Verruca Salt

Distance: 4 miles
Weight: 167 lbs.
Stretches: yes
Drink: Gatorade
Snack: Zone Perfect bar
Time: 6.00 am
Duration: about 35 minutes
Temperature: 65º
Weather: full moon!

Podrunner: 178 bpm -Rapid I Movements
Dreamlike and ethereal, building to a crunchy peak, then back to dreamlike. Surprisingly gentle for such a fast mix.

Discoveries in Children's Literature:
Verruca: a Plantar wart.
Epsom salt (also magnesium sulfate): Has been used as an agent for drawing (dehydrating) boils, carbuncles and warts.

And you may find yourself in another part of the world

NYC Marathon 2006
Between Miles 18 & 19


Distance: 4.75 miles
Weight: 166.5 lbs.
Stretches: yes
Drink: Gatorade
Snack: banana
Time: 6.30 am
Temperature: 67º
Weather: cool and hazy

Podrunner: 149 bpm - Running Out of Summer
A breezy, summery feel that gets hotter as it goes. Summer can't last forever, so take advantage of it while it's still around.

Hey - that was a good one. I don't generally like listening to a mix that is just under my normal pace, but that was just what I needed today. Starts like a glass of iced tea and before you know it you are slamming margaritas.

Maybe I should write his blurbs.

Followed roughly the same route as L. and I had been traveling the past two weeks. Nice excuse to make it to Cain Park.

When I was and a tiny little boy

Distance: 5.7 miles
Weight: 167 lbs. (last night I was defeated by a carrot cake)
Stretches: yes
Drink: Gatorade
Snack: PowerBar Triple Threat
Time: 6.20 am
Temperature: 65º
Weather: the rain it raineth every day

Had I suggested to L. that we skip running and that she simply invite me in to have tea for half-hour, I am sure she would have agreed. As it was to be our last morning together for a while, I didn't. Hate to be inconvenient, but I am a runner, and what's a little rain?

Besides, in the ten minutes it ook me to get here I was already soaked, why shouldn't she join in the fun? And maybe, if she keeps this up in New York, she won't be daunted by a little rain.

Not that it was a little, it was a lot. It was a lot of rain.

The past few weeks have been very difficult at work, and I am intensely grateful that L. was in town to run with. I might have ditched on several occasions in the past two weeks, but for the anticipation of having her to run with. She leaves tomorrow. There's a 5K in Mayfield on Sunday. We'll see about that. In any event, camp is over in seven days, and with it, most of the summer.

Sigh.

Poncho

Distance: 5.7 miles
Weight: 165 lbs.
Stretches: yes
Drink: Gatorade
Snack: Slim Fast Meal Bar
Time: 6.20 am
Temperature: 63º
Weather: cool & rainy

A rainy day run! L. received some proper running gear for her birthday, shirts and shorts, but she didn't get to show them off as she was sporting a huge yellow poncho. She was like a kid on a rainy Halloween night, a day-glo bag obscuring her costume.

We were both terribly winded. Wearing extra gear didn't help either of us very much, she was up late at a party and everyone here is ill, except me, I think. In any case, I could use a good night's sleep and I just never get one. I'm hoping I will have the chance to sleep in a bit tomorrow, when I turn 39.

Thirty-nine. Jesus.

Discussion ranged from Zapatistas to HUAC to the Rosenbergs to the Little Lenin Library. All Commies, all the time.

Distance: 3.5 miles
Weight: 165.5 lbs.
Stretches: yes
Drink: Gatorade
Snack: Balance Bar
Time: 6.20 am
Temperature: 61º
Weather: cool

He Who Lived

Distance: 5.7 miles
Weight: 165.5 lbs.
Stretches: yes
Drink: Gatorade
Snack: Balance Bar
Time: 6.20 am
Temperature: 55º
Weather: quite cool and pleasant

Yes! I have signed up for the Road Runner Akron Half Marathon on Saturday, September 29. Maybe I am deluding myself, but I feel 13 miles is a walk in the park. I need to check out recommended training for such a race, but definitely feel I have time for it. And it gives me a goal.

L. says she's leaving town a week from today. That's a bit of a let-down, I didn't know it was going to be so soon. I've gotten used to going without music, listening to the street on my way to and from her house, and having someone to talk to. Running back today I marveled at how pain-free I have become. My legs, my head, everything feels good.

I was up until midnight last night, waiting in line for that book. I did not sleep very well. And yet, on the homestretch, I did not feel weary nor winded.

Is it ever gonna end?

