Category Archives: life and death

Wear and tear and ‘wouldn’t change a thing’

While attending a Luther College reunion, I was walking next to my cross-country coach Kent Finanger, who was bent over and limping due to back issues likely related to his years of playing football and basketball during his college career. … Continue reading

Posted in aging, aging is not for the weak of heart, alcohol, coaching, college, competition, cross country, death, Depression, foregiveness, friendship, healthy aging, healthy senior, injury, life and death, love, mental health, mental illness, running, training | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Here’s the 411 on the 911 on 421

We all need a “go-to” route when we want to run without thinking about the course. Continue reading

Posted in aging, Christopher Cudworth, cross country, fear, friendship, life and death, running, sex, Tarsnakes, training | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ironman, humanity, and humility

Things didn’t go that well for my wife at Ironman Chattanooga last weekend. While she finished the race last year minus the swim, the hurricane that made landfall and traveled north from the Gulf of Mexico through the eastern United … Continue reading

Posted in death, IRONMAN, life and death, love, mental health, mental illness, triathlete, triathlon, triathlons | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The year I damn near died in a toothy fashion

Somewhere in the middle part of my 60s a tooth went bad in the back of my jaw. I’d gone to some sketchy dentists right after my wife died and the first dentist I visited didn’t explain clearly that my … Continue reading

Posted in 10K, Christopher Cudworth, cycling, death, Depression, half marathon, life and death, love, mental health, race pace, racing peak, running, swimming, Tarsnakes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Life in context

Sue and I rode together consistently in the summer of 2013. I recall it as a warm year, and every time she showed up in her little black cycling shorts and sleeveless kit jersey, I admired her arms and overall … Continue reading

Posted in aging, alcohol, anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, Depression, fear, foregiveness, healthy aging, life and death, love, triathlete | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dating as a widower

The term “widower” seems so loaded with tradition and history, it deserves a definition right here and now. I looked it up and this is what it says: If anything I was a garden widower before my late wife Linda … Continue reading

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, competition, cycling, death, Depression, foregiveness, life and death, love, track and field, triathlete, triathlon, triathlons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Grief and choices

At times I’ve considered whether I’m “missing a chip” when it comes to grieving lost loved ones. Over the years I’ve met people, both men and women, that can’t recover after losing a spouse. Time magazine dealt with the subject … Continue reading

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The unexplainable

In the wake of my wife’s passing, my children still had obligations to meet. My son was in a job out in New York. My daughter had a semester to finish at Augustana College. Yet all of time seems to … Continue reading

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Beyond the pain

Following the passage of my late wife in March of 2013, we conducted a Memorial Service. The people in attendance ranged from all walks of our life. Along with my son and daughter there were other family, longtime friends and … Continue reading

Posted in 10K, aging, Christopher Cudworth, competition, cycling, life and death, love, mental health | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On the run through a world of hurt

One of the key things a distance runner learns over time is how to deal with a world of hurt. Among track athletes, it is those who circle the oval multiple times that learn to deal with sustained levels of … Continue reading

Posted in anxiety, healthy aging, it never gets easier you just go faster, life and death, love, mental health, running | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment