Yes, it has been more than a month since I last wrote here. The entire month of February didn’t see a single post from me — the first time that’s happened since I started this blog a year ago. And unfortunately, it wasn’t just the keyboard that I neglected last month; my running shoes...
On 5K Pace And Sympathy…
“In what was supposed to be kind of a long run, I had to crank it up to basically 5K race pace during the guitar solos on the YaYa’s version of Sympathy for the Devil.” This sentence appeared in my post earlier today. And I realize that for some readers, it might not have...
Forecast: Snow, Ice, Slush, Snow, Slush…
Six inches of snow, followed by several days of temperatures in the teens or 20s. Rinse. Repeat. That’s January in St. Louis so far. Or at least the last couple of weeks. And although the driving portions of the roads have been cleared nicely, the edges of the roads and the sidewalks have been...
Marathon Dreams (Continued)
So I’ve run two half-marathons this fall. Add ’em up, and that equals … a marathon! So I should be satisfied, right? Actually, yes, I am pretty happy. The Lewis & Clark Half Marathon on October 3 was my first road half-marathon in several years, and it was also something of a learning experience....
Marathon Dreams
There are three iconic big-city marathons in the United States: New York, Chicago and, of course, Boston. Chicago is annually one of the biggest marathons in the world, with something like 40,000-45,000 runners a year on its flat, fast course. World records have been set there in recent years. The New York City...
Scorcher Four – Part 2
Note: this is the second part of a two-part series; part one is here. It was raining when I left the house. By the time the race started, the sun was out. The perfect St. Louis recipe for … humidity! But no one ever said the weather conditions for today’s Scorcher Four race in...
Scorcher Four – Part 1
One year ago, I entered the Scorcher Four running race; it was my first race in three or four years after a long layoff due primarily to knee problems. The Scorcher Four is a four-mile (natch) race that circles through the streets in University City, Mo. It is sponsored by Ghisallo Running, and it...
Quivering Quads Trail Half Marathon
Stretched out in front of us was a ribbon of muck, sprinkled liberally with puddles of water. Our shoes, when we’d pull them up out of the mud, made a sucking sound that would make Ross Perot proud. “This,” the starter told us,” is the best-groomed part of the course.” And he wasn’t kidding....
Slouching Into 2010
On March 21, I’ll be running the Quivering Quads Half-Marathon in Troy, Mo. This is a trail race, through a state park on a course that varies “from smooth to very rough, dry to very muddy, and flat to very hilly. Racers may have to cross ankle-deep streams as they pass through forests of...