Smack in the Middle

At twenty-five years old, I felt I was right in the thick of life, and that feeling continued for at least fifteen years. Now, I refer to myself as middle-aged, and QMH makes the point that my mid-fifties would be the middle of a one hundred-year life span. Hmph.

Still, a week short of my fifty-fourth birthday, I'm smack in the middle of training for my fourth annual half-marathon. Let this be clear: I am not a competitive runner, or a highly conditioned athlete. I'm a long-time jogger who's middle-aged -- er, mid-fiftyish. No special prowess, typical aches, pains and challenges, mental, time-management, physical.

This blog will record my thoughts on the mental and physical aspects of year-round fitness based on jogging three to five times weekly, and the particular challenges of working up to a 13.1 mile run in which I know that more than half the 2,000 other entrants will finish ahead of me. I hope that at least a few of them will finish behind me.

The Tom King Half Marathon steps off March 18 in Nashville, Tennessee. I'll be there start to finish -- you're invited to follow along.