My Uphill Athlete Articles

Originally published at Uphill Athlete in July 2020. A recent article solicited opposing expert arguments about exercise and immunity. The researchers wanted to know whether “arduous exercise” compromises immune function. But for practicing athletes, the answer doesn’t matter. And it could be detrimental to know for sure. The important

Originally published at Uphill Athlete in February 2019. For endurance athletes, staying healthy while training represents more money in the fitness bank. Imagine that for every day you were sick, you had to dig into your savings and pay your employer two and a half days of income: * Five days

Originally published at Uphill Athlete in July 2018. I love The Matrix. In my favorite scene, Neo straps himself to an archaic dentist’s chair. He’s learning martial arts by downloading them into his brain. Once they’re installed, he can use them in the digital world. To make

Originally published at Uphill Athlete in May 2018. Training endurance is like building a sandcastle. You need sand, water, the sense not to overdo it, and both the expertise and creativity to build something great. Basic endurance is like piling dry sand. It can’t be shaped, just piled higher.

Originally published at Uphill Athlete in July 2018. When I first started skimo racing, I started races way too fast. The gun would go off, and I’d bolt forward. I’d feel great for about 60 seconds, and then as if I was running through molasses I’d have

Originally published at Uphill Athlete in May 2017 as a collaboration with Scott Johnston. I loved the idea of an app that could tell me to train or not to train, to go easy or go hard. I liked the convenience of one train-or-don’t-train metric. It