Grumpy Taper...

I started the day grumpy. Fortunately, I didn't end the day that way.

A lot of stress caught up with me through the day: the fact that I'm travelling next week. While I enjoy travelling, much of my life is spent "on the grid." As such, three days "off the grid" takes some preparation and there were too many unresolved issues I had to hammer out prior to leaving work.

Moreover, I am "on the taper," which means my body has a little too much unused energy at present. All in all, I wasn't a great person to be around today, and by the time I got home at six, I was about ready to blow my top.

Fortunately, the gang was out and I wrote a note saying that I'd be gone for another 40 minutes. I ripped through a 5+ mile tempo run @ a total average of 7:24 pace and instantly felt about 80% better. The remaining 20% was handled by a beer I had ready for when I got back.

After all of that, I went to pick up a pizza and bumped into a few former co-workers of mine from the same big company. They told me that three high profile people had been let go today. The 3 were all high performers, and 2 of the 3 were very highly respected. In fact, those same 2 were two of the sharpest people I've worked with. And they got the axe today.

Obviously, those events put things in perspective. I'm still grumpy because of how much went unresolved today... but being in a taper and being out of town for a few days beats the hell out of getting a pink slip.

Incidentally, though I'm in Chicago M-W, I'm not sure how much running I'll do. I expect to do my Wed. workout in the evening after my return. Monday is a rest day and Tuesday is technically a cross-training day. Given that the marathon is less than a week away at that point, I might hop on a bike in the hotel gym for a little bit, but more likely I'll buzz along the waterfront for a half-hour or so. There are far worse places to run, after all.

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