Tag Archives: cancer

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

Racing in Racine

A few weeks into our dating, Sue was scheduled to do the Half-Ironman 70.3 race in Racine, Wisconsin. Having just gotten to know her by that point, and eager to deepen our relationship, I decided to drive up early Saturday … Continue reading

Posted in 13.1, Christopher Cudworth, coaching, competition, cycling, IRONMAN, tri-bikes, triathlete, triathlon, triathlons, we run and ride | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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

Posted in Christopher Cudworth, death, fear, life and death, love, mental health | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

A trip back east in search of a sense of hope

Following a departure from an audio-visual company reeling from its inability to finish a new product for which they never completed the software, I engaged in full-time caregiving for my wife as she sank into another recurrence of the ovarian … Continue reading

Posted in anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, fear, foregiveness, friendship, mental health, mental illness, PEAK EXPERIENCES, running | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Posted in adhd, anxiety, Christopher Cudworth, competition, triathlete, triathlon, triathlons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Through a glass darkly

Note: To see “through a glass” — a mirror — “darkly” is to have an obscure or imperfect vision of reality. The expression comes from the writings of the Apostle Paul; he explains that we do not now see clearly, but at … Continue reading

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Rough landings

I was a high jumper during my high school career and first year of college. I jumped 6′ 1/2″ in college, my best ever. Not bad for a distance runner with skinny calves and not much in the thigh area … 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

Posted in 10K, aging, aging is not for the weak of heart, Christopher Cudworth, competition, fear, foregiveness, life and death, running, we run and ride | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

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