Category Archives: race pace

Baselines, heart rates, and heartfelt feelings

Posted on December 1, 2025 by Christopher Cudworth

We ran our local Fox And Turkey Trot in Batavia, IL. The Fox River Trail Runners (FRTRs) put this race on every year, and it’s well done. As in managed, not cooked. We reprised a photo from ten years ago … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, aging is not for the weak of heart, Christopher Cudworth, competition, healthy aging, healthy senior, love, race pace, racing peak, running, training, we run and ride, When the other man is an Ironman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Time trials and times of trial

Posted on September 23, 2025 by Christopher Cudworth

Perhaps you’ve missed me. Perhaps not. I figure I’m kind of like one of those cyclists who shows up at your side in a group ride after you haven’t seen them in months, says hello, and you go, “Where the fuck have YOU been?” Continue reading →

Posted in aging, aging is not for the weak of heart, cycling, cycling the midwest, healthy aging, healthy senior, race pace, racing peak | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The five craziest endurance feats of my life

Posted on August 6, 2024 by Christopher Cudworth

As I wrap up this serialized autobiography titled Competition’s Son, I began thinking about the craziest experiences I’ve had in running, cycling, and swimming. I’ve been a runner more than fifty years, a serious cyclist just under twenty years, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, climbing, cycling, cycling the midwest, cycling threats, IRONMAN, it never gets easier you just go faster, marathon, marathon training, PEAK EXPERIENCES, race pace, racing peak, riding, running | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The year I damn near died in a toothy fashion

Posted on July 31, 2024 by Christopher Cudworth

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

A Sprint to Respectability

Posted on August 7, 2023 by Christopher Cudworth

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

An unpleasant start to an ultimately pleasant triathlon

Posted on June 26, 2023 by Christopher Cudworth

Open-water swimming is one of life’s acquired joys. Unless one grows up swimming in ponds, lakes, or oceans it takes a bit of practice to get used to the idea of climbing into the water and swimming over whatever depths … Continue reading →

Posted in anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, cycling, Depression, fear, mental health, PEAK EXPERIENCES, race pace, racing peak, riding, running, swimming | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

50 Years of Running: When the shit really did hit the fan

Posted on March 28, 2023 by Christopher Cudworth

Back in college days, I became a big Warren Zevon fan. I dug into his albums because I liked the twisted lyrics and sad, crazy, needy, nutso characters he created. Zevon later became friends with Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, one … Continue reading →

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, competition, marathon, marathon training, race pace, running, running shoes, training, training for a marathon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Lessons learned

Posted on November 15, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

I can think of several big mistakes that I made during my competitive running career. The biggest blunder of all was running a 20-mile final training run the week before I was scheduled to compete in the Twin Cities Marathon. … Continue reading →

Posted in 10K, 13.1, 5K, adhd, anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, competition, half marathon, marathon, marathon training, mental health, race pace, running | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

50 Years of Running: Chasing career options

Posted on November 8, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

By the time I’d turned 27 years old, the decision to stop racing and training so hard was well-established in my mind. With a child to raise and a wife to please, I focused on work-life as the central priority. … Continue reading →

Posted in anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, competition, Depression, God, mental health, mental illness, race pace, racing peak | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Racing along with ease and joy

Posted on October 17, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

Yesterday on October 16, I competed in the Frank Lloyd Wright Races in Oak Park, Illinois. This was a return adventure to an event I won twice back in ’83 and ’84. That was 39 years ago. I ran 32:00 … Continue reading →

Posted in 10K, aging, anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, competition, cycling, cycling the midwest, healthy aging, healthy senior, race pace, racing peak, running, running shoes, track and field, training, TRAINING PEAKS, triathlon, we run and ride | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment