things get hard and you want to quit. We also discussed the parallels between competitive running and being in combat — “There’s nothing like fear and exhaustion to wipe out your ego,” he explained — his journey to becoming a journalist and eventually an author, his writing process, the race he’s spent his entire life training for, and much more.
This was a special one, chock full of stories and wisdom, and I couldn’t be more excited to share it. Please give it a listen wherever you get your podcasts or at this handy link.
Quick Splits
— The Boston Marathon is three weeks from yesterday. Everyone’s been in pretty deep for a while now because, well, that’s the deal. The daily rhythm is some version of run, eat, work, eat, maybe run again, eat some more, sleep, repeat (at least for the marathoners amongst us with day jobs). In the latest installment of his Boston-themed video series, “No Man’s Land,” Olympian Clayton Young talks about how this is the part of the marathon build that feels like groundhog day, whether it’s your actual job, as it is for him, or just feels like a job, because, well, this marathon business is a lot of work no matter who you are. “That’s when it can become super monotonous,” he explains. “If you can lock in, then you can build something that you are really proud of, no matter the result on race day.”
— If there’s a theme in this week’s newsletter it has something to do with commitment and making a voluntary choice to endure pain and difficulty on the path toward seeking meaning, purpose, and fulfillment. It came up in the conversation I had for the podcast with Sebastian Junger, it’s present in the aforelinked video with Clayton Young, it shows up again later in this newsletter, and it’s the subject of this wonderful essay by David Brooks, in which he writes, “We want to see our life as a drama, and the essence of drama is one person’s ferocious desire to confront an enormous obstacle, and the struggle to overcome that obstacle. If you want to understand any character, in a drama or in life, ask, ‘What pains is he willing to endure?’ Some choose the pains of medical school or the priesthood or police work, but through the struggle at least we are acting, improving our skills.” This all resonated with me, especially as it relates to running and writing, two practices that are foundational pieces of my life. For me, running 6-7 days a week for the past 27 years, or sitting down to write a newsletter every week for nearly 10 years straight, has nothing to do with willpower or motivation or streaking or accolades or recognition or any of that bullshit—it’s just what I do. It’s about a commitment to showing up consistently, even when I don’t feel like it. These practices shape me into the person I want to be: someone who’s reliable and puts in the work, no matter what. Anything beyond that is a bonus.
— Last fall in Issue 467 I wrote three-sentence reviews of the last five books I read and it was really well received. I’ve decided to try and make this a quarterly feature of the newsletter since I read, on average, about a book a month. (I should note that I’m probably the world’s slowest reader. My secret? iPhone/iPad not allowed in bedroom and 10-60 minutes of reading every night before turning the lights out. That’s it.) Anyway, here are the last three books I read and what I thought about them:
+ The Barn, by Wright Thompson: As only he can, Thompson reports the shit out of one of the most notorious, consequential, and mistold killings in American history, that of Emmett Till in Mississippi in 1955. Part of what makes the book so meaningful is how personal it is to Thompson, who was born and raised in Mississippi, but didn’t learn about Till’s murder until he went off to college in Missouri. This is essential reading about an ugly, often untold history, no matter where you’re from or call home.
+ Long Distance, by Bill McKibben: This was a pretty breezy read but I got a lot out of it. McKibben writes about his experience trying to train like a champion cross-country skier for a year, an experience that doesn’t seem to be teaching him anything until his dad unexpectedly develops a life-threatening condition. The story is a nice reflection, and reminder, on what it means to endure, overcome, and make peace with our body and the effort it puts out.
+ The Norwegian Method, by Brad Culp: Yes, there are chapters in here on double-threshold training and lactate testing but they’re the least interesting parts of the book, in my opinion. What I did find fascinating, however, was the history lesson on Norway and Scandinavian culture in general, as well as the profiles of the athletes, coaches, and scientists that helped influence and shape endurance sports success in this tiny country. In short, come for the training secrets and deep dive into data, leave with an appreciation for the immeasurable impact of lifestyle, tradition, and community.
