Days since my release from 26 years in prison: 110
Time I woke: 4:30
Journal of activities:

I woke early this morning and made a decision to run a third marathon for the week. During the month of November I ran six marathon distances, which is great because the runs placed me within striking distance of reaching my goal. I only need to run one more marathon to reach my running goal for 2013. After returning home, I spent many hours on the computer. I needed to edit a manuscript for a client. Then I worked on preparing the lengthy document that I’m required to submit to my probation officer each month. My current probation retires before the end of this year, so I wanted to document all of my work for my future probation officer to consider. Then I spent several hours making modifications to the websites I operate. I’m also drafting preliminary ideas for the goals that I intend to achieve during the year 2014.

Exercise Routine-

• Time: 6:15
• Lenght of time: 5.2 hours
• Miles run today: 26.2
• Weather: Beautiful and sunny in Petaluma
• Consecutive days: 1
• Cumulative miles since day off: 26.2
• Pushups today: 0
• Cumulative pushups for month: 0
• Annual marathon tally: 12

Gratitude prayer:

I’m thankful that I had the strength to complete another marathon distance, placing me only one marathon away from reaching my goal for the year.

Appointments:

Today I spent all of my time alone running, working at my computer, or with Carole in the evening.

Links to publications:

Days since my release from 26 years in prison: 109
Time I woke: 4:30
Journal of activities:

This morning I decided not to run. I had too much writing and editing to complete. Carole went to work in the morning while I spent the day in front of my computer. In the late afternoon I joined my friend Lee to watch a movie and we had dinner at a local restaurant.

Exercise Routine-

• Time: No exercise
• Lenght of time: No exercise
• Miles run today: 0
• Weather: Beautiful and sunny in Petaluma
• Consecutive days: 0
• Cumulative miles since day off: 0
• Pushups today: 0
• Cumulative pushups for month: 0
• Annual marathon tally: 11

Gratitude prayer:

I’m grateful that I had a full day to work on editing and writing projects.

Appointments:

Today I saw a movie and had dinner with my friend Lee Nobmann.

Links to publications:

Days since my release from 26 years in prison: 108
Time I woke: 4:30
Journal of activities:

Today was the first Thanksgiving that I woke with my wife, Carole. I spent the first hour of the day writing, then I left the house to begin a marathon. Today I ran alone, and I happily completed my eleventh marathon of the year. Now I only have two more marathon distances to complete in order to reach the goal that I set at the beginning of the year. After the run, I returned home to cook pasta that we would bring as a side dish to a Thanksgiving celebration at the Nobmann house. We enjoyed an evening together, but Carole and I returned home early because she had schoolwork to complete and she was scheduled for work tomorrow.

Exercise Routine-

• Time: 6:15 am
• Lenght of time: 5 hours
• Miles run today: 26.2
• Weather: Beautiful and sunny in Petaluma
• Consecutive days: 1
• Cumulative miles since day off: 26.2
• Pushups today: 0
• Cumulative pushups for month: 0
• Annual marathon tally: 11

Gratitude prayer:

I’m grateful that God blesses me with strength and a determination to overcome the challenges of returning to society after a lengthy imprisonment.

Appointments:

Today Carole and I enjoyed a Thansgiving celebration with our friends the Nobmanns and their extended family.

Links to publications:

Days since my release from 26 years in prison: 107
Time I woke: 4:00
Journal of activities:

I’m very pleased to have completed another round of editing for a manuscript I wrote about my friend Lee Nobmann. I’ve edited this manuscript several times. It tells the story of his incredible career in building an extraordinary company and an extraordinary family. Each time I’ve edited the book, I’ve had to wait for his review. I’d like to print this book before the end of this year, so I’m hoping he will set aside time to read through the work once again. I need him to provide me with photographs, then I will advance the book into production.

After completing the editing project, I drove to Santa Rosa to meet with three probation officer. Christine has been the probation officer assigned to my case since my release. She has been very supportive of my work. But Christine will retire at the end of this year, so I asked for a meeting with her supervisor and the new probation officer who will be assigned to my case. The three of us sat together so that I could discuss the work that I do. As long as I’m transparent, continuing to show my probation officers the nature of my work, the probation officers assured me that I would not have any problems moving forward. I will write out a detailed plan and submit the plan with my monthly report by the end of this month.

