Core Strength, Psoas and Performance

You know it and I know it: a strong core is gold for a runner’s performance. My lower back has been bothering me a little lately, which of course slowed down my running a bit. It never fails that when I take a little time to workout my lower abs and psoas muscles, my lower [...]

On The Road: A (Track and) Field Guide to Omaha

The past weekend, I spoke and read at a literary festival in Omaha, and followed up with a day on a farm in east-central Nebraska. I like running in Omaha, as it is green, fairly hilly, boasts gorgeous architectural gems and has great public art in its series of parks (67-acre Memorial Park off Underwood [...]

How To Keep Momentum Going When Traveling

I travel a lot. Not as much as, say, a pilot or trucker, of course, but I hold my own. Personally, I love exploring a new city by running or hiking. I might start out in a touristy or all-business area, but I’ll inevitably find something interesting off the main drag and find interesting restaurants, [...]

Fight The Bonk: Fitness Challenges

No matter our respective fitness levels, we’re all going to plateau from time to time. It happens. Sometimes our training starts to feel boring, and worse, sometimes, we get completely unmotivated and bonk ourselves out. There’s no shame in it; we’re human and it’s bound to happen. It’s unreasonable to expect our minds and bodies [...]

Gear Check: The Must Haves

So, this morning was the very soggy and chilly Chicago Half-Marathon & 5K and I’m thinking about the things we rely on, as runners, to feel comfortable, both mentally and physically, because Friday at the expo, I heard a woman say, “Well, it is my first race ever, Cindy! I should buy a brand new [...]

Nissan Quality of Life Expo in Chicago

I spent a little time in the afternoon at the Nissan Quality of Life Expo at Chicago’s Navy Pier. I have so much to report back, that I think a list might be the way to go:

The best t-shirt is a tie between Montees “In My Mind I Am A Kenyan” and the official Chicago [...]

The Bonkless Interview At HellaSound

Friend-of-Bonkless, John Frenette of HellaSound, and I hopped on IM yesterday to chat about Bonkless. It went something like this: Get The Bonk Out!

Fight The Bonk: Some Favorite Hacks

Sift through some of my favorite fitness hacks. See what sticks for where you are now.
Zen Habits: Simple Steps To Start The Exercise Habit
Fit Hacks: Seven Simple Substitutions
100 Push-ups Challenge and Training Program (You’ll not do push-ups the same way again)
Zen Habits: 16 Tips To Triple Your Workout Effectiveness
LifeHacker: How to Hack a Marathon
What [...]

Developing Mental and Emotional Endurance

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.” – Lance Armstrong.
My personal philosophy isn’t far from that of Cerutty’s Startan Philosophy, even when smarting from a [...]

Gear Check: Trikke

The other day, my friend and I were out on a pace walk and saw a man approaching on a tricycle thing on the footpath. What is that?!?, we simul-shrieked. We stopped to watch him pass, and I noted his movements. This thing, part tricycle, part scooter, and part badass, was working out every major [...]