A Tale of Three Races
This one is short, sweet, and to the point. You might call it a personal record! Enjoy.
Well, would you look at that? I’m going to get this out to you just before Star Wars Day. Now you can enjoy reading it and then really settle into the festivities. Let me be the first to say:
May the 4th Be With You
I’ve enjoyed three races in the last 7 weeks 👀 leading up to my target race, the Gorges Ithaca Half Marathon, just 5 weeks from today. Training has been going really well, and these three races were a great gauge of my fitness as I lead into these final weeks. I haven’t bothered subscribers with emails for each of these, but if you want to click into any of these to read further, please do. Here’s the TL;DR for each, courtesy of my friend Claude:
Syracuse Half Marathon 2026 – My 6th Syracuse Half with a bib number that would make the devil proud (666) and a brand-new coach in my ear — including a pre-race warmup in a bus depot and a surprise finish-line duel with a stranger.
Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon 2026 – Eleven Skunk Cabbages in, I’m still figuring out how hard to push — and apparently my finish line reaction is the best indicator of whether I got it right.
Seneca7 2026 – Before a single mile of this 77.7 mile relay is run, someone steals our team’s race packet and shirts — and their team name alone explains exactly how it happened.
If you run, hike, or bike, let’s connect on Strava. I love to share encouragement with others and get inspired by what y’all do!
A Tip for the Modern Worker
Declutter your workspace. This is less a tip about messy desks versus clean desks and more of a general rule of thumb. If you see something in your periphery – something that reminds you that you have other things to do – you’re not focused on your task. Hide the things that can pull your attention. Everything else? That’s totally up to you.
This tip is one of 365 in my Handbook for the Modern Worker. That followed my first book, The Art of Working Remotely, about my experience working from home since 1998. Depending on where you work and which way the wind is blowing, these may be banned books or fan fiction. I hope it’s the latter.
Mail Bag: If you work remotely and have come across an issue that needs solving, a thorn that needs removing, or just an observation you’d like to share, hit reply. I’d love to hear from you.