MAY 21, 2017 GOOD TIMES

It was a CRISP spring morning--PERFECT day for the Mystic Half Marathon--my kind of running weather. Couldn't have ordered a better day. With a start time of 7:00--we got to the race at about 6:20--THEN--needed to hit the PORTA POTTY--along with 2000 other runners. The GOOD news-- lines were so long that we ran around looking for other toilets and HAD TO RUN to the start with ONLY 23 seconds to spare. I know you are wondering why this was good--because it didn't give  us any time for WORRY AND ANXIETY. We just took off without a second thought. The run was beautiful--along the river, through many beautiful neighborhoods, and finally narrow, rambling wood covered roads back to the finish. There were a few difficult mountains to summit-- but sometimes it's EVEN harder to run down the other side--when the KNEES stop bending. Had a good run--a respectable 2:08--not exactly my goal-- but I'll take it. It's actually hard to run 13.1 miles--not sure if it's harder on the mind or the body--but either way--it's a work out. As stressed as I was before the race, I am REALLY glad I did it and would definitely run this course again. The only thing missing from this run is the BEER TENT. I get that it's early--but after running the race--it's like a little reward--who cares what time it is. A special thanks to my comrades--THESE ARE THE GOOD TIMES--CHEERS!
All that running in the woods today made me think of Harlan Coben's thriller The Woods. The woods can be a scary place--especially to Paul Copeland. Twenty years ago, when he was a camp counselor at a summer camp, his sister and three others went for a walk in the woods and never returned. Two of the bodies were found brutally murdered and the other two, including his sister Camille, were never found. This devastated the family--he mother eventually left and his father spent the rest of his life in the woods searching for his daughter's body.
Fast forward 20 years. Paul or Cope as he is called, is a recently widowed father of one.  He is a prosecutor in Newark, New Jersey, haunted by the past that almost destroyed his life. After  a corpse is discovered in the woods, the 20 year old case is reopened. Police question Cope after his phone number is discovered on the body. Could this possibly be one of the bodies that went  missing  twenty years ago? Where is his sister's body? Could she still be alive? Find out when you read this thriller that is filled with suspense and plot twists. It really is impossible to  put down.  Coben has over 70 million books in print world wide for a reason! Pick up a copy of this 400 pager--seriously only about a 4 mile run--and you will be a Coben fan too.