Exercise Routine-

• Time: No exercise
• Lenght of time: No exercise
• Miles run today: 0
• Weather: Beautiful and sunny in Petaluma
• Consecutive days: 0
• Cumulative miles since day off: 0
• Pushups today: 0
• Cumulative pushups for month: 0
• Annual marathon tally: 10

Gratitude prayer:

God has opens new opportunities every day, and I say a prayer of thanks for the blessings that I receive. Today is no different. I make further progress toward my successful reintegration with society every time I take another incremental step toward building my business. I am so thankful that this work brings meaning to my life.

Appointments:

Today I met with three federal probation officers in Santa Rosa. Later, I had dinner with my friend Lee Nobmann.

Links to publications:

Days since my release from 26 years in prison: 106
Time I woke: 4:30
Journal of activities:

I woke up this morning to resume progress on the manuscripts that I’m editing. Then, as soon as I saw enough light in the sky, I left my house to begin a lengthy run. I would’ve liked to have run a marathon distance, but I had to get back to work on projects with self-imposed deadlines. After fourteen miles I returned home. Carole had to drive into the city to take her daughter, Nichole, and Nichole’s boyfriend, Michael, back to the airport for the flight home. While they were gone, I worked on editing projects. During the evening I made a pound of pasta and talked with Carole about progress we’re making toward the goals we set. We went to sleep early, as Carole is scheduled to work in the morning.

Exercise Routine-

• Time: 6:20 am
• Lenght of time: 2.5 hours
• Miles run today: 14
• Weather: beautiful and sunny in Petaluma
• Consecutive days: 1
• Cumulative miles since day off: 14
• Pushups today: 0
• Cumulative pushups for month: 0
• Annual marathon tally: 10

Gratitude prayer:

I’m grateful that others continue to show interest in the work that I’ve done during my incarceration and since I’ve been released.

Appointments:

Today I met with my friend Lee Nobmann at his office.

Links to publications:

Days since my release from 26 years in prison: 105
Time I woke: 4:00
Journal of activities:

I woke this morning feeling much better because I’ve made considerable progress toward reaching my goal of running 13 marathons before the end of this year. I was way behind until the beginning of this month. But so far I’ve managed to run four marathon distances during the month of November and I expect that I’ll run one more marathon distance before this month ends. I would’ve liked to have run another marathon today, but I had too many writing projects to complete. So I began the day with editing. I need to clear two manuscripts off of my desk before the end of this year. I worked in the early morning editing one. At 9:00 am I participated on a conference call with a class from the State University of New York in Pottstdam. Then, at 11:00, a journalist from the public radio station in Berkeley visited me at my house to interview me for a broadcast about prison reentry and the influences of AB 109 legislation in California. I spent the remainder of the afternoon editing.

Exercise Routine-

• Time: No exercise
• Lenght of time: No exercise
• Miles run today: 0
• Weather: Beautiful and sunny in Petaluma
• Consecutive days: 0
• Cumulative miles since day off: 0
• Pushups today: 0
• Cumulative pushups for month: 0
• Annual marathon tally: 10

Gratitude prayer:

I’m grateful to God for opening new opportunities for me every day, and I’m grateful to the many people who show an interest in listening to the lessons I learned through my journey.

Appointments:

Today a journalist met me at my home to conduct a radio interview that the Berkeley public radio station will broadcast soon.

Links to publications:

Days since my release from 26 years in prison: 104
Time I woke: 4:30 am
Journal of activities:

I began today with an intention to make it through another marathon. Thankfully, my friend Seth Nobmann ran with me, which made it much easier. I have to run three more marathons before the end of this year to reach my goal, and I’m going to succeed. Following my run, Carole and I enjoyed our first movie together and then we went to dinner with her daughter Nichole and Nichole’s boyfriend Michael. Between all of that, I managed to complete some editing for two manuscripts that I have in progress.

Exercise Routine-

• Time: 6:45
• Lenght of time: 5 hours
• Miles run today: 26.2
• Weather: Beautiful and sunny in Petaluma
• Consecutive days: 1
• Cumulative miles since day off: 26.2
• Pushups today: 0
• Cumulative pushups for month: 0
• Annual marathon tally: 10

Gratitude prayer:

I’m grateful for the strength that I feel this morning, because I’m going to need it. It’s still early, but I expect to run my fourth marathon of this month; if I succeed, I will complete my 10th marathon distance of the year.

Appointments:

I ran with my friend Seth Nobmann today.