— I’m not sure how I didn’t come across it until a few days ago but Macy Gray performing an acoustic cover of Radiohead’s “Creep” in 2012 is pretty incredible. Just trust me on this one.
— From the archives (Issue 282, 4 years ago this week): It’s 15 years old but this paper (free download) from Janet Sternberg outlining Neil Postman’s advice for how to live the rest of your life had me laughing, cringing, and nodding my head all at the same time. Postman, who passed away in 2003, was a professor and writer who wrote more than a few prescient books on technology and the effect it would have on culture and society. (A lot of what he wrote still holds true today.) Anyway, two of his first five points, specifically, “Do not go to live in California,” and “Do not become a jogger. If you are one, stop immediately,” sucked me in right away.(n.b. Here’s a summary from Austin Kleon if you can’t, or don’t want to, access the original paper.)
The New Balance FuelCell Rebel v4 is the trainer I rock for nearly every workout I do and they recently dropped it in a fresh new colorway: hot mango. As fast and fun as carbon-plated shoes can be, it’s important not to be overly reliant on them for all your track sessions, fartleks, hills, and tempo runs. The Rebel v4s allow your feet to do what they want to do while providing plenty of protection underfoot when you’re putting a lot of extra force into the ground. They offer a responsive ride in a flexible, lightweight package that will fit a variety of foot types (n.b. my wider-than-average forefoot really appreciates them!). The FuelCell Rebel v4 is available at your favorite run specialty store or at newbalance.com (men’s sizes here, women’s sizes here).
Are you going to be in Boston on marathon weekend? Come check out the New Balance Marathon Relay at The TRACK on Saturday, April 19, beginning at 3:30 PM. Cheer on the runners (especially the morning shakeout racing team!), enjoy food and drinks in the infield, take in some live entertainment, get in on some giveaways, and be part of an exciting night in Boston. Attendance is free but a ticket is required for admission. Get yours right here!
Workout of the Week: 2-Minute Reps
Not every workout will leave you hunched over with your hands on your knees afterward—in fact, most of them shouldn’t—but every once in a while you just need to go out and make yourself as uncomfortable as possible. This workout will improve your fitness as well as your ability to deal in discomfort, which will better prepare you for the rigors of racing, and life. Two minutes is not a long time but it can feel like an eternity when the intensity and pressure are both high. There’s a lot of power in being able to confidently tell yourself, “I can do anything for two minutes!” when you’re in an uncomfortable situation. Here are the details.
The bottom line.
“This may sound masochistic, but forcing yourself is a part of competitive running and you either are good at it and become better at it, or you never take up the challenge.”
— Bill Rodgers, Marathoning, page 167 (n.b. This quote came up in the aforementioned podcast with Sebastian Junger and I couldn’t not share it this week.)
That’s it for Issue 490. Please forward this email to a friend, share the web link on social media and/or in your group chats, leave a comment below this post, or reply to me directly at your own risk.
Thanks for reading,
Mario
One line that stuck with me in your conversation with Sebastian Junger: There're a lot of things that's easy to fix that can kill ya! As an athlete, it's easy to feel fit and almost invincible when you can churn out 70+ miles/week for months on end. But I learned fitness doesn't necessarily means nothing else is wrong with your body, especially when you reach an age that you need to schedule a colonoscopy.
I also identify with the monotomy of marathon training though I find it's monotomy at it's finest. And just like groundhog day, you learn a little bit daily. (How long did it takes for Bill Murray character to learn piano?). Monotomy can be boring sometimes but not necessarily a bad thing.
Wow - based on your newsletter I checked In My Time of Dying out from the library. Amazing book!
Hope all is good with you. I’ll finish the audiobook and then listen to your interview.
I’ve always avoided hid work because The Perfect Storm doesn’t seem like a book I’d enjoy. Now I’m even rethinking that.
Thanks