Distance: 5.7 miles
Weight: 163.5 lbs.
Stretches: yes
Drink: Gatorade
Snack: Balance Bar
Time: 6.20 am
Temperature: 69º
Weather: cool and overcast

The wife is actually trying to compell me to run the Akron Half-Marathon on Sept. 29. Doesn't that just totally rock?

Another 2 point something miles with L. Hope to get her up to 3 in the next run or so. I need to map a different route, this one ends with an incline.

I contacted her after our last run to remind her to drink fluids before a morning run (especially if there has been any caffeine intake) and to be sure to eat something before heading out. And to go to the bathroom. The first time out is fun, the second time can be hard.

Look at me. I'm a coach.

Quite often I work out writing ideas while I jog. (Maybe that's why they call it that.) It is quite a different experience when you are actually talking out ideas - while running - with a writer you respect who validates or critiques certain points of your narrative, now that's really helpful.

On a different note ... In 1980 I started running so I could listen to Cindy talk about boys. It's twenty-seven years later and nothing has changed.

All I see anymore is history

Distance: 5.7 miles
Weight: 164 lbs.
Stretches: yes
Drink: Gatorade
Snack: PowerBar Triple Threat
Time: 6.20 am
Temperature: 70º
Weather: cool and overcast

Sunday I was sketching L. and she mentioned she was trying to get fit and I said, "Ooh! Would you run with me?" Just blurted it out, like an excited kid. She's been doing treadmill but it wasn't hard to talk her into it. Well, not the running. I think the 6.30 in the morning thing was a little more difficult to swallow.

No headphones, just talking. I haven't run with a partner since since running once with K. - when the hell was that, dude? Two years ago? Anyway, she was concerned about my having to slow down to accomodate, which of course I did, but that was a good thing. I think most of my injuries (shin splints, hamstrings, pulled toe muscles) are a result of just going too fast.

I mapped a three mile route from her place, through Cain Park and around again. Cain Park is gaining the reputation Central Park had in the 70s, but I thought it would be safe at 7 in the morning.

She asked how I started running ... and I told her. About 1980, 1988, 1991, 1994 ... next time I will be sure to let her say something.

Daddy's Got a Bubble Butt

Distance: 5.15 miles
Weight: 166 lbs.
Stretches: yes
Drink: Gatorade
Snack: PowerBar Triple Threat
Time: 6.45 am
Temperature: 64º
Weather: cool and a little humid

Chunk Style
Get Ready for This - 2 Unlimited
All This Time - Sting
Freaky - Soho
Jingling Baby (Remixed But Still Jingling)- LL Cool J
Real Real Real (The Real Pop Mix) - Jesus Jones
Good Stuff - The B-52s
International Bright Young Thing - Jesus Jones
Doin Da Butt - Gap Band
New Power Generation - Prince
Closer to God - Nine Inch Nails
Cooldown: Disappointed - Electronic

The vanity of an ancient king

Distance: 3.25 miles
Weight: 164.5 lbs.
Stretches: yes
Drink: Gatorade
Snack: Slim Fast meal bar
Time: 3.30 pm
Temperature: 73º
Weather: still warm and breezy

Chunk Style
Closer - Nine Inch Nails
Never Let Me Down Again (Aggro Mix) - Depeche Mode
Hippychick - Soho
Burn - Nine Inch Nails
Shake Your Rump - The Beastie Boys
Mad About You - Sting
Cooldown: Mama Said Knock You Out - LL Cool J

I don't wanna hear. I don't wanna know.

Distance: 3.25 miles
Weight: 164 lbs.
Stretches: yes
Drink: Gatorade
Snack: No
Time: 5.30 pm
Temperature: 75º
Weather: warm and breezy

2007 RunMix
Sorry (Man with Guitar Mix) - Madonna
Tracking Treasure Down - Gabriel & Dresden
Merrymaking at My Place - Calvin Harris
Dangerous Power - Gabriel & Dresden
Love Today - Mika
Cooldown: Let's Make Love and Listen to Death from Above (Calvin Harris Remix) - CSS

Playing with fire

Distance: 3.5 miles
Weight: 165.5 lbs.
Stretches: yes
Drink: Gatorade
Dinner: baked mac & cheese, freshly shelled peas, white ale w/lemon
Time: 10.30 pm
Temperature: 90º - 86º
Weather: What do you think?

2007 RunMix
Ohh La La - The Ditty Bops
Mass Repeat - Gabriel & Dresden
Dashboard - Modest Mouse
Flathead - The Fratellis
Dust In The Wind - Gabriel & Dresden
The Girls - Calvin Harris
Cooldown: Closer - Gabriel & Dresden

Just couldn't see starting my day with a run this week, so I'd end it with one. Big risk. Last Tuesday, the day before the race, I felt like I pulled my back. Nothing debilitating, just very sore all across the large of my back. Felt the same race day, fine the rest of the day. By the time the evening was over, man was I in pain. And Thursday? Woo. Just wasted. Would have preferred not to have had Wednesday off work.