Links to publications:

Days since my release from 26 years in prison: 103
Time I woke: 4:00
Journal of activities:

I spent time with Carole this morning participating in a CPR class in Santa Rosa. Carole’s license as a registered nurse requires that she renew her CPR certification every two years.  She told me how valuable CPR training would be for me if I were ever around someone who had trouble breathing and she asked that I accompany her. I enjoyed learning about how to provide effective CPR. After the training session Carole and I went to lunch at a restaurant called Chili’s. I remembered seeing the advertisements of that restaurant while I was in prison and when we drove by I asked Carole to stop. I ordered the Southwestern Cheeseburger, which tasted even better than it looked in the advertisements. Then we returned home so that Carole and I could resume our work. In the evening we drove into San Francisco so that we could pick up Nichole and her boyfriend Michael. They were flying in to begin a short stay with us.

Exercise Routine-

• Time: No exercise
• Lenght of time: No exercise
• Miles run today: 0
• Weather: Sunny day in Petaluma, Santa Rosa, and cool evening in San Francisco.
• Consecutive days: 0
• Cumulative miles since day off: 0
• Pushups today: 0
• Cumulative pushups for month: 0
• Annual marathon tally: 9

Gratitude prayer:

Carole is very happy today because her daughter, Nichole, is flying in from Seattle to visit. Nichole graduated from Washington State University last spring and her boyfriend, Michael, graduates in a few weeks from the university. I look forward to seeing Nichole and Michael, and I’m grateful that I have these opportunities to see Carole glowing with joy.

Appointments:

This morning I joined Carole to participate in a CPR class and I met some of her colleagues.

Links to publications:

Days since my release from 26 years in prison: 102
Time I woke: 4:30 am
Journal of activities:

When I went to sleep last night I felt happy because I knew that I would have a five-day stretch before Carole would have to return to work. I am grateful for every minute that we get to spend together. It wasn’t long ago when we had to wait for long stretches of time, usually between five and six days between visiting days, which were the only days we could spend together. I’m still amazed that I have this blessing of living with the woman I love. I went for an early morning run but I had to return after 12 miles because we had an interview scheduled with Karina Ioffee, a freelance journalist. She interviewed me last week at SFSU and she also spoke with some of my students. Today Karina wanted to meet me at my home so she could speak with Carole. After the interview I met with my friend Lee and we drove over to the new headquarters of Mentor Me, a nonprofit in Petaluma that matches mentors with young people who appreciate the guidance. Lee is a sponsor of the organization and he wanted to introduce me to Deb Dalton, the executive director. I spoke with Deb about the relationship our organization has built with The California Wellness Foundation. Deb may be able to find additional sponsorship from the same philanthropy.

Exercise Routine-

• Time: 6:15
• Lenght of time: 2.2 hours
• Miles run today: 12
• Weather: Sunny day in Petaluma, cool evening.
• Consecutive days: 2
• Cumulative miles since day off: 25
• Pushups today: 0
• Cumulative pushups for month: 0
• Annual marathon tally: 9

Gratitude prayer:

Every day in liberty brings new blessings. Today I begin five days together with Carole, as she isn’t scheduled to work again until Tuesday.

Appointments:

This morning I met with Karina Ioffee, a freelance journalist who is preparing a report about my journey through prison and return to society with Carole. In the afternoon I met with my friend Lee Nobmann and Debbie Dalton, executive director of Mentor Me in Petaluma.

Links to publications:

Days since my release from 26 years in prison: 101
Time I woke: 4:00 am
Journal of activities:

I spent the early morning writing pricing proposals for the Straight-A Guide life skills program that I’m trying to bring to market in Modesto. After that, I went for a run around the park in Petaluma. I ran 13 miles, then made final preparations for the class that I was scheduled to teach at SFSU. My friend Malik Wade agreed to visit our class as a guest speaker. He shared his story about living as a fugitive and changing his life while advancing through 12 years in prison. I also participated in an interview for a student who wanted to write a paper about the California Realignment law. A productive day.

Exercise Routine-

• Time: 6:30 am
• Lenght of time: 2.3 hours
• Miles run today: 12
• Weather: Sunny day in Petaluma and San Francisco
• Consecutive days: 1
• Cumulative miles since day off: 13
• Pushups today: 0
• Cumulative pushups for month: 0
• Annual marathon tally: 9

Gratitude prayer:

I’m grateful to have so many people who are willing to share their story about their exposure to or involvement with the prison system. Those resources help me teach my students at SFSU.

Appointments:

Today Malik Wade joined me at SFSU for our 13th class at SFSU. He shared his experiences.

Links to publications: