The Daily Feed: Sites We're Searching 10/2

Smoothie goodness, yum! Credit

You know those days where you just want to kick back, relax, and read? Yeah, I'm having one of those days, and I'm totally blaming it on travel and taper.  But hey, at least I'm getting some good reads out of it. And it's keeping my mind off the impending marathon that everyone else is talking about and I prefer not to stress over until I have that race bib in my hand.

Here are some of those reads I couldn't get enough of.

• How many cups of Gatorade are sipped at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon? How many states and countries are represented? What's the average age of these marathon runners? Crain's takes a by-the-numbers look at this race that's less than two weeks away. (Note: you might need to register to read the full rundown).

• That once-in-a-hundred-years flood that roared through Boulder, Colo, and the surrounding area a few weeks ago did more than ruin houses and businesses, displace residents, close some roads, cancel some events, and spur valiant volunteer efforts. It destroyed some of the city's popular cycling routes like Jamestown and Left Hand Canyon (routes I rode three years ago at triathlon camp). This Bicycling post can show you what's still open and what's gone.

• It hasn't even been 48 hours since the federal government shut down, yet it's affecting people in a way that no one probably saw coming. Like running and racing as Runner's World pointed out.

• After several failed attempts, I'm not into making my own smoothies. But this recipe from Women's Adventure makes me want to try again. After all, it'll probably take me just as long to drive to Jamba Juice as it would to rev up the blender. Plus I love beets, blueberries and kale on their own.

• Guilty as charged. Are you making any of these mistakes when you do yoga? Yoganonymous called me out!

• I have a streak of running the Chicago Marathon 13 years in a row (14 if I can make it across the finish line on October 13). But that's one day out of the year, not the 365 that some streakers have under their belts. Kudos to Tim Cigelske for running and drinking a beer every day for three years--I couldn't do it.

What links have you been loving? Share them with us!

Photo grabbed from Richard Masoner/Cyclicious at flickr.

Healing Powers

It's hard to believe that six months ago I almost didn't make it to the Boston Marathon finish line. Not because I've had glorious races since that limp, hobble, shuffle kicked in at 10K when it became too much to try to run. Not because I already finished another marathon, another one that I probably wasn't supposed to start in the first place. And not because I can walk normally, practice yoga on two feet instead of my knees that saw more action May through July, swim without dragging my feet behind, and spin sitting down the entire class.

Operating at near normalcy, minus the lack of speed and endurance when running and cycling, I almost forgot about my injury. That might be stretching it a little--or a lot--since I'm reminded nearly every day that I did have a tibia stress fracture, I still find myself using it as an excuse when I sit on the bike or have a slow run, and friends ask me about my leg at least once a week (which, don't get me wrong, I appreciate). From a mental standpoint, I'd like to think that I forgot. Because I pushed the constant nagging, the "woe is me" sadness, the depression that hit when exercise came to a near stand-still, and whatever other emotion that seemed to envelop every email, conversation and work project into a secret dungeon in my brain where I locked the door, tossed the key and couldn't return.