Trying to add things up

October 4: I'm fully hydrated. Hadn't drank wine in two days. Well-tapered. I take gells and drink water every three or four miles. And then I go out and run a 4-hour marathon in temperatures in the 40s and on a flat course.

Today: I awaken with a hangover from drinking 3 glasses of wine the night before. I feel so bad that I take ibuprofen. I run 17.5 miles in 2:16 (7:50 pace) on a hilly Austin course with temperatures in the 60s and rising and 100 percent humidity. During the run, all I take is a few swigs of water. No gells. No salt. Nothing else.

Huh???

If I ever figure this marathon thing out, I'll let you know. But right now, I'm as confused as ever.

I've got to get out of the rabbit hole

In my new job, everyday I see stories that are shocking or sad or crazy: A father making less than $30,000/year somehow qualifying for a $150,000 mortgage; a senior citizen with perfect credit talked into emptying his retirement account to buy four investment properties in two weeks.

And of course, by the time I see these files - stuffed with all the personal information of the borrower or co-borrower - the borrower is well on their way to losing their house.

I see these train wrecks everyday. And the stories are fascinating. Sadly fascinating.

And that's the problem. In my old job, as a newspaper reporter, I'd spend days and days and days researching a story, chasing down every single lead, uncovering every stone, before writing the story.

But now, now? The veterans at my new job call that falling down the rabbit hole.

See, the key to this job is speed and efficiency.

Sure, we want to get the complete story of who "misrepresented" the facts on a mortgage loan application and we want to find out why the borrower all the sudden stopped making payments on his/her $400,000 home that they somehow got after they said they made $10,000/month as a gardener.

But you can spend too much time reading the collection notes or perusing fabricated bank statements - chasing rabbits down the rabbit hole. Next thing you know, your unfocused curiosity has cost you half a day and you are wayyyy behind.

So, I've got to stay out of these rabbit holes.

October 2009 mileage

I ended the month with a 16 mile run on Halloween. Got it done in 2:01. Because I took a lot of time off after my October 4 (Disastrous) Portland Marathon, October was my lowest mileage month since December.

October mileage - 124.64
Time: 16 hours, 39 minutes, 53 seconds
Pace: 8:01 min/mile

2009 mileage: 1,896.76
2009 pace: 8:07 min/mile

So what...

I know it seems like I've dropped off the face of the (blogging) earth, but I have been adjusting to my new job investigating mortgage fraud and have been trying to fit how to run in my new schedule.

And I have been running and in this colder weather, my runs have gone well, but so what...

I ran 13 miles in 1:37 (7:30 pace) this morning, but so what... I don't even come close to that pace when I run marathons. I also averaged around 7:30 for an 8- and a 7-miler last week. But it's like, yeah yeah yeah, where is all this speed and endurance on Marathon Sunday?

I don't know.

I'm back....

I know it's been a while since I've blogged.

 

For one thing, I just returned from Tempe, AZ after two weeks of the most intense training for my new job. Another thing, and more importantly, I just needed to re-charge my batteries.

 

My blogging batteries.

 

And my running batteries.

 

Consider me recharged.

 

It's hard to blog from work, so I'll have more later. But know this: I will not let that last marathon performance keep me down. I will beat the Marathon Monster.

 

I have not blogged or read a blogpost since before the marathon, so forgive me if I have not visited some of you. My Google Reader is wayyy full but I plan to catch-up on all your comings and goings.