Monthly Archives: January 2019

Closed for business. As if.

Posted on January 31, 2019 by Christopher Cudworth

Our two-mile drive to the fitness center was all for naught this morning. It was closed for business due to overnight temperatures exceeding twenty-five below zero. Plenty of places have been closed for business across Illinois. Workers in a wide … Continue reading →

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, Tarsnakes, triathlete, triathlon, triathlons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The day my eyelids froze shut

Posted on January 30, 2019 by Christopher Cudworth

It’s true. I once went running in temperatures of twenty-three below zero. A half mile into the run, my eyelids froze shut. That’s a weird feeling I can assure you. I stopped, covered my face and warmed the area the … Continue reading →

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Blood tests

Posted on January 25, 2019 by Christopher Cudworth

It’s impressive what a doctor can determine about your health from a blood sample. After the physician’s assistant or nurse has sat you down to measure your pulse rate, blood oxygen level and blood pressure, the doctor looks through the … Continue reading →

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Two great sources of motivation: “better than” and “better for”

Posted on January 24, 2019 by Christopher Cudworth

As young athletes, we frequently spend all our time trying to be “better than” others. We train hard to get better times. We race hard to get better places. We take home trophies or medals if we’re lucky. Those serve … Continue reading →

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The Athlete’s Lament

Posted on January 22, 2019 by Christopher Cudworth

I didn’t get up and work out at the crack of dawn this morning. In fact, I didn’t get up at all until about 6:24 a.m. That’s late for me. More typically I’m either out the door running, dipped into … Continue reading →

Posted in 10K, 13.1, 5K, aging, competition, mental health, race pace | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

A Captain at sea and on land

Posted on January 17, 2019 by Christopher Cudworth

As a Captain the Naval Reserves, Mike Czarnik spent many months at sea over the last thirty years. In an event held at Great Lakes Naval Center in North Chicago, Illinois on January 12, 2019, he completed the second phase … Continue reading →

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Why I’m equivocal about legalized pot

Posted on January 16, 2019 by Christopher Cudworth

For quite a few years I’ve been a believer in legalizing pot. Not because I want to smoke it these days. Frankly it was fun to smoke a bit in my twenties, but I just don’t want or need it … Continue reading →

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It’s a Flat Earth and Fast Food world so go for it, you’re going to die anyway

Posted on January 15, 2019 by Christopher Cudworth

A Los Angeles Times story recorded that the Clemson football team will be served fast food during their ceremonial visit to the White House. “Clemson’s national championship football team went to the White House to be honored for winning the … Continue reading →

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Embracing my inner sloth

Posted on January 14, 2019 by Christopher Cudworth

While watching an Animal Planet program about the impact of island ecology and evolution, we learned about a colony of pygmy sloths that lives on an island no larger than Central Park in New York. Somehow the population of sloths … Continue reading →

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The long train ride home

Posted on January 11, 2019 by Christopher Cudworth

While writing an email to my two children this morning I mentioned how weird it feels to be sixty-one years old. The best analogy I could create was that being sixty-plus is like being a on a long train that … Continue reading →

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