Sheldon, IA

Unnamed Lake Trail

Run Time: 61:51

No trail marked on the map, but there was a new cement trail all around this lake, only a block from the hotel. Running laps is boring, of course, but convenient. The grass alongside the trail was a little uneven, and my energy was low, so I stayed on the cement mostly and kept a mild pace. A long day of driving across Nebraska and Iowa. Only two sales visits, bookending the day. Doing less is sometimes more tiring.

It was hot and windy for the run. I’m not going to complain about the heat, because bitter cold is right around the next bend in the road, and I find that much more discouraging than high heat. It’s all good — we need to be uncomfortable more than we need comfort. Comfort does not promote good health. If it did, I sure as hell wouldn’t have to run five times a week to maintain my weight and lung capacity.

When I am on the road, I try to look at my emails multiple times a day, just in case there is something that needs my urgent attention. This was one of those days when most of the work emails were for some kind of non-work shenanigans, most likely some kind of football pool. My interest in football is nil. Generally, I separate work from non-work, and I prefer to focus on one at a time.

I find it amusing, however, when you have trouble sometimes getting someone within your work organization to respond to multiple emails about some important (to the business) issue or problem that likely needs them to put forth effort of some kind, and then someone blasts out a sign-up for the chili cook-off, and 17 reply-all responses immediately populate. People are hungry for non-work when they are at work.

Not me, though. My life is full enough that I don’t need more recreational activity. I have 276 books in my library “for later” shelf. I have upwards of 3000 podcasts episodes in my queue. I have a wish list of several destinations outside of the U.S. to visit and sit in cafes and pubs and enjoy beverages of choice. My wife would like us to see a baseball game in every Major League ballpark. I think it is great to have friends at work, and to even do things with work friends after work, but I kind of see a business as a ship at sea for 8-10 hours a day. If you’re on the ship, and you’re not doing your ship duties, why are you there? I want everyone on the ship to be engaged in their ship duties. When we get to port, we can leave that all for the next day.

I don’t want to yuck anyone’s yum, though. To each his own.