Detroit Raw

[caption id="attachment_13399" align="alignright" width="360"] Sam after Crim Race COURTESY PHOTO[/caption]

Boomer Runner Mind Snacks

By Sam Riddle Special to the Michigan Citizen I confront my mortality every time I lace my shoes up for my Galloway run-walk-run, lift not-too-heavy weights or dare try to throw down, but what’s a fella to do: Drop dead with a remote in hand on the couch? Not baby booming me. And there is a new study revealing that any amount of running, even as little as five minutes a day, extends your life span. With an ejection fraction too low to discuss, I never fail to get my move on. Currently training for my 14th 10-mile Bobby Crim race, I mind snack on how a simple walk led me to jog, then run again, despite a nagging thought my defibrillator/pacemaker by Boston Scientific might decide to kick in. Thanks to grace and mercy from above, that hasn’t happened. There is a run training pyramid that activist types could learn from as we organize for justice and fairness in how humans treat one another. Long slow distance running for endurance is the foundation of the pyramid. Next, we run hills learning to overcome obstacles to build the strength for the most dangerous phase of our training — speed. Speed is a most dangerous phase as we tend to skip building blocks — seeking immediate gratification that leads to debilitating injuries and burnout. Rest/recovery and mental readiness/toughness is structured throughout our pyramid to enable us to achieve our goal of finishing the race, whether we walk, run or use a wheelchair. My Tweet: “#PETA not welcome in the real #Detroit, think I’ll have a real meal — burger w/water back KMA.” What next? Water if you pull up your pants? Water if you pray my way? PETA’s use of water as a carrot to entice Detroiters to go vegan smacks of class privileged racist paternalism that would negate freedom of choice as poverty is exploited to an extreme. Jesse Jackson may be trending relevant or has he just found another source in Google, Twitter and Facebook to keep hope solvent in his high tech diversity push? Ebola is on the media radar now that white Americans have been stricken. A Tweet: “You blow off heads/legs/arms N faces of babies N women then you insult the humanity of the world w/#oxymoronic “humanitarian ceasefire.” Has Detroit given up on fighting back? Both dead victims faced trial by defense counsel. Contrast Renisha McBride case with Trayvon Martin. Florida stood strong throughout. Both men can be seen and heard saying “I can’t breathe.” In New York, the community is standing strong against the police chokehold. In Michigan, there is virtual silence on the Northland security guard suffocation of a Black man. Another election is upon us and activists have difficulty with GOTV efforts because they are always looking for people that think like them instead of voters. There is a difference. We must never let haters cause us to lose hope or dislike ourselves and never let haters make you weak in your faith. Keep the faith. Stay on the battlefield. Sam Riddle is political director for the National Action Network Michigan Chapter. He can be reached at www.facebook.com/sam.riddle orwww.twitter.com/samriddle.