New list category: Elites with good blogs

It’s hard enough to find a good running blog from a regular Jane or Joe Jogger. But it’s even harder to find a good blog written by an actual elite. I hope to expand this list over time, but for now I’ll start with Shannon Rowbury’s blog, which is well written and endlessly entertaining. I am a big fan of Rowbury’s not only for her ability to burn up the tracks and roads, but also because in every interview (and now, her blog) she comes off as a smart, witty, mature and articulate person.

For running wonks: An excellent analysis of Olympic lap times

How fast is Tirunesh Dibaba? Other-fucking-worldly fast, that’s how fast. Read about her spectatular last lap in the 10K final and more from the BBC.

I will not catch this cold. I will not catch this cold. I will not…

Jonathan has come down with a wickedly awful cold. We think he must have touched the wrong door handle at NYRR’s offices when he dashed in to get our bibs and chips on Saturday.

I’ve done more vigorous washing and disinfecting than Meryl Streep in “Silkwood,” but I nevertheless have that vaguely crappy “uh oh” feeling. Fortunately, I have several bottles of the mysterious Gan Mao Ling tablets my sister turned me on to.

Did I mention our entire neighborhood is now covered in a thick sheet of ice? I bought these, which get me down the steps to our ice mobile car without breaking my neck. But I don’t dare attempt to run outside.

This has been the Worst Winter Ever.

Why I train and race

“The wonderful thing about athletic achievement is that it is finite. There is no ambiguity. You did it and no one can ever take that away from you.”

— Sara Mae Berman, three-time Boston Marathon winner