Nothing Compares 2U

 

Sinéad O'Connor filming the video Nothing Compares 2U (photograph by Terri O'Neill)

I love that song. Unless you're a child of the ‘80s, it might not mean as much to you. Sinéad O’Connor released it in 1990. Prince wrote and composed it in 1984. I recommend that you go listen to it again or for the first time. It’s beautiful and heart wrenching, so it’s really a bummer that it makes me think of Strava - the running app. 

I have a love/hate relationship with Strava. I quit last summer and deleted my account, then signed back up a week later because I missed seeing where my Strava friends were running. The only thing I really want Strava to mean for me is discovery - of longer trails and new mountains, of new possibilities.

I appreciate the Strava feature of giving people ‘kuddos’ for their runs. I like seeing the empowering emojis inserted in the comment section - most commonly used: the flexed bicep and the fire symbol. Most commonly used words: ‘crushed it’ and ‘killed it,’ which are really terrifying words in any other context. These are good things about Strava, building other people up - the cheering section. Where Strava gets tricky is in the comparison department. Looking at people’s pace isn’t the healthiest thing if everyone’s pace is faster than yours. On the other hand, it can be extremely healthy if you're practicing the Buddhist path or any spiritual journey. Maybe I stay on Strava because it will make me a better Buddhist - of course, this means that I’m placing judgment on my practice. Observation without judgment wins every time. True also beyond running apps.

We are all on our own different journeys - running and otherwise. The paths we chose along the way have taken us where we are right now, comparison is absurd and unhealthy. And the truth is, of course, someone will always be faster or slower than you, run more or fewer miles, have whiter teeth and better rhythm.

So what is Strava good for besides reinforcing insecurities and discovering new, cool running routes? I think its truest value lies in building community, with its best feature being diversity: my fast and super fast running friends, and everyone who is getting out there day after day, in all kinds of weather and indoor equipment, on all kinds of terrain, everyone who is coming back from an injury one mile at a time. All the different faces of running, uploading our daily experiences from our own tracking devices to this communal log, which thankfully also often includes photos of mountain trails, group selfies, and bloody knees. 💪 🔥