The Tao of Me

This is not the race report I expected to write. I expected to write about how I finished Half Marathon #15. Instead, this race report is about my first DNF (Did Not Finish). All week I had complained about this race because the course was so hilly. And it was. But earlier in the week, [...]

This weekend 2 favorites of mine converged – running and baseball = The Giant Race. Here’s how the weekend went. Friday ART I visited my chiro for an ART session. If you’ve ever had an ART session, you know that they are very intense, but fairy short, usually 15 minutes or so. This particular session [...]

I have the personal belief that half-marathon race reports should only be half as long as full marathon race reports well, because you only ran half the distance, right? That being said, I have a lot to say about SFM so this one is going to be a little longer than it should. Last year [...]

I have lived in the Bay Area since 1998 and not once have I ever had the desire to participate in Bay to Breakers. While it’s amusing to watch the debauchery, it’s never fun to be in it. After realizing that last year was the 99th running of this race, I decided that I would [...]

Pre-Race Stuff I registered back in December and over the past 4 months, the race organizers did a great job of sharing updates through emails, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc. I prefer races that keep participants engaged – it keeps me energized and excited for the event. Their web site was also freshly updated with important [...]

Days Leading Up to the Race In the days (and weeks) leading up to the race it seemed like everyone kept asking me, “Are you nervous?” and “Are you ready?” to which I’d reply, “I only get nervous when you keep asking me about it!” because it was true. The fact was that of the [...]

I volunteered at last year’s first annual Oakland Running Festival. It was my first time volunteering at a race, as well as the first time I got to see winners cross the Finish Line. As I handed out mylar blankets at the Finish Line, I heard runner after runner yell, “I hella heart Oakland!” in [...]

This is my 17th year of Spring Training ball (give or take a couple of years) and my second year of adding a second Spring Training trip to the desert. I justify the second trip by running a race – the Run for Ryan House Half-Marathon. Running and baseball – could there be a more [...]