Remember this terrible picture of me running from the ‘40 of My Favorite Things’ countdown?

(Year IV, Issue 8)

It’s the last Sunday of February, so it’s time for the last of the four challenges I will tell you about now and then keep tabs on as the year goes on.

And, not going to lie - this one’s a biggie.

First let’s recap:

This year I’m going to learn cribbage. (So far I have learned the rules but I definitely need many more reps to make sure I have the game down pat.)

This year I’m going to do some yoga. (More on this in a minute.)

This year I will participate in a comedy festival for the second year in a row. (This will happen in April and I’ll keep you posted.)

And this year…I think I’m finally going to run a marathon.

Whoa boy.

You read that right.

I know I’ve been a little plus or minus on marathon running in the past…but this is definitely a bucket list item and the opportunity is here before me and I can’t pass it up. (Well, to clarify - running the Boston Marathon has been a bucket list item for me, and though I’ve never been outright negative about running a marathon I certainly was relieved when my number hasn’t been drawn to run one in the past. But ‘running a marathon’ in general can certainly qualify as a bucket list item…and if it goes well, maybe it’ll help me achieve the Boston Marathon bucket list item.)

Here’s the story: I have an opportunity to have a spot in the St. Jude Marathon in Memphis in December. And I’m going to take advantage of that opportunity.

My friend Kevin has been very encouraging - he’s run a couple of half-marathons and guarantees me I could do a half-marathon. Kathy has also been very encouraging. As soon as this opportunity presented itself she told me I should do it.

I need all the encouragement I can get.

It’s just so much running.

Luckily, with the race not until December, I have a good eight months to prepare.

Also luckily, the average temperature at the marathon in Memphis is 56 degrees. That is my ideal running temperature. (Unfortunately this will involve a lot of summer running, which is my less-than-ideal running temperature. Look for me getting some runs done in the early mornings this summer.)

We’ve had some 56-ish degree days the past couple of weeks, and I took the ol’ body out for a test run and I did OK. I ran for about 20 minutes or so a couple of times and I was sore the next day but I didn’t break down mid-run, so that was good.

Also, as I told you a couple of weeks ago, I am going to try to start yoga, and I’m kind of hoping that will help with the recovery efforts after training runs…and maybe limber me up for the runs themselves.

I haven’t been exercising a ton but I have been making sure I do push-ups every day for about the past six months. (I don’t want to brag, so I won’t tell you how many push-ups. But it is an impressive number.)

So as long as I can find the time to get my runs in, I hope by December I’m prepared to run a marathon.

I’m telling you now, this last week of February, to help keep me accountable.

Just like with learning cribbage.

And just like learning that game started with baby steps in February, the road to a 26-mile run in December might just have started with a couple of 20-minute runs this month.

Writing

*The actual work of writing has been very busy, and to prove it, the girls’ school vacation didn’t impact the writing I was doing at all. (Usually school vacation and the change in the weekly routine takes me off my work game. Not this week.) Creative writing has not been happening at all lately, but partly that’s because I’m spending almost all of my free time getting the office ready. I can’t wait to be able to actually use that room - I think just having the dedicated work space will really kick my writing into gear. I’m still hoping for March 1st as the day I can start using it…we’ll see. That’s Friday, for those of you keeping score at home.

Comedy

*You may remember a week ago I told you I had big plans for some open mics and trying out new material. I didn’t make it to either of the mics I planned to, partly because of the work in the office and partly because I wasn’t feeling 100% early in the week and I didn’t want to make myself worse with a long ride back and forth to Portland, Maine on Thursday. I’m glad I rested up - Thursday was a blast. Great show at Lincoln’s, with some of my favorite people to hang out with and perform with. It was the only time I got up for the week, but it was a good one.

This week is busy - starts with tonight at The Comedy Studio, I’m doing a mic in Worcester on Tuesday, a show at The Pour House in Boston on Wednesday, and back to Maine (South Portland this time) on Saturday. It’ll be a fun week.

What I’ve Been Enjoying

*Took the girls to the library this week, since they had no school, and as I am wont to do if I’m looking for something to read but I don’t have much idea of what to read I took a peek at the ‘New Releases’ section. I saw Pete Souza’s book, “Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents” and thought I’d give it a whirl. It was very good. For those who don’t know, Souza was the official White House photographer for the Obama administration, and lately he’s taken to Instagram and posted photos he took during that time, juxtaposing them with what is happening in the presidency today. It’s a little depressing as a political book, but I like it a) because the pictures are fantastic, and b) it’s really all about the respect Souza has for the office of the presidency and that part of the book is uplifting. I recommend it…also, it’s a quick coffee table-type read. I read it in two sittings in one evening.

Notes

*We’re drawing ever nearer to baseball season and I haven’t given it a ton of thought to this point, which is a good thing. That means it will sneak up on me faster.

*Also, with March next weekend it’s insane how little i’ve thought about March Madness. My world used to revolve around this time of year.

*We are a couple of weeks away from the March edition of Comedy Night at Exhibit ‘A’. It hasn’t sold out yet…but I’m sure it will. Get your tickets by clicking here. It’ll be a good time.

*You can keep tabs on everything with the social media - here I am on Facebook and here I am on Twitter.

*Well that’s a wrap for our little February exercise. That was good - it really got us through the month, didn’t it? March will be a pretty good month for the Sunday Paper, too. I’m looking forward to sharing with you about my new office - I’ll definitely devote a week to that. And at the end of the month I’m doing the craziest thing I’ve done as a parent to date - so I’ll definitely be telling you about that. But not until it happens. So that’s something to look forward to. Thanks for reading.