Moves? I make them.

The vast majority of Zombies, Run fan art features a female presenting Runner 5. I am entirely okay with this.

Eavesdropping 0118

Distance: 3.2 miles
Duration: 29:21
Pace: 9:02

No, I can't seem to run every other day. This won't always be the case, but I have been busy, busy, busy.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 76°
Climate: clear & warm
Mood: angsty

I seem to be gaining weight. Either that, or I have been standing on the scale wrong and if that's the case, I just need to be wiser with my diet.

I didn't think it was an out-of-control weekend. In fact, I skipped lunch on Saturday, without even intending to. As we head into sugar season, I must be mindful.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 164 lbs.

My right knee had been in pain for over a week, even waking me up at night, but that has subsided.

Now my left knee hurts. What the actual.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

Upbeat Mix

360 - Charlie XCX

Now That We Found Love - Heavy D & the Boyz

Block Rockin' Beats - Chemical Bros.

DARE - Gorillaz ft. Shaun Ryder & Roses Gabor

One Girl/One Boy - !!!

Whip It - Devo

Alright - Janet Jackson

The lengths that I will go to.

*attacked*

Okay. Yesterday, I came home from work and worked. I got up this morning (see below) and continued that work. Then I went to work. It's Saturday.

I was going to go out of town for a day and a half, but I'm no longer doing that. I'm owed a couple days off, but the timing is all wrong. Because I have to work.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 27:55
Pace: 9:00

My right knee has been giving me some serious shit. It's even been keeping me up in the middle of the night. A lot of ibuprofen. I have been waking at 4:00 AM the last couple of days just to take more pain reliever.

Maybe I should take a break from running, but

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 75°
Climate: clear & warm
Mood: all right

Rock Mix

Take Another - Filter

Losing My Religion -R.E.M.

Jumping Jack Flash - Rolling Stones

Hungry For You - The Police

Let the Day Begin - The Call

American Music - Violent Femmes

Terrible Lie - Nine Inch Nails

Come As You Are - Nirvana

Gen X, right?

Stretches: yes 
Water: yes
Weight: 165 lbs.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: TBA

People of the world unite.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 27:40
Pace: 8:54

Pop Playlist

Rhythm Nation - Janet Jackson
Hella Good - No Doubt
I Feel Love - Sam Smith
Who Do You Think You Are - Spice Girls
This Love - Maroon 5
Good Luck, Babe! - Chappell Roan
The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?) - Ylvis
Espresso - Sabrina Carpenter

It's been a week. Great run.

Route: Forest Hill Loop 
Temperature: 69°
Climate: clear & lovely
Mood: good

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 160 lbs.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

Gotta strut like a front suspension.

The beginning of a long week. Rising at five am isn't the problem, going to sleep at nine pm is. 

Last night, Brian took me to see Emo Philips, who was hilarious. I tried describing him to one of my Gen Z colleagues and it wasn't easy. Gaunt, bug-eyed, non-sequitur humor with a Prince Valiant haircut ... and now he's old! 

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 28:26
Pace: 9:10

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 69°
Climate: misty and damp
Mood: good

160 - 169 BPM Playlist

Little Girl Gone (Workout Remix) - Chinchilla

It's Indian Tobacco My Friend - Cornershop

Greatest - Eminem

Take It Or Leave It - The Strokes

Good Thing - Fine Young Cannibals

Young Americans - David Bowie

I Wanna Be Sedated - The Ramones

Concrete Jungle - The Specials

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 160 lbs.

Got a stitch while running through the wood. That's not normal but it's the second time that has happened to me in the past week. I'm so used to never getting cramps, but at least I can run through them.

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: yes

Me? I flew.

I used to be like, no zombies. The very idea of zombies freaked me out. 

Vampires are people who attack people, drinking their blood is weird but it's not horrifying, no more than just being attacked and murdered. And you can talk to a vampire like a person. They are practically human.

Ghosts are freaky, I guess, because they mess with your head, what you see, what you hear. And the idea of a ghost, a spirit that lives after the death of the body, that's something I think about, it's interesting.

A zombie is the opposite of a ghost, right? All body, no spirit. No identity, no sense. Just a rotting corpse wandering around with no purpose, just the memory of being and a deep, unending hunger. Not crazy about that. Don't really want to think about it.

Except, now, for the metaphor. That society has broken down, due to a virus, a plague, God forbid, fungus. Our kid has us all watching The Last of Us together. It's not really about "the infected" is it? It's about the last of us, and we have been infected with something else.

There is no utopian future. All the good things science fiction promised us will never happen. It is all about disintegration, and what we do to each other as it happens.

