Posts Tagged ‘Sports’
The Thrill Of Victory (And The Agony Of Defeat)
Listen, I’m the guy who tears up during Gatorade commercials. Still, I gotta’ say, I don’t remember ever being moved by the Olympics. Until now. Sure, that the opening ceremonies were lip-synched and CGI-enhanced is weird, telling, and a bummer. And that NBC’s coverage is chocked-full of hyped-drama, political softballs and integrated marketing. Still, it…
Read MoreThe 2008 Brickyard 400 (Or, My Days Of Thunder)
This is it: The Fall of Rome. And this is how it goes: blue sky, 85 degrees, 300,000 people, 42 modified stock cars hurtling around a two and a half mile track at 170 mile per hour, and lots and lots of beer. This is the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, aka The Brickyard 400.…
Read MoreStars & Stripes & Brothers In Arms
I’m not sure which was sweeter music to my ears: the sound of the random competitor’s last gasp as I passed him mere yards from the finish line, or my brother saying after the race, “Damn dude, you crushed me.” Manhattan Island Foundation races are sweet little affairs, which is part of what I love…
Read MoreThe Morning Fog May Chill The Air, I Don’t Care
As I’ve said before, my favorite part about travel is running in a new town. This morning, that town was San Francisco. In fact, a good run had more than a little bit to do with my being here. My primary raison d’etre for this sojourn was the Y-Pulse Mash Up, a conference for teen/tween-centric…
Read MoreHy-Vee Triathlon: 365 Days And Counting…
The sun was just breaking the horizon as “The National Anthem” began blaring from a shoddy PA. Nearly two thousand of us stared solemnly across the water when a short, wide rainbow materializing like a Technicolor ghost before us. That we were swimming at all was, of course, a major accomplishment for organizers. Flooding had…
Read MoreHy-Vee Triathlon: 14 Days And Counting…
When I applied for the coveted Hy-Vee Triathlon Des Moines Register Blogger gig, I described myself as a “reluctant weekend warrior.” Warrior might be a bit of a stretch. I’m more knave than night, more corporal than general. But it is fairly apparent that the bulk of my distance training occurs on weekends. Here’s a…
Read MoreA Swift Kick In The, Um, Butt
I tend to wedge my training in between a whole bunch of activities, lately: post-production on a documentary, mixing a new album (due on Des Moines’ own Authentic Records June 18!), a career that’s turned alarmingly demanding, domestic duties, and an iota of a social life. Still, I do pretty well getting everything in on…
Read MoreGeorge Washington, Rufus Scott & Me
Few vistas afford the sweeping panorama of New York City like the George Washington Bridge. The Bridge was opened for traffic on October 24, 1931. It spans some 4,760 feet from the sites of Fort Washington (on the New York side) and Fort Lee (in New Jersey), fortified positions used by General Washington and his…
Read MoreMy Perfect Storm Of Poor Planning (Or Hubris)
Four miles on four hours of sleep is not an ideal training scenario. These days find me in the center of a perfect storm of poor planning (or hubris). I’m in putting the finishing touches on my forthcoming CD, “The Invention of Everything Else,” due June 18th on Des Moines’ own Authentic Records. I’m still…
Read MoreTop Five Boneheaded Sports-Related Injuries
I’ve made two fairly boneheaded training mistakes in the last two weeks. Two weeks ago, I decided it would be fun to jog up then sprint down a mountain above Los Angeles just two hours before boarding the red eye to New York, and two days before the Brooklyn Half Marathon. And yesterday, I set…
Read More