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Lesbian HistoryThe REAL history of the beginning of Pride
Stonewall was a riot they said. They said that stonewall was where gays and lesbians picked up bricks and made it a pissing contest of “who threw the first brick” at Stonewall.
They said a man in a dress did it, said that the transexual was the deliverer of pride and that we owe it to him.
No.
We don’t owe shit to men in dresses in any decade. We don’t owe them anything then or now. They don’t deserve to make everything about them.
There were no bricks thrown at stonewall. There was no TIM that was there when the activity started. Stonewall was not a riot.
Stonewall was a revolution.
The revolution started at the Stonewall inn, where normal looking gay men often occupied. It wasn’t a ritzy place, it was a hole in the wall that was run by the mob and sold expensive beer. There were no drag queens, no trans, no nothing like that.
And then there was her. There was a strict dress code still back in the 60s, that if you were a woman, you couldn’t go out being butch. You couldn’t have short hair and wear pants and button down shirts. Police raided gay bars because they had nothing else to do and they were enforcing the law at the time that homosexuality was a criminal offense.
That’s right homosexuality was a criminal offense. Not heterosexuality, not gender specials, homosexuality.
So the police came into the stonewall inn and they arrested a butch lesbian, and she fought back hard. And her name was Storme Delaverie. She was taken away in one of the police cars and caused enough commotion that she yelled “why don’t you do something?” And then the rest of the gays were targeted and they had had enough. They picked up glasses, stones, anything they could find, they threw them at the police. They all resisted arrest. The outcry lasted several nights.
And why? Because a black butch lesbian fought back first and created the domino effect that is Pride today. Pride was about being loud, marching for homosexual rights and against homophobia.
It’s so aggravating to me that each year, people lose more and more of our history because they want to be “inclusive”.
So for the honor of Storme and her legacy, get loud. Get your friends. Get your family. Go out in the street and protest. Pride did not start as a city organized function. It was not funded by the city. It was not planned to obey or submit.
It was planned to be unapologetic, loud, and mean.
And yes it is dangerous for lesbians to come out as gender critical, radical feminist, as these men will target you. Most women don’t have the means to safely do it. But with each year, we will continue to lose our history, our homosexual rights, to trans wearing the T engulfing flag, making every single woman’s sport put up rainbow badges on their social media, which now are not striped rainbows, but are muddled rainbows with the T colors bleeding into everything else, and they are going to continue to take and take until the conservatives take away every single gay right we have to get rid of the T.
So many good tips already shared. The one thing I've found personally is to always remember that it's meant to be fun. If it feels like a chore, go do something else that day- you'll bounce back and be excited for your next run.
Re safety: depends on your location, but usually there are a lot of runners out early-ish morning and before sunset. Live tracking is good, you can also get these little alarms to carry. But sticking to busy and well-lit areas is always a good plan.
ALWAYS warm up and cool down. I was young and stupid and would skip both back in the day, and I got a lot of injuries as a result! Also, do cross train. I couldn't believe what a difference weight lifting made to both my speed and my ease of runs.
For safety, always make sure someone knows where you're going to be, what route you intend to take and how long you expect to be gone. I also had one of these just in case I had some kind of medical emergency, and it gave me a lot of peace of mind: https://www.roadid.com/
Good luck!
Don’t skip more than one planned workout in a row. That’s the fastest way to get off track and lose momentum. Skipping one is fine, but two or more and it’s damn hard to get back into it. I make exceptions for illness or injury, of course.
Also, try to make it fun! Why not throw in skipping strides every 100 feet or explore a new city with your running shoes? Is there a friend you can go with it? Making workouts fun is so key.
def agree with not skipping more than one planned workout in a row. it takes discipline at the start but now i feel weird if i go more than 2 days without a run.
OP one thing that really helped me keep going was setting targets for myself. my original target was just to not die while hiking, still haven't got that despite running regularly for several years now. i then set targets to get a 5k below 30 mins, i've only done this twice. also set distance targets. it gives something to work towards and a motivation to keep going when i wanted to stop.
The right shoes makes all the difference. When I bought Hoka sneakers, which are sooooo light and yet so supportive, it really made my feet so much happier about running!
One thing that helped me immensely was learning that it's ok to run slowly. I thought I just could not run because all of those treadmill programs and friends dragging me along were going 5, 6, 7 mph. I'm short with short legs. 😅 It's perfectly fine to run/jog 3.5 mph if that's what you need to do to get started!
From my experience, weight loss has come more from altering what/when I eat, rather than from exercise. But your body might be different.
Welcome to running! I think it's great that you can already feel the difference. Running can be life changing!
Make sure you get new running shoes often. Get yourself some lights, for when it gets to be winter and it'll be darker out. It's generally a good idea to cross train, and don't try to run every single day - it is an impact exercise, and hard on your knees. So it's good to do every other day or so, especially at the beginning. It can be fun to explore various places, as a runner - you can run at this park, you can run at that other park. You can do something close to your house on weekdays and then go some place maybe a lot more beautiful on a weekend. Good luck!
Keep putting one foot in front of the other. It doesn't matter how slowly you go, so long as you keep going :) . Watching Natacha Ochene run for 24 hours/run a spontaneous marathon and just kinda drag her feet through her suffering really inspired me to start running and not care about my pace so much as the act of running itself. Maybe it sounds crazy but if someone as athletic as her can be a "slow runner" it makes me feel a lot better! Keep running :) !
I ran for a while before I developed a problem with mold in my apartment, then my health went off the rails and I haven't got back to it.
Running barefoot is the most ergonomic, but it takes a while to condition your feet (typically a month). If you do wear cushioned shoes, try not to land on your heels – it's hard on your joints.
Breathing through your nose (yes, while running!) will eventually get you fitter than mouth breathing, but it can take a few months to ramp up. I did this while walking, had to slow waaay down at first, and it took 2 months to get back up to speed. I gather it really helps with exercise-induced asthma (not a problem for me personally).
You may find Tabata sprints (go all out for 20s, rest for 10, repeat for 4 minutes total) once every 7-10 days helpful in terms of getting fitter. Then keep your running aerobic the rest of the time.
Warming up and cooling down by moving more slowly for ten minutes is important. (Stretching only helped me after lifting weights, not after aerobic exercise, but I found that if I didn't walk very slowly for about 10 minutes after all-day hikes I stiffened up a lot.)
Mostly I would say only do it if it's fun. And listen to your body rather than follow someone else's schedule.
Brilliant idea! I took up running during corona and haven't looked back.
I would say, don't worry if you have the odd bad day - I find that my stamina is massively influenced by where I am in my cycle, so don't get too despondent if you have a couple of awful runs every now and then.
I found that it was a real struggle until about the 5 week mark (running every 2-3 days), and then everything just got easier, and I started really loving it. So stick with it and you will see improvements.
Form - wise, it's best to make sure you are running with a straight back, and focusing on the horizon rather than the ground may also help with endurance.
Sorry to be depressing, but following what someone else said about safety, be mindful that wearing headphones of course can take away your situational awareness.
That's awesome! Congrats on picking up a new hobby :)
Try to pay attention on your form. You can look up youtube videos but the main principle is that you should stay aligned and your movements should be efficient. When you take a step, your shoulders should be square, your knees should be pointing forward, and so forth. Avoid excess movements to the side, because that will stress your muscles and tendons and can lead to injury. Exercises like planks or crunches are great for building up the core strength that will help keep you aligned. Finding a group to run with can be helpful because they can help you notice when you're starting to slip out of form. Losing form is something that happens with fatigue, so take special care the last few minutes of your run. Afterwards, give yourself enough time to stretch.
If your shins, knees, or ankles start hurting, don't try to run through the pain. A stitch in your side or a minor head cold is something that you can push through, but pain in your legs is a warning. If your legs hurt, get a referral to a physical therapist and make sure that you stay in good health. I have too many friends who tried to muscle through it and gave themselves stress fractures. Running is an awesome pastime which opened up my world but make sure that you're taking care of yourself. <3
In terms of safety, i'd say, if you can afford it, invest in a running watch which has safety features like live tracking and the ability to send an sos to a predefined contact if an incident occurs.
Nice work! First piece of advice: keep doing what you're doing! I started running exactly the same way: short intervals that gradually got longer until I could run several miles. Everyone else has given great tips already. One that I'll add is to make a habit of running on different surfaces if possible, or at least not running on concrete 100% of the time. If you have a park nearby, or a track, or anywhere where you can run on dirt, gravel, etc, change up your route to run there when you can. Also, stretching/yoga after I finish running really helps with stiffness/soreness.
Keep the same rotation/amount of effort so you don't stop and start and can build endurance
Running carries a high risk of injury. If it isn't your favorite, you don't need to do it. Running, especially while heavy, puts a lot of strain on your joints. Go slow. Be consistent and never ramp up more than 15% each week.
I was a runner. I loved running. I hurt myself in a big way 9 months ago and I don't know if I'll ever be 100% again.
I know a lot of people can run for years without problems, but running injuries are common. Cross train with biking and elliptical, yoga and weightlifting. Don't get hurt!!
If it’s within your budget, I’d highly recommend going to a specialized running shoe store and letting them do a run test on you during your fit; they’ll be able to correct any form mistakes you may be making and make sure your shoes are fit and tied correctly for your foot shape!
And now an absurdly long list of form tips from a former fat girl you couldn’t pay enough to get on a treadmill:
breathe in through your nose and engage your diaphragm when you breathe. When you lose control of your breath, slow down for 30-60 seconds before speeding up again.
shoulders back and down: easiest way to do this is to roll your shoulders up to your ears and then drop them down your back while trying to touch your shoulder blades together in the middle of your spine
relax your arms: elbows should be at 90 degrees or wider, wrists and hands should not be stiff. The power is coming from your legs and core, so forcefully pumping your arms doesn’t do much but wear you out faster.
the “zip up” posture: your core should be actively engaged while you run to ensure proper breath support and low back shock absorption. Imagine you’re trying to suck your belly button into your spine and tuck your tailbone in a bit.
high knees: this is more helpful for the treadmill, but it helps me with my posture to think of running not as “falling forward” but as a series of forward-moving high knees - you’re lifting your legs with your lower abs and hips and pulling yourself forward rather than being pushed by your own momentum.
foot placement: you want to touch down gently on the widest part of your foot. You’re not trying to run fully on tip-toe here, but aim for the middle/ ball of the foot so that you aren’t landing on your heel
I hope this helps!