Category Archives: Working out

Congrats, Cheapskate. You Made A Kid Cry And An Old Person Mad

I get that road races are hard to do. Not the running part. The management part. Being a race director or volunteer anything at a race can stink. Trust me. As a runner, we mostly love you. Unless you cheap out and screw people over when they’ve paid for the race and the swag thatContinue reading “Congrats, Cheapskate. You Made A Kid Cry And An Old Person Mad”

Land Of Lost Running Socks And Planning The Next Season (!)

My house is a shrine to single socks. For some reason, it’s the expensive running socks that seem to get separated from one another. Never the cheap-o, ten-per-pack knock-around-the-house socks. Only the nice, padded ones. Eventually, the missing sock does (usually) turn up, stuck to something else, courtesy of static cling. I had one sock,Continue reading “Land Of Lost Running Socks And Planning The Next Season (!)”

Going From Stressed Out To Surviving Better

It’s been a helluva two weeks here. From hacked credit cards to four weeks straight of competing to the dreaded “Check Engine Light” glowering from the dashboard to a daylong hospital stay. And I only signed up for the four weeks of competition. Not the rest of it. The credit cards were shut down, theContinue reading “Going From Stressed Out To Surviving Better”

Workouts: Pair, Group, Or Solo Style?

I met up with friends for breakfast yesterday, following a 5K race at a local animal sanctuary. It was good to see them, as the pandemic, work, and (their) kids’ lives had disrupted regular adult contact. The race went well, despite the heat; it started after 9 a.m. The restaurant was crowded but our serverContinue reading “Workouts: Pair, Group, Or Solo Style?”

When Body Parts Go Bad

We live in a world of easy replacements. If your phone, TV, computer, or any appliance decides to self-destruct, you can get a new one pretty fast. Thanks to the shortages brought on by the pandemic, it may not be exactly the make or model you wanted, and it’s priced higher than you anticipated, butContinue reading “When Body Parts Go Bad”

You Had Me At “You’re Awesome”

To the lady I beat at yesterday’s trail race: I didn’t like you from the first half-mile. You were ahead of me, and I could tell you were in my age group. To make matters worse, you were ahead of me and you were walking and running, and still staying ahead of me, while IContinue reading “You Had Me At “You’re Awesome””

Note To The Athletic Wear Industry: Are We Invisible? Or Too Big For You?

I don’t make excuses and don’t provide explanations, reasonable or otherwise, for what I look like. But I’m asking the makers of workout clothes and footwear: why not us, too? You make nice things in bright colors and patterns for the “typical” athlete. Somehow, as the sizes get larger, the choices get smaller. Black andContinue reading “Note To The Athletic Wear Industry: Are We Invisible? Or Too Big For You?”

The Fix-It List

It never fails. Every weekend, there is a to-do list. Stuff to fix, take care of, buy, deal with, or otherwise handle. I like lists. I live and die by them when I work every day. I would rather not do the same on the weekends. But that’s how life works. This weekend’s list startedContinue reading “The Fix-It List”

The End (of the race season) Is In Sight—And Retirement Is Coming!

The final road race of the season is Monday. A 5K with what passes for hills here. I did it last year and was not ready for the elevation meltdown at the end. This year, with additional practice on bridges and my kickboxing routine, I hope to do better. I don’t race during the summerContinue reading “The End (of the race season) Is In Sight—And Retirement Is Coming!”