With my half marathon fast approaching, I'm starting to taper off my training a bit. Before really backing off of my mileage though, I wanted to get in another good long run, so I scheduled a nice 12 miler for this past Saturday. It was very nice, those of you who have kept up a little with this blog will know I always love getting out for a good long run to start off my weekend. That is, it was nice until about mile 9 when I slammed into the wall. I have read about hitting

There is a ton of power in mantras - catchphrases, mottos, or whatever you want to call them - for me, at least, and I suspect for lots of people. It took me a long time to realize just how effective these kinds of mental devices could be because I didn't have a clear articulation for it until a few years ago when I had a conversation with my siblings about it. At the time, my sister gave me the comparison that it's like having a heading or chapter mark in a journal as kind

Back in January, I posted/ranted about some of the dumb health tips I had read about working out. I haven't been able to find the article I referenced in that post, but the general idea was that there were some exercises you shouldn't do for various reasons. Now, there are exercises that probably aren't in line with your goals, that could lead to injury if done improperly, and yes, there are some exercises that just aren't very effective. What bothers me is the dismissive a

That really is a question I have to ask of myself frequently, but I figure if I do something productive with it then the ends justify the means. Maybe. With that personality trait/flaw leading the way, I decided a few days ago that I'm running a marathon next year. In my first post on this blog, I stated one of my three running goals was to run a half marathon this year (in the works) and to run a full marathon by the end of 2017. Well, I can be impatient - or stubborn, wh

If you've been keeping up with this blog, then 1) thanks, you're awesome! And 2) you'll probably remember that I had a few posts about dealing with a hamstring injury late last year. That taught me an important lesson that I've touted before and will continue to beat this drum - no pun intended, that listening to your body is of utmost importance. Sure, you can probably find some off the wall example of when I'm wrong, but I'm talking primarily from a general health and well

This past week has been a pretty intense stretch of training. I actually ended up hitting personal records twice this week for pace and for distance. Tuesday, I had an easy 3 miler scheduled and the weather was pretty great. At that point, I hadn't been able to run much recently due to weather and travel so, without realizing it, I got a little wound up and was moving along at an abnormally fast pace for me. When I got my audio cue at the half mile mark and heard that my a

Musicians are cursed. It took me some time to realize this and longer to articulate it, but I have felt the sting of the affliction for years now. The curse isn't something that materializes immediately; the effects are a graduated process that takes hold over time until there's hardly any way to get around it. By the time, you realize what's happening, it's too late though. I am referring to the way that being a musician fundamentally changes the way you listen to not just