It's a magical world

One of the few positive consequences of being un(der)employed is that I have plenty of time to go running. Today I stepped it up to roughly 4.5 miles, after roughly a week in which my baseline was 3.5. My dad and I (but mostly me, since Dad runs [half-]marathons) are training for the WHYY Y12K next month. Twelve klicks being roughly 7.5 miles, I have about a week to go in which I do 4.5, then I have to increase to 5.5, 6.5, and then hopefully 7.5. I still worry that I'm walking too much and jogging rather than actually running, but today I was at least 5 minutes faster than the last time I ran 4.5 miles, so there's definitely progress being made (i.e. it took me 50 minutes. Given that on July Fourth it took me 39:40 to run 5K, that's definite progress).

I enjoy running, though I don't have any kind of runner's physique (yet)--it's been about five months since I started doing it seriously, and so far the major physiological change I've noticed, besides the muscle I know I've added, is that my shoe size has shrunk by a half-size. Well, as they say, you've gotta start somewhere.

In the meantime, job and grad school applications swirl about me. I could really use a stroke of luck on the first front; there's at least a chance that I found one this Sunday, when I went to Meeting for Worship for the first time in six years. But more anon, if it pans out.