Author Alex Hutchinson

I tend to design the best warm-ups when I'm sick or injured. After another round of back pain followed by a pulled Latissimus dorsi and/or Serratus posterior muscle, not sure which is hurt, I have changed my starting routine. The logic is that if I can do a warm-up while I'm sick or hurt then I never have an excuse not to do it. As you can imagine this takes some creativity. While I'm not yet an old bastard, I do sometimes feel like one. There are mornings where stiffness and ache threaten to ruin my plans. The truth is that when we get older we need more time to get the engine going so mobility becomes a bigger priority. They have a saying in Crossfit, "The shorter the workout, the longer the warm-up." Such logic applies to this cause. In this case the workout is your wake-up, that step into daily life. All you need to do this warm-up is a piece of PVC pipe about 5 feet long and maybe 3 or 4 inches wide. This length/size/weight will allow you

You know that instant when you get over yourself and start enjoy the moment? That finally happened to me. Two years ago I was an active runner competing in a race series and obsessing about beating my competition. I chose races based on how well I might place. How ridiculous is that? I was constantly suffering from injuries incurred during training and I was killing myself during the events. After one year I was beat down by my own efforts. I had missed the point entirely. This time around I decided to stop training and start having fun. Instead of methodically building up to a race, I will sign up spontaneously. Instead of pushing myself to get faster, I will run at an agreeable pace. This is an attempt to stop the crash and burn cycle that has plagued all of my athletic endeavors. So far it appears to be working. At the 2015 Trick or Trot 5k in Englewood (My Favorite Race), I threw all those unrealistic expectations in the garbage. In the spirit of Halloween I dressed up