The Joy of Racing
The air was a little painful. We Coloradans call it "crisp," but really, it was ice cold, the air in meat lockers. It was far too cold, at the very least, for shorts and a tank top, even with gloves...
View Article40 minutes to 40
"You Get What You Give" - New RadicalsJust before I opened the door, my lips twisted into a curve. I turned on the iPod for inspiration, and the New Radicals went first. I dread, and enjoy, the tempo...
View ArticleBright Lights, Big Post
Warning: This post is long. I won't apologize for it, but I don't expect you to read it. If you want, you could divide it up to before race day and after, though I think you'll miss the theme if you...
View ArticleThe joy of treks
Oh, how I looked forward to the week off.Every year I take a week off from running. It's my bye week. It's a week to heal chronic aches, like that barking hamstring you've been reading about, and...
View ArticleAddicted to disconnection
My wife looked at me funny when I asked her where she was at gymnastics.We were on the second shift of gymnastics. My son was done, and it was the girls' turn. I was doing what I was told, as usual,...
View ArticleWhen you're out there, you're family
I've said it before. I'll say it again. I'm not an athlete.I slouch so much, I wonder if my future job will be ringing church bells.I can't dribble down a basketball court and run at the same time. My...
View ArticleA letter to my twin girls
It's a tradition to write a Valentine's Day letter to the pre-schoolers at the place where my girls attend.Here is what I wrote to them:Dear Andie and Allie - We have tried not to lump you in with each...
View ArticleLivin Long After Midnight
My longtime running partner canceled on me. I was a runner without a weekend run.I knew of one other group going out on a Saturday morning. When I thought about joining, I laughed it off.There wasn't...
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The canine line
I had to wait until I was in junior high school to get my first dog. I guess I had shamed my parents enough by then.He was worth the long wait.He had the name of millions. Sparky. But — and I say this...
View ArticleOperation Tonsils
Hospitals still give me the creeps, the kind that raise goosebumps on your arms, and that, like many things, can be traced to my childhood.Every year for a number of years, since I was small, I had to...
View ArticleThe disconnect between the movie reviewer and the one review is for
I just watched "The Tree of Life." I think I was supposed to really like it. That's what the movie reviewers say. I wanted to like it. It had artists shots of nature and lots of classical music and...
View ArticleThe Exorcist
I did not get into running because it looked fun. I know I talk about it a lot now, and the love affair I have with it is stronger than ever, but when I started, back in 2004, it was not out of love.My...
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Mount Evans Ascent
I'll admit it. The Mount Evans Ascent made me nervous.When I head into races any longer, I'm rarely nervous. I know that if I run well, and I should, it will turn out well. There's always a question as...
View ArticleInto The Fire
We lined up, all of us, shuffling around in our brightly colored racing flats a few feet from the white line. No one wanted to be the first to toe it.No one wanted to be the first one to jump into the...
View ArticleThe edge
It was a beautiful spot. The east ridge of Pacific Peak touched the edge of the Earth, the lush tundra called to us below and we were surrounded by giants, including the 14er Quandary, whose summit was...
View ArticleHungry for Heaven
As I was swimming through mile 16, I looked up into the trees, desperate for anything to take my mind off the agony of de feet, and I saw a bird.It was a big bird, and it peered down at us, with an...
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Music Marathon
Here's the music I'm listening to during the marathon.I'll explain a little bit more later, but generally, I put in healthy doses of heavy metal. I like it because it's my favorite music, and...
View ArticleWalk With Me
I suggested the last thing you would think of when you think of Las Vegas.I suggested a hike in the desert.Everybody walks in Vegas, but that's only to get from one fantasyland to another, not the...
View ArticleA member of the hair nation picks the best songs ever
Hair metal is a loose term, as loose as the women in your average hair metal video (this kind of wit is prevalent throughout this blog, so pat yourself on the back, wise reader, for choosing to read...
View ArticleRock You To Hell (and 24 of the other greatest metal songs of all time)
Growing up in high school, I was not a U2 guy, even when everyone else was ga-ga over The Joshua Tree.I distinctly remember sitting in the band room before school and arguing, vehemently, about why...
View ArticleVoices
The kickball hung in the air, and I stationed myself under it. I had one thing going for me. No one was paying attention.I caught it, slapping my arms against the grooved rubber, and gave a glance to...
View ArticleCheering out the ugly
It's not often, but there have been times, during a race, when I wasn't sure I was going to make it.It happened more often earlier in my running "career" than it has of late. I've learned a few...
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Helloween Show, Oct. 2
Sometimes, something happens that blows your mind. If your mind printed a newspaper, the headline would be 80-point type. Yet it would probably only sell one copy on the newsstand because no one else...
View ArticleChicago Marathon
When I first started running, a marathon seemed like an impossible feat. But if you did it, if you somehow managed to run 26 miles, your time didn't matter. That changed when I started running them. As...
View ArticleThanks
Many times, during a run, I find myself talking to my body.I am not talking to myself. I am talking to the vessel carrying me across the path.I have had that kind of relationship with my body for...
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