Borgess Wishes & Oberon Dreams I've participated in the Borgess Run for the Health of It festival of races every year since 2013, with one brief interlude in Pittsburgh which doesn't need to be mentioned. But after all these years, it FINALLY occurred to me why the event has such a bizarre name. "Run for …
Tag: training
Cole.
I was one of Cole’s teachers, and his Cross Country coach. I would like to thank Cole’s family for giving me the opportunity to speak today. I offer my deepest condolences to Lisa, Andy, and Kanaan; all of Cole’s family members, his friends, his teachers and everyone else who loved him. As you can see …
Any way the wind blows…
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 …
Numbers.
Showing off my half-marathon number (and month-old tattoo) on Mackinac Island, October 2009. On Monday I ran my 2,500th mile of 2018. It was the first time crossing that elusive threshold in a calendar year — and there's still about two weeks left to tack on another hundred miles or so. A few years back, maybe 2011 or 2012, I challenged myself to join the (imaginary?) 2,000 …
Thankful.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. It is currently Thanksgiving morning, 7:32 am. I'm sitting in our room at the Holiday Inn Express in Frankenmuth, Michigan, looking out the window at a gorgeous sunrise coming up over the Yankee Candle and Tervis Tumbler stores. I wasn't planning on writing anything today; but as I sit …
How To Run.
Last week I wrote about the transition from fall running (marathon training, cross country season, sweat leafy goodness) to winter running (cold, snow, cold snow). Despite the descending temperatures and earlier sunsets, November is one of the best times of the year to start running — or, to resume running after months (or years...) of absenteeism. This …
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes.
November is here. The leaves are coming down, the temperature continues its steady descent, and Halloween is a preposterous memory. Daylight Savings Time comes to an end this weekend; it's the good time change, as I annually remind my wife. We "fall back" and get that blessed extra hour of sleep. Election Day (which really ought to be …
Marathon Six.
The marathon run, and it's unique distance of 26.2 miles, is taken from the pages of Greek history. In 490 BC, a Greek solider named Phiddepiddes ran from Marathon to Athens, approximately 26 miles, to announce the defeat of the Persian army. Upon arriving in Athens, he had just enough time to shout "Niki!" (Victory!) …
Gear Factor: Marathon Edition
The 15th Annual Grand Rapids Marathon is Sunday. I love the Grand Rapids races. "Marathon Don" Kern and his team of volunteers put on an incredibly fun and efficient festival of races every single year. I've run the marathon and half-marathon two times each: '14 and '15 for the full, '16 and '17 for the half. …
Summer Days Are Gone
I like all the seasons. As LCD Soundsystem once said, "there's advantages to each." But, I'm sure I'm not blowing anyone's mind by saying that summer is inherently awesome. Especially Michigan summer. It's my favorite time to train; partially due to my teaching schedule (or lack-thereof), and partially due to those sunny days, hot temps, and the lakes, …
A Running Life 