Father-Children Run

If you know you know.

We are all off our exercise regimen, the wife reminded me to remind the kids that the three of us should take a run. So we did! A two mile run in the cold, talking about impending adulthood, piecrings, smopking, alcohol, divorce, all the good things.

Distance: 2.3 miles
Duration: 23:41
Pace: 10:17
Route: Horizon Loop
Temperature: 36°
Climate: cool & cool
Mood: very good

I am making plans to resume "year" runs in 2021, so you have that too look forward to. It requires all new playlists, now that I have moved from an iPod to Spotify on my phone.

Father/Son Run

The boy's stride matches mine. It was his idea to do Cain Park, made difficult by the large mounds of crusty snow at the edge of many driveways. We charged up the hill out of the park, and I was winded. He's such a big kid now, and he wants to keep in shape for wrestling, whether it happens or not. 

Distance: 3.88 miles
Duration: 40:41
Pace: 10:28
Route: Cain Park Loop
Temperature: 36°
Climate: cool
Mood: good

Down in the park.

Recently Forbes Magazine (of all places) wrote a piece commemorating the 40th anniversary of the movie Times Square, and more importantly the accompanying soundtrack. My wife believes she saw the movie first on Night Flight some time in the mid-80s which checks out. 

I didn't see it until some fifteen or more years ago when the girl was a baby. I got that and Ladies and Gentlemen ... The Fabulous Stains from the late B-Ware Video on Madison for a punk double feature. She came home from work and I was waiting on the front step with my jeans cuffed and my black Chuck's on and my Ramones T-shirt and had two lunchbags that each had a hotdog, a bag of chips and a Coke for dinner. That was a good night.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 28:45
Pace: 9:16
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 45°
Climate: overcast & nice
Mood: all right
Weight: 181 lbs. (+3.0) *shrug*
Plank Challenge: 150 seconds

My brother was in college from 1980-1985 and acted as a kind of repository of hip, the way an older brother is supposed to do. He had the soundtrack and I listened to that a lot, buying my own copy from Schoolkids' Records when I went to college in the late 1980s. It was an education. Read the Forbes article, apparently it was meant to be.

I put together a playlist of the songs from the record, not all of them are available. I miss having Take This Town by XTC.

Times Square (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Rock Hard - Suzi Quatro

Talk of the Town - The Pretenders

Same Old Scene - Roxy Music

Down in the Park - Gary Numan/Tubeway Army

Life During Wartime - Talking Heads

Pretty Boys - Joe Jackson

I Wanna Be Sedated - The Ramones

Babylon's Burning - The Ruts

Walk On the Wild Side - Lou Reed

Are my earbuds on the fritz?

Brisk run. Anxiety in the house. We should be so lucky that the place hasn't blown up yet. And yet, we're chill.

Most of us are chill. Okay, I'm chill.

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 18:07
Pace: 9:04
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 55°
Climate: cloudy & breezy
Mood: all right ... until
Weight: 178 lbs. (-3.0)
Plank Challenge: 150 seconds

What's That Lyric?

Hollywood - Car Seat Headrest

A lot of emotional anxiety about work and homework. I have returned to having a drink most nights, and feel it in my muscles. This is not necessary. Today is a day for focus, fasting can help. I have not been drinking as much water. We are moving into the winter, for the past two years I have packed on the pounds at this time of year. Let's see if I can do better.

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 19:01
Pace: 9:29
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 34°
Climate: partly cloudy & cool
Mood: edgy
Weight: 181 lbs. (-1.0)
Plank Challenge: 150 seconds

The most difficult part of planking are my weak, little arms.

Also, yes. It feels better to take a break between runs. But, the BPM kept me moving and I knew it was a short run, so I kept driving on.

My 100th run of the year. Not bad, considering. My all-time low (since 2006) was the year 2011, when I was on a series on antidepressants. I was also writing a lot, and that may have kept me off the road, but mostly I was just not all that interested in running. 

Injury kept me from running a great deal in 2017. But this year wasn't much different -- except for June, when I was crazed, running almost every day. The weather. The mania. The quarantine.

I have no goals, no races, no specific achievement, just the running itself. The running is the goal. To keep running.

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 18:41
Pace: 9:21
Route: Two times around the block
Temperature: 36°
Climate: light snow
Mood: all right
Weight: 182 lbs. (+2.0)

Plank Challenge: 120 seconds

Brisk run, feels good. Yesterday I was a snack monster. I need to resume drinking a lot of water.

Dear God!

One day off and I feel strong. Bright, crisp run to New Wave classics. Feeling a little down lately, motivation is an illusion. You create it for yourself or you don't. How do I get back what I had only two months ago?

Distance: 3.5 miles

Duration: 32:03
Pace: 9:09
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 39°
Climate: bright & cool
Mood: not bad
Weight: 180 lbs. (-1.0)

Plank Challenge: 90 seconds

Teenage Kicks: New Wave 11/14/2020

Take On Me - A-ha

Never Let Me Down Again - Depeche Mode

Rock Lobster - The B-52's

Dear God - XTC

Lovesong - The Cure

Hero Takes a Fall *  - The Bangles

Seven Seas - Echo & The Bunnymen

The Wait - The Pretenders

Gonna use my fingers.

Junk Miles is a podcast out of Philly in which two guys talk about "comedy, music, movies, running, pets, and other assorted nonsense."

They have also created the Fraud Street Run, an eleven mile run on Saturday, November 28, from Four Seasons Total Landscaping to the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia.

If you need me to explain why those two locations are relevant, you haven't been paying attention.

There's also a "virtual run" which means you can run eleven lonely miles wherever you are. But it's a thing, you know? But it's eleven miles, which is not my normal gig. An I may or may not run the "virtual" Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day, which is five lonely miles, but much more do-able.

Guess I picked the right year to stop racing.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 28:34
Pace: 9:12
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 45°
Climate: bright & cool
Mood: anxious

The weather gets cooler. Had a sinus headache yesterday, not deathly but enough to put me down for half the day. God, I hate that.

Pathetic Geek Stories Playlist

I Was Made for Loving You - KISS

Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? - Rod Stewart

Miss You - The Rolling Stones

Ah! Leah! - Donnie Iris

Love Is Like Oxygen - The Sweet

Dreaming - Blondie

Brass In Pocket - The Pretenders

Hot Blooded - Foreigner

Continuing my exploration of embarrassing  sex pop of the late 70s. Today I realized Brass In Pocket is about masturbation.

