Week 1 - My Own Little Marathon

A funny thing happened week before last while on an epic walk with my friend MPB...I had a genius idea.  Actually, walking with MPB is always insightful and many a genius idea has been had while on either a short or long trek.  She is one of those people who helps me with my life on a regular basis. On our last adventure, I got to talking about how we should aim to get to 13 miles on one of our jaunts.  And then I got to thinking...you know...I really love walking...and maybe...just maybe...I have another 26.2 miles in me.  So I decided that I would walk 26.2 miles after the first of the year...January 2, 2016 to be exact. I love winter.  I love walking.  I love January.  So why not?

I dusted off my marathon training plan...which is 20 weeks long...and last week started week 1.  I'm really only using the plan for the Saturday long walks...which progress from 5 miles to 20 miles.  I have a good solid plan for the week days...I get my 4 miles in every morning before I even get to work.  Saturdays will be for long distances.  Sundays...I can rest.  This is totally doable.

Week 1 Data

Total Week 1 Steps:  84,476
Total Week 1 Miles:  36.66

Total Overall Training Steps:  84,476
Total Overall Training Miles:  36.66

Ready, Steady, Go...

Cape May Musing...

Early Morning.  Thunderstorms Rolling.  Windows Open.  Oceans Churning.  Raindrops Falling.  World Turning.

Pen and Paper.  Everything I need.  Just listening to the ocean.  I always wanted a simple kind of life.

A long line made up of spectacular tiny moments of pure joy.  Those split seconds where your heart is so happy.  They are real.  They carry you through.

The more you let the feeling in the more these moments string together.

It is when you stop counting that you realize every second is that moment.

                                                                                        - Cape May -
                                                                                         July 27, 2015

So about those words... (Pages Edited = 13)

Right...it is November...how is that novel writing coming along?  Well...in all honesty...I have not felt like sitting at Panera or Starbucks huddled behind my laptop.  The weather is beautiful...and being outside seems like the best thing for my soul.  There was a time when writing the words was what I needed...but I don't need that any more.  I think it is okay that I haven't been feeling like barfing out new words for word counts.  There is something else I have felt like doing...editing old words.  What?  Yes...editing.  My NanoWrimo Novel from 2009 is still the one I am closest to finishing.  It is the one I carry around with me...all...the...time.  It is always in the back of my car...taunting me to read through it and get it closer to done.  So, that is what I am doing.  My novel...The Accidental Agent...is going to get another rebuff...and then...I will send it to my friend in Texas to read.  I was supposed to do that last January before I visited her on my birthday.  She hasn't asked me about it once.  I think that means more.  I know that she knows I will eventually send it to her.  I know that it will happen...eventually.

Years ago...one of my old bosses called me out on something regarding my writing.  She said that I never finished any of my novels because I was afraid of finishing.  If I finished one, I would have to do something with it.  She was absolutely right.  Maybe the fear is subsiding...maybe finishing a novel no longer seems so impossible...ready, steady, here I go...

November Happiness... (Word Count = 4,030)

I am completely out of my element this November for National Novel Writing Month and it feels awesome.  I have never written a Fantasy before...so the words are coming very slowly.  I'm okay with this.  Rather than count on the weekends to get 10-15K words...I'm getting back to the basics...I will write 2K words a day.  I love the month of November...it gets colder...the fun of the holiday season starts...and I write a crappy first draft of a novel.  I love having to adjust my life to be sure I have time to write.  I love keeping track of my word count.  I love that I can wear all of my boots.  I love that each year I focus on something different.  This year is all about balance...time with gym, time for soccer hooliganism, time for work, time for paying attention to my health, time for writing, time for sleep, time for play with friends and family, and time to just be.  Each year I fear that delving into the writing world will bring back old habits...too much food, too little activity, and too much time in my own head.  I have vowed to not let this happen this year.  I have vowed to not eat my way through my novel writing adventure either.  I think that is why I am focusing on the 2K words a day.  I don't want to put myself in a situation where I have to sit and write for an entire day to catch up.  So here is my November plan...10K steps a day...2K words a day...and time for work, sleep, and play.  I got this.  Happy November!!