Gotta love yourself

Run, Fatboy, Run
NY Times Review

Hey - they almost sound like they maybe liked it. Don't forget to play Fatboy Frogger.

(Song: Boys & Girls In Love by The Rumble Strips.)

Run stats:
Route: Garfield's Loop
Days until Cleveland: 48
Distance: 5.15 miles
Weight: 170.5 lbs.
Stretches: yes
Push-ups: 10
Temperature: 45º
Weather: lovely
Gear: jacket I ended up wrapping around my waist, short-sleeved shirt, shorts, hanky hat

A quick jaunt around the cemetery. I was running and chewing gum! Dangerous, perhaps - I didn't think about it, I had already set out and thought hey, I still have that bit of gum in my mouth. Went a long way to quench my thirst. And thought I looked cool, working that jaw.

1998 Playlist
The Long Hair of Death * - Stereolab
La Femme d'Argent * - AIR
Jump Jive An' Wail - Brian Setzer Orchestra
To Ulrike M. (Zero 7 Mix) - Doris Days
History Repeating - Propellerheads ft. Shirley Bassey
Circles - Soul Coughing
The Rockafeller Skank - Fatboy Slim
Strength - Sister Soleil
Ray of Light - Madonna
Cooldown: MMMBop - Hanson

(Last Year's 1998 Playlist)
Take California - Propellerheads
Sexy Boy - Air
Red - Sister Soleil
Kalifornia - Fatboy Slim
Because We Want To - Billie Piper
Outside - George Michael
The Way - Fastball

I thought I heard the shuffle of angels' feet.

"You better run on ... for a long time ..."

And I did. The past several days have been hellish.

Warning: Poop.

We returned from NYC safely enough, and had our traditional Monday night pizza with our dance class friends.

The next morning I had the runs. I felt a little sheepish leaving work early due to a bout of diarrhea (blame my mother) and not a little concerned about soiling the driver's seat of my car. I needn't have worried - by the time I got home I was no longer running. I was blocked.

And it wasn't the food. Our friends reported no ill effects and we had shared the same pizza and a big salad. The wife had a class to teach and I took care of the kids and it was awful. I discovered I could only relax without pain if I were lying down ... but that's hard to do with kids, especially when you need to feed them, put them in peejays and get them into bed.

By nighttime my back was aching terribly, and every time I sat on the toilet, I would get nothing but serious abdominal cramps for my efforts. Credit the feminist in me that I was overwhelmed with thoughts of how grueling childbirth had been for my wife if I felt like this.

By Wednesday things were progressing, in a manner of speaking, though things are still not ... solidified. But OMG did it feel good to get out and move. It made my insides feel good, it made my back feel good, it just felt good, good goody-good.

Run stats:
Distance: 3.25 miles
Weight: 171 lbs.
Stretches: yes
Push-ups: 10
Sit-ups: 29 - and then I realized I shouldn't press my luck.
Temperature: 39º (Really? 39º? I don't believe you.)
Weather: cool ... but not 39º. Couldn't be.
Gear: long-sleeve shirt, windbreaker, hat, shorts, gloves

1999 Playlist
Leo Ryan (Our Pharoah's Slave) - Lilys
Push Upstairs - Underworld
What Would Brian Boitano Do? - South Park soundtrack
Big Pimpin - Jay-Z ft. UGK
Run On - Moby
In the Street - Cheap Trick
Lullaby of Clubland - Everything But the Girl

(Last Year's 1999 Playlist)
Five Fathoms - Everything But the Girl
All Star - Smashmouth
Accepting Applications At University - Lilys
Cups - Underworld

UPDATE: Neglected to mention ... the strain on my abdomen has made the area around the hernia operation I had in 1995 inflamed. It hurt for two days, and I worried (as I have worried for thirteen years now) that it was time for another operation. Today, nothing. "As you hear from me, so think of me."