Oh, yes it is, you boys.

Running wild and looking pretty.

Yesterday I woke earlier than usual, I was going round and round in my head about that period in time when it all became confused, the transition from childhood to adolescence (not yet even puberty) when joy and fun and play were supplanted by fear and doubt and crippling self-consciousness.

Fifth and sixth grade. Transition into middle school. The years were 1978 and 1979, just before 1980, which was actually much the same. I was obsessing over the songs, and there were a lot of songs, that had to do with fucking. This is not an exciting concept when you are ten or eleven years old. It is terrifying.

At the same time, there are boys who live to make you miserable. And girls who unintentionally make you misterable. Anyway, I made a short playlist and those are the tunes in my head this week. 

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 17:31
Pace: 8:45
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 63°
Climate: bright & beautiful
Mood: all right?
Weight: 181 lbs. (+2.0)

There are cookies.

Brisk, short run. Remembered to plank before we started. Lots of running into the street to make way for dog walkers. Running every day can wear me down. I am feeling it now in my knees. So?

Pathetic Geek Stories Playlist

Just What I Needed - The Cars

Hot Child in the City - Nick Gilder

Good Girls Don't - The Knack

Dream Police - Cheap Trick

Does Your Mother Know - ABBA

Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor Doctor) - Robert Palmer

All of these are in appropriate for an eleven year-old. Even one who searches in the municipal dump with his friends for Playboys.

Just what I needed.

I had a good run Saturday,
but it wasn't as good as hers.

This weekend I repainted our light pole. The last time I painted it was in 1996, it was a khaki gray, like the trim on the rest of the house. We have since painted the trim green, but I painted the post black, just a flat black.

This time I use an oil-based paint, it is now a glossy black. I need to replace hardware, do some gentle bending of metal, replace some glass with plastic. Looks good.

The weather has been very nice. The election results are in, we will have a new president. Strange, we are not elated, because we know there is so much work to do. But there is a certain sense of dread which has ebbed.

These are difficult times. We are in a pandemic. The world is on fire. We need responsible governance. I hope for the best.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 
Pace: 9:24
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 61°
Climate: bright & cool
Mood: muh better, thanks.
Weight: 179 lbs. (-1.0)

We've been watching The Queen's Gambit, watching this young woman consume so much alcohol reminds me of my own consumption. We were drinkning, then not drinking, now there is casual drinking again. We have cut my medication in half, but there is still an evident reaction when drinking happens. Also, too much sugar. Too much candy.

While I am not losing any weight, I do feel the difference engaging in this "plank challenge" (see Nov. 3.) Up to one minute today. Yes, it makes a big difference. A surpising aount of difference.

Sixty degrees at 7:30 AM. These days will not last.

I'm running free, yeah. Oh! I'm running free.

Sweat stain on my shirt.

Running eventually makes me winded if I do not take a day between runs. Okay. But it is in the 60s today, and Teenage Kicks was on, so it was imperative to get out the door. 

Distance: 3 miles

Duration: 28:24

Pace: 9:28

Route: Forest Hill Loop

Temperature: 64°

Climate: sunny & warm

Mood: better

Teenage Kicks 11/7/2020

Birds Fly (Whisper To a Scream) - Icicle Works

Perfect Day - Lou Reed

Never Enough - The Cure

I Kicked a Boy - The Sundays

Ace of Spades - Motorhead

Running Free - Iron Maiden

Photogrpah - Def Leppard

Open Letter (To a Landlord) - Living Colour

My persuasion can build a nation.

Thank you, Ms. Abrams.

But the sun comes up and the world still spins. Still doing this "plank challenge" but I forgot to do it yesterday. It feels better to plank and then run, like I'm getting twice the effects from it. Planking and then sitting back at my desk, not really effective.

Distance: 3 miles
Duration: 27:22
Pace: 9:07
Route: Boulevard Loop
Temperature: 55°
Climate: 
Mood: holding
Weight: 180 lbs. (-0-)

Count every vote.

What's That Lyric?

Run the World (Girls) - Beyoncé

There's a flag pole rag and the wind won't stop.

Feelings of helplessness are entirely acceptable at this point. We do not know what the future holds, but we do know that inspite of massvie voter turnout, just as many showed up to say they like this as those who sought to repudiate four years of bellicose hatred and ignorance.

America is a fucking lazy country, full of lazy, stupid people. This is by design.

I am on a self-imposed media blackout. There is no point in commisserating with my fellows and I will not stand for Wednesday morning quarterbacking. I-told-you-so's from cynical white men are not welcome.

One thing I can do is exercise.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 29:35
Pace: 9:32
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 54°
Climate: sunny & cool
Mood: 
Weight: 180 lbs. (+1.0)

Sweeping Up at Grebe's Playlist

Too Shy - Kajagoogoo

Love My Way - Psychedelic Furs

Space Age Love Song  - Flock of Seagulls

Human Nature - Michael Jackson

King of Pain - The Police

Time (Clock of the Heart) - Culture Club

More Than This - Roxy Music

Pleasure of Love (Instrumental Version) - Tom Tom Club

Those gangster presidents.

Okay, so we're doing this.

Today has been a mental mess, I am absolutely unable to accomplish a single thing.

But wait! It's fucking gorgeous out! I should run!

So that's what I did.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 29:19
Pace: 9:27
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 52°
Climate: sunny! nice!
Mood: desperately anxious!
Weight: 179 lbs. (-0-)

Yeah, so. It's sugar season. Bought way too much candy for Halloween (actually, bought a lot - and then more showed up) so there's a lot of candy around and I am trying very hard not to eat it.

But seriously, it's Election Night 2020. There are literally no calories tonight.

Sweeping Up at Grebe's Playlist

Legal Tender - The B-52's

I Want Candy - Bow Wow Wow

Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl) - Haircut 100

Oblivious - Aztec Camera

Come On, Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners

Black Coffee In Bed - Squeeze

She's a Beauty - The Tubes

I Melt With You - Modern English

Always Something There to Remind Me - Naked Eyes

I swear, as that long song started to play, I thought I could smell discarded industrial cooking grease. I feared I was having a stroke.

Execution of bitterness.

Jesse & Arnold

Arnold Schwarzenegger was in town last week. having a new aortic valve put in at the Cleveland Clinic. He posted some nice pictures of his time in town, including the stop by the Jesse Owens Statue at West 3rd and Lakeside.

DID YOU KNOW ..? There is a statue of Jesse Owens at West 3rd and Lakeside.

The weather has gotten cool and very wet. I need to keep running, though.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 28:15
Pace: 9:07
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 50°
Climate: cool!
Mood: all right

I drag my feet to get out the door, but I sure feel better running.

Sweeping Up at Grebe's Playlist

Don't Change - INXS

Little Red Corvette - Prince & the Revolution

Our House - Madness

Cool PLaces - Sparks ft. Jane Wiedlin

Aeiou Sometimes Y - EBN/OZN

I Know What Boys Like - The Waitresses

The Fanatic - Felony

Just Got Lucky - Jo Boxers

My heart must just be slowing down.

Wasn't planning on running two days back to back ... I am feeling pain in my abdomen, and other places that usually comes with resuming a regimen. But the weather has been absurdly lovely, and it won't last. It is supposed to thunderstorm in an hour or so and then drop back down to fall weather.

Distance: 4 miles
Duration: 38:25
Pace: 9:36
Route: Forest Hill Loop 
Temperature: 72°
Climate: partly cloudy & humid
Mood: good
Weight: 179 lbs. (+1.0)

Ooh! Hot, humid and wearying. And yet! What a run. Feeling good. Let's keep that up. Even when the rains come.

Sweeping Up at Grebe's Playlist

Fascination (Extended Mix) - Human League

Der Kommissar - Falco

It's a Mistake - Men at Work

The Electric Co. (Live) - U2

Tell Her About It - Billy Joel

I'm Still Standing - Elton John

Come Dancing - The Kinks

Lawyers In Love - Jackson Browne

Modern Love - David Bowie

Whenever You're On My Mind - Marshall Crenshaw

Europa & The Pirate Twins - Thomas Dolby

Who needs to win?

When I do not run for a while, my ass deflates like an unused inner tube. It was hurting for me to sit last week, big time. Now I have resumed pumping those suckers up.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 29:22
Pace: 9:28
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 61°
Climate: sunny & awesome
Mood: not bad, but not good, either.
Weight: 178 lbs. (-0-)

Sweeping Up at Grebe's Playlist

Safety Dance (Extened Dance Version) - Men Without Hats

Mexican Radio - Wall of Voodoo

I Love You - YelloDa Da Da (I Don't Love You You Don't Love Me) - Trio

Rockit - Herbie Hancock

I Don't Remember (Live) - Peter Gabriel

Saved By Zero (Extended Version) - The Fixx

He won't be back this way 'til 2010.

October 2019

Yes, let's run every other day. Feels good! Brisk. Perfect weather.

These are depressing days. I had reminders last week about Chicago, which was the hardest thing I have ever done. Harder, perhaps than even New York. Because New York was euphoric. The week before Chicago was spent in a room at University Hospitals with my mom.

Then there are all these remnders of the rest of the year, last year. Her fall. Thanksgiving. The death sentence. Some nights I surprise myself with my feelings. I've also cut the dose, so. Which I don't regret. But here I am.

Keep running. I can keep running, right?

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 29:42
Pace: 9:34
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 48°
Climate: overcast & cool
Mood: determined
Weight: 178 lbs. (-2.0)

Sweeping Up at Grebe's Playlist

Pleasure of Love - Tom Tom Club

Why Me? (Extended Version) - Planet P

Promised You a Miracle (US Remix) - Simple Minds

Pale Shelter (Long Version) - Tears For Fears

Is There Something I Should Know (Monster Mix) - Duran Duran

How do I work this?

Ugh. Cut the dose on my meds, because I assume that has depressing my desire to run. But it's also homework and work work. And the change in temperature. And maybe depression? I mean, I don't feel depressed. But motion, action. that is not something I am movated to do. 

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 18:20
Pace: 9:10
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 52°
Climate: overcast & cool
Mood: all right?
Weight: 180 lbs. (-0-)

Also, all the junk food in the house. I have been eating cold pizza for three days straight. Yesterday, a little after noon I said, no. This has to stop. The only thing I ate for the rest of the day was two raw carrots. I still feel bloated.

I was doing so, well, too. Good meals, lots of greens, good snacks, when I even had snacks.

This is not the way. 

Can I say, though. This run this morning was good. Look at the stats, 9:10 pace. Listening to music I enjoy. The weather was ideal for a run. I can do this, every day. Every other day. Why not?

Run back and stay with me.

Yes, indeed. The results are in and they are not good. Bad cholesterol up, good cholesterol down. Now, I did not fast the night before, I was not aware that I would have blood drawn that day. I had a few leftover barbeque ribs for breakfast and so my blood was rich in meet and sugar.

However, as that is indicative of my diet in general, a proper blood test may only show marginally better results. I must eat more greens, drink less alcohol, and do the exercise. Fortunate for me, I have alcohol to cut, greens to eat, and a new resolve to do the exercise.

Distance: 3.5 miles
Duration: 33:39
Pace: 9:36
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 73°
Climate: clear & humid
Mood: all right
Weight: 180 lbs. (+0.5)

Nights like this I could run and run and run.

Erie Effusion - LIVE on WRUW

Don't Believe - Psychedlic Furs

Club Zero * - The Go-Go's

Turn To You * - The Go-Go's

Cool Places - Sparks ft. Jane Wiedlin

Blue Kiss - Jane Wiedlin

Like To Get To Know You Well - Howard Jones

I'll Do Anything (Megamix) - Dead Or Alive

Hard Times - Human League

A poet who died in the gutter.

Homework!

School, meaning homework, and also my real employment, and life, I guess, have kept me off the pavement. Had my annual yesterday, the blood work was not great. My diet is not great. You would think it is, but it is not. My cholesterol is not great. I need to do something about that.

Primarily, however, I need to exercise. That is also homework. I said that twenty days ago, but I have not been doing my homework.

Distance: 4 miles
Duration: 38:34
Pace: 9:38
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 64°
Climate: utterly perfect
Mood: concerned
Weight: 179.5 lbs. (-0.5)

Feeling good, though. Weather is cool but bright, and the soundtrack was inspiring. I chose to go the other way around the block to get home, a neat four miles.

I am shocked I have not added pounds in the past few weeks. Incremental change. Keep going. I would be happy to be 170 again.

Teenage Kicks 09/26/2020

Turning Japanese - The Vapors

Planet Rock - Afrika Bambaataa

Europe Endless - Kraftwerk

Carolyn's Fingers - Cocteau Twins

A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (Live) - Bryan Ferry

Warm Leatherette - Grace Jones

Slash Your Tires - Luna

Traffic, traffic, looking for my chapstick.

Here's the thing. I had a lot of work due today. So, I didn't sleep well. I wasn't actually thinking about homework, if I were I probably would have gotten up and done it. But I was awake around three, and never really went back to sleep. My joints ached, just could not relax.

So I have been up and at 'em since five thirty. Even tried to nap around noon, for maybe twenty minutes? Not happening. Got up after five minutes, my brain was just flying.

Now, the work day is over, and it is too late to nap. But I am tired. Maybe a run will get me all juiced up for that final push until bedtime, and then sleep like a rock. What do you think?

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 19:11
Pace: 9:35
Route: Two times around the block.

Temperature: 79°
Climate: overcast & muggy
Mood: all right
Weight: 180 lbs. (+1.0)

Oh God. I am exhausted.

Kamala's Summer Playlist
Journey In Satchidananda - Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders
GRoCERIES - Chance the Rapper, TisaKorean, Murda Beatz
Boo'd Up - Ella Mai ft. Nicki Minaj & Quavo
Talk - Khalid ft. Disclosure
Be Careful - Cardi B

Work the body work work the body.

Not a bad office.

For your information, exercise is also a form of homework. Trying to do my job and my studies have kept me off the pavement, which is not a good thing. The weather is perfect, even if the world is not. Get out in it.

Distance: 4.0 miles
Duration: 37:03
Pace: 9:15
Route: Hocking River Bike Path
Temperature: 80°
Climate: bright & beautiful
Mood: anxious

Spending a holiday weekend in Athens. Mom's boyfriend spent the night last night, a small family gathering and one which was greatly needed. I have not been here since Christmas.

What's That Lyric?

Boom! Shake the Room - Fresh Prince & DJ Jazzy Jeff

Even if I'll keep on running, I'll never get to Orange Street.

Thank you, Mr. Boseman.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 29:36
Pace: 9:33
Route: Forest Hill Run
Temperature: 70°
Climate: overcast & cool
Mood: sad
Weight: 179 lbs. (+1.0)

Teenage Kicks: Record Store Day 2020 (All Vinyl!)
My City Was Gone - The Pretenders
Going Underground - The Jam
Watching the Detectives - Elvis Costello & The Attractions
The Prince - Madness
Stutter - Elastica
Safety Net - Shop Assistants
You're My Favorite Waste of Time - Marshall Crenshaw
What Do All the People Know - The Monroes
She's On It - Beastie Boys
You Be Illin' - Run-D.M.C.

Got to be said, everyone is wrong. In comparison, vinyl sounds like shitty. Muddy and distant.

I'ma keep running 'cause a winner don't quit on themselves.

On her list!

Short run. Get out in it. Yeah.

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 18:06
Pace: 9:03
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 77°
Climate: sunny & humid
Mood: not bad
Weight: 178 lbs. (-1.0)

Brown water. No water this morning. Ugh. Gonna have a can of water now.

Kamala's Summer Playlist
Freedom - Beyonce ft. Kendrick Lamar
Reachin' 2 Much - Anderson .Paak ft. Lalah Hathaway
In the Air Tonight - Phil Collins
Soul on Fire - LaVern Baker

I don’t play when it comes to my heart.

Work. Grad school. Life. Exercise must be included.

Distance: 3.5 miles
Duration: 35:45
Pace: 10:12
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 79°
Climate: sunny. nice.
Mood: not great
Weight: 179 lbs. (-0-)

Currently enjoying two drinks a week. That's down from two drinks a day.

Feeling trembly, though. It was a good run. But I feel run down. It's been a low morning, I need to do something about that.

Kamala's Summer Playlist
Kiss - Prince
Preach - John Legend
Night Drive - Ari Lennox
Girls Like You - Maroon 5 ft. Cardi B
Can I kick It? - Tribe Called Quest
Somebody Who Loves You - Betty Who
NASA - Ariana Grande
Higher - DJ Khaled ft. Nipsey Hustle & John Legend
Cold Sweat - James Brown
Pastime Paradise - Stevie Wonder
Let Me Rock - Marc E. Bassey
Dark Skin Women - GoldLink

We can change the world.

Kill me.

We go days without drinking alcohol. None. It has been several days, including weekends. Friday night, soda water. Saturday morning, the headache. The Saturday morning headache. The day ruining headache.

Usually, when I have this kind of head pain I think it must have had something to do with alcohol, and in that way I can work up a real, Puritanic guilt. I fucked up This is my fault. That is an unhealthy way to think, anyway. But in this case, it's just false.

I spent most of the day in bed dozing. What a waste. At least I was able to read. And the turth is, it kept me from running. I think these joints need a day between runs, one day at least.

The mornings are cooler. It is the golden time for running -- and also sinus headaches.

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 18:15
Pace: 9:07
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 66°
Climate: nice.
Mood: determined
Weight: 179 lbs. (-2.0) Achievement unlocked.

I would have gone to the park this morning ... but I put on the wrong shoes. These things hurt me in Chicago, I should never have run in them.

Kamala's Summer Playlist
Push It - Salt-N-Pepa
Girl - Destiny's Child
What If - India.Arie
Day Dreaming - Aretha Franklin
How Long Do I Have To Wait For You? - Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings

Run it like a girl.

My daughter crushes an eight minute mile. I am not doing so bad, myself.

Yes, a second day run and my thigh hurts. Okay. This is how t goes. I would rest a day... but I do not wish to.

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 18:27
Pace: 9:13
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 79°
Climate: partly cloudy & beautiful
Mood: hopeful?
Weight: 181 lbs. (+1.0)

I congratulated myself with a bag of Doritos yesterday. It's a lesson.

Kamala's Summer Playlist
Work That - Mary J. Blige
Like a Girl - Lizzo
Make It Better - Anderson .Paak ft. Smokey Robinson
Sun Is Shining - Bob Marley & the Wailers 
Before I Let It Go - Beyoncé

All my faith is in the next big thing.

I keep thinking about running, but not actually doing it.

Distance: 3.5 miles
Duration: 33:04
Pace: 9:25
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 72°
Climate: sunny & nice
Mood: all right
Weight: 180 lbs. (-1.0)

So, when I rest for a few days between runs, I have better runs. Faster, little pain after. I go longer, don't feel weary. It's good.

Delving into the past a little. Reminded of this odd band. So early 90s.

Jesus Jones Playlist
Who? Where? Why?
Move Mountains
The Real World
The Devil You Know
IBYT 12 (International Bright Young Thing)
The Next Big Thing
Motion
Trust Me
February

Chilled on Sunday.

Yes, we have been busy. Literally busy. Reading, writing, moving furniture. One of these days, am I right? So, just getting out to take in two miles has dropped off, which is a shame. It's not the weather, not the business. It's just me. It comes, it goes.

We have been laying off the alcohol lately. One or two on a weekend, that's it. And is it making a different, in the muscle department? Can't say. I think so? One thing I realized is that I have ALWAYS, since I was a child, gotten up from nap with my pulse throbbing loudly. That's always been a thing.

But, does it only happen when I lie on my right side? If so, why? 

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 29:26
Pace: 9:29
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 79°
Climate: sunny & bright
Mood: all right
Weight: 181 lbs. (-2.0)

I had one drink last night, a lo-cal shandy kind of thing with, like 4% alcohol, and I woke up with a headache and the tremors in my chest. Seriously? Okay, that's it. I've had it.

What's That Lyric?

7 Days - Craig Davis

Jesus rides beside me.

Pain in my thighs/hips. Mostly right, but then there were flashed of pain in my left yesterday. Going to see what putting a few miles on it during the afternoon does.

Distance: 3.5 miles
Duration: 35:02
Pace: 10:00
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 79°
Climate: sunny & hot
Mood: all right

God, this sucks. I have strength, I have stamina. My breathing is excellent, I can run in heat without getting exhausted.

But the sciatica. Oy! There is this band around my thigh and it hurts.

And yet, we run. Because every other part of it is pleasurable.

What's That Lyric?

Can't Hardly Wait - The Replacements

Hamlet explains running.

(Take it with a pinch of electral 🙂)

To run or not to run, that's the question
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous early mornings,
Or to take arms against a sea of marathons,,
And by opposing end them? To drink: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heel ache and the thousand ITB shocks
That feet is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To drink, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of FMs,what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this hydration belt,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long runs;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of garmin
The organizers wrong, the proud pacers contumely,
The pangs of despised PBs, the GPS delay,
The insolence of Sub 4 and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy dry fits
When he himself might his quietus make
With a cold beer? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary flyover
But that the dread of something after DNF
The undiscover'd ultras from whose events
No runner returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those medals we have
Than fly to other marathons that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make runners of us all;
And thus the native hue of barefoot
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of vibrams
And LSDs of great pace and tempo
With this regard the runners turn awry
And lose the name of action

- Karthik TMK

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 19:32
Pace: 9:45
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 75°
Climate: overcast and muggy
Mood: not well
Weight: 183 lbs. (+1.0)

To run or not to run, indeed. It has been a difficult day, hard to concentrate on my work. I believe it is allergies, I feelt headachy and somewhat stuffed. So why not get out and run?

Lord I feel like I'm, like I'm losing it.

Back on the road. The wife and I are taking a "drying off" period, as far as I am concerned, summer is over. Journeys are complete and it is time to concentrate on work. Work work, school work. And so we will drink less, or not at all. Because quarantine has been excessive, vacation even more so.

This morning I felt a rise in my chest. The low throbbing feeling. I can feel it in my abdomen. Is it high blood pressure? Something else? No idea. I have had success in the past by laying off the mix of sertraline and alcohol, I think. I'm not sure.

But running feels good, so.

Distance: 3 miles
Duration: 30:29
Pace: 10:09
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 79°
Climate: sunny & hot
Mood: all right?
Weight: 182 lbs. (-0-)

I gained no added pounds on vacation!

What's That Lyric?
Don't Wanna Go the Other Way - Cody Chesnutt

Run away.

Our last full day, we must depart tomorrow at nine. am. Traditionally it is at noon, why so early? They clean the cabin from top to bottom, a thorough disinfecting. Indeed, when we arrived I had never found the place so clean. I mean, it's been clean, but there's clean and there's clean.

Check out at nine, next family cannot check in until five. They have taken things seriously here, and so have we. Always distanced, never stepping into anyone else's cabin. Outdoor meetings only.

The weather has been so pleasant, we have done our fishing and reading and reading and reading. The boy caught a four pound bass yesterday in Crystal Pond. He has not yet eaten any of his catches, back into the pond it went. But that was a real big fish.

The work resumes on Monday, if permitted I believe I will return to the office. There is so much we need to do.

Summer reading (hers, not mine.)

Distance: 3.5 miles
Duration: 33:28
Pace: 9:34
Route: Martin Point Run
Temperature: 79°
Climate: sunny & hot!
Mood: good, thanks.

Brisk run, hot and free. Right hip complaining for a bit, now my left knee. But there s nothing for me to complain about, really. A week that began with a deep slide into much controlled mourning (there are no secrets in this house, there are no ceilings upstairs but for the roof, my tears were muffled and silent) has resolved itself into a feeling of relaxation and something akin to relief.

Long drive tomorrow, a short one on Sunday. And that would be my birthday.

I see my reflection as I slowly pass.

The fewer people, the fewer interruptions. The boy sleeps until noon, if I do not wake him to go fishing, as happened yesterday. The wife has her own business, writing, reading, meditating.

I have time to read as much as I like. We are under self-imposed quaratine, we are not (supposed) to visit other cabins, to go into the market (they deliver, which is very nice) let alone venture to other towns. Just as well, Camden, I hear is busy with shoppers, and the sidealks are so narrow. Ridiculous.

The wife gifted me with The Mirror and the Light back in March, and I have been an unresponsible reader with it. It is over 750 pages, a hefty tome. Authors tend to go long when they are trying to tie things up, but I have poor reading habits working days, even in quarantine, taking in a page or two a night before becoming drowsy. I have read perhaps a hundred or more since the week began.

The smell of the cove enfolds me this morning, sitting out on the new porch. There is no odor like it anywhere else in the world, not that I have enountered. Sea and tree and cut wood. I am privileged to be here, and I believe I am only now embracing my gift. Before it was not my choice.

Distance: 3 miles
Duration: 29:07
Pace: 9:42
Route: Martin Point Run
Temperature: 72°
Climate: overcast & breezy
Mood: all right

The Martin Point route is pleasurable, with its many rises and falls. As long as it is not too sunny (today it is not) and the breeze is mild it's downright idylic. See the chart for the elevation -- it is not a perfect mirror because I decided to stop at 3 miles, not for any particular reason except I was satisfied and wanted to walk a little bit.

What's That Lyric?
I WIll Possess Your Heart - Death Cab For Cutie

I'm feeling jake.

Barnstable, c. 1974

More vacation, more time away. We return to the ancestral place of respite. We do not own this cabin it owns us. My great-grandfather actually rented the Defiance on the water, bringing his family here first a hundred and ten odd years ago. that cabin was raised this past year, rising sea levels have caused it to flood at spring tide.

I heard a story once that the old man coveted the Barnstable, and was in conflict with the renter here to finally secure his place on the schedule to have it for the summer. I do not know what this means. Whoever told me that story has passed.

The Barnstable, too, has received a pleasantly signifcant upgrade. The porch is new. No longer sagging forward, and with wide, open stairs now in the middle, rather than off to the side, providing more space to move around and a new, unobstructed view of the cove.

Barnstable, 2020

Distance: 3.5 miles
Duration: 34:28
Pace: 9:50
Route: Martin Point Run
Temperature: 77°
Climate: gorgeous
Mood: all right now

Running at noon, the morning clouds burned away. A bright and sunny run. Kayakers. Dog-walkers, one other runner. All more than six feet away.

We are three in the big house. The first time it has been in my own name. I never thought that would happen. Next year it will be different. We had plans t put mother to rest but no one else wanted to risk the journey, and that is fair. We can wait. There is always time.

What's That Lyric?
Just Got Lucky - Jo Boxers

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 18:09
Pace: 9:05
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 79°
Climate: sunny & warm
Mood: angsty
Weight: 182 lbs. (-1.0)

Home. Sigh.

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 18:02
Pace: 9:00
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 70°
Climate: sunny & humid
Mood: decent
Weight: 183 lbs.

I gained one pound on vacation. That's a big win in my book.

Running around the block is not as much fun as running on the beach, but it is easier.

The hot heat rising.

Great way to close out the week, and absolutely delightful barefoot run, and I gave myself a fat blister on each of my big toes. Seriously, no complaints. Feels like a brief vacation, but all I need right now.

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 19:51
Pace: 9:55
Route: Topsail Island Beach
Temperature: 79°
Climate: sunny and breezy
Mood: good

What's That Lyric?
Send My Love (To Your New Lover) - Adele

This harbor town is waist-deep and sinking fast.

Don't fuck with the sea turtles.

This morning we rose a bit earlier. Just did, no alarm. Over cast and cooler, light rain for part of the run, tide headed out.

Fewer people, more space. Pain in my right thigh, which subsided. Listening to the 155-159 BPM mix which is my early 50s sweet-spot, I suppose.

Stretched it out to four miles, one out then back, and another out then back. That was a run I could relate to.

Distance: 4 miles
Duration: 40:32
Pace: 10:08
Route: Topsail Island Beach
Temperature: 77°
Climate: overcast, light rain
Mood: determined

What's That Lyric?
Hello City - Barenaked Ladies

I'll keep coming back.

The tide is high, so I am going to try something different, I will run in bare feet. That was, I can tay near the surf without being angsty about getting my feet wet.

Distance: 1 mile
Duration: 11:33
Pace: 11:33
Route: Topsail Island Beach
Temperature: 81°
Climate: partly sunny
Mood: all right

Patio Playground, 2020

This isn't working. It's fine, but it's not ideal. It's not supposed to be arduous like this. It's because the tide is high in the morning, and there is a very narrow strip of beach that is appropriate to run on. Also, I have been running too late. Run in the morning, and there are fewer people to avoid.

I could run, and then write. Or I could wake earlier, but I am just not in the mood for that this year.

Go back over this blog by clicking on the "Topsail Beach" label below. See how much younger I am. I've been visiting this beach every year, sometimes every other year, since 2011 (the rest of the family started the year before, but I could not join them.)  See how I have changed. See how the children have changed.

What's That Lyric?
I'll Keep Coming Back - Chanelle

Hey-hey-hello!

Last week the girl and I watched movies pretty much every night. She wanted to get her retro teen flick experience, so we viewed Back To the Future, Ferris Buller's Day Off and Clueless.

Also Sweeney Todd, which was far more gruesome than I remembered, but ah well. She knew what she was getting into. We also watched Hamilton a couple times.

I was surprised to find Party Girl available on Amazon, so we also watched that. Made the same year as Clueless and with less than one percent of that Hollywood film's budget (seriously, Party Girl was made for $150,000) it was a starring vehcle for 90s indie-queen Parkey Posey and though I only saw it once, I bought the soundtrack and that is a much-loved CD.

I wondered if it was available on Spotify (yes, we now have a family subscription to Spotify) and was first surprised to see that it was! And then that it was not -- but what I had found was a fan playlist including all of the songs included in the film, many of which are not available on the CD.

Anyway, that is what I am listening to on my beach runs this week. Imitate a cat puking.

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 22:30
Pace: 11:15
Route: Topsail Island Beach
Temperature: 81°
Climate: dark clouds, spitting rain
Mood: all right

High tide is not the best time to run here, there is only a narrow strip of firm sand to run on, which is sometimes subsumed by surf (I am running in shoes so far) and to avoid all others on the beach, I am sometimes dashing up onto the sandy part. It is like ... well, it is like running in sand.

But it felt good. Two miles under these conditions, with the wind and the sand giving below my feet, is more like three miles. So much more effort. And it's beautiful.

The beach, for those who are interested, is not crowded. When we are on it, we are close to no one. And there is the constant wind. I am unconcerned about transmission in this place.

It's hot in here.

The girl I and drove all day yesterday to join everyone at the beach house. It's a little nuts but as long as we keep to the beach and the house, I think we will be okay. I hope we will be okay.

Yay, hoping against infection.

Distance: 2.5 miles
Duration: 25:21
Pace: 10:08
Route: Topsail Island Beach
Temperature: 82°
Climate: hot & clear
Mood: all right

Running north, into the wind, is harder. Running south, with the wind at your back but not in your face, is hotter. Maybe tomorrow I will get out earlier. But, you know. Maybe not.

What's That Lyric?
Who Wants An Ugly Girl? - Tom Tom Club

Forest Hill on the Fourth of July

Mask: Mary P. Traverse

Fourth of July run with the girl, we took in the park. One or two picnics, someone grilling in spite of that being (I think) not permitted.

Talked about the future. She is so much better prepared to take care of herself than I ever was. Certainly not at her age.

Got the a/c working. We will fire up our own grill in a few.

Distance: 3.7 miles
Duration: 38:18
Pace: 10:26
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 81°
Climate: sunny & hot
Mood: good, you know?
Weight: 182 lbs. (-1.0)

I don't know what I expect to find.

The past few days have been difficult. I had no symtoms of illness, just a general sense of feeling run-down. Listless. Damnright sleepy. I mean, just sleepy-deepy. Since Tuesday morning.

The past two days I just took it easy. No, we didn't wake up at three a.m. to watch Hamilton. We woke up when we woke. Even today I don't feel like doing much, but then I am curious as to whether that is because my wife is out of town.

And it is eighty degrees. Not the best time of day for a run. But I am listless agitated and feel a need to move.

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 18:34
Pace: 9:16
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 82°
Climate: sunny & HOT
Mood: all right
Weight: 183 lbs. (-2.0)

Yes, hot run. Good call. Hot, short run.

What's That Lyric?
The Ghosts of Beverly Drive - Death Cab for Cutie

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 19:32
Pace: 9:46
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 75°
Climate: sunny & warm
Mood: all right
Weight: 184 lbs. (-1.0)

Noble Loop Run

The girl and I took an early evening run around her old elementary school. Heading up one of the sides streets is a steady incline for a quarter mile, then a hill. After that, it was all easy.

I was more sore today than yesterday. This will no doubt continue.

Distance: 2.14 miles
Duration: 21:51
Pace: 10:12
Route: Noble Loop
Temperature: 75°
Climate: HOT
Mood: all right
Weight: 185 lbs. (+1.0)

Running the streets.

Woke sore, of course. Thought it would be best to run than not to. Work those sore muscles. On another day I would have gone to the park but I don't want to injure myself.

My heart hurts.

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 19:20
Pace: 9:40
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 72°
Climate: sunny & bright
Mood: complicated
Weight: 184 lbs. (+1.0)

What's That Lyric?
Rough Boys - Pete Townshend

I will survive.

Conversation with the wife the other day. About my hip. My thigh. The last few runs have aggravated my right leg, it is (I understand) all related to a herniated disc. Sometimes it hurts here, sometimes over there.

She says I need to stretch more, or take some positive action in order to alleviate the irritation and pain. I said the positive action I planto take is to live with it without becoming depressed.

The body is a machine, she says. It can be fixed. The body is a machine, I agree. Machines break down. The stop working properly. This is all right.

This is what I was dealing with last year, training fro the marathon. Long runs, overdoing it. I love running. I would prefer to run pain-free. I think I just need to live with who I am. This is me. This is what I have to work with.

Workout: Cross-Training
Temperature: 70°
Mood: very good
Weight: 183 lbs. (-2.0)

So, the girl and I are on our own for a week. She invited me to join her for a free "cross-fit" workout in the parking lot, and I will never pass up on an invitation like that. But oh, my. Oh, oh my. Six reps of squats, sit-ups, lunges, burpees and 200m runs.

Well. I did them, I just didn't do all of them every time. I can't even do one sit-up. I was trying, it was pathetic. She said, "just do crunches." Do you see what's happening here? She's already starting to take care of me.

Anyway, that was thrilling, and I am going to be in pain all day. I hope we get to do that again!

What's That Lyric?
I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
(Happy PRIDE!)

I want to run and hide right now.

Late night with friends on the deck. Late morning, but a beautiful one. For those who follow this blog (and I am not sure anyone does, and that is all right, too) I have chosen not to spend time composing entries, just logging the run. Especially when it is brief and unremarkable, like a couple laps around the block.

And this is a shame, because this blog has become quite a document of my life, and that of my wife and children. I was able to pinpoint the year when my wife lost her glasses in the ocean because I had written about it here. Details get lost when they are not recorded.

Still. It takes time, and I would rather run than fret having to write about it.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 29:55
Pace: 9:38
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 72°
Climate: sunny & warm
Mood: good
Weight: 185 lbs. (-0-)

Glorious day.

What's That Lyric?
Ship of Fools - World Party

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 18:03
Pace: 9:01
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 64°
Climate: partly cloudy & nice
Mood: all right
Weight: 185 lbs. (+1.0)

Pain in my right hip, ran down my thigh. Repetition? Need a rest? Or keep going?

What do you think?

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 18:41
Pace: 9:20
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 70°
Climate: overcast & humid
Mood: all right
Weight: 184 lbs. (+1.0)

Run fast for your mother. Run fast for your father.

It is a nice thing, to have your family pay special attention to you on a certain day of the year. I mean, I am blessed with a wife and children who pay special attention to me every day of the year, but on Father's Day I get breakfast and gifts, too.

For the past several years my mother has remembered me on Father's Day, abent my own father. This year I am missing that. I should be thinking of him, but I am thinking more of her.

Visited the house yesterday, walked through its many rooms, and sobbed uncontrollably. I cried this morning, too.

Just feeling sad today. Maybe it will pcik up as we go.

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 18:30
Pace: 9:15
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 75°
Climate: not a cloud in the sky
Mood: mourning
Weight: 183 lbs. (-1.0)

Lost ten pounds. I'll gain it all back today.

What's That Lyric?
Dog Days Are Over - Florence + The Machine

You'd watch my heart burst. Then you'd step in.

It's still there, below the surface. The trembling. And it's not the allergy medication, because I stopped taking that weeks ago.

It may, indeed, be the alcohol, because the drinking has returned. Because I'm bored. Because I am unsure. Because I like to drink.

I also like to run.

Distance: 5 miles, door-to-door.
Duration: 49:52
Pace: 9:57
Route: Forest Hill to Boulevard Loop
Temperature: 73°
Climate: sunny & HOT!
Mood: all right
Weight: 184 lbs. (-1.0)

Easy run. Feeling good. Five miles! Not my plan, but hey. It's Saturday!

Teenage Kicks 06/20/2020
God Save the Queen * - Sex Pistols
I Need to Know * - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Rat Trap - Boomtown Rats
Rio  - Duran Duran
The Look of Love - ABC
Vacation* - The Go-Go's
California Uber Alles * - Dead Kennedys
Sally McLennane - The Pogues
Birthday - The Sugarcubes
Come Undone - Duran Duran
Ladytron * - Roxy Music
X Offender - Blondie
My Brave Face - Paul McCartney

Bite your teeth into the ass of life.

Thank you, Mr. Holm.

Ian Holm was 48 years old when he played Sam Mussabini in the film Chariots of Fire, younger than I am today. Check out the old age make-up in that picture, which I had never noticed before.

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 18:49
Pace: 9:25
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 70°
Climate: sunny, bright
Mood: all right
Weight: 185 lbs. (-1.0)

Started a bit slowly, picked up as I went along. Running makes me feel good.

What's That Quote?
Ian Holm as Pascal, Big Night (996)

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 18:02
Pace: 9:00
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 70°
Climate: bright, sunny & hot
Mood: thirsty
Weight: 186 lbs. (-0-)

Amongst the walking wounded.

We're drinking again. This obsession with diet, I keep sipping sugar instead of eating food. But then I'm also eating food. But I was writing a lot yesterday, and alcohol was a companion. It could as easily be seltzer. So seltzer it will be.

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 17:38
Pace: 8:49
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 64°
Climate: clear & cool
Mood: wound up
Weight: 186 lbs. (-1.0)

These short daily runs, the two-milers, they keep me moving. A commitment. Some summers I am unable to run, in pain, or injured. I want to take advantage of good weather as long as is possible. And no more marathons!

What's That Lyric?
Walking Wounded (Dave Wallace Remix) - Everything But the Girl

Later, the girl asked if I wanted to take a six mile run. Mid-day, warm run. These distances you really need to have water, but we neither brought any nor passed any fountain. Then again, I think all public fountains have been shut off for the duration.

We both thought five miles was a totally fine distance, and walked the rest of the way. We got to talk a lot. These are the good things.

Distance: 5 mile run/1 mile walk
Route: Noble-Cumberland-Forest Hills Loop
Temperature: 73°
Climate: sunny & hot
Mood: good

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 29:12
Pace: 9:25
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 59°
Climate: overcast & cool
Mood: agitated
Weight: 187 lbs. (+1.0)

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 18:11
Pace: 9:04
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 63°
Climate: perfect
Mood: all right
Weight: 186 lbs. (+2.0)

Watch the humans trying to run.

A crisp Saturday morning. Last night we were all emerging into the world of art and culture. A jazz performance on a doorstep in my neighborhood, the girl took her boyfriend to a drive-in movie (a drive-in movie!)

We strive for normalcy. I will strive to the park.

Distance: 3.65 miles
Duration: 34:19
Pace: 9:24
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 59°
Climate: bright & sunny
Mood: determined
Weight: 184 lbs. (-1.0)

Okay. I am again a runner.

Teenage Kicks 06/13/2020
Fascination Street - The Cure
Personal Jesus - Depeche Mode
These Are Days - 10,000 Maniacs
Real Situation - Bob Marley & The Wailers
Kick * - INXS
Down In The Park * - Gary Numan
Justice Tonight / Kick It Over * - The Clash

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 18:12
Pace: 9:06
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 63°
Climate: bright, sunny, perfect
Mood: all right
Weight: 185 lbs. Achievement Unlocked

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 19:03
Pace: 9:30
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 63°
Climate: very nice
Mood: angsty
Weight: 186 lbs. (-0-)

We're feeling so good just the way that we do.

This is the very best song to run to.

When I started this blog, my daughter was not yet three. She is now seventeen, and working as a hostess at a local restaurant. (Yes, she gets to wear a stylish, branded mask at the hostess stand.)

Just something I thought of.

In spite of everything else going on, I am in a good physical place. I run, daily. The two miles run keep my engine running, and when I am motivated, I will go to the park. Today was one such day.

It's hot, it will be a very hot day. But I set out at one tempo, and was unsatisfied with it. I boosted it to 160-164 and even that seemed like taking it easy. I mean, it was brisk, but it was not taxing. I did not walk, which is always a great sign.

Distance: 3.65 miles
Duration: 35:24
Pace: 9:41
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 77°
Climate: overcast at first, then the clouds broke
Mood: not bad, you know?
Weight: 186 lbs. (-2.0)

What's That Lyric?
Nine In the Afternoon - Panic! at the Disco

Bless you, all of you pretty girls.

How fast to run, and how far? That is the question which has made me sit and add to playlists for the last twenty minutes. And I still don't have an answer.

Got new earphones because the earlier ones fragged, surprisingly early. I like these better for a number of reasons (same company, different model) except they don't stay in my ears. I swapped out the ear molds from the previous model and will try those today. Should do the trick.

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 17:13
Pace: 8:36
Route: Two times around the block

Oh my. Chose the 165-169 bpm mix today, and after a couple hundred yards I regretted it. But then, I am always defeated and exhausted by the first turn. So I kept going. After a mile and a half, I was fine. Better than fine. I'll take it easier tomorrow, but maybe I can run that fast all the way to the park and back. Once. Maybe.

I used to run that fast all the time. Who knows? Maybe I will again.

Temperature: 68°
Climate: sun rising, birds singing.
Mood: good?
Weight: 188 lbs. (-0-)

Wrote a piece that made me happy today. And I was thinking of giving up this short play project just before I wrote it. Keep going.

What's That Lyric?
All You Pretty Girls - XTC

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 18:21
Pace: 9:11
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 57°
Climate: lovely
Mood: excited (for camp)
Weight: 188 lbs. (+2.0)