Why do you write like you're running out of time?

Vogue

Freak snowstorm last night, this morning it is bright and crisp and shiny. We, all of us, slept in until 9 AM today. This was a long time coming, at least for the wife and I, and well-deserved. It would be easy to settle down with the boy to watch a movie (I am giving him an education on the Civil War in film, beginning with Gettysburg, then Glory, next up Lincoln -- I make a point of making historical the inaccuracies clear) but then again. Training.

Training in sub-freezing weather. The wife asks if I am bringing water on this trek. Hmn. I really don't want to do that, I don't want a leaky water bottle in my hands today. Meanwhile I am writing this post in advance of my setting out, in the hopes that coffee and gravity will result in some backfield action. I do not wish to have an incident Uptown.

Distance: 9 miles
Avg Pace: 7:50
Duration: 1:10:31
Route: Forest Hill/Lakeview/Uptown Loop
Week Four Total: 26 miles
Training To Date: 81 miles

Water, water everywhere - in the form of crystallized condensation. Yes, I found fresh snow in off-the-path places and melted it on my tongue. Right?

Almost wiped out in Forest Hill Park, some paths were clearly melted, others not so much. Did not, for example, sprint down the hill past Rockefeller's monument.

Temperature: 28° → 32°
Climate: cool
Pavement: deceptive
Weight: 162 lbs. (-1.0)
Mood: awesome

The plan was to run eight miles. For obvious reasons, I was compelled to run nine. And get this, I ran exactly nine miles. With a final sprint - check the beats per minute - I crossed the nine mile mark right in front of my house, precisely on the final cannon of act one. (That's true.)

Keeping pace with Stay Alive brought me all the way up through Little Italy, followed by Ten Duel Commandments where the pace dropped just a touch where I needed to get over the top. That was amazing, too.

Hamilton (Act I)
Alexander Hamilton – Full company (except King George)
Aaron Burr, Sir – Hamilton, Burr, Laurens, Lafayette, and Mulligan
My Shot – Hamilton, Burr, Laurens, Lafayette, Mulligan, and Company
The Story of Tonight – Hamilton, Laurens, Lafayette, Mulligan, and Company
The Schuyler Sisters – Angelica, Eliza, Peggy, Burr, and Company
Farmer Refuted – Samuel Seabury and Hamilton
You'll Be Back – King George
Right Hand Man – Washington, Hamilton, Burr, and Company
A Winter's Ball – Burr, Hamilton, and Laurens
Helpless – Eliza, Hamilton, and Company
Satisfied – Angelica, Hamilton, and Company
The Story of Tonight (Reprise) (164 bpm) – Hamilton, Burr, Laurens, Lafayette, and Mulligan
Wait For It – Burr and Company
Stay Alive (160 bpm) – Hamilton, Washington, Charles Lee, Laurens, and Company
Ten Duel Commandments (156 bpm) – Laurens, Hamilton, Lee, Burr, and Company
Meet Me Inside – Washington, Hamilton, and Company
That Would Be Enough – Eliza and Hamilton
Guns and Ships – Burr, Lafayette and Washington
History Has Its Eyes on You – Washington and Company
Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down) – Hamilton, Lafayette, Laurens, Mulligan, and Company
What Comes Next? – King George
Dear Theodosia – Burr and Hamilton
Non-Stop (182 bpm) – Hamilton, Burr, Eliza, Angelica, Washington, and Company

So? This morning I slept in, unsure as to whether I was up for training. It's almost noon, and I have already achieved much, the wife and girl are working, the boy out in the now-above-freezing weather on his ripstik. I feel alive and ready for the week.

Would I have been a successful, dedicated runner without the modern mp3 player, without the iPod, without the motivation I personally require, the motivation inherent in music? Probably not. How lucky we are to be alive right now.

Let's go.