Take my shoes off and I will throw them in the lake

Know what I love about NYC B&Bs? They have shared baths. And because the very idea of a shared bath is anathema to your average American, Americans don't stay in them. So they are full of Europeans. And traveling Europeans are so much more polite than we are.

Sorry. It's true.

Getting a later start today, there were many details I missed the day before, including the crouching cat, Alexander Hamilton ... well, those were on the way out. Honestly, the trip back South was a bit of a blur both days.

There's an aroma that rises from the steam grates. They should bottle that and sell it.

Central Park Loop

Run Stats:
Distance: Roughly 5 miles
Start Time: 7:00 AM
Gear: shorts, long-sleeved shirt, jacket, doo-rag, gloves

A little nippy for that ensemble, but not uncomfortable. The breeze coming of the reservoir was a little brisk, my thighs were cold there.

I wanted to avoid nipple-chafing (there's that word again) so I looked in the communal medicine cabinet here at the B&B. Im the box marked FIRST AID I found no band-aids ... but there were an awful lot of condoms.

Playlist:
I'm Free (Heaven Helps the Man) * - Kenny Loggins
World Machine - Level 42
Hounds of Love (New Mix) - The Futureheads
Like Wow Wipeout - Hoodoo Gurus
Hourglass - Squeeze
Tread Water - De La Soul
Loops of Fury - The Chemical Brothers
The Flow - model 500
Scream - Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson
Unbelieveable (Boot Lane Mix) - EMF
It's My Life - No Doubt

"Convince myself."

Lace up your shoes

The airlines are just awful. A 55 minute flight, which was delayed almost two hours, then we had to circle Queens and the Bronx before we could land, and even then we sat on the tarmac for ages until we could pull into the gate.

The boy was going insane, and the whole experience left the girl feeling a little airsick - though I believe all the talk about her grandfathers' fear of flying (yes, plural - they are both stupid that way) fed into that anxiety.

We had dinner, checked in - and went to bed. Made it easier for me to do the one thing I really wanted to do here - run Central Park.

Central Park Loop

Run Stats:
Distance: Roughly 5 miles
Start Time: 5:55 AM

We are a few blocks south of Colmbus circle off 8th, so it was a short trot up to the park, just near dawn. Yes, it felt a little creepy, until I started seeing others braving the pre-dawn air. Honestly, I would feel more nervous running my own neighborhood at that hour, I would prefer to be mugged and have my iPod swiped than be hit by a motorist on their cellphone.

In spite of my familiarity with the area, I was still surprised that a trip from the southwest tip of the park, up around the Jackie O. Reservoir and back is short five miles. And I have already gotten so much sightseeing in, the Boathouse, Cleopatra's Needle, the Met, the Delacourt ... I don't need to go in places, I just need to see the outsides of them, remember what the insides look like, and I'm happy.

Playlist:
Psyché Rock (Fatboy Slim Malpaso Mix) - Fatboy Slim
Gett Off (Urge Single Edit) - Prince
Compterlove - Kraftwerk
Check Yes Juliet - We the Kings
Rush - Bug Audio Dynamite II
Laura - Scissor Sisters
Informer - Snow
11h30 - Danger
24 Hour Party People Happy Mondays
Strength - Sister Soleil

There's so much beauty in the world

2000 Playlist
Psyche Rock (Fatboy Slim Malapaso Mix) - Fatboy Slim
Last Night - The Strokes
Household Names - Stereolab
The National Anthem - Radiohead
Music - Madonna
Dead Already - Thomas Newman
Outer Bongolia - Stereolab

(Last Year's 2000 Playlist)
Southside - Moby
Idioteque - Radiohead
Right Here, Right Now - Fatboy Slim
Thank You - Dido
Barock - Plastik - Stereolab
The Perfect Drug - Dkay.com/Die Krupps
Barely Legal - The Strokes
Hate To Say I Told You So - The Hives
Da Funk DJ - Daft Punk vs. Madonna
Hold Your Tongue - Lysistrata soundtrack

Run stats:
Distance: 3.5 miles
Weight: 171 lbs.
Stretches: yes
Temperature: 32º
Weather: chilly
Gear: long-sleeve shirt, thermal jacket, hat, long pants, gloves

wtf

Shovel. Your damn. Sidewalks.

