Running, climbing and journaling about race

First, the pictures so if you don't want to read about the race interactions I had this week, you can click out whenever you want.  Most of you know my Birthday Challenge running goals so today I did my second 17-miler and as of today, I have 22 days to go of my run-everyday-for-51-days goal.  So let's just say the second 17-miler was as uneventful as the first but less boring.  Must've been catching all those sunrises and a stellar playlist.  

It was a good week of running and fun indoor climbing.  John-Pio left today for Door County with his friend and he's also in a Shakespeare camp all week, thanks to the Fortune fam.  Misa and Brad leave Thursday and my dad arrives tomorrow for 3 weeks!  

Here's what the week looked like. 

big sun

off the beaten path

good indoor problems at boulders

John-Pio is training too

in hopes of consecutive 5.1 times up and down

saturday (yesterday) was my favorite morning run initially under ominous sky

A lot of you got out and several of you competed -- so psyched for all the updates and good news!  In the world of everydayness I document these events knowing whatever interactions you and I have, there's always a chance to do better. 

On Tuesday, July 14, I was making small talk with a woman in an elevator and this is what she said to me: 

Do you use a special product for your face?  I can help you get rid of the freckles - the spots right there (as she reached over and swiftly waved her fingers across my nose) that you have. You're Asian?  I don't know any Asians with freckles.  

Well.  Frankly, I was taken aback. I didn't speak to the freckles - the spots I've known all my life.  I was polite and said, "No thanks, but I wish you luck finding people who believe in your product."  And turned away.  

On July 11, 2015 this happened:

Misa and I were on a walk around Monona Bay and ran into a group of 3 cyclists stopped at an intersection.  They had a map spread out over their handlebars and as we passed they called out, “Does this road connect to the bike path?  We’re trying to get here,” pointing to their destination.  We talked it through and I pointed out the route for them to take - they weren’t far off from it, actually. We continued talking about the route in detail when a woman (white) walked by, sized each of us up and down, and then said, “You need help?  I know this area really well,” completely brushing aside me and Misa as if it weren’t obvious that we were the odd ones out - the two not on bikes OR dressed in bike gear without a map in hand.  How could we possibly be helpful?  

Wait. What?  Were Misa and I invisible?  Wasn’t it as clear as sunshine that we were on foot, on the sidewalk, talking animatedly to this nice group of cyclists?  A few things ran through my head but my initial impulse was to just silently walk away, which we did without - literally without saying a word. I felt so annoyed.  And when neither the cyclists or that woman said, “Thank you!” or “Bye, have a nice day,” it was so evident what had happened.  I don’t know about you but when someone asks me a question and someone else steps in or interrupts and answers for me, I feel undermined.  Even if that woman was being courteous and helpful, it was an example of what the unconscious does - it gives people the privilege to make assumptions. In this experience, we were basically invisible.  And while this might be ambiguous, it really wasn't.  Unconscious assumptions?  Check.  

There was one other but it's tiring.  Which is why personal and public writing is so important, and why hip hop can be liberating, either because I relate to others narratives or because I can write a few verses myself - definitely text of freedom. 

Here's something from earlier this week - working my weaknesses :)

Campus from Vera Naputi on Vimeo.