Monthly Archives: September 2018

That’s why they call it a criterium

Posted on September 30, 2018 by Christopher Cudworth

A criterium, or crit, is a bike race held on a short course (usually less than 1 mile), often run on closed-off city center streets. Race length can be determined by a number of laps or total time, in which case … Continue reading →

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One Sweet Season: Volume One

Posted on September 27, 2018 by Christopher Cudworth

This will be the first in an installment of eight blogs about a cross country season forty years ago. Over the next eight Thursdays, I will recount a most significant period in life,  entering a senior year in college. That’s … Continue reading →

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When things are looking up, don’t look down

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Christopher Cudworth

I once had a boss who told me, “I like you a lot more when you’re smiling.” Now, the circumstances surrounding my resting dour face were not exactly common. So let’s set the stage. I’d just started a job as … Continue reading →

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Coming alive on the track

Posted on September 25, 2018 by Christopher Cudworth

Late last week I wrote a blog lamenting how slow I was running in the late September heat. Well, last night I took a turn on the track and it literally felt like I was coming alive again. Some of … Continue reading →

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Life is just nuts sometimes

Posted on September 24, 2018 by Christopher Cudworth

The Acorn While talking with my brother-in-law this weekend, I learned that he is heavily involved in removing acorns from his lawn. He’s not one to exaggerate. He’s always been a person to calculate his statements with some accuracy given … Continue reading →

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25 answers to how slow I ran yesterday

Posted on September 21, 2018 by Christopher Cudworth

It’s been hot, hot, hot in Illinois the last few days. It was 95 degrees in the shade when I went out the door to run yesterday. There was a flat, dry wind blowing from the south. so as I … Continue reading →

Posted in 10K, 13.1, aging, Christopher Cudworth, marathon, marathon training, race pace, running, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The glory and humility of choosing new running shoes

Posted on September 20, 2018 by Christopher Cudworth

I like to spread my business around to local running stores. But my longest relationship is with Dick Pond Athletics, whose founder I first met in the late 1970s when he was selling running and wrestling shoes out of his … Continue reading →

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Thought bubbles from the pool edge

Posted on September 18, 2018 by Christopher Cudworth

The perfect lane I think I’ve found the perfect window for getting a lane at the Vaughn Center pool. It pays to get there after the Early Morning Diehards leave and just before the Slow Paddlers arrive. That means arriving … Continue reading →

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Drugs from days gone by

Posted on September 17, 2018 by Christopher Cudworth

A set of familiar orange bottles with Walgreens labels on them have rattled around my bathroom cabinets for several years now. The Hydrocodone / Acetaminophen bottle from October 25, 2013 was filled with painkillers prescribed after surgery on my clavicle … Continue reading →

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Wanted: dead or alive

Posted on September 14, 2018 by Christopher Cudworth

Over a lifetime of athletics, I’ve been fairly fortunate to only break and tear a few things. But they’re starting to add up these days, and it’s got me thinking about how it all started, and where it’s going. The … Continue reading →

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