Friday, September 19, 2008

I Have Been Accepted!


Today I got a letter I have been anticipating for a few weeks.

"We are happy to advise that you have been accepted on Regular status to pursue the Doctoral Degree in Industrial Engineering, ..."

I'm going back to school! I start classes in January. And if all goes well, I should finish in about 6 or 7 years.

This is something I have been thinking about for years - and now, 18 years after completing my Masters, 25 years after completing my Bachelors, I finally get to do it!

As part of this process, I expect that I may need to curtail my marathoning a bit. I am going to need those hours to study! I will still be out there running - but perhaps, not so much the 4-5 hour runs on the weekends.

On the running front, I am on plan this week for about 32 miles - having a step back week after my 46 mile birthday week. On Thursday I passed the 100 mile mark for the month of September. I am on track to complete over 150 miles this month - the biggest month in my 3 years of running. My plantar is beginning to remind me that it is there, but I have been more aggressively massaging and stretching the area and it seems to help. It has been a strong running month for me! I hope I don't burn out too soon before my big races are over in January.

10 comments:

ShirleyPerly said...

CONGRATS, Chris! That is super news. I've occasionally thought about going back for mine but can't think of a reason why (I wouldn't use it for work). But I'm sure you will.

Yes, keep an eye on that PF. Did you ever get new orthotics?

Lesley Looper said...

Congrats on the grad school acceptance! That's exciting!

Unknown said...

CONGRATS. That is amazing news. I wish you the best.

Maddy said...

That is fantastic news! Congratulations!!!!

Petraruns said...

Congratulations! Wow - you are incredible and an inspiration!

And the marathoning can come and go - enjoy it while you can and then go a bit lighter for a while - no-one says you have to give up running right?

Marathon Maritza said...

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Tammy said...

Wow you are sooo brave. I'm very excited for you on going back to Grad school and also making the decision for Team Parkisons is great, I'll visit you site this week. Always great to pursue something you have always wanted to do.

Susan said...

I just long-windedly commented and blogger ate it. Shoot!

Short recap: congrats! And what a month of running!

Star Wars Runner said...

Chris congratulations and good luck. I hate to think about going back to school, but know that I will need to go for my MBA sooner or later. For now my Spanish class is keeping me sharp.

Chad(SW Runner)

lizzie lee said...

Congratulations Chris.. Back to school, that's nice.. I am an Industrial Engineer too.. Man we have a lot of things in common.. Project Managers, running. We definitely need another opportunity for running together... Well, maybe you can dedicate to 10K and half-marathons? They are also very, very fun. I love 5K and WOULD love to dedicate to only 5K, but I wanna build a good running base, and the challenge of running for 4-5 hours during the weekends is always a temptation!!

congrats again
lizzie lee