So, anyway, that's why the Zombies, Run app. I'm into zombies now, because I think I am one. 

Information Exchange 0117

Distance: 3.25 miles
Duration: 28:46
Pace: 8:51

Missed a day, could not be helped. Next week, we need to be out of the house by 6:00 AM. Can I get fifteen runs in September?

Fall '25 Workout

Thunderstruck - AC/DC

Tesla - Mau P

Is Everybody Having Fun? - John Summit ft. Gorgon City & rhys from the sticks

Tambourine - The Dare

Stop Playing With Me - Tyler, The Creator

dashstar* - VIP - Knock2

Notorious - Malaa

Bangarang - Skrillex ft. Sirah

So Pretty - Reyanna Maria

Kyoto - Skrillex ft. Sirah

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 73°
Climate: sunny & warm
Mood: all right

Stretches: yes -- not enough, though 
Water: yes
Weight: 160 lbs.

I have been this weight, more or less, since February. I often gain weight during the September rehearsal period. Consistency. Mindfulness. I'm never hungry. Often, I am bored. 

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: TBA

Update (later that same day): For the first time, one of my posts has been flagged for sensitive content warning: "This post was put behind a warning for readers because it contains sensitive content as outlined in Blogger’s Community Guidelines." I have not edited the original post. Can you figure out what the content advisory regards? Because I am flummoxed.

Update 9/21/2025: No longer flagged, no explanation. Weird.

Rolling in Andromeda.

More B-52's! More songs about space age fantasy and hot bods at the beach!

Distance: 4 miles
Duration: 36:55
Pace: 9:13

The B-52's - The B-52's (1979)

Planet Claire

52 Girls

Dance This Mess Around

Rock Lobster

Lava

There's a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon) *

Hero Workshop

6060-842 *

Downtown

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 72°
Climate: clear & warm
Mood: all right

Bit of a surprise, my cholesterol is not high, it is merely elevated and not only that it is borderline elevated. The doctor does not suggest medication, but improved diet and to continue exercising. That last is easy, the former is more challenging. But not impossible.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 161 lbs.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

Sweat. Work it.

Blood draw this morning. If my cholesterol remains elevated, I may begin medication. I have tried to eat better -- and I certainly have -- but it may simply be a matter of genetics.

Scouting Mission 0116

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 28:57
Pace: 9:20

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 58°
Climate: clear & cool
Mood: anxious

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 161 lbs. (-0-)

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: TBA

Fall '25 Workout

Work It (Soulwax Remix) - Marie Davidson

Little Girl Gone (160 BPM) - Chinchilla

Don't Touch That Dial (Make a Dance Remix) - Django Django ft. Yuuko Sings

Wild for the Night - A$AP Rocky ft. Skrillex & Birdy Nam Nam

Dis Badman - Sammy Virji ft. Champion & IRAH

Girls - The Dare

The New Workout Plan - Kanye West

Shining in the Dark - Parallelle ft. Fulltone & Barbara Lau

Follow your bliss.

We were Seniors once, and young. Last fall we visited Good Stuff, the mediocre follow-up to the career reviving album Cosmic Thing by The B-52's. Not every band gets such a powerful second act, and one that was arguably, thanks to the corporate awareness of college music.

When I hear the song "Deadbeat Club" I was always remember my best friend, singing along with this big, beatific smile on his face. He loved singing to the girls' parts.

Distance: 4 miles
Duration: 37:38
Pace: 9:24

Cosmic Thing - The B-52's (1989)

Cosmic Thing

Dry County

Deadbeat Club

Love Shack

Junebug

Channel Z

Topaz

Follow Your Bliss

Never crazy about the song "Roam." I know it was a big hit, it kind of gets on my nerves. I think it's because it sounds like a very ordinary pop song, the least B-52's thing they ever recorded.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 56°
Climate: ideal
Mood: all right

The band composed some amazing instrumentals. The album closer is so atmospheric, evocative, makes me feel youthful. Were we ever so youthful?

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 161 lbs.

God bless Nile Rodgers.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

Bright every day I wake up.

Run group steps up after attack on woman at Rocky River Reservation (News 5 Cleveland)
By Nadeen Abusada, 9/9/2025

A young woman has come forward with her story, last weekend she was attacked while training for her first marathon. She was seventeen miles into a twenty mile run when she was assaulted.

Here are some basic rules about running with safety:

• Go with a friend or group
• Run during daylight hours and in popular areas
• Share your live location

I run in daylight hours for my own safety, and our park is fairly well traveled. And my live location is always available to my family. However, running with a friend or a group, while ensuring much better safety, is unfortunately much more necessary for women than for men.

