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# Humpty Dumpty and the Extra Lap
- URL: https://www.willduder.com/humpty-dumpty-and-the-extra-lap/
- Published: 2026-10-31T23:31:26.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-01T00:29:04.000Z
- Author: Will Duderstadt
- Tags: Monthly Journal

October is Octo. Eight. Which makes October a liar. The 10th month wearing the name of the 8th. Julius and Augustus cut in front, shoving everyone else back two spaces. A few thousand years later, we just keep calling the tenth thing by the eighth thing’s name.

October is a leftover. An accident never corrected. An extra.

When the calendar gave me a month that shouldn’t even be here, I filled it with things that weren’t planned. Calling it my era of doing an extra lap. The month was extra by mistake. I was extra intentionally.

Numbers this month were always one rep more than necessary. 46 running miles, 224k Hevy pounds, 14 [Beli](https://beliapp.co/app/willduder?ref=willduder.com) stops, 8 flights, and a few hundred feet of elevation in Utah. Crab cakes, football, and a lot of Old Bay is what Maryland does. Even on a stadium hot dog.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e8/5a/e85ad43c-3108-442d-8e7d-76ae32477089/content/images/2026/10/55587409518_82bde9e84d.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e8/5a/e85ad43c-3108-442d-8e7d-76ae32477089/content/images/2026/10/IMG_5795.jpeg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e8/5a/e85ad43c-3108-442d-8e7d-76ae32477089/content/images/2026/10/IMG_5764.jpeg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e8/5a/e85ad43c-3108-442d-8e7d-76ae32477089/content/images/2026/10/55591216993_58974cc0c8.jpg)

Got stuck in Austin for an extra night. An extra day with [Kevin Oakley and Mike Lyon](https://www.doyouconvert.com/?ref=willduder.com) ain’t that bad. Even got to meet Rand Fishkin. [Swung by Buc-ee’s](https://buc-ees.com/?ref=willduder.com) for fine dining at the end of a long road trip. White tablecloths not included.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e8/5a/e85ad43c-3108-442d-8e7d-76ae32477089/content/images/2026/10/IMG_5407.jpeg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e8/5a/e85ad43c-3108-442d-8e7d-76ae32477089/content/images/2026/10/DYC_Summit_D1R-7386.jpg-DYC_Summit_D1R-7373.jpg-DYC_Summit_D1R-7380.jpeg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e8/5a/e85ad43c-3108-442d-8e7d-76ae32477089/content/images/2026/10/IMG_2044.JPG)

I took the stage at [Zonda’s Accelerate](https://accelerate.newhomesource.com/?ref=willduder.com). I really should think twice before dropping unrehearsed hot takes about AI in front of a crowd. Wore a tie for the first time in months. A little extra flair pushed the outfit over the top.

Saw the Nathan Fielder documentary. A movie that is mostly a staring contest. It made me question all my word choices, which I suspect was his point.

[Ran my second Pelotonia](https://my.pelotonia.org/profile/WD0015?ref=willduder.com) Gravel Day, twice. Two laps when one was all I needed. Even recorded the exact same time down to the second. Nerd gummies must have helped.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e8/5a/e85ad43c-3108-442d-8e7d-76ae32477089/content/images/2026/10/IMG_5412.jpeg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e8/5a/e85ad43c-3108-442d-8e7d-76ae32477089/content/images/2026/10/IMG_1045.jpeg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e8/5a/e85ad43c-3108-442d-8e7d-76ae32477089/content/images/2026/10/photo-2015_singular_display_fullPicture.jpg)

And then a surprise. Recognized as [one of the industry's top CMOs by BUILDER magazine](https://www.builderonline.com/builder-100/leadership/will-duderstadt-keeps-an-outsiders-mindset-at-m-i-homes/?ref=willduder.com) (and always by my mom).

Like Humpty Dumpty, I’m having a great Fall. My old wood deck had reached the end of its useful life, the way all wood does. Soft and gray. Giving up its nails. The easy move was into a landfill. I disassembled it by hand, board by board. Gave it new life and a bench in the woods.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e8/5a/e85ad43c-3108-442d-8e7d-76ae32477089/content/images/2026/10/IMG_2341.jpeg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e8/5a/e85ad43c-3108-442d-8e7d-76ae32477089/content/images/2026/10/IMG_5487.jpeg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e8/5a/e85ad43c-3108-442d-8e7d-76ae32477089/content/images/2026/10/IMG_5478.jpeg)

Reduce, reuse, recycle. I’m always doing that. Putting the bench back together again felt heroic. Old wood that gets to keep going. Extra isn't always more. Extra can be after. Now, when I sit there, I’m not doing anything extra at all. I’m just watching the rest of the world keep going too.