Don't you hate when life cuts into your fun?

Day 9 -- Aug. 15, 2012

Today I am 194 pounds of rolling thunder.

While my running has been on an upturn, my job hunting has hit a big snag.

Yesterday I rolled through my 3-mile route without stopping for the first time in months. My time wasn't particularly good, but no stops on any of the hills and only a few stops for stop lights.

It made me feel good to complete the route because I was beginning to think that's the kind of runner I was turning into. I'd run a little and walk. Run a little more and walk.

My job as a contract writer and editor for news websites allows me the opportunity to run and stay healthy. But it can be stressful at times as you drift from contract to contract never knowing where the next job is  coming from or what the daily pay rate will be.

In many ways, I feel like the poster child for laid off, middle-age, media workers. In the past three years, I've been laid off twice and have scrambled to find my way to stay afloat both times.

Recently, I was in line for a job that I'm well suited to do and had a real interest in doing. In fact, there were two slots and I didn't get either one. After 13 months and 20-plus interviews, you sort of get used to the "we like you, but ..." speech.

But this one really hurt and cut me to the core because it felt like the right job.

And maybe it hurts a little more because the news comes at a time when my contract is slated to run out in two weeks.

Right now, I'm allowing myself a little pity party. I'm sad, fat and funky. Maybe a good run is what I need to get out of my funk.

So if you see the world's slowest human rolling down the road with a grim look on his face, give him a wave.