Gimme a Big Cold Hug…

cold shower

If you’ve been following me on Instagram the past month, you know what I’ve been up to (besides swilling some admittedly great coffee at various places around Columbus). I’ve been doing the Wim Hof 20-Day Cold Shower Challenge. I’ve mentioned it before, but this is the wrap-up for the project…

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Awesome and Terrible: Wim Hof Cold Shower Week #1

cold shower in river

A few days ago, I mentioned how I was going to start off on the Wim Hof program to adopt cold showers in my life.  The reasons for this are many, but until today I don’t think I really thought about the emotional reasons as well as the physical. But…

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Enter the Shrinkage: Dealing with Cold

polar bear plunge

Unless you were on my swim team when I was growing up, something that most people don’t know about me is that I may be the world’s biggest cold-water wuss.  It’s true. Getting into the water when it’s anything but a tepid bath or warmer is one of the most…

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How Do I Just Get Over It?

Improvement Road Sign

Hi everyone – it’s been a couple of months since I kept our twice-weekly schedule of posting going. Lots has been going on, and not necessarily in a good way. Still, we can always learn something from our circumstances. Indeed, if we’re not learning from them, then what’s the point of…

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Obstacle Racing: All Kids Should Do It

Mud Ninja American Ninja Warrior obstacle

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but one of my favorite races I run every year is the Mud Ninja race here in Ohio. It’s local, it supports autism charities, it’s super-family-friendly, and most importantly it’s super fun! The 2016 incarnation of this race was late last month, celebrating its…

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Why Rain Means Better Training!

OCR race in the rain

When I was in the National Guard and Army Reserves, there was an old saying that the training personnel liked to throw around:  “if it ain’t rainin’, we ain’t trainin’.” It was meant to be a motivational slogan to make you not hate being wet while you tried to do…

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Feeling the Flow State: A New Racer’s Perspective

Flow State

Since starting to do the weekly #OCRChat on Twitter a few months ago, I’ve been chatting with a fellow named Johnny Stinson, a budding obstacle racer from Ontario. He told me about how he was looking forward to doing his first Spartan Race and was voraciously gathering information on best practices for…

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