A good, creative runner can always find an excuse not to train – this weather is too hot, this weather is too cold, my friend Goldilocks has been eaten by bears – but the excuses I’ve encountered these last few weeks have started to get ridiculous. First I couldn’t run because of recurring knee painContinue reading “Hurdles”
Author Archives: rileduprunner
Summer Reading
Keats and Eliot may get some readers’ hearts a flutter, but my favorite poet has always been the brilliant children’s lyricist Jack Prelutsky. Classic ’90s verse Something Big Has Been Here holds a special place, but the poem that really gets me is a 24-word ode to a penguin-relative, the auk. “An auk in flightContinue reading “Summer Reading”
One Step Behind
Joni Mitchel says you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone. Passenger says you only miss the sun when it starts to snow. I say you don’t realize how many gosh-darn flights of stairs you walk a day until you develop a bout of runner’s knee and each subsequent descent results in a throbbingContinue reading “One Step Behind”
A Blog By Any Other Name
My early summer trip to North Carolina was memorable for a whole bunch of reasons: seven friends, free flowing wine, and a photo shoot to capture the perfect shot ahead of L, C and my triple birthday party this November. You’ll never guess how old we’re turning. But of all the lovely moments that I’llContinue reading “A Blog By Any Other Name”
Saving My Own Skin
Running as a pastime has made me comfortable in my own skin. Unfortunately, my skin itself may not be so comfortable with running. Although running has done excellent things for my overall complexion — from fewer breakouts to better blood flow to decreased signs of aging — all that extra time spent outdoors has oneContinue reading “Saving My Own Skin”
Celery-brate Good Times
I spent the first several years of my adult life largely avoiding the vegetable aisle, and not just because I had an innate fear of Jim Henson’s singing produce. Raised in a typical American household of the late 80s and early 90s, my earliest memories of vegetables were microwaved broccoli florets, steamed lima beans andContinue reading “Celery-brate Good Times”
The Final Word
I’m an editor by trade, so I spend a lot of time thinking about word choice. In my professional life, the word I’ve been thinking the most about is but. (No, not butts, but ask me again after I see Magic Mike XXL this weekend. What up, homonym joke!) Somewhere along my career development, theContinue reading “The Final Word”
Six Days a Week
A lot of good things come in sixes: players on a hockey team, muffins in a muffin tin, geese-a-laying, beer. Six is the motivation behind everyone’s ab workout, the number of good Star Wars films once December rolls around and the roll in obscure 1980s board game Race to the Roof that lets you pullContinue reading “Six Days a Week”
Strength in Numbers
Tomorrow I’m going to arrive for my second monthly biometric weigh-in, and the results are not going to be pretty. I realize that statement opens the door to all kinds of follow-up questions. What’s a biometric weigh-in? It’s a chance for me to stand on a body-fat scale and learn if I’ve built any muscleContinue reading “Strength in Numbers”
Recipe for Success?
When it comes to cooking, I’m what one might call resourceful. Resourceful, or forged in the Depression era. You pick. Raised in a family in which the only thing worse than wasting food was running out to the store to purchase a single item, I internalized young the idea that you cook with what youContinue reading “Recipe for Success?”
Riled Up Runner 