Unfinished business: part 2

New year, oh a new year.

I've been on another of my famous hiatuses. I had finished the Zoo Race on quite a high. I could have let that momentum carry me. Instead, I let it die ....and along with it, this blog.

I could make the excuse that I had started a new job (actually I finished a three-year special project and sadly returned to a job I thought I had progressed from) and it wasn't going well. I could make the excuse that my shoulder was causing me to back off from running (how? I don't know. I said it was an excuse.) I could make the excuse that I hate winter running. Or maybe I am just not enthused about running anymore and seek another challenge.

A girl at work has asked me to run with her -- no wait, she said "teach me to run" -- when we return from the holiday break. It was an fascinating proposition and I wasn't sure how to respond. Teach? I don't know what I have to offer, but I suppose I am a non-threatening slower-than-average runner whose fleeting persistence somehow motivates others. What they don't know is that I think I actually need them more to motivate me than they need me.

The seriousness with running that I applied to the Chicago Marathon in 2006 is all but gone. I wish to do another marathon but the thought scares me a little because of the commitment involved. I know I am comfortable with the half-marathon and the shorter distances -- much more forgiving with the other things I enjoy in life (mostly extreme laziness whenever the whim takes me). Out of habit, I'll probably sign up for Harry's, Sporting Life, and the Zoo and likely the Scotiabank half-marathon too. I am not looking to do anything out of town this year, but I can be swayed easily. The year is only a few hours old.