Why I Got Strong and Fat in 2009

I am a writer, and I run.

I am a runner, and I write.

For me, both acts are inextricably linked. I never realized how much so, at least not until this year, which is about to come to a close. Without running, I have no copy to work with. Without writing narratives, without writing copy, I have no stories to reflect on while I train on the lakefront, running the miles. For a long, time, I have been under the same writing and running routine, but things changed in 2009. I suppose we all get a little bit retrospective in these last few weeks of the year, and now, as the ice encloses the city, I am asking myself, what exactly did I write this year? Also, how much did I run this year, and how well did I do each activity?

My first published book, "The 12 Burning Wheels," saw the light of day this year, marking 2010 as the most significant year of my budding writing career. Yes, my book is real, a physical object of paper, images and words. And now it's also part of the ocean of information of the digital era, because it's also an e-book. It's all I could ever wish for, this entry into the world of the published author. Sometime in 2009, I also got "The Nagual's Elision," another short story, published, too.

But after my book released, what else happened? I wrote a few more stories, and "The Nagual's Elision," another short story, got published. But how much did I write, and how good was it? I'm still not sure, even as I review my files of my writing. I have a lot of snippets, a few short stories, but "Rotnacht" deserved a little more care, a little more attention. The main prize, the novel, was relegated to the distance. One might argue that I needed some distance from writing itself to come right back to it. I would argue that I needed to get higher word counts out, and I didn't, and that's the truth.

Now let's see if we can look to my running for evidence of why this was the case.

Up through September of 2009, my routine was straightforward. Three runs a week, followed by a long run of about 8 miles on the weekend. In September of 2009, though, I changed to a 3×5 powerlifting plan, a plan that allowed me to pack on mass in a way that was so Herculean, so Jack-Kirbian, so fun. It was a good thing. The body is so malleable, it's inspiring to change it like the taffy of carbon that it is. The program works if you simply follow it. Size and strength increased quickly. We men are stupid creatures, easily satisfied by the obvious, and when someone proclaims, "man, I put on 20 pounds of muscle," there' hadly going to be a man in the room who won't see that as an accomplishment. Yeah, I'm 30 pounds heavier and probably the strongest I've been in my life, but what happened to my running during this time of physical growth?

I moved running to a place of lower priority. I suffered an injury in May, and taking time off from running meant I could focus more on the barbell workouts. But in turn, my distances suffered. I was at one point running about 20-25 miles a week in 2009. 2010 saw a weekly run in the summer, at best.

Sometime around the Fall, as I healed from injury, I also began to miss running so badly it hurt. I missed it in the same way I missed writing. Running requires dedication, and patience, as we re-conditioning. It can't be pushed. Just because I could run 10 miles causally in 2009 doesn't mean I can get back to that overnight in 2010. And now, 2011 is at our door. In December, I am focusing on walking barefoot, and in fact, I'm barely running. Why? Because the goal for 2011 is to emerge into barefoot running, faster running, long distance running. I may lose some strength and mass from my experiments with the barbell, or as I call my gym training, the circus. The one benefit is that I will lose body fat. Barbell training, after all, does require gaining fat in order to gain muscle, too.

Next year will go like this, friends: December will be for walking. January will see the start of mileages outside, as I am known to do, but I will slowly incorporate barefoot and minimalist running indoors, preparing for the reveal in the spring and summer. Faster, leaner, able to withstand more in the realm of endurance. I hope I don't lose the strength I have put into my arms, legs and torso, but my body will actually be the one to dictate what happens to my size and shape.

Writing will be no different. I may have had to focus more on marketing of "12BW" this year, learning the lessons of the market and of indie publishing, but the chair, the word processor, they are calling my name.

2011 looms pivotal. Longtime readers of this blog know that I don't bullshit myself or anyone with "New Years' Resolutions." I set goals, and writing down goals, especially in the public forum on this here pamphlet, keeps me accountable. In the span of a year, I can come back here and see how I'm doing.

My writing goals for 2011: Completion of the current novel manuscript, which I am renaming (more on this in future blog posts). I also plan to write a longish piece meant for multimedia use. Part stage play, part video scripts, part internet snippet, this will come to light soon. And yes, I will have a few short stories thrown into the mix. Would you like a sequel to "The 12 Burning Wheels"? You tell me.

My running goals for 2011: I will overcome the injuries of 2009 (I basically have already), and by late summer, I want to run the Chicago Half Marathon barefoot, on September 11, 2011.

When it comes to writing, it is my work to do in solitude, and the solitude of writing fills my mechanical heart with contentment. As far as running goes, the training I do there will also happen alone, except for longer runs for the half-marathon. If you're interested in training with me, do let me know. I would love to share my weekend long run with other people. If you want, we can even do it virtually. Welcome to the future.



Back to summertime and springing forward into the fossilized forests of past winter.