Hi Move Fast, Think Slow Readers - Welcome to this week’s dispatch. The last dispatch focused on Five perspectives on life, marketing and good vibes. A quick hitting thought provoking newsletter. Timeless perspectives provided by your guy Mitchy Biz.
Its been three months since the last dispatch. Being a family man while leading teams in advertising can be a lot sometimes. Its especially a lot when you’re doing that while training for the New York City Marathon. Your third marathon in a year. As the italians say, troppo, troppo, troppo. 😬
In this dispatch we talk running, and how the Election results garner introspection and signifies a shift into a different era.
LET’S TALK RUNNING
THE JOURNEY
In 2023, I decided I’d run as much I my body would allow, increasing my miles per month by +332%. At the end of 2023, I ran my first-ever New York City Marathon, running a 4:05:00 time. I was, in the words of the great Ray Lewis, pissed off for greatness (as in I did not like that 4:05 time).
So I signed up for the Los Angeles Marathon and ended up improving by 22 minutes in March. Then in May I got my PB (Personal Best Time) in the Brooklyn Half-Marathon (1:38:30). And now in November of 2024, my miles are up +50%, and I’m on track to book 1500 miles for the year.
In short, the 2023 - 2024 activity + numbers are up! 📈
TRAINING NOTES: NYC MARATHON PREP
Thanks to my wife's tenacity, I was able to find my way into the 2024 NYC Marathon (shout out to +Pool). Of course, running the NYC marathon meant I had to try to outdo the 3:43:40 time I got in LA. For this training cycle I decided to do the Hansons Method, which meant a few things. More miles per week than I was used to (45-60 miles per week) versus what I was doing last training cycle (30 - 45 miles per week). Also Hansons Method never goes above 16 miles for “long runs” and doesn’t have you do long runs on back-to-back weekends. That is a departure from the last training program I did. As Keith Hanson has said about his method: “my training program isn’t about getting you ready for the first 20 miles but the last 10.”
This training cycle was not short of setbacks. When I started in July, my Achilles wasn’t 100%, requiring treatment every night for weeks on end. Then, in September, my calf started acting up. Running 5-6 days a week, putting on 40 - 55 was draining, especially towards the end of the training cycle. There were days I was looking forward to the race just so I could stop running so much. Thanks to acupuncture, foam rolling (why it took me so long to discover this I do not know), cold plunges, and more, I was ready to go. I was feeling really strong on my runs, my VO2 Max grew by 3 points, and my running confidence was high.
THE 2024 NYC MARATHON - RACE DAY
The weather could not have been any better (45 - 50 degrees). No clouds. No wind. Ideal climate to go after a PB (Personal Best) / PR (Personal Record). Since I ran this same marathon a year ago, I had clearer ideas on how to treat the course. For instance, I knew I’d want to run fast in Williamsburg. I knew that Queensboro Bridge wasn’t something to play with. I knew that I have 8 - 10 miles where I can let it rip, so I had to preserve energy in the beginning and somewhere in the middle if I was to hit “go” at mile 16/17. And that’s what I did.
And my splits were cleeeeeeeean.
The Hansons Method did it’s job. The first two marathons I ran strong until mile 20 and my legs completely shut down. I lost a lot of time on the final 6 miles. In this year’s race my legs tightened up but I didn’t lose too much speed. It was a fight but one where I felt ready to take on without losing too much of a step.
There were so many great moments/memories too.
Running next to Forrest Gump.
Telling random runners, I was proud of them.
Taking selfies while running.
Seeing family and friends.
The woman on First Ave who saw my watch while I ran by yelling “F*$# yeah baby let’s go!”
The runner who was tailing me on the last 6 and who eventually won the last mile.
And in the end, laughing at myself and my fellow runners as we hobbled our way out of Central Park back to the city.
There is just nothing quite like letting it rip for 26.2 with humans from every part of the world. And there’s nothing quite like getting a new PB on the toughest marathon course in the game. Running has a lot to do with me finding new edges.
That new edge in training. That new edge in endurance. That new edge in the race itself. By breaking 3:30:00 with a 3:25:30 race time a new edge was indeed discovered. And with that, nothing will ever be the same. We are in a new realm.
ABOUT THAT ELECTION…
This is the only take you need to see because it’s straight a vibe and facts all the way up and down; this gentleman from Australia nails the entire situation in 53 seconds. With 2M views and 123K shares, this hot take hit a chord.
For me, this was yet again a shock to the system. A reminder of how half of the people in this nation prefer a mad horse and his mad horsemen over somewhat morally decent corporate politicians. I know the choices aren’t the greatest but why not err on the side of human decency? And support the people who believe in Women’s Rights.
From an academic point of view, I like to peel back the onion to understand how the presidential election arrived at this. There are always insights/truths buried beneath the surface that tell a larger story.
Isabel Wilkerson’s book CASTE, written four years ago has jumped to #5 on the NY Times Best Seller because people are trying to understand what’s really happening in this here United States of America. It’s not about the price of eggs or inflation, it’s about an intense cultural shifts and a large group of a certain populace seeing that as an existential threat. And it’s about the lengths they’re willing to go to ensure their status within the system. Eddie Huang cited similar elements to explain the results, touching on the poverty in rural America and white nationalism, re-sharing his 2017 interview with a White Nationalist. To Eddie, the explanation of the Presidential election isn’t about anything you’ll hear on TV news or on the front page of any major American newspaper. For Eddie, the explanation of certain voters opting out of Democracy is not about the price of eggs but about race and the feeling and reality of being left stranded.
I heard a quote the other day: People like Democracy until they need something to eat.
ANOTHER INSIGHT: EXPLOITING THE VIBES
People are angry AF out there in America and you can’t blame them. So much about what works for people in the country in a select few spots doesn’t work for the rest of the nation. And by doesn’t work I mean it seems like it’s barely functioning. A newly elected Democratic Congresswomen who won in a red district said Washington D.C. doesn’t understand her realities, for example 40% of the children born in a hospital in her district has a parent hooked on Fentanyl. 40%! It’s a lot worse out there than any major news media organization is ever going to lead us to believe. And that’s why the rural voter and others are fine with lighting it all on fire. It already is all on fire for them.
LOOKING AHEAD: THE PENDING VIBES SHIFT
As someone who consults companies on communications to sell an idea & products I’m wondering how this will all play out in the boardrooms and with the communication outputs we make.
I’m wondering how this will change people’s behaviors. I wonder how it’ll change the tone in which we communicate products / brand to the world. I’m wondering how loud the absurd propaganda machine will get. I wonder how creatives will pivot their work to try to thrive in this kind of climate.
One thing I believe we’ll see is that in the era of the carnival barker winning the day, absurd/outlandish communications will break through, but also good-natured community-first communications and humor. I wrote about the WWE-style of talking sh** in America seems to really attract large audiences two years ago, many of the findings in that piece are still true. And separate yet related how Liquid Death is completely absurd in their communications and continue to out-grow their competition.
One thing to look for is creative voices to redefine the modern hero’s journey. People will fight back against the toxicity and negativity in new ways. They’ll also continue to lean into absurdity because life is short, and we all should be laughing. It’s a power move, no matter what. Even if it feels like you’re huge ship just got hit by an iceberg. If you have a choice, be the delightful violinist playing until the last second. Okay that was dark but you get the point.
WHAT NOW: HOW TO EMBRACE THE COMING TIDE
Coretta King (MLK Jr’s Daughter) shared some tips that felt wise.
I also say:
Get healthy, eat right, and get physically healthy
Pull your community close, build new ones filled with positivity
Be kind, maybe be even more kind than you have ever been in your life
CONSIDER THIS: IT’S JUST AN ERA SHIFT
P.S. BOOKS WORTH DIVING INTO
The Awakened Brain by Lisa Miller - I’m reading about how spirituality is connected to brain science and how important it is to resilience. Its refershing to read how science is catching up to the vital importance of spirituality either with or without religion.
The Snowball - Warren Buffet biography by Alice Schroeder - Buffett is the most successful trader and one of the richest humans of all time. And the best part is he did it all from Omaha, Nebraska. An interesting character who had a very interesting journey. There are so many lessons about discipline, having a point of view, staying aggressive when you believe in an idea, and the importance of your network in this book.
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall - Reading about the Rarámuri who are the best ultrarunners in the world. What’s cool for me is that my Mexican heritage traces back to thes same region in Mexico that the Raràmuri live in. The books unpacks how the writer becomes a better runner by following the ways of the Raràmuri. And he also postulates how every human is born to run. That’s why I tell everyone, they can run marathons too. We are all built for it.
Mexico, biography of Power by Enrique Krauze - This is incredibly fascinating because I never took a deep dive into how the Spanish conquest really played out in Mexico. There are elements that are similar to America (colonism, genocide) and then there are elements that completely unique to Mexico. It’s wild how little we’re told about and know about Mexico’s history, a country and culture that is infused into so many fabrics of American culture.
VISUALS OF THE WEEK
Go forth.
Stay safe.
Ride the wave.
-Mitch
P.S. Say hello if you made it this far. Let me know how you’re doing. This is still email after all, the original social network.