A lot of celebrities run the NYC marathon. I’ve even heard of some of them. This year famous NYCM runners included singer Mya (6.59.39), athlete Apolo Ohno (3.25.14), model Christy Turlington (4.20.47), and actor/host Mario Lopez. Continue reading
Posted in Celebrity Sneakers, Running Tids & Bits
Tagged Boston Marathon, celebrity, exercise, fitness, health, marathon, New York City Marathon, running
I recently enjoyed a talk by a famous local runner / travel show host on the joys of destination running. Coincidently, of the eight (nine?) marathons I’ve run, only one has been in my home country. Not because I don’t like my home country, but because (as you all know from my months of whining) I don’t like training during the summer and there are few Nov/Dec/Jan races in my home jurisdiction. Continue reading
Posted in Running Tids & Bits
Tagged Boston Marathon, fitness, health, marathon, Marine Corps Marathon, New York City Marathon, running, ultramarathon, weather, winter
Today is the day I am eligible to give my hard-earned money to the Boston Athletic Association. Continue reading
Posted in Running Tids & Bits
Tagged Boston Marathon, exercise, fitness, health, marathon, running
Now that The Ex is in town I know it means that summer is nearly over. Hallelujah. It also means I should make some sort of race decision. 21.1K or 42.2K? Which one? With about 8 weeks left, my training to date could easily branch into either distance.
Fork in the Road, Photo Credit: JK York (http://www.redbubble.com/people/jkyork)
Posted in My Amazing Races, Running Tids & Bits
Tagged Boston Marathon, exercise, fitness, health, marathon, race, running, trail running
Finally, a reality show I can stomach. I’m looking at you The Biggest Loser (which, by the way, I stopped watching after I cancelled my cable … turns out I didn’t download like it, I just PVR liked it) and you The Amazing Race (which devolved into the Amazing Cab Ride Race and I lost interest).
My latest discovery is a two-part reality show about running. Continue reading
Posted in Celebrity Sneakers
Tagged Boston Marathon, exercise, fitness, health, marathon, running, TV, TV show review
The Mix Tape is back and better than ever*. Try to contain yourself. Continue reading
Posted in Mixed Tapes
Tagged Boston Marathon, exercise, fitness, health, marathon, running
Marathon fever just swept my city. I’m a little jealous I wasn’t among the runners. Laughing at them trying to walk the next day helped tremendously. Continue reading
Posted in Running Tids & Bits
Tagged Boston Marathon, exercise, fitness, health, running
In the post-Boston haze (I promise, the why me me me has an expiration date; we just haven’t reached it yet) I’ve been trying to figure out what the heck went so very wrong. I have a theory. Continue reading
Posted in Running Tids & Bits
Tagged Boston Marathon, exercise, fitness, food, health, marathon, running
Schadenfreude.
According to Wikipedia, the word derives from Schaden (adversity, harm) and Freude (joy). Deriving pleasure from the misfortunes of others. Continue reading
Posted in Running Tids & Bits
Tagged Boston Marathon, exercise, fitness, health, marathon, music, running
Signs I run like The Fonz:
The severe sunburn along my thumb and the subsequent snake-like shedding.
Or perhaps my leather running jacket. Ehhh.
Title: Bananarama – Cruel Summer. 1983.
Posted in Running Tids & Bits
Tagged Boston Marathon, exercise, fitness, health, running, weather
I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but my life tends to move along to a soundtrack. As a teenager I would compulsively play the same songs over and over and over. I’m not sure that was terribly healthy.
I spent 12 hours after the race that shall not be named singing this: Continue reading
Posted in Running Tids & Bits
Tagged Boston Marathon, exercise, fitness, health, marathon, music, running, sport psychology
Ahh, the famed Boston Marathon. This is not a super fantastic I’m awesome and I PRed in Boston yay tailwind and sunny skies post. This is an I failed miserably and didn’t run my A, B, or C goal post. I came in somewhere between Z and DNF. And I’m feeling tremendously sorry for myself. Continue reading
Posted in My Amazing Races
Tagged Boston Marathon, exercise, fitness, health, marathon, race report, running
The hay is in the barn.
Source: Archives of Ontario Collection of Agricultural Images
In my pre-university world that phrase actually meant the hay was in the barn. Real hay. Real barns. With no ability to lift a 100 pound bale this is not an activity I ever participated in, so I may be a bit fuzzy on the specific details. That’s my disclaimer for any statements that follow that are not so much factual as something I made up.
Back in the stone age when I lived in rural land, lots of young guys (almost always guys) would earn a bit of money picking up bales of hay from the field and tossing them on trucks. Back at the barn they would lift the bales from the truck and stack the hay such that the bales wouldn’t spontaneously combust and burn down the farm. After a day of lifting bales the men folk would be hot, tired, sweaty, injured, and farmer-tanned (and, I would be remiss to omit, muscled). It was a stressful time – the weather needed to be just right to cut, cure, bale, and store the hay and the window of time for harvesting is only a couple of weeks. So when the hay was in the barn it was time to celebrate. Or sleep for days.
Non farming athletes have pirated adopted the phrase. Hard work, injuries, sweat, weather worries, muscles, weird tan lines, and delayed gratification are well-known to both groups. Still, I’m not sure how the farmers feel about this adage theft. I’m also not sure if people still stack hay or if robots have replaced manual farm labour the way they will one day replace runners.
For this not-a-farmer, the hay is in the barn means taper time. Allegedly, my hard work hay is in my race ready barn (the celebration comes after I cross the finish line). I’m supposed to trust in the training that I’ve done and reap the rewards (or disappointments) in Boston. Except I never trust in the work that I’ve done, usually because I’ve done so very little. I worry I won’t have enough hay to feed the cows all winter. The analogy is getting pushed too far, but what I really need is three more weeks of haying.
Title: James Taylor – Walking Man. 1973.
Posted in Running Tids & Bits
Tagged Boston Marathon, exercise, fitness, marathon, running, tapering
Dear Runshorts,
I’m not sure I can trust you. I think you need a gentle reminder that, for you, the Around the Bay 30K is a run, not a race. An expensive run so you can avoid the hated stop lights that are at least 20 minutes long. In case you start getting silly ideas, I must remind you that last Saturday you ran 37K. On Tuesday you ran an easy 8K but in minimalist shoes that graced your weary feet for the first time since September. On Wednesday you ran slippery hill repeats in a snowstorm. On Thursday you enjoyed a 75 minute athletic (euphemism for painful but in a good way) massage. On Friday you went to the track for the first time in 20 weeks and ran loops into the wind, mysteriously in every direction. Sunday is your day of rest. 30 restful kilometres.
Do not screw this up by running too fast.
Sincerely,
Your voice of reason
Title: The Police – Message in a Bottle. 1979.
Posted in Running Tids & Bits
Tagged Around the Bay, Boston Marathon, exercise, fitness, health, marathon, running
A long long time ago in 2010, mortal marathoners who cared about such things would add “Boston Qualifier” to their running credentials. Runner, BQ.
That cute little BQ is no longer adequate. Now the BQers have been sliced and diced into finer categories. Mortal marathoners who care about such things will want to differentiate themselves from the pack. Runner, BQ, wave one.
Now if asked did you qualify, the follow-up question will be which wave, and the follow-up follow-up question will be are you registering? The answer to the third may be related to the second. And maybe not in the way you think.
The new Boston registration hierarchy:
Title: CCR – Fortunate Song. 1969.
Posted in Running Tids & Bits
Tagged Boston Marathon, exercise, fitness, health, marathon, running
My Running Shorts: short stories about my life on the run.
