"Please hold on running until they evaluate you."

Doctor's orders.

We're slow to acknowledge the knots in our laces.

Running once a week? Sure, whatever. Truth, the mornings have been occupied with reading plays, and that has been exciting. This weekend, however, has been nothing but suck, as I have had a headache the entire time. Hate, hate, hate headaches. Too obvious? Fucking hate them.

However, it does mean I have been resting my hip, and I suppose that is a good thing, too. The question is, does rest make a difference?

Distance: 2.40 miles
Avg. Pace: 8:56
Duration: 21:26
Route: Horizon Loop

That was unsatisfying. My head doesn't hurt, but I feel logy and slow. This run just made me feel tired and unbalanced. No idea what the future brings.

Temperature: 54°
Climate: cool
Mood: questionable.

What's That Lyric?
Heart It Races - Dr. Dog

Run cold.

Life. Don't talk to me about life.

Now that the weather has turned warm (in Athens at least) I am aware of hydration much more, the moment I step out I feel dry. Yesterday I used gum ... I know, it's a danger. But it works so well, keeping my mouth moist, my throat comfortable, not to feel like gasping.

Distance: 3 miles
Avg. Pace: 8:11
Duration: 24:35
Route: Hocking River Bike Path

So, my back has been hurting on and off for a few months, like it did a few years back. But there is a straight line from where it hurts (left side) down my leg. Is it related to the sciatic? God, I need to see a doctor.

Last night was not a restful one, unlike the night before. A lot of tossing and turning, and my hip hurt. The run was challenging, pain all down my left side.

Jesus Christ, I sound like Marvin.

Temperature: 72°
Climate: partly cloudy, sun & light rain
Mood: all right

Running past the new (newish?) wastewater treatment center, I am reminded how much the odor of raw sewage reminds me of my tender pre-adolescent days, scrounging for pornography behind the tracks in the Westlake municipal dump.

O.U. Nostalgia Run
Birth, School, Work, Death - The Godfathers
The Beat(en) Generation * - The The
This Corrosion - The Sisters of Mercy
Hey Ladies - Beastie Boys
The Feeling Begins - Peter Gabriel

Never gonna run around (and desert you.)

Puzzling evidence.

Saw a play last night - you can read about the play here - and my sciatic was acting up. Jesus, that makes me sound old "my sciatic was acting up." I'm a writer, I need to create some cheeky metaphors. Anyway, four hours in the car followed by a three mile run. Sitting and running, I need some physical therapy

It hurts to sit. This just sucks.

In any case, the morning was spent reading and ruminating, first in front of the fire, then out on the porch. Cardinals, fat bees, the almost overwhelming scent of honeysuckle. Now, running. It's just to perfect out.

Distance: 4 miles
Avg. Pace: 8:11
Duration: 32:47
Route: Hocking River Bike Path

Beautiful morning by the river, lots of students walking on bikes and skateboards, parents with their children. Just lovely. Nice run, felt relaxed, not going too fast, pleasant breeze kept things from feeling too hot. Could have pressed on, glad I did not overdo it yesterday.

Temperature: 75°
Climate: warm & overcast
Mood: good. when did I last say "good"?

Everyone is out right now, I am on my own with explicit instructions to head off somewhere once I have cleaned up to write somewhere, do that writing I have been writing about writing. I'd like to go to Donkey, but who knows, I may get distracted by the street fair.

O.U. Nostalgia Playlist
Never Gonna Give You Up  - Rick Astley
If Love Was a Train - Michelle Shocked
She's Got a Brand New Spell - Billy Bragg
Last Night - Traveling Wilburys
You Win Again * - Bee Gees
Down In It - Nine Inch Nails
Puzzlin' Evidence * - Talking Heads
Cuyahoga - R.E.M.
I'm The Man - Anthrax

No, srsly. Mah playlist got RickRolled. Speaking of which, you can actually read about last night's performance here.

Feel it right down 2 my toes.

Cousin-book-love.

Well. Nothing like a four-hour car ride with a fourteen year-old to provide a rich diet of complete garbage. Chips, candy, soda, chocolate ... I feel like an inflatable tire full of goo.

Also, late night, early morning, long drive, took a nap from which I could not awaken. Still rather dizzy. But ti's beautiful warm, fragrant and overcast, and there may be coeds by the river.

Distance: 3 miles
Avg. Pace: 8:12
Duration: 24:37
Route: Hocking River Run

What did I think while suiting up? What do I gain from running. Like, what am I going to gain from this. Am I striving toward a goal, a race, to complete a strong of annual playlists, am I excited about writing this blog.

How about the run itself? A run by the river in a beautiful region of the state at the perfect time of year. Isn't that enough? Yes, it is. It certainly is.

Temperature: 79°
Climate: bright & warm
Mood: getting there

O.U. Nostalgia Playlist
Bust a Move - Young MC
Soul Free - George Michael
Can't Stop This Feeling I Got - Prince
Halo - Depeche Mode
The Queen and the Soldier - Suzanne Vega
Vanishing Girl - The Dukes of Stratosphear

Standing upright, pounding along.

1992

Oh, God. We saw Jonathan Richman at the Grog Shop on Wednesday. I was listening to DJBG a few weeks ago and I was the first caller and suddenly I had plans to see a ROCK MUSIC SHOW.

I mean, not really, we were seeing Jonathan Richman, which is like watching a stoned hipster beatnik guru (almost) effortless make up an entire set about parties, girls, unattainable happiness and that stuff that gets stuck to the side of the sink that you don't know what it is but it's pretty gross.

Distance: 3.25 miles
Avg. Pace: 7:42
Duration: 25:04
Route: Forest Hill Loop

2017

Almost thirty years ago a friend at school has an extra ticket to see Jonathan at a club in Columbus, but he didn't have a date or a car so I got to be his date and his car. It was a wonderful experience, I went up to the singer after the show to shake his hand and tell him how much I enjoyed he performance and he looked at me like I was insane.

That was a few years before he released I, Jonathan which is one of my very favorite albums ever. It's romantic and amusing and it's got a good beat and you can run to it.

Temperature: 66°
Climate: bright & beautiful
Mood: It's magic! It's magic!

He closed with Lesbian Bar, and it was apparent that it was the only song anyone in the room knew. He'd also performed a slowed down version of Old World from The Modern Lovers, but I'm not sure anyone caught that. I'm not certain I did.

Baseline: 174 lbs.
Today: 164.5 lbs. (-0.5)
Goal: 165 lbs.
Ideal: 160 lbs.

Bright day in the park, humid and adventurous. My left hip still hurts. What are you gonna do? These shoes are everything. New shoes for me, from now on, all the time. All my extra spending money, on new shoes.

Dog walkers, thank you, for cleaning up after them, and bringing them to heel.

I, Jonathan - Jonathan Richman (1992)
Parties in the U.S.A.
Tandem Jump *
You Can't Talk to the Dude
Velvet Underground *
I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar
Rooming House on Venice Beach
Grunion Run
A Higher Power *

Running from the abyss.

Yeah, I'm listening.

Ladies and gentlemen ... 52 Playlists for 52 Years.

2017 Playlist
On Hold - The xx
Runnin' - Pharrell Williams
OneHundred - Sims
How Far I'll Go - Auli'i Cravalho
Feel It Still - Portugal. The Man
Say Goodbye - Green Day
High Ticket Attractions - The New Pornographers
Hot Thoughts - Spoon
I Give You Power - Arcade Fire ft. Mavis Staples

Distance: 3.75 miles
Avg. Pace: 7:58
Duration: 29:54
Route: Boulevard Loop

Visited Dad on my way across town. Things there were the same. Can't remember when I last visited, there was snow on the ground, I believe. That could have been, I don't know, September. Or January. Really, no idea. I do not know why I visit, but when it is convenient, when I can just hop off the highway I do. We talk. I talk, I guess. Seems like something I want to do, not that I feel compelled to do. I guess it makes me feel better somehow.

Temperature: 64°
Climate: sunny & hot
Mood: pissed off

This month I am reading a "Play a Day" and recording my thoughts on my writing blog, so you might want to check that out. Meantime, we are going to see Johnathan Richman at the Grog Shop tonight, which is a million colors of awesome.

Baseline: 174 lbs.
Today: 165 lbs. (+0.5)
Goal: 165 lbs.
Ideal: 160 lbs.

Beautiful day, a bit breezy on the uphill, pushing me back, but I felt free. A bit liberated. Still trying to hook into the new narrative, the reading is inspirational. But things are going on. Life is moving forward. It is unimaginable how depressed we have all been feeling these past few months.

I can still hear the footsteps.

Elvis stops the show.

Running in new shoes is like running through a brand new world, on new, comfortable surfaces. Yesterday there was still a kink in my right ankle, as before. It was a mental exercise to roll through my foot properly, to not favor one leg over the other, that is how I can cause further damage.

Soon the pain was gone, all was well. The new shoes were doing their work, and all was good. Today, no pain at all.

Distance: 3.25 miles
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Pavement: dry
Temperature: 52°
Climate: overcast & cool
Mood: all right

Unfortunately, last Friday I wore some old leather shoes to work which I believed had been broken in. But, uh, they hadn't been. My heels got all chewed up, there are sore spots there, not yet scabs. However, father left me (which is to say, I took from his closet) a set of shoes stretchers and I am using them to give these nice, virtually new shoes (dress brown Timberlands) a new direction.

Thanks, Dad.

Baseline: 174 lbs.
Today: 164.5 lbs. (-1.5)
Goal: 165 lbs.
Ideal: 160 lbs.

The girl and her cohort are obsessed with Saturday Night Live. They are desperately waiting for next weekend when new episodes resume. I have said a few things about watching the show in the early days, but have resisted sitting her down to watch any, because I don't think she would like them. Few women (only the chosen one and the humiliated one) and one person of color who was sorely miscast. Mostly brash, obnoxious, white, drug-addled men, and that's just a fact.

1977 Playlist
See No Evil - Television
Never Going Back Again - Fleetwood Mac
I Robot - Alan Parson Project
Warsaw * - Joy Division
Commando - The Ramones
Tie Your Mother Down - Queen
Stayin' Alive - Bee Gees
Less Than Zero - Elvis Costello

2017: The year Television broke. I have known about this band for decades. Why have I never listened to them?

Don't let it get you down, good people.

For Christmas, mom got me a gift certificate for Cleveland Running Co. on Lee Road (thanks, Mom) which was very nice. Though I have only been running in the Asics Josh gave me for ten months, I have given them quite a workout, and my feet have been causing me pain of late.

And, hey. Gift certificate.

So Jim fixed me up with a pair of Brooks Neuro 2, and also a new pair of all-weather pants. Good news!

Distance: 3.25 miles
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Pavement: dry
Temperature: 54°
Climate: sunny & cool
Mood: decent

Lordy, if every day could be like today, I would run forever. Too much to do, however, so I kept it short. Bright and cool, with an amazing playlist. Only two more in the 52 Years list, and it is a bit anticlimactic. Worked up a head of steam then petered out in March. For the best, I imagine. And I probably get to complete the 2017 Playlist on another beautiful, spring day.

Baseline: 174 lbs.
Today: 166 lbs. (+2.0)
Goal: 165 lbs.
Ideal: 160 lbs.

Karl goes under the "knife" on Friday, arthroscopic surgery on his knee. He has a torn meniscus, as I had nine years ago and is having a similar procedure. Everything goes as planned, he'll be back on his feet in no time.

That was a difficult time for me, I was turning forty and I had my last run in July 2008. It was very painful, I just kept going even though things never got any better. I was in denial for some time. Since the operation in September 2008, I have run two marathons and basically feel as good as I ever have.

Positive thoughts for Karl!

1997 Playlist
Piku - Chemical Brothers
Good Shit - Cornershop
Come - The Vampyres
Fat Ass Joint - Cujo
Star People '97 - George Michael
Parsec * - Stereolab