Good morning everyone.
It’s one of those weeks where I’m just so grateful to have a family who not only loves me, but also challenges me. Not directly, per se. But sort of passively.
You see, it’s cross country season back up in Washington. Everyone in my family is running races right now, including my 4-year-old nephew, who just ran his first XC race.
My 14-year-old twin nephews are absolutely cooking it this season. I got a text from a friend who said my high school distance records are now under threat because of them.
Which, if they break them, I’ll be happy. No, really. They deserve it. They’ve worked hard.
BUT…back in my day, the conditions were much harder. We were basically running on a mud track, and my shoes were, if memory serves me correctly, Converse. High-tops. These days, they’re running with freaking carbon-fiber soles. They’re putting springs in the shoes now. Like, okay, I guess anyone can be a 4:21 miler now.
But anyway, I’ll celebrate with them if they hit that milestone, giving a jaw-clenched smile, thinking: This cannot be happening.
My siblings are also turning up the mileage. My sister-in-law Kennedy and mom of four ran the Portland Half Marathon last weekend. My sister Annie has also been cranking out some impressive 5K times. My brother Tucker, The Fluoride Czar, is training for a marathon. My brother Deter The Cop is pretty much always running, chasing down felons and such. And my brother Rudy is running from his past, trying to find meaning in this world beyond his former life as a Burgervilleholic. ROB stands with you, Rudy. Stay strong.
Me?
I can’t just sit here idly, watching my siblings get super fast and letting them beat me on our family runs. So I’ve been racking up the miles the last few weeks, putting the running in ROB, and doing the work to preserve my he’s-probably-the-fastest-brother reputation*.
In today’s letter: Your gut bacteria might be aging your brain, True Food Kitchen goes bankrupt, vaccine-loving Dr. Mike could be the next Bachelor, I’m under consideration for the Supreme Court, MAHA has a $99 million problem, protein salad dressing nobody asked for, grass-fed Argentinian steak, the strange mystery of anesthesia, and why you desperately need a hobby.
*not all brothers accept this fact
