Weekly roundup

Welcome to another installment of the weekly roundup we all know and love: Friday potluck!

Before we get to the good stuff, I should let you all know that my ugly "why am I doing this?" running face has been immortalized on Seriously Ugly Race Pics!

What was I thinking?

This might be the highlight of my running career! And speaking of running careers...


Radcliffe running retirement

Paula Radcliffe is still recovering from foot surgery and may have to retire her elite running career. But she's not ready to hang up her shoes just yet. She tells The Daily Mail that she'd like to keep running with her kids, even when she's not racing anymore.
(Warning - The Daily Mail article contains foot surgery photo, not for the squeamish.)


What does a runner look like?

"I don't look like a runner."

How many times have I said this? How many times have you said this?

In fact, I'll go so far as to admit that on at least two separate occasions other runners have told me that I don't "look like a runner." (Didn't their mothers teach them the rule "If you don't have anything nice to say...?")

In this month's issue, Women's Running magazine tackles the notion of what a runner looks like. The answer: there isn't one. A runner is a runner. Period.


Stressed? Go outside and play.

Being outdoors can lower your blood pressure and stress levels. Researchers are working to document a phenomenon that runners have known about for decades.

Also this week XLMIC reminds us that running is an outdoors sport, which (while often stress-relieving) sometimes means racing in rain, wind, snow, or hot-and-humid fog as thick as pea soup (see photo above).


Attack turkeys!

If you're going to be outdoors for stress relief, avoid the town of Brookline, MA, where turkeys turned the tables on their human neighbors. Repeated turkey attacks have been reported.

I suppose pardoning one isn't enough to convince the fighting fowl that we come in peace...

Image source
(I see two pardoned turkeys in this photo...)

Quote of the week:

"...looking like a runner is a fantasy. Runners come in all shapes and sizes. We’re short, tall, thick and skinny. We’re 85-year-old grandmas; we’re 6-month pregnant moms-to-be; we’re thousands of women lacing up our shoes for the very first time. If you run, you are a runner"
Jessie Sebor, Women's Running magazine

Happy Friday, friends!