April brought with it my first rejection e-mail:

To be honest, when this year started I thought there would be a ton of these because I was going to have to step up the submissions.

Of course, there would be a few acceptances mixed in as well, as I envisioned it.

But then the work situation changed (for the better) and, I don’t know, this might be the only one I get this year.

I guess that will depend on how motivated I feel to submit other pieces as the year goes on.

It would be nice, of course, if I could still get that acceptance.

OK. On to the goals as a whole:

Running/Exercise Goals

Take a Peloton Class in Studio: This is still in my plans. When is still to be determined.
100 Day Streak Challenge: Check. Completed.
Complete at least 1 Marathon and 1 Half Marathon: No changes here. Still registered for the Chicago Marathon and the BAA Half Marathon.
Complete the B.A.A. Distance Medley: 5K complete. Nothing coming in May - the 10K is in June.
Run a sub-5 hour Marathon: Watching the Boston Marathon last Monday reminded me just how difficult this would be. We shall see.
2026 Boston Marathon: More progress towards this possibility with the clock-watching volunteering. This journey is, pun intended, a marathon, not a sprint. But, again, watching the marathon was huge motivation to make the attempt.

Writing

Finish Book Draft: A huge nothing in this department in April, though I did think about it a lot the past week-plus, and that’s not nothing.
Document 2025 on this blog every day: The South Carolina travel put a dent in my prepare-ahead-of-timedness, but we’ve made it 33% of the way through the year, so we’ll celebrate that for now.
Publish a Written Piece: As I talked about above, I’ve gotten the rejection from a piece I thought was very funny. Not sure what my next step will be.

Other

Read More: I did not read much in April, but I did take a book I had been meaning to re-read for the flights. I might write about that.
Learn New Things: I have a couple of things to write about that I’ve been meaning to share about learning, but this has not been front of mind for me lately.
Experience New Things: Not much recently, but this is always front of mind.