What's Runner's World Thinking? [August 2010]

Ten pages about triathlons in Runner's World is like a large, unpeeled carrot jammed sideways in the middle of an ice cream cone.  There's nothing wrong with ice cream; nothing wrong with carrots; one just doesn't belong inside the other. 

Listen, I totally get the allure of triathlons.  Triathletes are awesome.  Ironmen and -women are incredible examples of human achievement. I am always humbled when I meet one, even if they turn out to be douchebags. I see someone with one of those IM tattoos, and I imagine him or her in a cape, fighting crime. I also have nothing against biking. Swimming is wonderful for cross-training. Hell, I even love Peter Sagal, the writer of the main article. But there's absolutely no reason why Runner's World needed to devote ten, precious pages to triathlons.  Runner's World is magazine for runners and their world. Bikes and wetsuits are a distraction.

I'm a believer in things being in their place. For instance, I don't write about my ongoing struggle with lawn care in these pages because this is my running blog. It's a place to house my writing about running. There's a time and a place for everything, you see. I've recently been suffering trauma because my local grocery store has been remodeling, and every time I go to get beer and pasta [foundation of every runners' diet], nothing is ever in the same place.  Stuff is shuffled around to different aisles as the work proceeds. It's like a fun house at the carnival. 

You remember those Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercials from back in the day?  "You got your peanut butter on my chocolate!"  "You got your chocolate in my peanut butter!"  I totally relate to that moment of anxiety where you feel your world just turned upside down because THAT CANDY BAR DOESN'T BELONG THERE.  I have that feeling often.  Note: chocolate and peanut butter are awesome together.  I think I will have some now.

What I am saying, Runner's World, is please stick to running. It's what you do best.

To end this on a positive note, I actually found the information riveting. I learned things I never knew about transitions and gear, and it made me think about possibly watching or volunteering at Louisville's Ironman some year. And Peter Sagal is always great to read.