I’m not a spammer! Your WONDERFUL, AWESOME Akismet plugin has saved me from thousands of spam comments and untold hours of grief. But now Akismet seems to think I am one of the bad guys and I cannot seem to change its mind.
I’ve tried the other option - I’ve had people mark me as “not spam” but I’m still getting thrown into the spam pit on WordPress.com blogs and even blogs on my own domain!
Thank you. 
Over the past year I’ve thought several times that I’d figured out the source of my health problems. Unfortunately, the rabbit hole was deep and I wasn’t able to really figure things out. Until now.
After months of worry and frustration, I finally feel great and am declaring today a positive new beginning.
I plan on blogging about what I’ve learned, and after that, I’m going to set out some new goals.
It’s time to start living again!
I’d be in the hospital. I have had the flu since last Tuesday. It was only last night (Sunday) when things got even remotely better than they had been.
Fever and chills and coughing up a lung. Fever and chills and coughing up a lung. Fever and chills and coughing up a lung. That’s been my entire week.
During this time I thought, “If I was 80, this would have put me in the hospital”.
BRUTAL.
Have you ever stopped posting and then found it really hard to start again? Yeah? Well, here I am starting from the beginning so this one’s gonna be simple.
I took my son to a monster truck show last night. I’m not into that sort of thing but, of course, it’s irresitible to a five year old boy. He was SO excited. Note to the unitiated: GraveDigger rulz (sort of the Hulk Hogan of the monster truck gig)! Here’s a little collage I put together of our time there. Click on the pic to enlarge.
The poor, poor members of the CRN (writing) team - they’ve had to put up with an endless stream of emails where I go on and on and on about all the cool stuff we’re building over at completerunning.
Something Jeanne has learned very well (and that even I have only recently come to understand) is that I only have two gears - full out and dead stop.
I am definitely a manic-depressive sort of character when it comes to my passions and work. I go through periods where I am inexaustible. Periods where I am up till 2:00 a.m. night after night. Periods where I have to keep a notebook so I don’t lose all of the ideas that flow into my mind in wave after wave of creative nirvana. Periods where noone can keep up to me. These periods generally last for a month or so and then…
…it all comes crashing down and I am utterly useless.
Then, I rest up (sometimes for as much as a month), rinse and repeat.
When it comes to non-running stuff, I am not a marathoner - I do not know pacing.
And I’m ok with that - it’s mostly nice to have figured out how “I am”.
But I imagine it must be hard to be around me. If that last statement rings a bell (Jeanne?), I apologize.
As the Scorpion said to the frog, “It’s in my nature“.
Some day soon, I will start talking about running again. I just needed to get this off my chest.
My family went on a little trip to Banff National Park (more photos at the link) right after Christmas this year. The kids LOVED the Gondola and Banff Hot Springs.
And this photo of Lori and I is a new favorite of mine.
Thank you everyone for your concern. I am a-ok after a difficult month or two of getting through layers of health stuff. I owe a bunch of you emails and promise to get in touch with you over the next few days.
Take care and happy holidays!
All the best to you and your families,
Mark
I’m so proud of my friend Jeff for rallying the web’s runners around Ryan Shay’s family.
This sort of thing hits you on so many levels. First, because once we get fit, we runners tend to think of ourselves as invincible. We are not. Ryan was an elite athlete with a heart defect. He was, to most of us, superhuman and was still struck down at the age of 28.
The second thing that hits you is empathy. Empathy for Ryan’s family and wife. Once upon a time I thought I’d lost my son. Near misses like that make you appreciate your loved ones in ways you could not have imagined previously. My heart bleeds for the Shays.
So, I did my part and ran 5.5 miles. They were quiet miles. Quiet thoughtful miles.
The one positive, albeit sort of morbid thought (I guess this is an appropriate time for being morbid) I had while running those miles is a thought I often have…
…When my time comes, I hope it comes like it did for Ryan - doing what I love doing - running down a dream.
God bless.
I’m stealing this write-up from Anne…
Most of you by now are aware of Ryan Shay, the 28-year-old that died 5.5 miles into last weekend’s Olympic Marathon Trials in New York City. There are numerous memorials being erected or created, including one conceived by my friend Jeff, that amazing hipster up in southern Orange County.
Jeff would like anyone who can next Saturday to run 5.5 miles in honor of Ryan Shay. The details are on Complete Running.
