Back in the Saddle

Hello, reader.  After putting out an article designed to help me get posts out faster, I of course have been radio silent for the last two months (and not too productive in the months prior either).  I've had a busy summer, and I'm going to indulge myself by writing an aside that is related to X-wing by only the faintest of tangents.

October 19th I ran a half marathon, finishing in about 2 hours 8 minutes.  Those who know me in person know I am not a person who for whom running comes easily.  It is not something I do for fun.  Those long-limbed folk that run easily along as if they're deer or gazelle?  That's the opposite of me.  I'm decidedly slow, heavy-footed, and plodding.  

In June, a friend of mine put a call out among our circle of friends looking for people who wanted to run a half marathon.  He'd run a handful before, and had moved back into the midwest from the Pacific northwest.  I tentatively accepted, having run a 10k in November of last year, and feeling like I could have gone further.  

With a lot of help from an friend experienced in distance running and a lot of patience from my wife, I started the training program, and with surprisingly few hiccups, got through it all.  This is the primary reason I haven't been writing.  In large part, any free time that would have been used writing or making questionably useful diagrams in MS paint has been spent running, or cleaning up after a run, or just vegging out at the end of the evening. 

Here's where it gets tangentially X-win related:

I would never have run a 10k back in November if it hadn't been for the Krayt running group.  While I had jogged on and off for several years prior to that, I wouldn't have tried those extra miles if I hadn't been a part of that group.  

That friend who I kept bothering about distance running advice?  Fellow X-wing player I met online (Hi Josh).  This guy also convinced me that if I could run a 10k I could finish a half marathon and coached me through aches and pains, probably saving me from some serious injury in the process.

This thing would not have happened without the fantastic people I've met and interacted with as part of this game.  You guys are all awesome, and it's weird to think something like athletic achievement could have roots in an online community for a tabletop game.  

Of course this also wouldn't have happened if not for my buddy, Steve, who suggested this in the first place and ran with me the whole way despite my suspicion that he could have gone quite a bit faster.  He talked me through the crappy parts and got us to the end.   

I also need to especially thank my wife, Katie, who handled our small children when I was out and/or recovering from an early morning long run.  She had those kids out cheering in the cold rainy morning of the actual race, despite being awake coughing for two nights straight with a bad cold.  What a badass.  

You are all terrific.  


Thanks for reading.

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