So. I thought running Bay Village brought me low with complicated memories. The Heights have gotten that way, ackshodry. Can't live anywhere for sixteen years without accumulating a lot of thoughts. I changed my route some time back, the way I was going was filled with pain and anxiety. That's the firehouse, where the guys came from the take my boy to UH with a shattered skull (that's almost a year ago, you know) and over that way? The House of Filth and Lies.

Angst and bitterness, that's me.

Tonight I wore my new white jersey out for the first time. Still almost got hit by a car.

And I ran. I ran ... so far away.

Bay Days 5 Mile Run
Official time: 37:01.9
Place in divison: 21
Place overall: 178
Pace: 7:24

Pre-Run Warm-Up Playlist:
Oblivious - Aztec Camera
Obsession - Animotion

Run Playlist:
Situation - Yazoo
It's My Life - Talk Talk
The Glamorous Life (Club Edit) - Sheila E
Space Age Love Song - A Flock Of Seagulls
Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl) - Haircut 100
Someday, Someway - Marshall Crenshaw
Down In The Cockpit - XTC
Maniac - Michael Sembello

Post-Run Cooldown Playlist:
Dead Man's Party - Oingo Boingo

The Bay Village five miler is generally the most boring and awful race. It's a flat sludge through uninteresting suburbia and, most years, really hot and bright with no shade anywhere. This year it was blessedly overcast and not so humid.

So why return? Because it's home, I guess.

I don't have the opportunity to do this run every year, sometimes I am out of town, or it's just inconvenient. I know no one here, expect an English teacher I had, Mr. Knapp, it's always good to find him before the run. He's easy to spot, I just look up, the man is nine feet tall.

Taking a warm-up run I look around at the familiar/bizarre surroundings. Really? This is exactly where I found my bike after it had been stolen and run over by someone's truck? I made out with Wendy on that bench - did I? Or was that someone else? Where does that doorway go? Can't remember. Were we smoking pot by this fence or that one? Why can't I remember ...

Oh. Right.

The run itself becomes disorienting after the first turn and I forget where the hell I am. But I was definitely on Bates. Word up to your old house, Admiral. And to the rock star next door.

Not a great time. I started slowing after three miles, getting very hot and weary, not winded. I thought I could pour it on during the last quatert mile, make up a few seconds, but due to construction, there were a number of narrow turns through the homestrecth, and the last tenth we were virtually going single file. Then the guy in front of me starts slowing down before the clock. If I had it in me I would have yelled at him to get over, but I was stymied. I guess he wanted an even 37 minutes. What a dork.

It's my time

Distance: 3.25 miles
Weight: 165 lbs.
Stretches: yes
Drink: Gatorade
Snack: NutriGrain Bar
Time: 6 am
Weather: 63º
Weather: cool, man

Playlist:
Drive: Nike+ Original Run - The Crystal Method

Started feeling strain in my shins partway through. Stopped, stretched, continued. Good man.

My wife got back yesterday, time to run in the morning. One year ago around this time we all got back from Vermont, I had just started my training for the marathon at the beginning of July. I tried to psyche myself up by getting some music I could use on my runs, the first time I had shopped for music just for this purpose. July 8 was the first time I used this Crystal Method mix.

The shoes are the same shoes. I need to get new shoes, these are quite worn after a year, and I have begun wearing them for purposes other than running (walking, lounging, potlucking, chasing small children.) God, what great shoes. And I got them on sale!

Tomorrow I intend to do a Fourth five miler. I have no idea what music to listen to. I have never run the Bay 5 Mile with an iPod. Maybe I should do something retro ...

Maybe not.

You're invited into my house

Distance: 3.25 miles
Weight: 164 lbs.
Stretches: yes
Drink: Gatorade
Snack: PowerBar Triple Threat
Time: 2:15 pm
Weather: 68º
Weather: bright & sunny

Playlist: Calvin Harris
Merrymaking at My Place
Colours
This Is the Industry
The Girls
Acceptable in the 80s
I Created Disco

A jockstrap wreaks havok on a recently shorn scrotum. There, I said it.

Well. Almost two months off the circuit, the spare tire is back in place and I am huffing my way around town. And yet I didn't gain any weight in Britain. The wife comes home tomorrow night, and I can persue this more regularly - ideally before the sun comes up. Or just after the sun comes up, you know, midsummer was only last week.