Out With The Old
Each year, when I post something around New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day, I make the joke that it’s the Xth straight good year in my life. I say it’s a joke because let’s face it, any year where you’re still upright at the end is a good year. You can go through mistakes and missteps, tragedy and loss, but if…
My Wisest Choice
File under: Sometimes otherwise smart people do dumb things. I’ve never been in a tanning bed in my (almost) 41 years on earth. Until Monday. Thanks to a meeting of two circumstances1 I decided to take the plunge and get a little unnatural color Monday. I knew going in there were risks. S. will occassionally use the tanning beds at our…
Brush With Greatness
I have a few friends who are masters of the random celebrity encounter. They have no problem either approaching or breaking the ice with a famous person and have many stories about running into Quincy Jones, Milton Berle, Dave Matthews, or Lawrence Taylor, to name a few. On the other hand, in those rare situations when I see a celebrity,…
2:21
In case you missed my recent ramblings about my training schedule, I ran 13.1 miles Saturday. It went pretty darn well, all things considered. First, the important thing. Not only did I finish but I did so in 2:21. So I was slow, but that was expected. I was pleased to break 2:30, although it was another sobering reminder of…
Starting Line
This is it. I officially begin my training for May’s Indianapolis Mini Marathon today. Technically I began yesterday, with a strength and stretch day.1 And I’ve been on the treadmill consistently for three months now, although never pushing the distance since running on treadmills sucks. But today is my first official run. A modest three-miler, but the first three miles…
NaNoWriMo Wrap Up
As promised, and I’m sure you are all nervous with anticipation, some general thoughts and reflections and musings on my NaNoWriMo experience. First off, the 50,000 words came quite easily. I stuck close to the suggested daily word count, which worked for my rather open-ended story idea and daily schedule, but each time I sat down and focused on my…
New Man Plan
A few years ago, a friend of mine instituted a New Man Plan for the New Year. It was his clever name for the annual adjustment in eating and drinking habits, workout regimen, etc. most of us start January with. I’ve always liked that name, and use it anytime I’m making even minor changes in my life. It might be…
Run, Forest, Run
I forgot to mention that I ran my first 5K in over three years last Saturday. I had been “training”, and by training I mean running approximately once every 5-10 days, and was finally finding some fun in running again. It helped that L., unlike both of her sisters, loves to go for runs in the jogging stroller. In fact,…
Trapped
They’ve got me. Every online retailer I’ve ever purchased a good or service from has me in their clutches. There is no escape. Each morning when I first check my e-mail, chances are there are at least three, and often as many as six, messages from various retailers offering up fantastic discounts on things I might like. The Gap. Banana…
Famous Sports Achievements
One of my (many) sisters-in-law completed her first half-marathon last weekend, running the Indianapolis Mini Marathon in atrocious conditions. Her accomplishment got me reminiscing about my own running milestones over the years. Completing the Chicago Marathon in 2001, a half-marathon in 2000, and my first triathlon in 1999. But my favorite was much further back than that. In the spring…