A Kept Man Canvass

OR

Dear Readers,

I am in the process of making a travel decision and I am soliciting the opinions of my friends and family.  Nuala and I need to return to Marrakech by June 4th at the absolute latest.  I have not purchased my return flights out of Prague and it looks like it will cost me at least $300 and a 12 hour layover or something ridiculous like that.  So...

I thought perhaps it would be a good opportunity to do something a little cliché though new to me.  I think I would like to fly into Paris and take the train south through Lyon then perhaps over to a little town called Dax to see first hand where my wife and sister-in-law spent their summers, then continue south through Spain and finally take the ferry from Spain to Morocco and finish with a trip to Marrakech from Tangiers.  Sure, it would take a while.  Keep in mind, dear readers, if there is one thing I have way too much of right now, it's time.  So, I would like to spend at least two nights at each location (Lyon, Dax, Madrid or Barcelona, Sevilla or something along those lines).  That would mean that I would need to depart Prague in a couple weeks...

OR...

Nuala and I met Tristan Miller last night.  Tristan is an inspiration.  He is attempting to run 52 marathons in as many weeks.  I found his blog randomly in a search through Google and have been following his progress since nearly the beginning.  He lost his job during the crisis so he decided to sell all of his belongings and take the leap of faith to begin his adventure.  He began running only five years ago.  And Nuala and I thought we were crazy brave!!  Additionally, he is raising money for UNICEF and is trying to raise awareness through media interviews, his blog, and his Facebook page.

Tristan just got into town (Prague) to compete in Sunday's race around the streets of Prague.  (I do not envy his having to run on the bloody cobblestones but at least they corral the bags-of-douche-tourists!)  Long story short, I sent him a brief email a few days back conveying my respect for what he is doing and I asked if he had any questions or needed any help regarding Prague.  We ended up hanging out last night and while we were chatting he mentioned a half-marathon in Hungary that will be taking place at the end of the month and that I should join him there and take part.

It's a half-marathon.  I only started running (jogging/wheezing/cramping) a few months ago.  I only gave up smoking (for the fifth time?) four weeks ago.  At this point, I am up to four mile runs five to six times per week.  If I want to run a remotely competitive (read: finish before the cut-off time) I will need to come up with a training plan stat.  (And I would have to cut out the pint of filet mignon, foie gras and caramel ice cream I have each evening.  If I jog four miles, I deserve it.  Our hotel sure is one fancy place!)

So... what do you think?


(Final note: Please visit Tristan's website and browse his stories and his videos.  It's really inspirational.  Finally, if you find his story interesting, why don't you send him a "Like" (or whatever BS they are calling it on that crap-site Facebook) so he can create a bigger fan-base.  He is essentially paying for this trip (including hundreds of thousands of kilometers of airfare) out of pocket, spending his life's savings.  The more people he has interested, the more people donate to UNICEF, and the higher the likelihood of gaining sponsors to help pay for his travels.  Thanks for your help!)