In an hour I will be 37. I’m not feeling as much of a sense of loss this birthday. I’ve accomplished some big goals in my life that had been keeping me from being happy.
But the thing that strikes me is that 2009 was a very good year. I look back on it with happy memories, and I’m surprised how many of them deal with running. I look at a map of DisneyWorld and I try and figure out the exact route my marathon went, including the long walk in the marshalling area. I did the Alberta Triple, which doesn’t fill me with pride, but with a good feeling of accomplishment. The Lost Soul Ultra was my pinnacle run; a run I remember hating while I was doing it, but is now the source of many tales. The trip to Jamaica that finally made me feel complete.
The worse experiences give the best stories. Or to better say, do interesting things and you will have an interesting life.
Being without a job has been different for me. I’ve had time to do things I had never gotten around to. I’ve gotten my program out there and feel I can be proud of it. But I also want to add to it. Pride in my work.
But without a job, there has been no structure. So more often than it should be, I accomplish nothing in my day. I need to start focussing. Not just on hunting for a job, but giving myself a schedule of things I need to do each day.
And part of me wants to relive 2009, with all the running involved.