Tag Archives: blog

The 13th edition of running stuff from The Internets that is more interesting than my hypochondria injuries, complaints about spring, and barn raisings:

• Interview with an Angry Runner.  Learn how she got her running start by failing skipping.
• The Manly Runner is looking for a mate date.   Disclaimer: this link is not an endorsement, i.e. don’t sue me if it doesn’t work out.
• Rate your run, not with stars or smiley faces, but piles.  Of poop.  Example: this was a two-crap run.  It works for in the literal and the figurative.
• Dear parents, thank you for giving me butt chafe resistant genes.  No long run lube required.
• Does anybody really know what time it is?  The guy who fixed the finish line clock. 
• The big bad Boston Marathon list.  I’m checking it twice.  And I’ll probably still forget something critical.  Like my shoes.
• Injured and constipated?  Blame your antibiotics.  And get some taco bell.
• Reason #48 I don’t like treadmills: the guess who farted game.  I haven’t mastered my “you’re disgusting” look.
• As I drag Husband to another country to watch me run a marathon he’s narrowly missed qualifying for a zillion times Shelby reminds me how lucky I am for this and a million other favours.  I don’t make him wake up early on his day off, but I do make him watch for thugs during my midnight runs.
• Hallelujah, syrup is good for me.  Move over blueberries.
• It may be called Heartbreak Hill, but it won’t break your heart.  Unless you are 1 in 374,000.  What are the odds?  Oh, right, 1 in 374,000.
• If you were a robot you could talk to your treadmill.  Asking about the last time it was greased sounds kind of dirty …
• Drew Carey, Price is Right host replacement, is running the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon.  This is only news worthy because he’s a celebrity.  His level of fame is related to his placement on this list.

This week you get both sides of the tape.  You are welcome.

• One of my favourite run bloggers discovers that running is as serious as a heart attack.  And that running saved his life.
• The training menu.  An 8 mile appetizer and 16 mile main course.  What’s for dessert?
• Bad news for runners.  The earth is now a windier place.
• A 33 mile run around Manhattan.  Around, in this instance, is literal.
• Dear Race Director, your course is long.  Dear runner, no it is not.
• A health and wellness junkie hooks up with Lululemon.  Was it a one night stand or the start of a long-term relationship?
• One runner’s goal: to run fast enough to get her name on the front of her shirt.  That would be cool.
• The M word.  Seem like everyone is doing it.  Some people are still thinking about doing it.  No longer for folks so serious they will poop their pants. 
• It starts with running through a race (side note: this is one of my favourite excerpts from Once a Runner), moves to the Runner’s Code of Conduct in talking about training, and ends with intellectual property rights. 
• Sometimes even smart runners **** up.  Seriously, I rarely swear.  It’s weird to even swear-write.  That explains the ****.
• The rise of the gimmick runners.  What about media attention for the rest of us?
• Science! Of bears!  They are so much more evolved than us non-bear mammals.  If I was a bear I probably never would have had those three stress fractures back in 2005 and 2006. 
• All those things that go inevitably go wrong before your tune-up run … it’s training for all the things that will inevitably go wrong before your A race.
• The 10% rule explained.  I won’t spoil the ending, but it involves sissies.
• I typically leave world events and other not running stuff out of this blog.  But a long run is a long time to think about such things, like the joy of a spring run backdropped by a disaster half a world away.
• The NYC Half Marathon, through the eyes of a course marshal.  I’ve done my share of volunteering.  Indeed, I think all runners should volunteer.  As a bonus, it will make you feel AWESOME. 

The 11th edition of the weekend mix tape.  I have a strange affinity for numbers that are prime, palindrome, or repeating patterns.  A palindromic prime, 11 is high on my list of likes.  For you, 11 links from around the webs that will shock, amuse, or stimulate conversation on your next group run.

1. Menacing Thug come out in favour of running with music.  You’ll be fine.  Trust him. 
2. RunningUSA announced that over half a million Americans ran 42.2K 26.2 miles last year.  Five nifty factoids you may have missed if you only read the catchy headline.
3. A playlist after my own heart.  The Radical 80s Running Mix.  I was in elementary school, but I was definitely rad.  Admittedly, around 90% of the titles are already on my iPod.
4. Less is less – a lesson in fast running or running faster.  No more bemoaning your lack of Kenyaness.
5. Do you listen to your body?  Is your body a needy, greedy, lazy little bitch that should probably be ignored?
6. A marathon … at night?  One runner’s brain considers the lure of the moonlit Las Vegas Marathon. 
7. If you’ve been reading my blog or following my twitter feed you know I can relate to this $600 quest for a pair of decent running shoes.
8. Guelph wants to be Canada’s track down.  Seriously.
9. How do you run faster (than your run partners)?  Race alligators.
10. After your youth and good looks fade, where will your running be in 30 years?
11. Awesome things #286? Seeing a dog or cat chase its own tail.
12. Bonus Track:  My new favourite Ode to Marathon Pace.