Category Archives: competition

Cognitive dissonance and neurodivergence

During the recession that began in 2008 and lasted well into 2010, the United States came to realize that there was a cost to the go-go nature of trying to run an economic engine on full gas and hot for … Continue reading

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70.3 miles of key learning experiences

For those of you who do triathlons, I’m sharing what it was like to do my first-ever 70.3, a Half Ironman race in Madison, Wisconsin. Those of you who don’t know the sport well are invited to find out what … Continue reading

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A definite feeling of unsurety

Have you ever wondered exactly how good you really are at something? Pick anything. It could be gardening. Your job. Relationships. Marriage. Divorce. We all face these pursuits in our own way. Yet it’s really hard to judge whether you’re … Continue reading

Posted in aging, anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, college, competition, cross country, mental health, running, steeplechase, track and field, training | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Education. Presentation. Inspiration.

This post is part of a continuing series of chapters to be included in a book titled Competition’s Son. Hunting for a job when you desperately need one is never fun. If you’re old enough to think back to the … Continue reading

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A healthy amount of skepticism is always healthy

For perspective on the issue of skepticism when it comes to dealing with problems in life, let’s look at a definition for the word “un·for·tu·nate” adjective Sometimes it pays to examine the root meaning of a commonly used word to … Continue reading

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A Sprint to Respectability

The Naperville Sprint Triathlon is the first real triathlon I participated in ten years ago with my wife Sue. We’d met in July of 2013, gone riding and running together right away, but then she had a bike accident (her … Continue reading

Posted in 13.1, 400 meter intervals, 400 workouts, 5K, aging, aging is not for the weak of heart, anxiety, bike accidents, bike crash, Christopher Cudworth, competition, cycling, friendship, IRONMAN, love, PEAK EXPERIENCES, race pace, racing peak, riding, running, swimming, Tarsnakes, triathlons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Not “woe is me,” but resiliency

Following the emotional breakdown of my wife after the cancer returned in 2007 after two years of treatments and remission, I proceeded to lose my new job at the marketing agency. It had taken months to work up the courage … Continue reading

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50 Years of Running: Cataclysmic convergence

My competitive instincts had not abated much in my early forties, but one quickly learns as a caregiver that being competitive is not the answer to every problem. In fact, it constitutes an answer to few problems. It doesn’t help … Continue reading

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50 Years of Running: coming to grief through soccer

In the five years leading up to my late wife’s diagnosis of ovarian cancer, I experienced a period of grief related to my own physical and mental health. During one of the last years my daughter played soccer, her coach … Continue reading

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50 Years of Running: Going Big Time

After the 9/11 tragedy rocked just about everything in American life, people looked for normalcy just about any way they could find it. At the same time, the newspaper industry in which I worked was getting slammed right and left … Continue reading

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