Burnout

I have decided to stop running for a while. Those words are really hard to say, to write, to feel. But I need to say it, to acknowledge it, to do it. I’m burned out. And it’s not going away. It’s hard to say for certain when this all started, but I feel like it […]

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Where is this train going?

I’ve been thinking about writing all day. Between dragging myself out of bed (despite a warm and cuddly cat who crawled in for a while), lifting weights, dealing with various frustrations at work, sitting and waiting around at the end of the day for someone to finish a meeting so I could transport that person […]

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Thrill of the unknown

It’s been a little while. Where do I even begin? The last several months have been…difficult. Uneven. Challenging. Heartbreaking. Motivating. Fun. Rejuvenating. All of these things at different times and sometimes a few at the same time. In June I ran a trail half-marathon – my first – and it was one of the hardest […]

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What’s next?

“Run this marathon with me in a month!” “Are you doing Erie again?” “When’s your next marathon?’ I’ve had these offers and questions thrown my way more times than I can count since the end of April. And I understand why. The thought for everyone is: time for revenge. You were so close – just try […]

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Unfinished (Glass City Marathon Race Report)

I have always found that writing endings is one of the hardest things. How do you wrap it all up? How do you tie up the loose ends without putting too perfect a bow on it? How do you craft that finish that leaves just the right taste and leaves the mind thinking on it […]

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Never easy

“I just want one thing to be easy.” I’ve been saying this a lot lately. In the last several weeks, a lot of Hard Things have piled up. Two deaths in March. Major work deadlines, for both Shannon and myself. Running and training rough patches – I’ve had this strange thing going on with my […]

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Race Report: Albany Half-Marathon

Lately, it seems, all I hear is Psalm 23. I raced a half-marathon on March 4. It went amazingly well. One would think I would have written and posted a race report almost immediately. But I haven’t. The truth is, I’m having a hard time finding words. Finding purpose. Finding a point in writing about […]

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The long road

Through the dust motes of this neglected blog – how has it been since Erie since I last wrote? – the just-finished year already seems very distant. A lot happened last year, and as I’m certain I am not the first to write, a lot about 2016 was…pretty terrible. It’s all been written and said […]

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Race Report: The Scream Half-Marathon

I raced a half-marathon on Saturday. It was the first half I have raced since last October. And yet, until this post, I have not made mention of its result anywhere. True, I’ve been lackadaisical with blog posting in general – I have a long post mostly written from my trip to Pittsburgh back in […]

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Race Report: Snickers Albany Marathon

Have you ever seen the sand mandalas made by Buddhist monks? Those intricate, colorful, geometric works of art, created so methodically over days or weeks. The process is as painstaking as it is lyrical. The beauty appears long before the pattern’s full breadth emerges. It’s the process, the ritual, the careful consideration of every breath […]

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