The mid to late 90s were a great time in hardcore.  Especially for fashion.  I still swoon when I see a guy in baggy cut-off cargo shorts and a pair of running shoes with some rad band shirt.  You know you donned the “uniform” back in the day.  And maybe you still do.  (Although you can leave the basketball jersey and bandana in the past.)  I’m into it, and so are many of my girl friends.  But did you ever actually think about running with those running shoes?  Probably not.  I’ve consistently owned at least one pair of Sauconys since 1994.  Not until 2007 did it ever occur to me to actually try using them for their intended purpose.

I always thought that running was for other people – runners.  Back in high school, I was always absent on the day that we had to run a mile.  We had to run it in under 20 minutes.  It was on a flat track.  Looking back, I don’t know how you couldn’t run it in 20 minutes.  20 minutes leaves you time to stop and smoke a cigarette.  Anyway, for all four years, I was always strategically absent on that day.  I just thought I wasn’t designed to be a runner.  Then I was watching Biggest Loser, and I thought to myself, “If this 50-year old, 350+ pound dude is running a mile, why can’t I?”

So I dusted off those Sauconys and started running.  At first, I started running in the gym on the treadmill.  It was a really simple way to let me adjust my pace, know my time, and build my cardiovascular endurance.  I was able to extend my time much more quickly than I had ever thought possible, and I knew I had to kick things up a notch, so I started running outside.  First off, running outside is nothing like running on a treadmill.  I live in Southern California, so I can pretty much run outside 345 days a year.  365 if I wasn’t such a diva, but I don’t like running in rain.

Something else you should know about me is that I’m something of a control freak, and because of that I’m hyper-organized.  So once I made the decision to run, I kept a journal of my progress.  I never do anything aimlessly.  I have to quantify everything and know that I am working towards a goal.  So at the ripe old age of 32, I decided that I wanted to do a half-marathon.  I did a bunch of research online and started with the Couch to 5k program.  I found a half marathon that was 9 months out and began training.  Leading up to that race, I did multiple shorter races – a couple of 5k’s, and 8k, a couple of 10k’s, and a 15k, all in an attempt to build my confidence, and to give me definitive milemarkers.  All of these things helped immensely, and I talked to anyone that would listen about running.  Race day came and went and although I wasn’t ecstatic about my finish time, I couldn’t help but feel satisfied with the fact that I had completed the race.   Really, sometimes it is about the journey and the moment as StephenTFS so eloquently wrote in his blog.  (I also made a lot of great friends along the way and raised a ton of money for various charities in my local community.)

So let me now attempt to express how running can make you feel.  Running is really unlike any other physical activity.  Unless you’re in a wheelchair or on crutches, you can run.  It doesn’t matter how overweight or out of shape you think you are.  You can run.  Your body was designed to do it.  I promise.  It will adapt.  Back in the caveman days, how to you think they escaped danger?  They ran.  Why do you think it’s called a fight or flight response?  It’s instinctual to run.  Now, we’re not expecting a four-minute mile out of you, but you can run.  The rewards are HUGE – both from a physiological and psychological perspective.  There is nothing as liberating as running.  All you need is a decent pair of running shoes, although if you are really wanting to run on the regular, I would suggest going to a running store and having a pair custom-fitted for you and spending the $150, so you don’t hurt your joints when you start getting into your longer runs.

Running is just about the single most empowering thing you can do.  It’s a great way to burn off stress, and it provides a mental clarity unlike anything else.  As a woman, it makes me feel so strong.  When I train, I do these things called fartliks (I know, I know, it’s a funny word), but you basically mix in really fast sprints with your regularly paced jog.  It forces your body to recover more quickly and helps you build up your speed.  The rush of adrenaline while sprinting is amazing.  Every hair stands on end and you can feel your blood pulsing in your ears as you leap like a gazelle towards whatever time or distance goal you may have set.  It’s at these times, I can’t help but think how strong I’ve become and what an amazing person I am.  (Just a short, four years ago, I weighed 80 pounds more, and the burden of that weight, both physically and psychologically, was unbearable.)

So let running be your escape from what ever chains you down in your day to day life.  Start small.  Set realistic goals.  You’ll be amazed and what you can accomplish, and how it makes you feel about yourself.

Make yourself a soundtrack!  I can’t run without my iPod.  I recommend making a running play list chock full of songs that really rage and that you can sing along to.  There are always those moments that you feel like you want to slow down, or you think you might need to stop, and you really don’t.  So much of running is totally mental.  Your body can do it.  Don’t let your brain psych you out.  And sometimes music is just that little extra kick in the pants you need.  You can’t stop running in the middle of a sick mosh part.  Or if Aram is yelling at you to “work for it.”  Or if Scott Vogel is growling at you to “push it away.”  Or if Aaron Bedard is encouraging you to “give blood, give everything.”

It’s all on you.  Go run!

(and email/PM me for tips or to brag about your progress!)

xoxo,
StacyREACT!

There seems to be enough moments in my life that have passed me by and I haven’t really been aware of their significance, their value and the “moment in time” that they were until they were gone. I have been lucky to be a part of some really great moments full of energy, possibility and inspiration. But I wish I could say I had been fully aware of the potential of those moments, then, at the time.  So much of that has had to do, very simply, with being a stoked hardcore kid and a person excited by living. My mind so often was on the perfect fast part, the next show, that new demo, that awesome stage dive, learning this yoga pose, reading that book, hiking these mountains, surfing that wave, visiting this place or seeing those friends. I am not saying this is bad, because it’s just a chance to learn balance.  Also, like many people, I reminisce about the past in terms of what was going in my personal life or for what was going on in music and hey, the grass always seems greener, my vision always seems more in focus than it did at the time. While these memories are nice, they are a trap too because that’s all they are now, memories. While the past can and should constantly inspire us the only time that actually matters now, is now. It’s the only time where we can actually work and affect the people around us in some sort of positive way. I tell myself so often “be here now, don’t be somewhere else”. This idea seemed to smash me over the head on a recent trip to California and Seattle.

“I am really blessed with wonderful friends” was a thought I just came back to over and over again while out west. I spent a night hanging with Greg Bacon, a big hearted, true bro kind of guy and with whom I had shared some of the best moments of my life. Just catching up and seeing my friend doing well and at a good place in life made the miles between us seem to melt away. Really, there are few better things in life than to see your friends happy.

I shared a great conversation in Seattle with Ace (Eric Wallace) about our ideas around creating something authentic and honest in life and in music. He made a very simple but profound point about music: “it’s good when it’s honest”. I guess that’s what it really comes down to whether it’s music or your life’s goals and at the same time therein lies the challenge. I felt that struggle, as perhaps he did, of how do you take this desire for honesty and authenticity apply it outside of music and self-expression? It made me think “the path truly is the goal.”

I spent a majority of time with Aram working on lyrics, talking about life and getting a chance to see REACT! working on a ground level. It was really inspiring to see so many friends (old and new) supporting each other’s endeavors and helping to make the ideas that each had a vital reality. That’s when it started to sink in and my perspective started to widen. Right now all around me I see people working together, that’s a powerful thing in and of itself, but they are also working with a vision. A shared vision. A real purpose. It’s the feeling of that first sunny day after a long, cold winter. I feel vital right now because I see so many friends trying to do something good for each other and for their community as a whole.  Whether it’s expressing themselves through music or working to make someone else’s ideas a reality. What makes it even better, to me, is that it feels open to all and that is what really sets this moment in time apart from others. With openness, new ideas seem to explode. The willingness to create something that is honest grows and new friends with new insights, new points of view are so much easier to find. This is not just a place for rad tunes or a place to express myself it feels like there is a community working towards that general goal of making this world a better place or at least giving people something to be happy about for a little while.

This is meant to speak in praise of this moment in time because it’s a moment to be shared and appreciated and of some people, because i think they are wonderful.  What’s even better though is that at every moment i feel like I could add another name to my list of inspiring people doing something exceptional and living with compassion towards other people. But really this is just my small perspective and my small experience. At any moment or at any time anyone reading this probably has a similar opportunity, similar people in your life that can somehow support what is going on around you. It doesn’t have to be what it is to me, it’s gotta be what is honest and true for you and with that you can’t lose. Just be here now.