Odds & Ends: So what's next?

I titled this post "So what's next?", thinking about what outdoor adventures are next on my plate since I won't be running the MCM. Immediately after deciding on my topic I had to laugh at myself, as the sole reason that I'm not running the MCM is lack of training time. (I have a wife and 4 wonderful kids, demanding career, overfull schedule of church and civic activities, and a house that is one fixer-upper project after another). No matter how much I'd like to be training for a marathon, or triathalon, or section hiking the Appalachian Trail, or whatever, I simply don't have the time. So, I need to do two things: (1) try to scale back on some of the non-essentials (see "overfull schedule", above), and (2) be deliberate about getting outside, without biting off more than I can chew (see "Gut Check Revisited", previous post).

So, that said, what's next? As the weather starts to turn cooler, some day hikes on the AT with my family are definitely in order. One of the greatest gifts that my dad gave me was his love for the outdoors, and I want to pass that along to my kids (ages 12, 9, 7 and 2). I'm fortunate that my wife shares that love, to a point, at least. I don't think I'll ever get her on a river, but I have gotten her to climb and rappel!

What else...running some middle-distance races (no marathons for the time being), an occasional afternoon kayaking excursion on a nearby river (although I still need some lake or swimming pool practice with the eskimo roll before I can consider anything too adventurous), some backyard camping to get the kids into it.... The next big adventure possibility that I see is a springtime rafting trip - either the New or Upper Yough. In the meantime, I'll try to keep things interesting, in life and in this blog.