And I hate that. Women should be free to run, and to run alone, anywhere, at any time.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 29:00
Pace: 9:20

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 56°
Climate: clear & cool
Mood: anxious

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 160 lbs.

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: TBA

Old School Playlist

Freedom of Speak (We Got Three Minutes) - De La Soul

Funky Cold Medina - Tone-Loc

Mama Gave Birth to the Soul Children - Queen Latifah ft. De La Soul

Open Up Your Door - from "Standing at the Sky's Edge"

Aaron Burr, Sir - from "Hamilton"

Kiss You Back - Digital Underground

En Focus - De La Soul ft. Shortie No Mass & Dres

Hey Ladies - Beastie Boys

Run for cover, motherfucker.

It's spooky season! It's been three years since I started this journey, and I'm only fifteen episodes in (and there's a question as to how long this app will remain available) but though I enjoy them, I only like them when the leaves are changing and the world looks a little more like it's dying.

Virtuous Circle 0115

Distance: 3.2 miles
Duration: 29:29
Pace: 9:13

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 50°
Climate: clear & cool
Mood: good

Trying strangers' playlists now, the algorithm offers me what it knows I like -- songs that are already on my playlists. Not other tracks by the same artist, the exact same songs. Some new playlists are really cool ... like this one!

Fall '25 Workout

Don't Stop - Prospa

Baddadan - Chase & Status ft. IRAH, Flowdan, Trigga & Takura

Krack - Soulwax

CVNT - Sophie Hunter

Victory Lap Five  - Fred Again et al

Obsessed - Sophie Powers ft. Ashley Sienna

Backbone - Chase & Status ft. Stormzy

Mannequin Love (The Dare Remix) - Justice ft. The Dare & The Flints

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 160 lbs.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

With one foot in the past.

"Bardo Pieta"
Joost Witte

Slept until nearly 10 am on Saturday, a surprising development. It was an exhausting week, I guess. I had not taken any manner of sleep aid on Friday evening (one beer at the movie theater, just one, even though the event was three hours long) but the deal with my car Thursday evening was surprisingly depleting and I had gotten up early to run Friday morning. It was a great day, altogether, and yet I slept something like eleven hours.

I have activated a Libby account, in a quest to expand my audio consumption. I have been listening to an awful lot of enjoyable but, in the long run, meaningless podcasts, for years. And as I thought of what to download first, I was reminded that I have often thought of the book Lincoln in the Bardo, like, I think of it a lot. I was even thinking of rereading it, it's been a long time since I have read something a second time.

To my surprise and delight, the audiobook is read by over one hundred different voices (Nick Offerman and David Sedaris being the main two voices, which is in itself uniquely fantastic) putting me in mind of one of my very favorite stories from This American Life, "The Unknown Soldier" by Lucy Sante.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 28:54
Pace: 9:19

Back to School Playlist

Adult Education - Hall & Oates

I Don't Understand Anything - Everything But the Girl

True - Spandau Ballet

Happiness In Slavery - Nin Inch Nails

Head Over Heels - Tears For Fears

Take On Me - a-ha

Making a playlist of songs that remind me of fall, that were released in the fall, were popular in the fall, have a fall vibe. At the moment, it's not moody enough. Suggestions?

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 66°
Climate: sunny & gorgeous
Mood: good!

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 160 lbs.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

You have your orders. Now go, man. Go.

FYI, I will not be running to Synchronicity. I don't love the songs the way I love the songs on all the other albums. And most of the tracks are not good for exercise.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 28:45
Pace: 9:16

“… illness narratives are often not just a strategy for conceptualizing the pain of others, but also a way of reassuring ourselves that we’ll never feel that pain.”
     - John Green, “Everything Is Tuberculosis” (2025)

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 53°
Climate: dawn, cool
Mood: all right

President renames the Defense Department the Department of War. What a toddler.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 160 lbs.

Last night, a coworker (former coworker) had married a woman who was half woman, half-fly. Not like in the movie, but that didn't make it any less unsettling. The four of us were supposed to be sharing a bed and I hadn't seen what she looked like, but I could feel her insect legs on my back and I just left.

She made a point of confronting me over my bigotry. When I was finally able to look at her she appeared mostly human, a little shorter than most, and her arms were longer than most people's. She insisted on shaking my hand, which were like hands, but clothed in mitts. Little, half-moon shaped wings emerged from the mitts.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: TBA

hamilton workout

Non-Stop

Waving Through a Window from "Dear Evan Hansen"

Copycat - Billie Eilish

The Schuyler Sisters

Guns & Ships

Into the Unknown from "Frozen II"

The Hamilton Polka - "Weird Al" Yankovic

Yorktown (The World Turned Upside-Down)

And so. Waking up at 5:30 to take an early run, and then realizing the sun will not be up at six. The world turns. We'll be hitting the gym soon. But not today.

