The final few miles of the Whidbey Island Half Marathon in April were grueling. That last stretch is always tough for me, but this was different. In addition to being physically exhausted, my mental outlook on the race went in the toilet when I saw the two-hour pacer pass me. After two lackluster halfs in… Read More Rockin’ a Summer Half Marathon
In our ongoing attempt to experience the world without experiencing bankruptcy, my wife and I took a day trip on Labor Day Weekend to the Dungeness Spit. We embarked on an 11-mile out-and-back hike along this wandering strip of land that reaches into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The romantic version of our hike:… Read More Locally Sourced Travel: Dungeness Spit, WA
Summer is gone. Over. Done. Sure, there may be a few weeks of warm weather left ahead, but summer as a concept as much as a season has left the building. I know this because my son is back in school, football is on TV, and pumpkin flavored beers are now flooding the shelves of… Read More My Summer of Not Running: How a Bad Race, Injuries, and Minor Surgery Sunk the Season
In an ideal world, my ability to travel would be unencumbered by the reality of my everyday life. Money and vacation time would be plentiful and the only thing preventing me from visiting every destination on my travel to-do list would be my follow through. Unfortunately, money and vacation time are a real thing that… Read More Locally Sourced Travel: Queen Anne Hill
As a Pacific Northwesterner, I’m fortunate to live amongst some of the most beautiful scenery in the entire country. There’s hardly a day that goes by where I don’t end up face-to-face with snow-capped mountains or stunning views of one of the many waterways that grace this area. However, if I had one complaint about… Read More Vancouver: Five Recommendations
Running has infiltrated my life to an alarming degree. A great deal of effort is put forth to schedule my weekly miles, even when I’m not training for a race. And when I don’t find the time to run I often feel as though I’m falling behind. Where as in the past I had to come up with… Read More Running Away From Home: Vancouver, BC
For whatever reason, I seem to run races in bunches. I can go months without strapping on a timing tracker or bib number then suddenly I’m inundated with races. And apparently summer is the season when this phenomenon hits its peak. Last summer I managed to run four races on four consecutive weekends. While I… Read More Six Days, Two 5Ks and an Injured Toe
Summer is now officially in full swing. You can tell because the kids are out of school, the NBA and NHL seasons are finally over, and everyone who blogs about running is writing their annual posts about dealing with the heat. Running in extreme temperatures is tough. And while it’s important to keep your body… Read More Summer Running: Five Unconventional Ways to Beat the Heat
If there’s one thing I love, it’s warm weather running. As I’ve lamented numerous times on this humble blog, I am not a fan of cold temps and precipitation, which is why it’s so weird to think about all the time I spent not running when I lived in Los Angeles. For ten years I… Read More Running Away from Home: Southern California
Saturday morning’s weather was crummy. It was everything people loathe about the Pacific Northwest: cool temps, an overcast sky, and a slight hint of rain in the air. They were the type of conditions I hate to be out in and very disappointing for the start of Memorial Day Weekend. Yet, on this particular morning, none… Read More Running Pet Peeve #22: Not Running
The Reluctant Runner 