Category Archives: Commentary

Struggling

Posted on April 25, 2024 by nancytinarirunswrites

I haven’t written in this blog for over three months. I could give platitudes, like “I’ve been so busy with work,” or “it’s another episode of writer’s block.” Both of these are true, but they are often true, and I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Injuries and Getting Older, Personal stories, Psychology | Tagged becoming a senior citizen, depression, insomnia, resilience, sleeping pills | 8 Comments

An anti-retirement rant

Posted on May 12, 2023 by nancytinarirunswrites

A week ago, at the end of a 3-hour Zoom meeting with my co-editors, I felt a strange mixture of relief and sadness. I knew that we had just finished the last meeting when we would be writing and editing … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Injuries and Getting Older, Personal stories, Running, Writing | Tagged Book Editing, Daniel Leviton, Retirement, Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives | 4 Comments

It’s easy to have a Happy Birthday

Posted on June 13, 2022 by nancytinarirunswrites

Some of my regular blog fans (few in number, but treasured by me) may have noticed that I haven’t written a post for months. I feel choked by not being able to write. For me, writing is an essential way … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Injuries and Getting Older, Personal stories, Writing | Tagged artery blockage, Coquitlam Crunch | 2 Comments

My Little Life

Posted on October 16, 2021 by nancytinarirunswrites

You’re probably wondering why I chose the title of this post. No, it’s not a reference to my 88-pound frame, and it doesn’t mean my life is about to end. These words have crept into my thoughts quite often recently, … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Injuries and Getting Older, Personal stories | Tagged cottage country, Covid-19, Daniel Levitin, healthy old age, Successful Aging | 4 Comments

The unforgettable summer of 2021

Posted on August 23, 2021 by nancytinarirunswrites

It’s a cool day in Vancouver with clouds and periods of misty rain. The summer of 2021 is almost over. And what a summer it has been! Though its heat and the Olympics evoked powerful memories for me, this summer … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Personal stories, Seasons | Tagged 2020 Tokyo Olympics, 2020 Tokyo Olympics Athletics, Bobcageon, COVID-19 fourth wave, COVID-19 in Japan, heat dome, High Knoll, Insensitive, Jug Island hike, Lytton fire, Sasamat Lake, Summer Breeze, summer songs, Summertime sadness | 2 Comments

Mini-triathlon 2021 during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Posted on August 3, 2021 by nancytinarirunswrites

I haven’t run a real race since the Longest Day 5K of June 2019. Yet I still like to challenge myself, and every summer since 2013, I’ve insisted on completing my own mini-triathlon course, starting in downtown Port Moody. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Cycling, Injuries and Getting Older, Personal stories, Running | Tagged 1988 Olympics, BC forest fires, Head Dome, mini-triathlon, Moh Ahmed, Sasamat Lake, Sasamat Lake mini-triathlon, Tokyo 2020 Olympics | 8 Comments

The “senior” athlete: finding a new equilibrium

Posted on January 26, 2021 by nancytinarirunswrites

In my last post, I wrote about my “accelerating physical decline,” and how difficult it is to come to terms with that. Also, I raised the question of how my public identity has been tied for so long to my … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Commentary, Injuries and Getting Older, Personal stories | Tagged aging athletes, aging gracefully, Albert Camus, Covid-19 depression, David Foster Wallace, Dylan Thomas, Go Not Gentle into That Good Night, Infinite Jest, Julian Barnes, My Dream of You, Nuala O'Faolin, physical mental spiritual equilibrium, Robin Williams, The Only Story | 4 Comments

Ayad Akhtar in Conversation With Eleanor Wachtel about Homeland Elegies

Posted on October 28, 2020 by nancytinarirunswrites

I recently listened to a special presentation of this year’s Vancouver Writers Fest: a 90-minute conversation between Ayad Akhtar, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and playwright, and Eleanor Wachtel, the host of CBC’s Writers & Company. They talked about his recently-published book, … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Commentary, Writing, Writing Criticism | Tagged 9/11, American interventionism, American politics, artistic integrity, Ayad Akhtar, colonial heritage, Donald Trump, Eleanor Wachtel, Fahrenheit 451, Homeland Elegies, Muslims in America, Pakistani immigrants, Ray Bradbury, Vancouver Writers Fest | 4 Comments

Life in the time of coronavirus

Posted on March 24, 2020 by nancytinarirunswrites

We are living in a reality that seems unreal. It’s a dystopia like something out of the imagination of Margaret Atwood or Stephen King. Those of us who didn’t live through a world war (that is, most humans alive today) … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Personal stories, Psychology | Tagged coping with self-isolation, Coquitlam Crunch, coronavirus, Covid-19, Man's Search For Meaning, social distancing, Victor Frankl | 8 Comments

A gem about love from comic book artist Chris Ware

Posted on March 5, 2020 by nancytinarirunswrites

I was driving home on Sunday evening, listening to CBC radio, eagerly anticipating Writers & Company with Eleanor Wachtel—the one radio program I listen to every week without fail. When the announcer said the upcoming interview would feature Chris Ware, … Continue reading →