• Avoiding • [2 MIN READ] Minimizing distraction would be a good way to avoid spraining an ankle. I could read a book and walk home from elementary school as a kid, but using a smartphone and running is not the same thing. Spraining an ankle off the roadbed where there was no curb was … More Lessons from a Sprained Ankle II (#197: ZY Weekly Newsletter 9/6/25)
• A certain kind of failure • [<1½ MIN READ] Using both Strava and MapMyRun to track every week’s run is a thing for me—both apps—as is getting a nice, round number to prove my compulsiveness. So, imagine my dismay when my phone battery died on me last week, midrun. Some people will argue running … More Run Report: 08’27’W (#320: 2025’09’03’W)
• Certainty amid uncertainty • [<2 MIN READ] Every marathon training cycle I’ve gone through lately has seemed to bring something unprecedented. With Philadelphia coming up 11’23’U (Sunday), this one has me needing to work especially hard on pace and bringing weekly mileage in line. Since the last marathon, Delaware Running Festival Marathon (04’06’U), I’ve … More Working Toward Philadelphia Marathon: 2025’11’23’U (#194: ZY Weekly Newsletter 8/23/25)
• But I made it too easy • [1 MIN READ] “Hey, Calvin, check out these leopard-skin tights! You could wear them.” “You’re right! They’re awesome! Who couldn’t use a pair of leopard-skin running tights?” And so the conversation went. Or some variation of it. They were on the discount rack at the running store … More She Did Me Wrong, Stacey Did (#319: 2025’08’27’W)
• Getting the details right • [1 MIN READ] Under other conditions, the comments would have been: “Drinking club with a running problem? It’s raining: Let’s go. Then, let’s pour.” Under last week’s conditions, though, it was raining mighty hard. One runner messaged me with: ‘Bail’. The others didn’t message at all but just…bailed. Four … More It’s Pouring: Let’s Go. Then, Let’s Run. (#318: 2025’08’20’W)
• Now just a little older and more familiar • [2 MIN READ] Hanging out again post-run at The Pizza Wheel, I looked at the name of our young server on the bill. Sometimes restaurant staff use other people’s logins, so I confirmed it with her as we made to go. Meredith took the opportunity … More You’re My Neighbor (#317: 2025’08’13’W)
• Communities in community • [2½ MIN READ] At Black Men Run Wednesdays Five years ago (virtually to the day), Train Dave and I joined Black Men Run Philadelphia as the inaugural Growlers travel team. We attended a 2nd time in 2020 then went on hiatus while we waited for the Growlers Group Run to … More Good Times with BMR for Wednesdays and Juneteenth (#316: 2025’08’06’W)
• Which direction, though • [1 MIN READ] As marathon training season gets underway for the 2025 Philadelphia race, I’ve been developing my usual seat-of-the pants routine. I used to follow one, really, but I’ve gotten kind of nonchalant in recent years. That’s worked fine as my running has continued improving over the decade or … More Tweaking Expectations (#315: 2025’07’30’W)
• Negotiating Alaska • [1½ MIN READ] A recent run from the native village of Kluti-Kaah north and west to the local “big town” of Glennallen, Alaska had me traversing a construction zone unlike any around these here parts. Around a lot of the state, there are no alternative routes. That was the case over … More Bridge Construction (#193: ZY Weekly Newsletter 7/26/25)
• Humidity, then rain • [2 MIN READ] Welcome to JH who joined for the first time courtesy of JulCee. Running from the 2.6-mile mark at Valley Green Inn down to the 5-mile mark below the stone bridge, we got to doing some chatting. He’d done his first marathon at Philadelphia this past fall and … More Run Report: 7/19/25 (#192: ZY Weekly Newsletter 7/19/25)
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