Beginning in the seventh grade, I became fascinated with time, how fast it goes and how each year seems to go by faster than the previous year. When I once shared my perception of time with my 90-year-old grandmother, she said, “Just wait until you’re 80.” I’m still far from 80, so I can only […]
If you stand near the finish line of a major marathon, you’ll notice something very peculiar. Grown men and women who are the essence of vitality and the strength of human will cry as they cross the finish line. Why do they do this? Better runs are emotional runs. The runs that stir something inside […]
Many new runners complain that they can’t breathe even on short runs. Indeed, getting in enough air is foremost on their minds. It’s a marvel of physiology that enough air gets into our bodies, with our nostrils being no larger than the size of a pea. Even the space between semi-pursed lips is small considering […]
Whether you want to run around the block or qualify for the Boston Marathon, how you train can have a dramatic effect on your performance. While running just to run will certainly make you fitter, understanding all of the training components and putting them together in a systematic training plan gives you the blueprint for […]
Muscles are the most accessible way we have to see what our workouts do to our bodies. However, despite how many compliments you get from your Instagram pictures taken following your workouts, what matters is not what your muscles look like, but what they can do. In the early days, it was the strength […]
I ran my first track race tonight since January, when I was diagnosed with blood clots in my legs and lungs. I spent most of the day anxious about it, because I wanted to get this race over with and get through it without any problems. I went to the bathroom about six times today […]
People often say, “Everything happens for a reason,” or “When one door closes another opens,” or “It wasn’t meant to be,” or some other version of the same idea. I wonder if that‘s all really true, or if humans say things like that as a coping mechanism to make ourselves feel better when bad things […]
1. Stretching is not going to prevent you from getting injured. Have you ever run with a dog or watched a horse race? If you have, you probably noticed something interesting—none of these animals stretch before or after they run. Stretching before a workout seems to be something that only humans do. Whether stretching […]
At the track meet I competed in yesterday, I was talking to an acquaintance in his fifties before the start of our race. He told me, “After all these years, I still get nervous before every race.” I smiled and responded, “That’s because you know it’s going to be uncomfortable.” To which he responded, “That’s […]
Most people who know me know how passionate I am about running. As passionate as I am about running, I am even more passionate about the Olympics. I admit, I always cry during the Opening Ceremonies. I love the ceremony of it all, the symbolism of the Olympic Rings, the convergence of the very best […]