Another Kind of Marathon

I enjoyed six full days off from running entirely. It went by really fast, to tell you the truth.

Yesterday was a beautiful autumn day and I went out for a 4-miler. It was a harder 4-miler than I would have guessed my body felt up to for the first run back. I did 7:20 per mile.

I am stunned and deeply saddened by the news of the death of Ryan Shay. First, I run marathon where a novice dies in the heat. Now, I hear about the Olympic Trials in which a distance champion collapses and dies. I am feeling my mortality right now. My prayers go out to his wife and his family.

Nevertheless, I have been contemplating my next marathon for May. The baby is due May 5th. I am wondering if I will be able to head to either Madison or Green Bay, both driving distance, on the 18th or the 25th after our little bundle of joy arrives. The wife needs to let me know if it's OK. That's a ways off and there is lots to think about and deal with before then.

I'm in the midst of an entirely different kind of marathon. It is called National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo. My aim is to write a 50,000 word draft manuscript in the 30 days of November. This is a 1,667 word per day pace. You can get updates on my progress here.

Writing will keep me busy this month. I will try to balance my running to get back up to 30 miles a week this month. I also will head back to London right after Thanksgiving for work. I feel like I am continuing to push the envelope with my goals while finding a way to balance the rest of my life.