In Training
In Training follows the work between starting lines: the runs, data, setbacks, experiments, people, places, and occasional bad decisions that shape a distance runner over time. Right now, I’m training toward the Philadelphia Marathon as a Parkinson’s Foundation Champion, with the Big Sur International Marathon beyond it. These posts are less a training log than a record of what the miles are teaching me about effort, durability, aging, community, and the strange process of becoming a better runner without pretending the process is ever tidy.
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My Longest Training Run Was a Treat in the End
Twenty miles did not prove that Philadelphia will go well. It did something more useful: it showed me what is working, what still fades late, and that I no longer need to wonder whether I can…
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Eight Miles in Two Acts
Five miles with Marcel felt unexpectedly fast and exhilarating. Three more with Natasha asked for something different: restraint, accompaniment, and enough awareness to stop treating every available bit of speed as something I had to use.
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The Race That Was More Trick Than Treat
As late as Friday afternoon, I was not sure I was going to run the Miami Beach Halloween Half Marathon at all. I had been down with strep for about a week and had done essentially…
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This time I’m running with me
I arrived at FootWorks exactly at 7 p.m., close enough to run time that I paid to park in front of the store instead of driving the extra two blocks for free parking. The store was…
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This time, I’m running with you
Three days of running suggested that my natural cruising pace may be changing. The more interesting part was what happened when the running itself moved into the background.
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The Day Added Up Anyway
A 13.3-mile FootWorks run, six hours of real life, and another 4.48 miles under a much hotter sun. It wasn’t a continuous 18-miler, but the day still said something useful about continuity, fatigue, and keeping the…
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What I Learn When I Stop Running
Three midweek runs tell the same encouraging story in different ways: the work is getting absorbed, and my heart is recovering faster once the running stops.
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Building the Runner Between the Runs
A three-month wait for a sports-medicine appointment changed how I think about the work between runs: less fear, more strength, mobility, and a twice-weekly routine built to keep me running.
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God, I Hate That Heart-Rate Alert
A 13-mile long run on less than three hours of sleep turns into a lesson in heat, stubbornness, bad pacing alerts, and the difference between letting the watch inform the run and letting it run me.
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Where the Pavement Tilts Upward
Across three very different runs, I’m learning what “easy” means, what good form feels like when the pavement tilts upward, and how progress can show up most clearly when I stop trying to force it.