I consider myself a capable trail runner — in California, that is. In Colorado, no way. I’ve been in Telluride, Colorado, a little over a week, adjusting to life away from home and acclimating in the high altitude for the September 12 Imogene Pass Run. (Our family travel blog away-together.com details why we’re here and […]
Tag Archives | running
From Fast Times to Family Time
Starting later this month, I will be blogging more regularly at our family’s new site, away-together.com. We leave in two weeks for nearly a full year of travel to several destinations, to educate our kids (and ourselves) by seeing other parts of the world and to strengthen our bond as a family. I’m excited, nervous […]
Meet My Coach
Ten years ago, I began training with a coach who changed my life. I guess that’s what a good coach is supposed to do, but I like to believe this coach is different — extra special. The kind of coach found more often in movies than in real life. He actually was in a movie […]
Running in Rain and Freezing in Shorts: A Napa Valley Marathon to Remember
I woke up Sunday morning feeling I had a job to do: I had to run the 2009 Napa Valley Marathon at my goal pace or better. My brain, on some level of consciousness, must have known it was better to go on autopilot than to approach the race with any depth of thought or […]
Len Goldman’s Lessons for Running Strong No Matter What Your Age
When I’m 64 . . . When I look ahead to turning 40 in 2009 and wonder how much my speed and strength might decline with age, I take heart in the examples set by older runners such as Len Goldman, 64, a fixture in the Oakland and Piedmont running scene. One might never guess […]
Olympic Marathoner Magdalena Lewy Boulet Reflects On A Year of Highs and Lows
This past year, I was captivated and inspired by Oakland’s running hero, Magdalena Lewy Boulet, as she boldly — and unexpectedly — finished second at the Olympic Women’s Marathon Trials in Boston last April, earning a spot on the team, and then suffered a heartbreaker in Beijing. Last night, I joined a couple dozen women […]
The Toughest 20 Minutes
On Thanksgiving morning, as I prepared to race the 3-mile Piedmont Turkey Trot through our community’s hilly neighborhood streets, I asked myself, “Why do I put myself through this?” I have a love-hate feeling toward the 5K, tipping toward the negative now that I’ve become more of a long-distance trail runner. But what I dread […]
Dueling on Diablo
On Sunday, November 2, I was in the middle of a 10K race on Mount Diablo that felt like a nightmare. My feet were weighed down, I kept slipping and almost falling, and I was reduced to running in slow motion as though sloshing through waist-high water. The nightmare’s monster had a three-letter name: MUD. […]