It’s Not the Legs or the Lungs; It’s the Brain

Running hurts.  That is the main reason most people don’t do it.  Sure, if you start slowly, incrementally increase your pace and distance, and choose to only run

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The Mind is the Athlete: Lessons from ZAP Camp

It’s written on the back of all their coffee mugs:  the mind is the athlete.  And right now, my mind is racing trying to absorb everything that I

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From a Weedy Bowl of Mud to an Edible Feature

This is one of those times I wish I had a “before” shot.  The front garden bed of our house has pretty much always been a mess.  It’s

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The Volume Building Begins

There are 86 days until my goal race, The Richmond Marathon.  I’ve kept my mileage in the 50-mile-per-week range over the summer and this will be the first

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The 411 on 4:1 Ratios for Recovery

Most runners know that you should probably eat something after a run.  I usually want food even before a shower (much to my family’s disgust) and head to

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Copycat GU Gels

Well, that didn’t take long.  I really didn’t want to make a gel out of maltodextrin.  Without really knowing much about it, maltodextrin just seems like a weird

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Yes, Runners Can (And Should!) Donate Blood

Growing up, my dad donated blood regularly.  It made a big impression on me and I have donated blood several times over the years.  Dad also ran 3

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Margarita Endurance Gel with Caffeine

Now that I’m back into marathon training, it’s time to start looking at fueling again.  I love making my own gels because they are cheap, easy, and fun

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The Newton, Part 2. So Much Better!

I feel like I should say that I was nervous before the Newton last night, but I wasn’t.  This is a benchmark track workout, designed to see how

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When Strength Sabotages Speed

“Make the hard days hard and the easy days easy.”  This is pretty standard running advice that basically means you should avoid doing strength training on rest days

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