"It seemed like a good idea at the time."
[Ed. note: This race report is posted as it appeared in the June issue of the Athens Road Runners Quarterly Newsletter (which can be viewed in full here. It’s pretty awesome, because I have help from some pretty awesome people to create it.) Given this, some backstory will be familiar to those who have read […]
Read MoreIn many ways, running is an inherently selfish act – at least it can appear that way from the outside. But most of us who run and race long distances spend a lot of that time on our feet – all of those long and lonely miles over hours and hours – thinking about others. […]
Read MoreIn a lot of ways, 2017 wasn’t the year I hoped it would be. It was supposed to be the year I ran a 3:30 marathon and qualified for Boston handily. It was supposed to be the year I worked away at some shorter distance PRs in the fall after a successful spring marathon. It […]
Read MoreI have always found that writing endings is one of the hardest things. How do you wrap it all up? How do you tie up the loose ends without putting too perfect a bow on it? How do you craft that finish that leaves just the right taste and leaves the mind thinking on it […]
Read More“I just want one thing to be easy.” I’ve been saying this a lot lately. In the last several weeks, a lot of Hard Things have piled up. Two deaths in March. Major work deadlines, for both Shannon and myself. Running and training rough patches – I’ve had this strange thing going on with my […]
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Picture, if you will, a runner in her hotel room after a race. Coated in salty sweat, muscles quivering and convulsing, everything throbbing with pain and exertion. She’s laying on the bed. She’s strewn across the floor. She’s standing in the shower, or laying in the tub of cold water, screeching in pain when the […]
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Have you ever seen the sand mandalas made by Buddhist monks? Those intricate, colorful, geometric works of art, created so methodically over days or weeks. The process is as painstaking as it is lyrical. The beauty appears long before the pattern’s full breadth emerges. It’s the process, the ritual, the careful consideration of every breath […]
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Beast. It’s a word runners use quite a bit. That was a beast of a workout. Hang on – entering beast mode. I have a beast of a post-workout appetite right now! Perhaps most frequently, the term is used as a compliment to our fellow runners. Perhaps the highest compliment we can give. Beast! I’ve got […]
Read MoreSo, I’m halfway through this marathon training cycle. I keep waffling between feeling strong and confident – on my way to being prepared – and being completely freaked out. So, about normal. As with any training cycle, there have been ups (great, great ups) and downs (deep, dark, basement downs). Within the last week, the […]
Read MoreIt’s taken me a long time to get around to writing this. A lot of that is due to, well, LIFE. Adulting. We’ve been traveling a lot, trying to rest a lot, trying to make lives for ourselves in our new home a lot. So, there’s that. But I think at least a portion of […]
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