Strong Role Models

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I did a radio interview the other day and one of the questions thrown at me was, "Who do you admire?" I wasn't thrilled with the answer I gave. I babbled something about how I've always responded to the wrong role models. If someone I know does great things, I tend toward apathy after spending time with them. I'm happy for them, but I wander around in a daze for awhile, trying not think about how much I have left I want to accomplish in life and wondering how they managed to do so much with theirs. 

On the other end of the spectrum, put me in a room with a deadbeat for 10 minutes and I'll stay fired up for a week. Projects, done! New proposals, done! Networking, marketing, housework, exercise, done, done, done, done! Something about seeing people flounder around in their own lives motivates me to do more with my own. (Nice, I know.)

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Blatant Promotion for A (Funny) Friend

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[Hmm. See a pattern in recent blog post titles? Nope, me neither.]

Brought in the mail yesterday and found my friend Ron Culberson's new book awaiting me, signed and including a snide remark about cats. (Let it go, Ron. Cats rule.)

His inexplicable preference for dogs over cats aside, Ron is a good guy. More than that, he's funny. Damn funny. Like, spit your coffee out laughing funny. All the really good jokes in my new book? Ron's ideas. We've been editing each other's work since we met years ago at an Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop. Ron makes my writing funnier and I try to dull his work down so I look better by comparison. It's a great relationship.

My Kneecap Seems Too Loose: 365 random thoughts to inspire deeply shallow thinking is the perfect book for those of you who've ever wondered why it's necessary for coffee shops to announce they offer "fresh" coffee or why we say "Go!" when we look at a stopwatch. This book makes the perfect gift for a college grad, best friend, neighbor, or anyone you just want to mess with. If you can overlook the puns (Ron knows how I feel about puns), you'll love it! 

If you don't want to take my word about how funny Ron is, check out his websites: FunnierSpeeches.com and FUNsulting.com. 

A Little Preview of Tomorrow's Misery...

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In the hopes of preparing ourselves mentally and physically for the Blue Ridge Relay, Barefoot Josh and I are doing a trial run tomorrow. We will do three runs throughout the day and see if our legs are able to withstand the lactic acid rush. Our schedule is as follows: 

  • 7 AM: The Hill, out-n-back x 2= 5.4 miles, elevation change: 1100 ft up and down (9 min pace)
  • Noon: Farris Park x 5 = 5 miles, elevation change: 615 ft up and down (8:30 min pace)
  • 6 PM: Local lap(s)= 5.5 miles 675 ft up and down (8:45 min pace)

 For a grand total of 16 miles, 2390 feet of elevation change!

I plan on doing a running blog post throughout the day, posting how I'm feeling before and after each run. I'm also going to run to the store and load up on bananas, bagels, peanut butter, and protein bars to simulate what I'll be eating on race day. 

Even though I think (know) tomorrow will be a brutal, painful, "why-am-I-doing-this-please-make-it-stop" kind of day, I'm secretly looking forward to it. I love a challenge.

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal had an article on Making Marathons Even Tougher and highlighted the Pikes Peak Marathon, one of the more brutal trail marathons around. Blair saw me reading the article and was like, "No. No. Hand it over. That's it. You are officially banned from reading anything in the media." 

He knows me well. I'm not even close to being in the competitive shape needed to tackle something like the Pikes Peak marathon. But that didn't stop me from spending 40 minutes on the site, reading the course description and thinking, "Hmm... maybe... someday..."

Cheers!

Remember to Walk

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A friend reminded me the other day of the value of walks. A composer, he'd been blocked on a new work until he took a walk, giving his mind time to puzzle over the answer. He returned home inspired and got to work on the piece.

I don't walk anywhere near as often as I used to. After sweating it out on a run, the last thing I feel like doing is re-entering the humid swamp that is the South. I've put in my time and I lock myself in my air-conditioned castle for the rest of the day, thank you very much. 

But I think I'm doing myself a disservice. Walking allows time for mulling things over... making connections... daydreaming. Running is work. Fun work that I enjoy, but work. I'm thinking about pace and form and--oh yeah--remembering to breathe. Do marketing strategies and my next book project ever cross my mind? Not so much. 

So I'm going to start walking more, hot weather be damned. A little sweat seems a small price to pay for artistic inspiration. In fact, Blair and I just returned from a walk and I came in, sat down, and wrote this blog post.

See? It's working already.