If your heart skips a beat, stay on your feet.

51º at 5:15 AM on January 31. All right, then. I'm wearing shorts.

Distance: 4 miles
Route: To Parkside Blvd. and back.

Bit of a conundrum here as re: the Yearly Playlists. Following my first marathon in Nov. 2006 I took a well-deserved rest ... which lasted a bit too long. In order to motivate myself to run out-of-doors in deepest winter, beginning in February 2007 I began running to a playlist dedicated to a single year, every run. It was fun making the lists, and I think I went back as far as the late 70s. My music database did not, at that time, have many songs prior to that date that had the appropriate rhythm. I chose years at random.

In 2008 I tried again, starting at the year 2007 and going backwards one year at a time in sequence. I suffered a meniscus tear during that series, and stopped, again, in the 70s. By 2009, starting in January, I was able to successfully run one playlist for every year I have walked this earth (in no particular order) from 1968 to 2009. It took me until late May to run 42 times, by which time enough interesting singles had been released from that year (or late 2008) to make a reasonable playlist.

1987 Playlist
You're My Drug (152 bpm) - The Dukes of Stratosphear
Big Love - Fleetwood Mac
Need You Tonight - INXS
Fear Is Never Boring - The Bears
Smooth Criminal/Bad - Michael Jackson
Got My Mind Set On You - George Harrison
Leave Me Alone - Michael Jackson
New Sensation - INXS
Good Times (157 bpm) - INXS & Jimmy Barnes

Cooldown:
A Japanese Dream (remix) - The Cure

This year I started at 1968 and am running every year to 2012 in chronological order. Today I have run 20 times in the month of January, a record for runs in a single month. At this rate, I will be done with the annual playlists by early March. Suggestions for the 2012 playlist will be greatly appreciated as the year itself will have barely begun.

Temperature: 51º
Climate: cool & windy
Weight: 177 lbs.
Snack: banana
Hydration? yes
Stretches? yes

My aching little soul has started burning blue.

Sorry, folks. It's just a Honda ad. Oh yeah.
Week 2 Total: 22 miles

Distance: 4 miles
Route: To Parkside Blvd. and back.

The wife and I went over calendars for the next several months. Busy, busy, busy. Travel, school, play, work, music, special events, social events, writing, creating, eat, breathing, living. No idea how I will fit all of these runs into my schedule, but you know? I don't care. I am enjoying this, I really am. Regardless of anything else I am (or am not) accomplishing, this is one thing I can successfully do, attempt, pursue, finish, every single day.

Except tomorrow, when Daddy takes his rest.

Temperature: 39º
Climate: mostly clear pavement, very windy
Weight: 178 lbs.
Snack: one slice, Hawaiian pizza
Hydration? yes
Stretches? yes

Big eating this weekend, pizza, spaghetti and meatballs, dining in restaurants -- birthday celebrations for a nine year-old girl. Really? Nine? Halfway to adulthood.

Okay. Depressed again.

1986 Playlist
Bread and Butter - Devo
Oh Yeah - Yello
The Boy In The Bubble - Paul Simon
Crazy Mixed-Up Kid - The Smithereens
Suburbia - Pet Shop Boys
Infected - The The
Rise (172 bpm) - Public Image Limited
The Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades (158 bpm) - Timbuk 3
Word Up - Cameo
Seven Day Weekend (175 bpm) - Elvis Costllo & Jimmy Cliff

Cooldown:
Pretty In Pink - Psychedelic Furs

Anger is an energy. Indeed.

By day we run.

If it were not for my wife, I would not have gotten out of bed this morning to run. If I had not gotten out of bed to run this morning, I would not have had time to run later. If I had had a long run today, I would most likely be of a mind to bag the training.

Thank you, wife.

Distance: 6 miles
Route: Taylor-Cedar-Warrensville/Noble-Monticello Loop

1. Almost wiped twice on Taylor Road. Ice like glass beneath light, dusty snow.

2. New Bob Evans going up on Cedar Road. Which reminds me, I need to spend more time in the Inn on Coventry. Eggs Mando!

3. I did not think to notice there is no sidewalk on the West edge of Warrensville Rd. running past the de-forested park which will soon be Oakwood Commons, a shopping development. There was enough grassy room between the curb and the chain-link fence to run on when cars were coming toward me.

In the pre-dawn light I could see, well, nothing really, where there had once been many, many trees. About a hundred yards ahead of me a small animal dashed out from under the fence into the street and onto the median where it stopped and looked around. Too big to be a cat, too small to be a dog. In motion I thought it must be a racoon, but it was the wrong shape.

It was a fox. A silver fox. A homeless silver fox.

I stopped and watched. It turned and saw me, and swift as anything sprinted back across the street and under the fence. Nowhere else to go.

4. Almost wiped out twice on Monticello.

Temperature: 36º
Climate: snowy
Weight: 177.5 lbs.
Snack: banana
Hydration? yes
Stretches? yes

My friend Alicia is an official blogger for the Cleveland Marathon. I did not know there was such a thing. Having finally registered for the race, I enquired about becoming an official Cleveland Marathon blogger myself. However, I have been informed that since they announce one "class" of official bloggers each year, and that they have already does so for 2012, they will not be adding any additional bloggers.

I don't think I wouldn't mind so much if I felt I would ever been running this race again. It's taken me five and a half years to believe I could try again. Looking at it that way, I began to feel depressed. Recently however, looking at anything from any perspective has been making me depressed, so I can hardly blame any one individual or organization.

1985 Playlist
Eighties - Killing Joke
Nemesis - Shriekback
Stay Up Late - Talking Heads
Bittersweet - Everything But the Girl
Broken Wings - Mr. Mister
We Close Our Eyes - Go West
Shout - Tears For Fears
Take Me Home - Phil Collins
Cloudbusting - Kate Bush
Baby Screams - The Cure
Don't You (Forget About Me) [Extended Version] - Simple Minds
Ball of Confusion [Extended Version] - Love & Rockets

Cooldown:
Take On Me - a-Ha

UPDATE: Mother-in-law is taking us out for EGGS MANDO. I love that woman.

Cue fanfare.

Did it. I am registered to run the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon on Sunday, May 20, 2012.

Distance: 4 miles
Route: To Parkside Blvd. and back.

Up a good part of the night, fretting. We began rehearsals last night, I need to set rules for myself and follow them. Come right home, drink tea, go to sleep. Falling asleep has been troubling the last two nights, and I woke several times thinking Time To Run. It was a relief when I finally looked at the clock and saw it was only 3 am.

Rounding the block and heading for home, I just realized how good I felt, for the first time in days. Or since my last run, anyhow. It didn't last long, but I am glad to know it is still possible to feel that way.

Really feeling the burn in my left shin. Simple exercise: Stand with your back to a wall, place both feet one foot-length from the wall. Lift your toes to the sky 10 times without lowering them completely to the ground. Three reps. This is how I have taken care of shin splints before.

Temperature: 34º
Climate: light, wet snow
Weight: 177.5 lbs.
Snack: banana
Hydration? yes
Stretches? yes

No run tomorrow. 6 miles on Saturday.

1984 Playlist
Fuck Art, Let's Dance - The Adults
This Charming Man - The Smiths
Perfect Skin - Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
Blue Light - David Gilmore
Romancing the Stone (12" version) - Eddy Grant
Birdmad Girl - The Cure
I Send a Message - INXS
Handsome Devil - The SMiths
Cue Fanfare - Prefab Sprout
The Glamorous Life (Club Edit) - Sheila E

Cooldown:
I Feel For You (Remix) - Chaka Khan

Nostalgia supplies.

I'm standing here on the ground.

Distance: 4 miles
Route: To Parkside Blvd. and back.

Exhausted all yesterday, got to bed reasonably early (shot for 9, hit 9.45 - damn you, sexy POTUS) with a non-alocoholic beverage as my nightcap. Still, woke at 5 AM thinking ... what? No. No, can't do this. Long day today, first night of rehearsals, reports due, must rest, have solid, clear concentration ... so, of course, my mind was spinning and there was no way I was going back to sleep.

So I got up. Tomorrow morning is the Friday of Running. If I can make tomorrow, then I get a day off. That's how we do this.

1983 Playlist
Let the Music Play (12" version) - Shannon
Holiday Road - Lindsey Buckingham
No More Lies - Neil SHon & Jan Hammer
(Let's All) Turn On - Hoodoo Gurus
Don't Change (164 bpm) - INXS
Gone Daddy Gone (160 bpm) - Violent Femmes
Walking In Your Footsteps - The Police
Leave It - Yes
I Love You - Yello
Major Tom (Coming Home) - Peter Schilling
What Difference Does it Make? - The Smiths

Cooldown:
The Invisible Man - Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Managed to run another morning in the windbreaker, when it dips below freezing again I will require something warmer. Took it easy this morning, I have been pushing it. Shins stinging, my left knee burning. It feels good to run. Sometimes it feels bad to stop.

Temperature: 33º
Climate: cold air, dry pavement.
Weight: 177.5 lbs.
Snack: no. just forgot.
Hydration? yes
Stretches? yes

People rushing round with no time to spare.

My pants are a mite looser around the waist. Not losing weight, just moving it around. Everything in its right place.

The zipper on my green thermafleece jacket has bitten the dust. So now I need new shoes and a new jacket. And, you know. To register for this marathon I am supposedly training for.

Just as well, temperature said above freezing but I did not believe it. If I had worn the 'fleece I would have burned up.

Distance: 4 miles
Route: To Parkside Blvd. and back.

Feeling a bit tight in my shins before the run, so I stretched a little. I do not usually strecth before runs, only after -- and that seems to do the trick. However, as I said, I stretched before this morning. And now I feel a pinch inside my left shin, dammit.

Temperature: 36º
Climate: dry pavement. wow. crazy.
Weight: 179.5 lbs.
Snack: banana
Hydration? yes
Stretches? yes

1982 Playlist
English Roundabout - XTC
Shake It Up - The Cars
Let's Go To Bed - The Cure
It's Nearly Africa - XTC
Desperate But Not Serious - Adam Ant
Don't Go - Yazoo
Don't Pay The Ferryman - Chris de Burgh
Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' - Michael Jackson
Jukebox (Don't Put Another Dime) - The Flirts
Mexican Radio - Wall of Voodoo

Cooldown:
Space Age Love Song - A Flock of Seagulls

Roundabound.

My goal is moving near.

Week 1 Total: 22 miles

Distance: 3 miles
Route: To Green Rd. and back.

As the effects of global climate change become increasingly evident, sudden mid-winter spikes in temperature lead to terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad gusts of WIND.

Temperature: 41º
Climate: Bright sun, snowy & slushy pavement.
Weight: 179 lbs.
Lunch: Tuna mac & cheese w/lima beans.
Hydration? yes
Stretches? yes

One week into 18 weeks of training, I have stopped wheezing, breathe much easier, and lost one pound. My knees were sore this morning after yesterday's eight mile run, but they feel fine now and I haven't even taken any pain relievers. My shins feel strong. I have been hydrating, eating well (okay, last night was a but indulgent) and this weekend I was able to catch up on some well-needed rest.

It will be a challenging week. Many reports due at the end of the month, and outreach tour rehearsals begin on Wednesday. The weather suggests above-freeing temps all this week, which is a blessing because it means the sidewalks will clear up. Running in the street before dawn is simply out. No run tomorrow.

1981 Playlist
Just Can't Get Enough - Depeche Mode
My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone) - Chilliwack
Hold On Tight - Electric Light Orchestra
TV Party - Black Flag
Primary - The Cure
Working In The Coal Mine (159 bpm) - Devo
Lovers' Walk - Elvis Costello & The Attractions
We Got the Beat - The Go-Go's
Sat In Your Lap - Kate Bush

Cooldown:
Super Freak - Rick James

Lovers trip. Lovers stumble.

Gotta move on.

First long run of training. Would have been entirely painless, except for all the damn snow.

1. Peering over the bridge at East Green and Green, watching a family of ducks float downstream in the icy creek. This is part of the joy.

2. People exiting the drive-thru at KFC alone are inevitably fat and unhappy looking.

3. Whoever it is plowing all of the sidewalks on north-side Mayfield Rd. in Cleveland Heights, I LOVE YOU.

4. All homeowners on the south-side of Monticello between Lee and Taylor who plow their DRIVEWAYS but neglect to shovel their SIDEWALKS should have their houses burned down and fucking die. And that's pretty much every single one of you (except that one guy with the shovel I said 'thanks' to. You are safe.)

5. My foot dropped into a snow-covered hole while headed up Monticello and I stumbled onto my hands and knees. I'm all right, though. Bruised my thumb. YOUR HOUSES.

Distance: 8 miles
Route: Monticello-Trebisky-Anderson-Mayfield-Lee Circle

Temperature: 25º
Climate: Snow on the ground.
Weight: 179 lbs.
Lunch: CLIF bar
Hydration? yes
Stretches? yes

Family gave me bath stuff from LUSH for my birthday which has sat, forlorn, abandoned. Until today.

1980 Playlist
Generals and Majors - XTC
Turn It On Again - Genesis
Call Me - Blondie
The Other Way of Stopping (165 bpm) - The Police
Can You Feel It - The Jacksons
I'm Alright (163 bpm) - Kenny Loggins
Red Light - Linda Clifford
Same Old Scene - Roxy Music
Play For Today (164 bpm) - The Cure
Antmusic (162 bpm) - Adam and the Ants
You Make My Dreams Come True (166 bpm) - Hall & Oates
That's Entertainment - The Jam
Canary In A Coalmine - The Police
Do You Wanna Touch Me? - Joan Jett
Girl U Want (173 bpm) / Whip It (158 bpm) - Devo
Funkytown - Lipps Inc.
Driven To Tears (159 bpm) - The Police
Crosseyed and Painless/Once In A Lifetime - Talking Heads

Cooldown:
All Over The World - Electric Light Orchestra
She's Lost Control - Joy Division

I haven't felt this way since Funky Town! - Homer Simpson

Success is mine. 'Cause I've got the key.

Distance: 4 miles
Route: To Parkside Blvd. and back.

Day one, nervous. Day two, cocky. Day three, wretched.

Woke with sinus pain. Must sleep when I can sleep. Took pain reliever, pseudoephedrine, and put on a nasal strip and hit the road. During mile three I began to feel sick to my stomach, but I pushed through and while my headache is gone, nothing would serve so well as crawling back into bed. Ah well. There's always tonight.

1979 Playlist
Got the Time - Joe Jackson
Plastic Passion (168 bpm) - The Cure
Cleveland Rocks - Ian Hunter
Brand New Cadillac - The Clash
Making Plans For Nigel - XTC
Let's Go - The Cars
Look Back In Anger - David Bowie
Touch and Go - The Cars
Making It - David Naughton
Planet Claire - The B-52's
Secret Agent Man - Devo

Cooldown:
Tears of a Clown - The Beat

The 80s begin today.

Temperature: 23º
Climate: less icy than yesterday
Weight: 180 lbs.
Snack: Banana
Hydration? yes
Stretches? yes

Tomorrow: Sleeping In. Nothing Better.

Daddy's all right.

Sweet new banner right? Photo by Amy Arbus, sucka.

Distance: 4 miles
Route: To Parkside Blvd. and back.

The second day is always the hardest -- to get out. Besides, I did not sleep well, knowing there might be a foot of snow on the ground this morning. Stepping out, however, the sub-zero temperature felt, how do they put that? Bracing. In a good way. The pavement was a little treacherous. But the time flew by.

1978 Playlist
This Is Pop (Radio Edit) - XTC
You're The One That I Want - Olivia Newton John, John Travolta & Company
The Robots - Kraftwerk
Le Freak - Chic
Take A Chance On Me - ABBA
D.I.Y. - Peter Gabriel
Radios In Motion - XTC
Lipstick Vogue - Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Truth Hits Everybody (164 bpm) - The Police
Surrender - Cheap Trick
Masoko Tanga - The Police

Cooldown:
Follow You Follow Me - Genesis

Voiding is an issue. Must remember to get the coffee first ... and wait. That worked today, but it delayed my start.

Temperature: 29º
Climate: Cold.
Weight: 179 lbs.
Snack: Banana
Hydration? yes
Stretches? yes

Note: If you run every day, eat sensible meals and snack only on fruit and vegetables, you may lose weight.

He's got the energy. He will amaze.

CLEVELAND MARATHON TRAINING BEGINS TODAY

Distance: 3 miles
Route: To Green Rd. and back.

New route, with little or no incline. Remember: No sidewalk on the north side by the ballfields. Several large uneven stones on the north side (puddles.)

Things to watch for ... must rise with enough time to void (that's right, I said it) and to eat a banana, even if I do not think I want to. Also, must get new toe separators.

Cris says the second is easier than the first. I am inclined to believe him if only because the last time I started, I had no idea what I was doing.

Temperature: 50º
Climate: windy. warm? weird.
Weight: 180.5 lbs.
Snack: Banana
Hydration? yes
Stretches? yes

Dressed too warmly, no idea it would be balmy out. Shame, I may not get to wear shorts again for some time. True, the new route is less taxing, fewer inclines, but also tedious. And all of the side streets make for sudden drops and lifts -- and are dangerous before dawn.

Once it begins snowing again (tomorrow) any kind of training will be an issue. The kids have encouraged me to source a second-hand treadmill at Play It Again. I have wise and frugal children.

1977 Playlist
The Passenger - Iggy Pop
Miracle Man - Elvis Costello
Tie Your Mother Down - Queen
Your Generation - Generation X
Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac
Love Gun - Kiss
Warsaw - Joy Division
Swingtown - Steve Miller Band
Orgasm Addict - The Buzzcocks

Cooldown:
Solsbury Hill - Peter Gabriel

Wanted disco. Got punk. All right.

Can barely stand on my feet.

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT: DAVID HANSEN (MAY BE) RUNNING THE 2012 CLEVELAND MARATHON!!!

Why equivocate? Because my wife loves me and cares about me and knows I have a lot to accomplish this winter/spring and that aspiring the run my second marathon may be asking too much of myself.

It is true. I have to manage the outreach tour, act in a 90 minute two-hander, and conceptualize and prepare to direct King Henry VIII.

However, I did successfully manage Fall residency rehearsals and simultaneously direct a production of Hamlet while training for the 2006 NYC Marathon. But I was only 38 and honestly, it almost killed me. It is the very fact that this is my second marathon that makes me gun-shy, remembering how challenging the first was.

On the other hand (we can go back and forth like this all afternoon, and I have editing to do) I barely knew what I was doing five and a half years ago, I am better prepared, mentally and physically, to handle this. No shin splints, no wondering why I feel the way I feel and what to do about it, I know.

1976 Playlist
Cherry Bomb - The Runaways
Turn The Beat Around - Vicki Sue Robinson
Brand New Arkansas Traveler/Skinny - Alex Bevan
Dancing Queen - ABBA
Blitzkrieg Bop - The Ramones
Somebody To Love - Queen

I missed most of the early-bird registration opportunities, if I want in I would need to sign up by February 29 for it to cost $90, it will jump to $100 after that. If I were to RUN THE CLEVELAND MARATHON (MAYBE) I will need to accomplish the following goals:

Get a new pair of shoes.
Stop eating any processed snack chips.
Lose between ten and fifteen pounds.
Have a water bottle with me at all times.
Play more. Facebook less.

I have chosen a training schedule which is more challenging than the last, but not by much. Increasingly longer runs on Saturdays, that's it. I will need to plan those as best not to cramp my family's needs.

Anyone who knows me, or saw the show, knows I like to badmouth The Cleveland. The the fact is, they have heard me, and they have made changes according to my desires, and for that I am grateful to them. The Tremont leg is a fabulous addition, and they broke up the Chester slog. I think I owe it to them, having satisfied me, to give the Full Cleveland a shot.

Sounds like I have already made the commitment. But believe me, I haven't.

Training begins Tuesday. I think.

Week 0 Total: 8 miles
Distance: 2 miles
Temperature: 28º
Weight: 182 lbs.
Climate: Patchy pavement - some sweetheart plowed at the way up Mayfield from Newbury to Forest Hills Blvd!

Taken by the sky.

I look like fucking Stevie Nicks!!!
... on the other hand, an entire can of Pringles makes a very tasty snack.

Big storm coming. Let's get one more in.

1975 Playlist
Love Is The Drug - Roxy Music
Young Americans - David Bowie
The Hustle - Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony
Love Rollercoaster - Ohio Players
Rhiannon - Fleetwood Mac

Glad to be in the mid-70s, now we can really get busy. What can I say, I can't get very excited about the pre-disco era. My playlists used to be all rock prior to this era, but as the years have progressed there has been more R&B, which has helped.

Love Is The Drug. The world's first rap song.

Distance: 2 miles
Temperature: 45º
Weight: 180.5 lbs.
Weather: wet pavement. clear sky.

And now I'm feeling better.

Nope.

Sorry.

Christ, no.
Residency Training period means driving an hour each way to a high school in Elyria. By Wednesday, I am usually becoming very drowsy on the drive home. This is nothing new, it has been going on for nigh 11 years.

In the old days my drug of choice was a 20 ounce Coke or -- when I was training for the marathon -- some kind of "energy" drink. I am not proud of this. This week it takes a 16 oz. soda to get through the afternoon, and for the drive home I play loud rock music, which does the trick. Talk radio is out, it is not out of the ordinary for me to be listening to David Bianculli reviewing the latest hip cable program I can't afford when I suddenly start wailing like a small child, OH MY GOD!! THIS IS SOOO BOOOOORING!!!!

Yes, I know. Everyone does that when David Bianculli is on. But I feel it more.

1974 Playlist
Oye Como Va - Santana
Verb: That's What's Happening - Zachary Sanders
Back in NYC/Lilywhite Lilith - Genesis
You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet - Bachman-Turner Overdrive

The trip home this afternoon was longer than usual, picking up cat food, then the boy, and it's been dark and rainy and when I got home I had a choice. Twenty-minute nap, or twenty-minute run.

I chose wisely.

Distance: 2 miles
Temperature: 43º
Weight: 180.5 lbs.
Weather: rain. pleasant rain.

FYI -- When stopping at the grocery store for cat food, I did not buy up a can of Pringles. I was standing in the aisle. I was looking at them. I had it in my hand, Marcus.

Then I remembered it's Marcos pizza night.

I tried some pills for my heart, but a little too late.

I can eat a 12 oz. bag of Doritos in one sitting. An entire 6 oz. can of Pringles. These things happen. This afternoon I had to drive home from Elyria, hour-long trip, and stopped to fill my gas tank. I did not go into the store there and get a can of Pringles. And there you have today's minor victory.

1973 Playlist
Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder
Polk Salad Annie (Live) - Elvis Presley
Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting - Elton John
The Ballroom Blitz - The Sweet
Pills - New York Dolls

For your information, Doritos creator Arch West died last September. He was 97.

Distance: 2 miles
Temperature: 43º
Weight: 180.5 lbs.
Weather: very nice.

The things you think are useless I can't understand.

I suffer to endure pleasant weather in the midst of winter and not have the opportunity to take a run. Time is so short, I have conspired to create moments when I can escape ... Friday night there was a retirement party for my wife's boss, last night a wedding. Weather remains in the 40s, who knows for how much longer. It leaves me depressed.

1972 Playlist
Reelin' In The Years - Steely Dan
Hi Hi Hi - Paul McCartney & Wings
Roadrunner - The Modern Lovers
Superstition - Stevie Wonder
Popcorn - Hot Butter
(No More) Mr. Nice Guys - Sparks

Waking from a short nap prior to the festivities, I was suffering from "brain zaps" for the first time since the holidays. This was very unpleasant. Gathering with a large number of people I did not know (I was the date, after all) in the lobby of the Natural History Museum for the wedding, I was overcome with great anxiety, overwhelmed by all the things I have to need, am expected to do, will soon need to do.

There's always something to do. I do not always feel so overwhelmed nor depressed by it.

However, the ceremony itself, pleasant, sincere, non-religious, was moving, special, unique, and lifted my spirits. We moved into the Sears Hall, which features special "evening" lighting. As a child, when there were snow days (often during the blizzards of '77 and '78) my mother would drop me off there by myself so she could attend her art appreciation classes at the CMA. The smell of the Natural History Museum (taxidermy?) holds powerful, positive memories.

Distance: 2 miles
Temperature: 36º
Weight: 180.5 lbs.
Weather: cool. calm. day.

Soon I was feeling more social. Martini on the rocks, sharing my familiarity with Balto, selling Cleveland to strangers, wine, dinner with dinosaurs in the Kirtland Hall, Coke and rum, I wasn't driving. Early to bed, long sleep. And we run.

Can you spare one dream for me?

Skipped a day. Getting so tired as the week has moved on. Would like more sleep. Taking a 9.30 pm run can be exhilarating, but it can also leave me wrecked for the following morning. Little writing going on this week. Hope to alter that tomorrow.

Kids spent the night at my parents, we took this opportunity to see WAR HORSE. Good movie, very well made. Pure Spielberg, however, all of your emotions handed to you in a neatly wrapped box. Still, as I have been diving into World War One history, the extremely realistic (as if I would know) battle scenes are thrilling and absolutely horrible.

The dirty-dirty girls love Benedict Cumberbatch.
1971 Playlist
Baba O'Riley - The Who
The Devil's Answer - Atomic Rooster
Oh Yoko - John Lennon
Fireball - Deep Purple
Meet Me On The Corner - Lindisfarne
Bitch - The Rolling Stones
If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out - Cat Stevens

Distance: 2 miles
Temperature: 40º
Weight: 184.5 lbs.
Weather: clear & cool w/dry pavement & slippery crusty ice

Let the world know you're alive!

Actor-Teacher Rehearsals, Day Two.
1970 Playlist
25 or 6 to 4 - Chicago
The Love You Save - The Jackson 5
Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
Canto de Ossanha (Let Go) - Astrud Gilberto
Spill the Wine - War ft. Eric Burdon
Instant Karma! - John Lennon
Mama Told Me (Not To Come) - Three Dog Night

We come from the land of the ice and snow, indeed. Day three, I maintain. We are having Second Christmas with my parents tonight, I was delighted by a new pair of manly, fleecy pajamas and a heavy pair of gloves. These are things I need.

Ran up Lake, across Belle and down Clifton. Two days of light snow have leveled out the horrible, horrible sidewalks. I have never had such a swift, enjoyable run in Lakewood.

Distance: 2.6 miles
Temperature: 22º

I know the end is coming soon.

Alicia and I at a special event with this guy.
It is difficult to keep up with all of the Cleveland "cupcake" blogs. A lot of them are about dining in restaurants I can't afford and bars I don't want to go to.

One of my hands-down favorites, however, is Poise in Parma, which is not only about running, but also Cleveland special events and great cooking.

Editor Alicia Hansen (no relation) and I worked together when she was Special Events Coordinator at Great Lakes Theater and she single handedly raised $19 million to re-imagine the Hanna Theatre. (Heather and Bob won't mind I said that, will they, Alicia? No, I didn't think so.)

"And remember: running even just one mile is better than running none. Get your running streak on, my friend." - Alicia

Thank you, Alicia. I was going to bag on day two, what with the snow and all. Then I read this comment you left on yesterday's post and put my shoes on.

1969 Playlist
Bad Moon Rising (180 bpm) - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Come Together (163 bpm) - The Beatles
I Want You Back - The Jackson 5
Friendship Train - Gladys Knight & The Pips
Purple Haze (Live at Woodstock) - Jimi Herndrix
TCB or TYA - Bobby Patterson
Grits Ain't Groceries (All Around the World) - Little Milton

Onto the 1970s. Hoping the snow doesn't crust too much before above-freezing temps later in the week.

Distance: 2 miles
Temperature: 28º
Weight: 184.5 lbs.
Weather: new snow, still soft.

To be born again.

Ladies and Gentlemen ... 45 Playlists for 45 Years.

1968 Playlist
Street Fighting Man - The Rolling Stones
Astral Weeks - Van Morrison
Since You've Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby) - Aretha Franklin
If I Had a Hammer - Leonard Nimoy
Folsom Prison Blues (Live at Folsom Prison) - Johnny Cash
Sympathy For The Devil - The Rolling Stones

Spring ends today. Happy New Year.

Weariness. I was looking forward to running, and had a good morning (no New Year's hangovers in this house) but as I geared up I started feeling a bit overwhelmed. I ran consistently, without stopping, but after a couple blocks I decided to take the 2 mile course instead of the 3 miler.

I want to run every day, every other day, get back into a rhythm, a need. And to have legs and lungs that can take it. I need to work up to this, lately if I try three or four mile runs, it wrecks me for the rest of the day. That's not how it's supposed to feel.

It is a new year, a big year. Time is an issue, but so is energy, strength, endurance. The exercise is supposed to make everything else possible, and not its opposite.

Every run I will feature a playlist for each year from the one in which I was born to the present, in chronological order. That's new. I am wondering if the forward trajectory of years (rather random annual playlists) will give me additional energy.

Wish me luck. And good luck to you!

Distance: 2 miles
Temperature: 52º
Weight: 180.5 lbs.
Weather: rainy, chilly.