Meeting myself as I did yesterday and today happens once every couple of years. It turns out the wild blueberries I thought I was picking were black nightshade. Black nightshade apparently comes in edible and toxic varieties and I seem to have eaten the toxic kind. First things first. If you see these adorable looking berries, I recommend thinking twice. It was hard for me to type the word adorable[…] Keep reading →

I woke up, ate a light breakfast, oiled the chain, set the machine for intervals of just over 1/8th a marathon, and rowed. About three and a half hours later I finished my second rowing marathon. My results: I rowed my first rowing marathon two years ago. Someone pointed out my rest periods then of 2 minutes were too long (I forget the reason, something about the body switching modes).[…] Keep reading →

George’s challenge involved people congregating outside, which California banned, increasing his challenge. Personally for him, Badwater got canceled for 2020, the race that starts in Death Valley and ends up, over 100 miles later on a mountaintop. Widely regarded as the hardest race in the world, he was looking forward to it. Can you imagine the training, then you feel like what was it for? So life conspired to make[…] Keep reading →

George’s challenge involved people congregating outside, which California banned, increasing his challenge. Personally for him, Badwater got canceled for 2020, the race that starts in Death Valley and ends up, over 100 miles later on a mountaintop. Widely regarded as the hardest race in the world, he was looking forward to it. Can you imagine the training, then you feel like what was it for? So life conspired to make[…] Keep reading →

I recently shared this experience with someone who described the feeling of suffering after beating their personal best for rowing a 2k: Your story reminds me of finishing my first running marathon. In the area where runners could get their bags and put on warm clothes, some happy-go-lucky guy, despite also having just finished, jauntily walks in saying spritely, “You did it! It hurts now, but the pain will pass[…] Keep reading →

Three weeks ago, inspired by an Olympic gold medalist and Crossfit Games champion podcast guest, I rowed my first half-marathon. Before then, I don’t think I had rowed more than 7,500 meters at once, and even that distance happened probably five years ago. But the inspiration came from seeing the Crossfit competitors rowing a marathon, not a half marathon, so the I knew I had to go the distance one[…] Keep reading →

I recently interviewed Olympic gold medalist and Crossfit Games champion Anna Tunnicliffe Tobias, whom I met through America’s Cup winner and podcast guest Dawn Riley. Given Anna’s achievements, she’s remarkably down to Earth (as is Dawn). In researching her, I found that last year’s Crossfit Games included a rowing marathon—that is, rowing 42,195 meters. The athletes learn what events they’ll do only hours before competing, so they just had to[…] Keep reading →

I remember people telling me as a kid that it was inevitable to get fat when you turned 30 or 40. When you’re young, you believe grown-ups. Sadly, you don’t know that they’re just telling you beliefs they’ve told themselves to excuse their mediocrity or having chosen ice cream and cookies in their two options in life. Sadder still, if people rise to the level expected of them, as I[…] Keep reading →

New York City has a sunny, breezy, dry day in the sixties. Yet another perfect day for running. How could I resist. I’ve made a Memorial Day weekend tradition of my first long runs of the year to start the summer. Some details that make running fun The saltiness of the sweat mixed in the water when you shower after The exhaustion on finishing Continuing to run when your body[…] Keep reading →