Slop, Silly Slop and the Academic Marathon

I never thought there was much in common between the academic marathon and the exercise marathon, but as I sit here in my post paper writing glaze I have come to realize they are much closer than I originally believed. To begin with the obvious, they are both invariably followed by that statement so many of us have uttered numerous times before but so rarely followed, "I'll never do that again." The same thing happened to me today. Well, I didn't actually say those words, by now I know better. Well, a little better. But I did make a checklist for the rest of the week in hopes of keeping me on track for the last three and a half weeks of the semester. Perhaps it will work, perhaps it wont.

Another major similarity comes from the cloud like fuzziness that follows lengthy and arduous endeavors. That oddly nice sensation of a light tingle pulsing through ones veins. After running on trails for more hours than many people work in a day or pedaling well past the century mark a welcomed numbness begins to develop and lasts long after the event is complete. And I've felt that for most of today as well. After many pages of typing into the late hours of the night, pausing to sleep for a few hours, and getting up in the dark to resume typing, I've almost floated through my day. And I was also lucky in that we had a beautiful sunny spring day that provided ample people watching opportunities while I tried to get work done from a slightly uncomfortable bench.

Illness is another common factor. Hours of heavy exertion in any kind of weather can leave one run down enough to catch a number of opportunistic bugs. And the same can be said of the all night paper chase, which for me is often accompanied by poor nutrition. Hopefully luck is on my side this week as I am very much due for some nice bike rides.

Since you probably know I have done many marathons of both types and will most likely continue this trend, you might possibly be thinking that I am a glutton. And perhaps you are right. I myself cannot say for sure in my current state. But the one thing I can say is that there is nothing like sipping a cold beer when you are already drifting in that tingly state of satisfied completion.