April or Bust

I had some goals for March. I didn't make a lot of them.

By Eirik Newth  [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

This might come as a surprise, given my sometimes-slacker 'tude and occasional failure to remember things, but it really bothers me when that happens. I don't like falling short. And that's sort of what I did, both in training and writing.


For training, I completed the National Half, but I was unhappy with my preparation and performance - more on that when I do the race report. 


For NaNoEdMo, I will be happy if I log 25 hours before the end of the month. It is not possible for me to finish 50 hours between now and then and remain sane. 


On the bright side...


I ran all 13.1 miles of National Half with virtually no knee pain. This is a vast improvement from three weeks ago. I will find another half to do in a few months and try for my goal time then. And until then, I will focus April on building strength, and building mileage in a way that does not re-aggravate my ITB.


For NaNoEdMo, much of the time I didn't spend editing, I spent either writing or reading. I don't consider this wasted time at all. It just means I will need to build editing time into April so I can make progress on this novel.

"Silver Lining" By ImUnicke (Own work) [GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

The Bucket List Blog Fest!

Hooray! It's TIME!


For what, you ask?


The Bucket List BlogFest, of course!


For this Blog Fest, Blog-Fest-ers (Festoons?) were meant to come up with an 'ultimate list' of things they want to do. That list could be big-picture like life goals, or focused on something related to their blog/topic of interest. 


And since I somehow edited left out the recommendation for five items in both promo posts (whoops!), people have complete freedom over their list. :) The only rule was to post their blog to the Mr. Linky Widget below.


You can find a list of participants below!




Now, on to my 5.  These are not listed in order of priority...


1. Spend a month in one of the following places: Provence, France; Sardinia, Italy; and Istanbul, Turkey.
These are all places where, when I see pictures or hear about them, I realize I want to do nothing more but go there, eat, drink, and wander. I like travel shows, but something struck me as special in each place. I would like to take a few weeks, rent an apartment or something, and find out what that is.


2. Write novels that other people want to read.
Writing is solitary, and it's difficult. Really, I know I can only write for myself... it's impossible to do otherwise. Still, I want people to read my work. Oh, yeah. An Oprah Book Club Sticker would be nice, too. Maybe that can be #6.

3. Grow a family.

I kinda debated putting this one in here, and I wasn't sure how to word it - in part because it's so personal, but also because I have a great family, one that includes mine and Matt's. Still, I'll eventually be ready to ignore the ominous warnings of my sometimes frustrated mother during my childhood: "someday, you'll have kids just like you, and then you'll understand!" 

4. Retire to a beach house in the Outer Banks.
Maybe not a wise plan with global warming and "rising sea levels", but I love the OBX. I'd love to buy a small beach house down there and, when it's finally time to stop working, disappear there for a while.


5. Run a 100-miler.
Actually, the ultimate goal stemmed from a desire to run Badwater. I've read about it and, as horrible as it sounds... my interest was piqued. But since the chances of me getting in are slim, a 100-miler seems like a seriously formidable challenge to tackle in the coming years.




Thanks for reading my list, I look forward to reading the great entries below! 

2011, Part II: Writing.

It's hard to pin down when I 'became' a writer, but it's something I've taken seriously for the last few years.  2011 will be no different.


One of the things I could not bring myself to do is submit work for publication this past year.  There are a couple of reasons why.  The biggest one is that I don't feel like I'm ready.  I have a lot to learn - an incredible amount to learn.  I churn out a bunch of words, and then I edit and edit and edit until it sounds ok, but not right.  But, here's the secret.


I don't really know what I'm doing.

2011, Part I: Races/Training.

Yeah... it is cold out there.

After the recap post from 12/26, I've been thinking a lot about changes. Goals.  Things I can hold up as motivation on mornings like today, when I sat in my car outside the Athletic Club, hunched over a mug of green tea while the wind whipped around my car and I wondered why I hadn't stayed in bed.



It's all about the motivation.  


That, and I wanted to test out my shiny new New Balance jacket.  I was kind of toasty once we hit mile 3.


That having been said, I've picked three major goals to carry me through the year: