Push on through

I'm having a hard time writing tonight.  With the events in Boston yesterday, I cannot concentrate.  If you follow this blog, you know that I completed my very first marathon exactly one month ago today, so what happened at the Boston Marathon yesterday seems fresh, like something I can relate to.  In fact, it seems like something a lot of people can relate to. 

So, I tried to start a blog on how there's more than one way to write a query, just like there's more than one way to castrate a dog.  But, sorry, my heart's not in it. I feel disingenuous writing something so trite and mundane today.  Stay tuned for that in a week or something. 

I just feel sad.  A deep sad that's just sort of hanging around in my guts. 

But, people are saying there's a lot of good that's coming out of this.  People much more eloquent than I are able to bring positive thoughts to such a negative thing.  Like Patton Oswalt's Facebook note.  Or the silent run in Miami tonight to show support.  The runnersworld site has a large list of other tribute runs going on this weekend and other events to show support.  I'll be closely watching the DC running scene to see if anything similar pops up around here.  These things make me feel a little bit better.

So I will continue to watch the news as the investigation unfolds.  And I will continue to run, since I have a half marathon coming up in two weeks.  And I will have to get my head back in the game, since there are deadlines and real work that needs to be attended to.  And most of all, I will read the columns of Bostonians such as Scot Lehigh of the Boston Globe that show how tough, determined, and resilient these people are.  And we will push on through. 

On Writing: A Comparison to the Marathon Part 3 of 3

So, I did it.  I completed my first marathon, the Rock n' Roll USA Marathon on March 16.  It's over.  Thank god. 

I'm not particularly proud of my finishing time, or the fact that my quadriceps became iron logs at Mile 21.  But, I did it.  And that's that. 

OK, it's funny, but am I the only person who thinks sloths are really creepy?

So, now we're all set up for the comparison between finishing a marathon and writing and it goes a little somethin' like this (at least in my experience):  finishing a marathon is like finishing a first draft.  There's a flurry of emotions as you cross the finish line and as you eek out your final sentence.  There's joy that this epic journey is finally done; there's anxiety over what's next; there's disappointment that it wasn't all that you hoped for; there's hope that the next time will be better.  Who out there is absolutely in love with their first draft, whether it be an article, a short story, or a novel?  Not me!  I usually hate it and fight the urge to bury it under a rock somewhere. 

This is where I bury my first drafts: under a giant rock guarded by goats. Fierce guard goats.

But, as the saying goes, time heals all wounds (except those with Staph infections).  I give the first draft a day or more (if deadlines allow) to "steep" and then take a look at it again with fresh eyes.  And then a funny thing happens: it's not as horrible a monstrosity as I first thought.  It's ok - ok in that first-drafty kind of wonky way.  And so was my marathon.  No one's first draft is a masterpiece just as no one's first marathon is their finest physical performance.  Both feats are trials - testing the waters, so to speak.  Then you go and prove to yourself you can actually stick it out and finish and no matter how slow you run or how ugly your first draft is, you finished SOMETHING and you also now have something to fall back on - the hard part is over. 

So, I'm letting my legs rest and recover and I have a first draft tucked away on my laptop.  I'll revisit both running and writing this week as soon as I fight off those fierce guard goats. 

On Writing: A Comparison to the Marathon

Hi folks.  I'm dangerously close to already failing one of my New Year's resolutions, which was to blog at least four times a month.  As such, I'm scrambling to write three posts within this last week of February.  Additionally, I'm deep in the struggle of training for my very first marathon, a feat much much more difficult than I ever imagined.  Since this is taking most of my time and energy, and provides me long training runs in which I can come up with blog topics, the next three posts will be running-heavy and animal-light.  As an attempt at amends for all my dear readers who visit for the veterinary side of things, here's a picture of a patient of mine in vet school:

I forgot his name, but doesn't he look like a Mr. Bigglesworth?

The next three posts here will be on a theme of comparing writing, in particular the long commitment of writing a novel, to training for a marathon. 

Blog 1 of 3:

Writing is so much like training for a marathon, it's not even funny.  Not in the slightest.  Especially when the going gets tough.  I know.  Because right now, the going is VERY tough for my marathon training. 

With a 26.2 mile challenge breathing down my neck in four weeks, I am stressed, I am tired, I am working hard.  Anyone with a writing deadline ever feel the same way?  I am suffering from over-training (more on that in an up-coming post), which I am likening to writer's block.  Worst of all, I am tempted to quit.  So very tempted. 

And yet..... so many people talk about running a marathon.  Just like so many people talk about writing a book.  I prefer to live, or at least try to live, my life according to the Elvis song: "A Little Less Conversation" (a little more action, please).  Anyone can TALK about doing something.  How about we actually DO IT?

I believe in order to complete either a book or a marathon, one must exemplify three traits: perseverance, self-discipline, and ambition.  Please note I have not mentioned talent.  There is no secret to writing a book - you have an idea and you write it down.  There is no secret to running a marathon - you put feet to pavement and start moving.  You don't need to be the next Hemingway, or the next Usain Bolt.  A popular writer's quote goes something like, "Writing is 3% inspiration and 97% avoiding distractions on the Internet", which means to me: just freaking do it.  A nose to the grindstone sort of thing.

I'm writing today because I'm angry and frustrated and I want to quit.  A few weeks ago, just as I really started to feel the effects of extra miles in my training, I got a rejection letter in the mail from a writing query I sent a month earlier.  Talk about getting kicked when you're down.  Struggling both in writing and running, it's so tempting to wallow in self-pity and have a convenient excuse to eat an entire bag of M&Ms.

Me, for the past month.

And yet.... there are people who believe in me.  One thing about bragging that you're training for a marathon (in the euphoria of the first week of training) is that the people you tell keep you accountable.  They ask how things are going and offer words of encouragement.  And it's a funny thing about encouragement - after you keep hearing it, you start to believe in yourself again.  It can be the same thing with writing.

So, here we are four weeks from race day.  One last long run tomorrow morning, then it's down to tapering.  You could liken this to finishing the last third of a novel: the plot is winding up for the climax, but there are loose ends and plot holes you need to repair.  It's overwhelming, but the end is in sight.  And we can do this.