Running, swimming, any other posts relating to the ongoing quest to get/stay in shape.
Years ago, when I was running all the time and entering a race or two every month, I’d look at the results and think, “boy, I can’t wait ’til I’m in the 60-plus age group.” While I was battling it out with miraculously strong runners my own age, those older guys had a lot...
Apparently, bending over and tying my shoes is worth about 25-40 steps. The act of leaning over to my left side while I’m sitting at my desk, unzipping my briefcase and pulling out a phone-charging cord and then plugging it in, is also worth about 25 steps. Rubbing my wife’s shoulders while watching TV, about 30 steps...
The United States Cross Country Championships were held in Forest Park in St. Louis today. In addition to juniors races and a couple of local races, the big events were the men’s and women’s championships. The top six finishers of those races will travel to the World Cross Country Championships later this year in...
A pair of tights. A skin-tight shirt made of wicking material. Another shirt, also wicking, with long sleeves and an extended neck. A pair of running pants, or “loose tights” as some call them. A nylon windbreaker jacket. A pair of thick gloves. On my head, a thin knit balaclava as well as a...
2. Christmas In Cape Town—by Randy Newman. This is possibly the darkest, ugliest song that Randy Newman has ever written, and he’s written some ugly ones. Consider yourself warned: Listen. The thing you have to understand about Randy Newman, though, is that he often writes songs from the viewpoint of despicable characters—polar opposites from...
Today, a story about my brother Phil, who celebrates yet another birthday on this 18th day of April. Over the years, Phil has been just about anything that anyone could want in a big brother. He took me to my first concert (Linda Ronstadt), my first NFL game (Cardinals-Giants), my first World Series game...
I’m almost to the point where I can say “just three miles” again. After an excellent running year in 2010, last year was an abject disappointment. I had a bout with bronchitis in the early spring, followed by back problems (herniated disc) that kept my mileage way down all summer. I went to physical...
Eight years ago this morning, I took part in the Chicago Marathon. It was my first — and so far only — attempt at the marathon. Here is my mile-by-mile account of it, written a day or so later. To set it up, this was written for the “V-Team” bulletin board, which was made...
I set a personal record this morning. For several years now, I’ve been irregularly keeping track of my weight. When I think of it, I weigh myself. And when I think of it again, I jot down the number in a file in my gmail “drafts” folder. That file goes back more than four...
Well, my back hasn’t gotten any better since February. OK, it got better, but then on Easter Sunday I went for a run and, halfway through, I suddenly felt the same lower-back seizing that laid me out initially. I was able to finish the run, but it was enough to convince me to get...
