Posts Tagged ‘Life’

It is so close I can feel its breath grazing my nape.

Friday, February 24th, 2012

With inestimable help from my friend Kyle, who’s been at this running thing much more seriously than myself, I’ve sketched out a training plan that should take me to the race day and across the finish line in one piece.

The base mileage, I won’t lie, appears very intimidating to me. I don’t really consider myself a runner, per se, I run but I don’t have a competitive spirit beyond the desire to push myself so staring down an actual training plan seems odd. Last year I ran to help lose weight and make mountain biking more fulfilling, and I mountain biked to make me feel good–I ride for the smiles is what I told people. So looking at nearly two-thirds of a year dedicated to training leaves me worried about my ability to execute.

Half Marathon Training Plan

It looks like a chore.

However, it is a goal; one that I need to hit so that I feel fulfilled. Having spent a good portion of my 20′s and most of my 30′s focused on school and work I let the rest of my life wither so this is an attempt to bring balance back, to assert personal meaning.

Here is hoping I can do this.

I am finally making myself free to move about the planet.

Monday, August 1st, 2011

Next on the list is to pick somewhere to go; where doesn’t matter as much as when, and sooner is better than later.

It’s been nearly six months and I passed another milestone today.

Sunday, May 22nd, 2011

…and I ran it in 34:45.

Saturday, May 21st, 2011

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Today is a milestone for everything that has changed.

Saturday, May 21st, 2011

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Lemonade at Thirty-Five

Monday, January 19th, 2009

35 and Furry Faced

The start of the new year has been a tad subpar, Management was laid off and her car needs major repairs, though I suppose with such an inauspicious start things can really only look up.  Maybe we had a feeling that this was on the horizon when we started hacking at our budget but it definitely is helping that we’ve made some radical cuts to our lifestyle before all this happened but when I honestly reflect on it the layoff is likely a blessing in disguise.

Management hated her job.  The company she worked for was demeaning and her boss was less than pleasant and far from stable swinging wildly from highs where praise was cheap currency to dark lows where her fury was a 1000 year storm.   She was depressed from the grind and angry that she put the time and effort only to feel like she was running in quicksand; at some point the place was going to consume her body and soul.  The layoff is probably the best thing that has happened to our marriage since Gabriella and the time she is getting to spend with our daughter is just what the both of them need.  As far as I am concerned, the benefits are outweighing the loss of income.

Work, however, for me is the opposite.  I love what I am doing; I am learning and being pushed to think smarter, quicker, and differently every single day.  I love that.

As you can see from the picture, I never really gave up on The Beard Project, after a couple of trims around Thanksgiving I just let it go to seed.  Management wonders when I’ll grow tired of being so fluffy, my daughter sinks her fingers into it and exclaims “Oh, Bear!”, and I love how warm it has kept me this past cold snap.