I have a hard time backing out of something I’ve decided to do. As far as I can recall, I’ve only once missed a race that I signed up to run. It was the 2011 Manchester Half Marathon, and I opted to skip it because I strained my back a week or so beforehand while […]
Running Should Not Be a Source of Stress: Why I’m Pulling the Plug on My Fall Ultra
September 3, 2013 By 35 Comments
What I Did With My Summer Vacation Part 1: Craftsbury Running Camps
August 28, 2013 By 11 Comments
For the past 10 years I was a professor at a small college. Normally come late August my stress level is through the roof as I prepare for the coming school year, but having resigned from my faculty position in May, this summer has been a bit different. Going into Labor Day weekend I’m feeling […]
Wear Running Shoes that Fit!: Don’t Be a Slave to Your “Size”
July 25, 2013 By 40 Comments
One of the lessons I’ve learned over the past few years is to buy shoes that fit my feet rather than making my feet fit into my shoes. I used to wear a size 10 in every shoe I purchased, unless they ran really short. I figured I’d been a size 10 since I graduated […]
A Week of Running and Adventure in VT
July 20, 2013 By 2 Comments
My posting has been light this past week because I’ve been somewhat off-the-grid in the Northeast Kingdom of VT. I spent the week coaching and presenting on exercise physiology, shoes, form, etc. at the Craftsbury Marathon Camp (for adults) and had an absolute blast – much more to come on this experience in the coming […]
Vermont City Marathon 2013 Race Report: Executing the Plan, and A Big Thank You to Mother Nature
May 28, 2013 By 31 Comments
Over the past several months I’ve documented my training in preparation for the Vermont City Marathon (VCM), which I ran last Sunday morning. Like any marathon training cycle there were a lot of ups and downs, and a number of memorable runs (some good, some bad). The story of this marathon training cycle for me […]
Marathon Training: Final Prep, and a Tough Shoe Choice
May 23, 2013 By 11 Comments
I’ll be running the Vermont City Marathon this Sunday, and I’m amazed at how calm I am given the amount of uncertainty that I’ve been experiencing lately. My past several weeks of training have included multiple lousy long runs, and I’ve had general sense of deadness in my legs that I’ve had a hard time […]
Running Destination: Woodstock, VT
May 16, 2013 By 13 Comments
My wife and I don’t often travel without our kids. In fact, the last time we went away together alone was over 5 years ago! However, now that my youngest son is old enough to not need constant parental attention, I proposed the idea of a two-night getaway to celebrate both Mother’s Day and my […]
Marathon Training: Respect the Heat
May 14, 2013 By 25 Comments
Image via Nasa.gov I’m at the two week countdown to marathon day and my confidence heading into the race is at the lowest point that it has been this training cycle. My major goal for last week was to get in a final, solid 20+ mile training run. Well, I ran 20 miles last Tuesday, […]
Marathon Training Update: A Lesson in Perseverance From My Son
May 5, 2013 By 7 Comments
Some weeks life aligns in such a way that running becomes secondary to other, more important/essential pursuits. Such it was that what was supposed to be the final big week of this marathon training cycle aligned with my final week of classes, final exam prep, and office/lab clean-out and packing. I’m giving a final exam […]
A Post In Which I Air My Excuses for Not Running Enough this Winter
February 25, 2013 By 37 Comments
I now remember why Spring marathons have always been my nemesis. Back in early January I was full of motivation – the winter had gotten off to a relatively tame start (continuing a 2-year pattern that I expected would hold), and I was coming off of a great summer training cycle plus a Fall in […]
Running More = Running Better?
May 30, 2012 By 11 Comments
It’s been awhile since I’ve written a post about my own running, and since this is and always will be a personal blog, I thought I’d take a few moments to share something I’ve learned over the past nine months. I was listening to an NPR podcast interview with New York Times Phys Ed columnist […]
The Bad Run as an Early Warning Sign for Illness
June 8, 2011 By 11 Comments
Image via Wikipedia It’s been a busy few days here on the blog. My post from last Friday – ASICS versus Zero Drop, Maximalist versus Minimalist – sparked quite a bit of fruitful discussion, and I highly recommend you take a look at the post and the ensuing discussion in the comments (if you have […]
The Boston Marathon
April 16, 2011 By 23 Comments
On Monday morning I will be standing in a corral in Hopkinton, MA awaiting the start of the Boston Marathon. It’s difficult for me to put into words exactly how this thought makes me feel. The prospect of spending the weekend in the midst of one of the greatest running events in the world fills […]
Keeping UPS in Business, Apparently
November 5, 2010 By 14 Comments
Image via Wikipedia Like every runner, I owe a lot to my family for understanding and supporting my need and desire to both run and write about it. Even more-so in my case, I owe a great deal of thanks to my wife for putting up with the seemingly endless stream of shoes and other […]
Boston Marathon: Got My Registration In!
October 21, 2010 By 21 Comments
A few people have asked me if I got into the Boston Marathon given the registration mess that occurred. I’m happy to report that I was well prepared at 9:00 AM on registration day and did manage to get in (pending verification of my BQ time). I had suspected that it was going to fill […]
