Thursday, September 06, 2007

Back in the Saddle, Again

OK. I'm BACK! I was never REALLY gone, but the summer just got away from me. Blogging is a funny business for a writer. Most people think it would be easy to blog, but it's not. At least it's not for me.

So, here's my plan. I am going to blog on Monday and Thursday every week. HONEST. Monday and Thursday. AND, I'm going to try to make the blogs a bit more interactive. As you can imagine, I got tons of questions about running, motivation, events, etc. I'm going to try to answer some of those questions here.

If you HAVE a question or comment, please email me at: thepenguin@johnbingham.com

When you leave a comment here, I can't always answer you directly.

So, how was my summer?? FANTASTIC. Hectic, nerve-wracking, exciting, moving; you name the emotion, I felt it this summer. You'll read the whole story in the December column, but both my mom AND dad had heart surgery over the summer. I'm happy to report that they are both doing well. We also celebrated RayRay's [my 3rd grandchild] first birthday. It's amazing how quickly time can go by.

But, I suppose the BIG news of the summer - and again, there will be more detail in the December column - is that I finally went to have MY heart checked and guess what? I have blockage in the SAME spot as my mom. GO FIGURE. So, now I'm a heart patient. I'm taking medication, I'm monitoring my food intake [sort of!] and resisting at every turn the idea that dispite ALL the running I do my heart is still not 100%.

That's about it for now. I'll be back again on Monday. In the meantime, thanks for your patience as I scuffled through the past few months.

See you on the streets.

j

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

sorry about your heart problem. running is just a part of our overall health process I guess. I saw where you were on the dragon in Tn/NC this summer. hope you had fun in my backyard! just thought I would let you know you have inspired my running for the past 2 1/2 years now and thank you for your books.
shadowriderchaire

Anonymous said...

Glad to see you back! I have missed you this summer! Did my first 20 yesterday for the Chicago Marathon in October! Hope to see you and Jenny there.

Lisa Skier

Rhonda said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rhonda said...

Hey, John! It was great to see you at the RNR 1/2 in Virginia Beach last week. (I was part of the Team in Training group.) By the way, I heeded your advice, took my time, and got my money's worth! :-) Hey, 3:47:12 gave me plenty of time to contemplate the scenery and the new journey I am on.

Recovering Couch Potato,
Rhonda

Trisha said...

John,

I'm really sorry to hear about your parents having to go through heart surgery ~ that's definately got to be one of the hardest things to prepare and recover from. I'm sure it is worth it though in the long run. I hope all turns out ok for your heart as well!

I've got to tell you - you have been the most - and I mean THE most inspirational person I have never met! I ran my very first race, a 5k in Marion - a little Iowa town.

I really appreciate your honesty and the motivation you give to all runners. Even us beginners!

Thank You