Ghosts Appear and Fade Away

Busy snuck up on me again this year.  Sudden, crazy busy.

“I can’t get to sleep”

Work has gotten very hectic with an overabundance of moving parts.  Some might say a plethora.  For those that have followed my blog for a while, last year my company went through a round of layoffs which loomed like a specter over everyone and everything all Summer.  Our most recent quarterly report gave some decidedly low guidance for the coming quarter, so suddenly the widespread nervousness has returned.  Stressful and no fun.

“I think about the implications”

I’ve started ramping up my weekly running totals as part of a 24-week training plan for a 50-mile run in early November.  This training plan peaks at around 70 miles a week, and I’m pretty sure I’ve never gone over 50 miles in an individual week in my life.  To pull this off I’m getting up a little earlier every day, and going on fairly long runs both days of the weekend, which means early rising on weekends too.  Net result is I’m not getting enough sleep.  I know it, and I’m working on it.  However, running isn’t the only thing contributing to lack of sleep….

“Of diving in too deep”

We’re in the process of opening a store.  I’ll save the details for another post, but my enthusiasm for running is dwarfed by my wife’s enthusiasm for tennis, and by the end of July we should have the doors open on a full-service tennis shop in Cary, NC.  My wife and two friends have partnered to run the whole operation, and we’re trying to be as frugal as possible up front until we start to get some cashflow.  What this means is I’m in charge of I.T., construction, drywall repair, painting, electrical, etc.  Basically all the physical fit-up for the space.  So …. typical day is up at 4:30, some sort of training for a couple hours, off to day job, home for dinner, off to the store for another 4-5 hours, shower, rinse and repeat.  Some days it’s fun, some days it’s grueling, and many days it’s both.

“And possibly the complications”

Plenty to worry about these days, and they cycle through my mind at regular intervals depending upon where the fire burns the brightest.  There’s a common saying that “worry never changed anything.”  This is true, but action born of worry can bring about positive change, so that’s where I try to direct my worry when it chooses to appear … and fade away.