One minute, you’re doing the math. You ran 12 miles in the morning. Maybe another 8 in the p.m. because you want to move up in the standings. Everything feels good. The world revolves around this project, no matter how silly it looks from the outside.

The next minute, you’re sitting in an E.R. room with a friend and have no idea what the future will look like. Everything feels bad. The world revolves around this project, no matter how hopeless it looks from the outside.

And still you sit there, thinking maybe if you get up early enough, you can get some miles in tomorrow morning before the chaos continues.

After all, it’s a matter of life and death.

Life is funny …