How'd you fit all that into 24 hours?

Upon rising at 4 am, Jason and hustled ourselves off to run the American Tobacco Trail half marathon. I don't know if I am supposed to publicly admit this or how incriminating it is in the first place, but in the spirit of full disclosure I will divulge: I was not officially registered to run the race, but ran anyway, thereby making myself a bandit runner. Don't worry, I didn't take a medal or any of the shwag- only water. And, I didn't cross the finish line; I ran to it and then splintered off, so as not to be discovered. A certain official race contestant was lucky enough to appear on the News and Observer website, looking strikingly athletic and overall badassedly:



After meeting all goals (I finished in 2:05, besting my previous half marathon time by 6 min and Jason coming in under 1:30), I hit the road to drive 4 hours to Cullowee, NC for my greatly anticipated seminar "Is There a Children's Book in You?". Highlights from my drive include listening to many episodes of RISK!, finally getting the scoop from my beekachu, and maybe listening to my new favorite song on repeat for a while.
Cullowee, meaning valley of the lilies, is tucked between two mountains and appears to be a tiny town consisting of a Bojangles, Western Carolina University, and The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching. I will spend the next 4 days here retreating and writing. Here's my little room which somehow feels like something in between a Howard Johnson and rehab. Or, rather, what I would imagine those things to be, since I have never spent the night in either.




And maybe, somewhere nestled in between a Goo Chomp and a piece of steamed broccoli, there is a children's book inside of me. Although, now, I'm feeling like there might be a memoir waiting to bust out instead.