Later, we're going to the movie theater to see Hamilton.

I'm not alone in reaching for a perfect life.

Tested negative yesterday. How long was I contagious? Anyway, running Sunday was a risk, I guess. Big sweat, exhausting, also restorative. I feel mostly good.

Just in time for residency rehearsals. Well done.

Distance: 4 miles 
Duration: 36:37
Pace: 9:06

Ghost In the Machine - The Police (1981)
Spirits In the Material World

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (164 BPM)

Hungry For You

Demolition Man (154 BPM)

Too Much Information

Re-Humanize Yourself

One World (Not Three) (168 BPM)

Omegaman

Secret Journey

Darkness

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 77°
Climate: clear & lovely
Mood: good

Without question, this is the very best album by The Police. Okay, really, I have no idea what's their best. However, I can say that this one has no skips, which is rare for any album for running.

Well, almost. I skipped "Invisible Sun." It is a bit downbeat, emotionally.

A friend who sat in front of me in history class wrote the words "spiritus mundi" on my brown paper book cover a day or so before he shot himself. This was in late 1984. I do not know where he learned that phrase, I knew it from the opening track of Synchronicity. 

I was brought before the guidance counselor, to ask if he had given any sign, any indication. I thought they were blaming me, they fucked that up, big time. I did not tell them about his message. It wouldn't have done them any good, anyone any good, but it scarred me.

I also used the opening track of this album for an English paper my senior year, as I compared lyrics to the plot of A Midsummer Night's Dream. I got an A.

My wife translated the lyrics from "Hungry For You (j'aurais toujours faim de toi)" for her French class. They are pretty hot.

No sleep to night

I want you

Until I’m thirsty

But our bodies are all wet

Completely covered in sweat

We clean ourselves in the tide

I have no desire

You have broken my heart

And me, I’ve drank your blood

But we can do what we want

I’ll always be hungry for you

And so on. She also put the song on her first mixtape to me, this is why we are still together. I think she also got an A, but I gave her the big D.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 160 lbs.

I drove to Florida on my own in Spring 1989, to see both of my grandfathers, and my ex-lover. One of my grandfathers was dying, visiting him was very challenging. So was seeing the young woman, it was the end of the road for us. "Secret Journey" was on a mixtape I had made for the drive, for myself. 

You will see light in the darkness

You will make some sense of this

When you've made your secret journey

You will find this love you miss

I wish I still had that tape.

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: TBA

It's not my favorite Police album, it's not. But it may be their very best.

Time to get real.

Right here, right now.

Alas, no more runs in August than in July. This time, due to illness.

COVID-19, bout two.

Tuesday (August 26): Thought I had allergies: tickle in the the throat, watery eyes

Wednesday: Following a horrid night's sleep (woke dozens of times) tested positive. Headache all day, pain across the eyes, cough, woozy, slept on and off all day, watched a lot of TV.

Thursday: Night sweats but an excellent night's sleep. Woke once or twice, sore throat, no head pain. Bit dizzy. Slight cough. And sputum, which is always rewarding.

Friday: Difficult night, coughs and pained throat. Active during the day, working remotely, taking calls. Sore throat much preferable to head or body aches, feeling grateful. 

Saturday: Still testing positive. Good night's sleep. Haven't had a fever since Wednesday. Minor sore throat, little cough. 

Sunday: Spouse in the throes, kept me awake most of the night. Otherwise, mildly stuffed up, high feeling in my chest.

Monday: Ears stuffed, throwing off my equilibrium. high feeling in chest.

The question is, should I run? Rehearsals resume tomorrow. Will exercise wipe me out ... or help clear my system? I have been resting for nearly a week and it's driving me to distraction. And it is specifically because my head is stuffed that I want to run, to clear my head.

I hope I do not regret this.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 30:39
Pace: 9:53

Dance/Electronic Mix

Block Rockin' Beats - The Chemical Brothers

Around the World - Daft Punk

Don't You Want Me (Purple Disco Machine Remix) - Human League

Star Guitar - The Chemical Brothers

Poor Leno - Röyksopp

Pacific 202 - 808 State

Right Here, Right Now - Pete Tong w/The Heritage Orchestra

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 77°
Climate: sunny & warm
Mood: woozy

Ringing in my ears, slight pain in the head now. Dehydrated. Lungs feel better. Will shower and rest, see where the day takes me.

Ha ha, no, that's not ringing in my ears. That's what it sounds like outdoors! Those are insects! 

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 160 lbs.