Category Archives: Tarsnakes

Tarsnakes, like the namesake tar patterns on roads across America, are in the context of this blog any allegorical event, thought or other phenomena that can trip you up along the way, or cause you to swerve or even crash. While tarsnakes are usually best avoided, at times they are unavoidable. And so, we discuss how to deal with these “life events” that either affect or stem from your running and riding.

Still, a tarsnake or other road or surface feature when viewed up close can reveal hidden beauty and perhaps even wisdom.

50 Years of Running: What is my real job?

Posted on February 4, 2022 by Christopher Cudworth

As the Traveler’s Cheques slowly disappeared, I kept up the hunt for a job in the summer of 1983. Meanwhile, small freelance jobs kept coming my way. I drew up some ads for Vertel’s Running store, but the process was … Continue reading →

Posted in 400 meter intervals, 400 workouts, 5K, adhd, anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, competition, running, Tarsnakes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Am I smart?” is the hardest question in life to answer

Posted on January 26, 2021 by Christopher Cudworth

Recently while filling out paperwork for some potential teaching assignments, I requested college and high school transcripts to send in with the applications. Looking through my academic record was a bit humbling in many respects. Those Algebra II grades my … Continue reading →

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, college, cross country, Depression, healthy aging, running, swimming, Tarsnakes | 3 Comments

Squirrel!

Posted on August 25, 2020 by Christopher Cudworth

This morning my wife let our dog Lucy out the door to greet me at the moment when two squirrels ran out from beneath the line of cedar trees next to our lawn. Lucy gave chase to one of the … Continue reading →

Posted in anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, healthy aging, life and death, running, swimming, Tarsnakes, triathlete, triathlon, triathlons, we run and ride, We Run and Ride Every Day | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The wounds we carry with us and leave behind

Posted on June 24, 2020 by Christopher Cudworth

People like us run and ride for a ton of reasons. Along the way, we experience pain, even invite it into our lives. At other times, we avoid it. Try to block it out. Leave it behind. It’s a strange … Continue reading →

Posted in Tarsnakes | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The problem with Covid-19 and all that crap

Posted on June 11, 2020 by Christopher Cudworth

While most of the world is sick of Shelter At Home orders and stores and businesses being closed due to Coronavirus, those of us that run and ride and swim face a genuinely vexing problem while we try to stay … Continue reading →

Posted in riding, running, Tarsnakes | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It's a bad time to be a nail-biter, but welcome to the club

Posted on March 24, 2020 by Christopher Cudworth

I’m not proud of the fact that I’ve been biting my nails since I was a little kid. Even as an adult my fingernails are sometimes a ragged mess if I collapse into the nervous habit of chewing on them. … Continue reading →

Posted in 10K, aging, aging is not for the weak of heart, anxiety, cycling, running, swimming, Tarsnakes, track and field | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Riding the cusp of Coronavirus reality

Posted on March 18, 2020 by Christopher Cudworth

The black cardinal of reality During an eight-mile bike ride through Saguaro National Forest on a triathlon training trip, I watched a black bird with white “windows” in its wings launch from a branch and flap its way down a … Continue reading →

Posted in anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, climbing, cycling threats, healthy aging, healthy senior, swimming, Tarsnakes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The glory days are not always what you think they are

Posted on December 30, 2019 by Christopher Cudworth

I got my gripe session about the travails of 2019 out of the way yesterday. Now it’s time to look ahead to 2020. Let’s spare each other the obvious cliches about “vision” and “seeing clearly.” I’m sure we’ll find plenty … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, aging is not for the weak of heart, Christopher Cudworth, competition, cycling, healthy aging, IRONMAN, swimming, Tarsnakes, track and field, triathlete, triathlon, triathlons, trolls | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Good energy all around

Posted on December 8, 2019 by Christopher Cudworth

The term “good energy” has been recruited to serve a number of purposes and connotations in this world. It substitutes for “clean energy” in the growing field of alternative fuels, and “good energy” means moral power in the realm of … Continue reading →

Posted in 10K, 13.1, aging, aging is not for the weak of heart, anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, competition, Depression, running, same sex adults, sex, Tarsnakes, triathlete, triathlon, triathlons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The naked truth of green leaves and flowers

Posted on August 23, 2019 by Christopher Cudworth

August is a great time of year to be outdoors. I’m planning a long run today at noon on the Great Western Trail, a former railroad bed that has been converted to a limestone path lined with fields and trees. … Continue reading →

Posted in running, sex, Tarsnakes | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment