giving rise to action; staying fit and sane through running
Yesterday was the day – the lottery drawing for the 2019 Chicago Marathon. Runners like me without a (recent) qualifying time or legacy, either get in through the lottery or run for charity. When I wrote in my journal yesterday morning what I was looking forward to, this was it. “No matter what the outcome,” I told myself. Read more
Running a “Turkey Trot” – that is road race on Thanksgiving morning – has become a tradition that started for me 10 years ago. While there were a couple years in there where injury or family plans prevented me from doing so, I’ve really come to feel that it’s not Thanksgiving if I don’t start the day running. Read more
The Chicago Half Marathon/5k was this past weekend. Like all of the other city races I’ve run here, it was a great course and a well-organized race. It was a Lifetime Fitness event that served as a Chicago Area Runners Association (CARA) Circuit Race and the USA Track & Field Illinois (USATF-IL) Half Marathon Championship. The event also boosted fundraising efforts for charity partner Chicago Run, which promotes “the health and wellness of Chicago children through innovative, engaging, and sustainable youth running programs.” Read more
I did something this morning that I’ve done a lot over the past 22+ years. I ran – alone.
When I first started running, it never occurred to me to run with others. I didn’t belong to a running club of any kind and I had no concept of pacing. I was of course aware of safety, and to achieve that I didn’t run late at night or any place that I deemed to be too desolate or a “sketchy” neighborhood. Read more
The 2014 New Jersey Marathon was, by all accounts, easy. I was four years younger than I am now. I was also five pounds lighter (okay, maybe closer to ten). I was also coming off a year where I had run 13 half marathons, so I started my marathon training with a lot of miles in the bank already. When I started working with a coach, I had a goal to break my previous personal record for the marathon which was 4:11:16. Read more