The strange saga of racing in a "bomb cyclone" With five minutes to race time, we reluctantly staggered into the pouring rain and howling wind. As we ventured from our safe haven of the Loy Norrix High School lobby, sheets of rain blew across the parking lot, carried by the improbable 50 mph winds. The announcer, already soaking wet and …
Fabruary.
As winter drags on with no end in sight, how do we keep hope alive? Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures Winter. I'm over it. Whatever whimsy or curiosity or snowy wonder lingered on past Christmas and into January has been beaten down and snuffed out. In Michigan, we've endured snow storms, ice storms, sudden thaws, …
Positively Unstoppable.
How yoga (and a retired pro wrestler) saved my running streak and helped me own my life. Last week I got a free t-shirt in the mail. Wait, I take that back. It wasn't "free" in the traditional sense. No money changed hands. I paid for it in sweat. I finally crossed the 100,000 point …
Running Jams: Weezer’s “White Album”
Want a hot take? The White Album is Weezer's best album. I realize this statement will be received in exactly two ways: "Are you out of your mind? This is late-career Weezer. This is lightyears away from the Blue Album and Pinkerton" or "What is Weezer?" No matter which camp you belong to, I hope you hear …
Fire and Ice: Running in the Winter
Guest Blog by Jon Schlosser I've run in the fire of July and the ice of January. In wind and sun and darkness and winter. I ran 10 miles during a winter storm warning with a wind chill factor of -13 degrees. Running in frozen tire tracks, lost boot prints. Stumbling at times in the …
Snow Daze
The Polar Vortex has descended, the lake effect snow has piled on, and schools across Michigan (and Wisconsin and Minnesota and Illinois) are shut down. With wind chills dipping into the preposterous -40 and -50 range, Governor Whitmer has declared a State of Emergency and most state agencies are shuttered. In Kalamazoo, Western Michigan University …
No Country For Slow Men
"Oh no. You're going to write about this in your blog." The famous last words of my dear friend Jon Schlosser. OK, maybe not his actual last words (thankfully) but his last words after a long and arduous ordeal where, after exerting improbable mental and physical energy, our bodies spent and beaten in the snow, …
Running Sick
I finally went to the doctor last week. I don't fall into many traditional male stereotypes (see: garish jewelry, long hair, fondness for gossip), with the marked exception of never seeing a medical professional until it's past the point of necessity. So when I started showing the telltale symptoms of a sinus infection back in …
Brave New Year
I'm gonna get myself in fighting trim. Like most people, I acknowledge the symbolism and opportunity that a new year can provide. A fresh start. A clean slate. A chance to reinvent, reimagine, and reignite. But we all know that never really happens. When the clock strikes twelve and the ball descends on Times Square, the Seven Stages of Resolution Grief return to …
Long May You Run, Bella.
Remembering Bella, 2004 - 2019 Yesterday our beloved family dog Bella passed away. She was a 14 year-old mutt; or, a crazy, ferocious, wild, coyote, fox, wolf, hound, beast dog (according to my dad). She loved going for walks, playing catch, chilling on the couch, and wrestling around with my dog, Basher. She had a …
A Running Life 