JJ: Strength From Weakness

So maybe I still finished 5-6 minutes behind Resilient Training Partner Steve, who had spent the week chowing deep dish Chicago pizza and downing Bud and the night before the race inhaling multiple adult beverages at a Final Four viewing party, but I was happy with my half-marathon time on Sunday. It felt nice to be running further up in the pack, closer to the Fast People, and I bagged the time I needed for a preferred start at the Chicago Marathon.

Streaming past other runners heading up one of the course's many rolling hills, it hit me that the core, flexibility, and leg weight training program that talented Body Sculptor Katie has been putting me through at the gym is paying off. She has cheerfully exposed all my deficiencies, and I've had the epiphany that my conditioning program had much room for improvement. Let strength grow out of weakness. ... - John