I’m here in the kitchen counter working on my second cup of coffee.   Ruby woke up at 5am with a “hungry tummy.”  I’ll be feeding her more for dinner tonight…

The kids have today off from school for Fiesta.  And I’m hoping the third cup of coffee gives rise to some ideas about kid-occupying fun.  I feel like eight hours of yard work just isn’t going to cut it with them.  Spoiled children.

I am going to run a marathon on July 15th.  It’s called the 1st Annual Hills & Dales Neighborhood Invitational Marathon.  And you’re all invited… to do 12.5 loops around my neighborhood.  You can do it virtually or in person.  If you show up in person, however, there will be mimosas and donuts.  Virtually, you’re on your own for snacks and alcohol. But there will be fabulous prizes in either case.  There’s also a half-marathon distance, 10k, 5k and kids mile.  I’m going to put the whole thing up on Strava soon (as soon as I figure out how to do that.)

Why not run a certified marathon?  Well, surprisingly, there are no marathons scheduled in Texas in July.  Who would have guessed?  And the few marathons there are in the rest of the country in July are cost prohibitive — and would be a bad idea for the family in any case.

Why July 15th?  Well, I’m trying to get faster to make the US 100k Team, and my next race isn’t until October,  (USATF 50 mile Road Championships).  If I don’t schedule a race before then, I’ll deteriorate into a mimosa-guzzling, donut-eating sloth-manatee. So there you go.  My neighborhood is nice and flat — and Eliot and the kids don’t have to do more than walk out the front door.

If you’re in town, and you’re not interested in running any of the “official” distances, come pace me for a half mile or two– or join Eliot and the kids at the Mimosa Aid Station.

Asa’s up now and Ruby is pestering him — and he’s responding like a 9 year-old boy — so I’m going to have stop typing now, and make threats about dessert loss.  I hope you all have a wonderful day.