Going Fast, Going Far
byEven when I was just taping off my steps before the race started, I was comparing myself to the other runners. I don’t remember…
Even when I was just taping off my steps before the race started, I was comparing myself to the other runners. I don’t remember…
[NOTE: To mark the publication of my new book, I Hate Running and You Can Too, on March 16th, I’m re-posting the original essay…
Note: I first wrote and published this post on December 29, 2011, calling it “Make 2012 The Year Of Maximum Enthusiasm.” Every year around…
Several years ago, I had an idea to collect some bad Yelp reviews of U.S. national parks for a story on Adventure Journal. Since…
My dog, probably like many dogs you know, lives inside, but lives for any opportunity to go outside. As he starts to detect signs…
Last Friday afternoon, I locked my bike to a sign next to the trail and tried to convince myself it wasn’t that hot—it was…
Like you, I am trying to get better at dealing with stress and anxiety. I am aware that I suck at it, and that…
Thanks for reading. If you’d like to help keep Semi-Rad going, forward this piece to…
Thanks for reading. If you’d like to help keep Semi-Rad going, forward this piece…
—Brendan Thanks for reading. If you’d like to help keep Semi-Rad going, forward this piece to someone who’d like it,…
[If you’re interested in the “One Day At A…
—Brendan Thanks for reading. If you’d like to help keep Semi-Rad going, forward this piece…
In my memory of the house, which is from when I was much smaller, the retaining wall was always around three feet high. But…
I looked at the menu at a booth in Morg’s, a diner in Waterloo, Iowa, on a cold morning this past January, sure of…
Note: I first wrote and published this post on December 29, 2011, calling it “Make 2012 The Year Of Maximum Enthusiasm.” Every year around…
The South Rim of the Grand Canyon can be a magical place: You stand with a 180-degree view of a thing so big and…
Mark and I sat in the front window of a Denver coffee shop, talking about aging. Mark was 44, I was 37. Thirty-seven and…
You may have heard or read a lot about the morning rituals of high-functioning people—CEOs, visionary businesswomen and men, political leaders, gurus, life coaches,…
You know what this ritual feels like: You loosen every buckle on your ski boots, pull your sock up, and mentally armor yourself for…
I trudge forward, the muddy road tugging at my running shoes, splattering my ankles and shins, as I finish the uphill part of my…
One afternoon last August, a delivery truck rolled up outside my house in Denver. Two men got out, dollied a large box through the…
Here’s a crazy story: I spent four and a half hours outdoors alone the other day and didn’t listen to music, or a podcast,…
Note: I first wrote and published this post on December 29, 2011, calling it “Make 2012 The Year Of Maximum Enthusiasm.” Every year around…
If you’re anything like most of us, another year ending means a lot of things: anxiety, hectic planning and travel, trying to meet everyone’s…
I didn’t know why it happened. I was doing OK until the guy with the dog came through, and then, all of a sudden,…
I tried. For a while, it seemed like everyone was talking about how meditation changed their lives—friends, acquaintances, podcast interviewees and interviewers, authors, even…
Here’s one thing we always say about weddings: “It’s the biggest day of your life.” Here’s one thing we almost never say about weddings:…