I feel fabulous, by the way, absolutely liberated. After nine days cooped in due to weather - or wrecked because of the tour - it was a delight to get into the chilly rain and rotate my joints.

But my God, what a f***ing obstacle course we had out there today. I even stayed close to home, taking the circuitous route I had worn a groove into between 1994 and 2006. Still, there's no staying away from the main thoroughfares and nobody clears their walks. There oughta be a law.

In fact, I think there is.

Run stats:
Distance: 3.5 miles
Weight: 171.5 lbs.
Stretches: yes
Sit-ups: 80
Bicycles: 60
Temperature: 43º
Weather: cool & light rain
Gear: short-sleeved shirt, rain jacket, do-rag, shorts!

2001 Playlist
One More Time - Daft Punk
Because We Can - Fatboy Slim
Digital Love - Daft Punk
By Your Side (Ben Watt Remix) - Sade
Pop Muzik - eX-Girl
Another View Point - Cornelius
Warmdown: Star 69 - Fatboy Slim
This Charming Man - Stars

(Last Year's 2001 Playlist)
Weapon of Choice - Fatboy Slim
August Day Song (King Britt remix) - Bebel Gilberto
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger - Daft Punk
Start the Commotion - Wiseguys
Get the Party Started - P!nk
Packt Like Sardines In a Crushd Tin Box - Radiohead
Drop - Cornelius
Cooldown: Hindi Sad Diamonds - Moulin Rouge soundtrack

I need a glass of water

Vote Obama.

Run stats:
Distance: 3.25 miles
Stretches: yes
Sit-ups: 80
Bicycles: 60
Temperature: 63º
Weather: wind!
Gear: hanky hat, sunglasses, short-sleeved shirt, shorts

2002 Playlist
A Little Less Conversation - Elvis Presley
Spanish Grease (Dorfmeister Co Madrid Los Austrias Muga Reserva Mix) - Willie Bobo
Sweet Smoke - Mr. Scruff
Kamera - Wilco
Wogs Will Walk - Cornershop
Don't Explain (Dzihan & Kamien Remix) - Billie Holiday
Cooldown: Work It - Missy Elliott

(Last Year's 2002 Playlist)
Heavy Metal Drummer - Wilco
Music Plus 1 - Cornershop
Emerge (Daft Punk Mix) - Fisherspooner
Six Feet Under (Photek Remix) - Thomas Newman
The Man Comes Around - Johnny Cash
8 Mile - Eminem
Giffin - Mr. Scruff
Banquet - Bloc Party
Breathe - Télépopmusik
Lessons Learned from Rocky I to Rocky III - Cornershop

I believe in truth though I lie a lot

Come on, people, shovel your damn sidewalks.

Run stats:
Distance: 3.25 miles
Weight: 171.5 lbs.
Stretches: yes
Sit-ups: 80
Temperature: 30º
Weather: cold
Gear: long-sleeve jersey, thermal hat, thermal underwear, long pants, thermal jacket, gloves

2003 Playlist
Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
Never Coming Home (Gonna Live My Life Remix) - Sting
Everybody Wants You To Emerge (Barry Harris Revamp) - Fischerspooner vs. Billy Squier
Move Your Feet - Junior Senior
It's My Life (Vocal Mix) - Liquid People vs. Talk Talk
Superstar - Jamelia
Burning Down the House - Tom Jones & The Cardigans
Cooldown: Shoot the Dog - George Michael

(Last Year's 2003 Playlist)
The District Sleeps Alone Tonight - The Postal Service
Slow (Chemical Brothers Remix) - Kylie Minogue
You're So Damn Hot - OK Go
The Way You Move - Outkast
Extraordinary - Liz Phair
There There (The Boney King of Nowhere) - Radiohead
It's My Life - No Doubt

What would I do without the Queer Eye soundtrack?