Radio Disney Top 13 of 2011 2012 (It Ain't the End) - Jay Sean feat. Nicki Minaj Breakthrough - Lemonade Mouth Drunk Girls (Holy Ghost! Remix) - LCD Soundsystem Tightrope (168 bpm) - Janelle Monáe ft. Big Boi Like Em All - Jacob Latimore ft. Diggy Simmons Derezzed - Daft Punk Dynamite - Taio Cruz Firework - Katy Perry Too Dramatic (166 bpm) - Ra Ra Riot Like a G6 - Far East Movement Make Some Noise - Beastie Boys Shake It Up - Selena Gomez & The Scene Blue Tip - The Cars
The last several nights have been a breeze, running 3 miles or so, feeling like I could farther but choosing not to. Tonight my knees hurt. Now that I am resting, my ankles and feet hurt. I've been on my feet all day for a change, at drama camp, that might have something to do with it.
It should not have taken so long to complete 44 playlists for 44 years. The last time it took this long (longer, actually) it was because I had a torn meniscus. And back then I started in February, not January.
Three runs in March? I know the weather was bizarre, that's no excuse.
One run more to close it out. Music from this year. Expect a lot of stuff from Radio Disney, because that's the only station I get to listen to.
1971 Playlist Life On Mars? - David Bowie What's Going On - Marvin Gaye Roundabout - Yes Bitch - The Rolling Stones Tokoloshe Man - John Kongos Joy To The World - Three Dog Night I Feel The Earth Move - Carole King
Perfect late spring day. Fantastic. Cool, bright, awesome utterly.
This has been a tremendous weekend, marked by what was achieved and also by what wasn't. I wish we could have been two or three places at once. Our family is a well-functioning collective, and negotiations are pretty easy.
Tomorrow summer theater camp begins. I have been commissioned to write three plays at once. Yes, three. And there are books to read and trips to the pool and driving vacations.
Today, and tomorrow, life is good.
1981 Playlist My Girl (Gone, Gone, Gone) - Chilliwack Super Freak - Rick James Bad Reputation - Joan Jett Behind The Lines - Phil Collins Hungry For You (J'aurais Toujours Faim De Toi) - The Police Freeze Frame - J. Geils Band Hold On Tight - ELO Sat In Your Lap - Kate Bush
Distance: 3.25 miles
Temperature: 61º
Weather: bright, cool n' humid
Weight: 169 lbs.
Ladies and gentlemen ... Master Robert Jeffrey, age 9.
1991 Playlist Too Much Passion - The Smithereens The Other Side Of Summer - Elvis Costello Why Should I Cry For You? - Sting Crazy - Seal Enter Sandman - Metallica Unbelievable (Boot Lane Mix) - EMF
Lawsy. In spite of any distress the past several runs have caused, I must say I have gotten used to running five miles. Three-point-two-five seems all too brief. Still it was well after 10.30 pm when I took off, and who knows, maybe I will have the opportunity to run tomorrow night.
Ten years ago the wife and I boarded a plane for a two-week visit to London. And I stopped smoking forever.
2001 Playlist One More Time - Daft Punk Can't Get You Out Of My Head - Kylie Minogue By Your Side (Ben Watt Remix) - Sade August Day Song (King Britt Mix) - Bebel Gilberto Start the Commotion - Wiseguys Hindi Sad Diamonds - Nicole Kidman, John Leguizamo & Alka Yagnik
That summer I was in my second fourth childhood. Being around young people can do that, spending time with the company members of my wife's play which was gearing up for a trip to New York. It's not just them, however, it's the music. We're doing some bulk mailing thing and Dan is playing that Daft Punk album (which my wife cannot stand) and I get a copy and suddenly, for some reason, I am spending long hours playing illegally downloaded 8-bit video games from my adolescence and wishing I could do Ecstasy.
Distance: 3.25 miles Temperature: 82º Weather: humid ... but dark. Weight: 171.5 lbs.
Got into a fender bender today, kid hit me from behind. I think my neck is all right. The run warmed it up, I have taken a handful of naproxen. Must run after dark, can't stand the heat and sun together.
I swear it was only 81º when I took off. I still would have gone running, on this hot and sunny day, as insane as that may be. The wife is in Tuscon this weekend, and right now the kids are at friends' houses. This is my time. So I run. WARNING: Groin talk.
The other day -- National Running Day -- I really pushed it out. Today was wearying (check that pace, I had to stop twice to walk a block-length) but Thursday I was making myself miserable. And that night my right hip ached the way it hadn't since I was in training, five years ago. That night, while defecating (warned you) my varicose vein started flaring up. It hasn't done that in years.
The wife says I need to lose weight. And she's right.
1972 Playlist Crocodile Rock (149 bpm) - Elton John Superstition - Stevie Wonder I'm So Free (159 bpm) - Lou Reed Rock On - T. Rex Do It Again - Steely Dan Pablo Picasso - The Modern Lovers Blockbuster - Sweet Rocks Off - The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Part 2 - Gary Glitter Hi Hi Hi - Paul McCartney & Wings Jimmy Loves Mary Ann - Looking Glass Suffragette City - David Bowie
My Lord, that was HORRIBLE. No one to blame but myself, I can handle heat. I can handle humidity. What I cannot handle is two servings of pesto pasta inside my fat belly before all the heat, humidity and direct sunlight.
For the first three miles, it was just like carrying a baby in my belly. Okay, I know, not just like that. But you know. Like that.
My head began to swell. I desperately wanted something to drink, in spite of having had two glasses of water before heading out. But there is nothing on this five mile route for me. No water fountains, nothing.
Then ... the burps. I need not continue.
AND YET. The final mile, THOUGH it was into the sun, THOUGH it includes the ups and downs of a half-dozen curbs and final, mild incline, finally, at long last, I hit it.
It took five miles. But it was worth it. Thank you, National Running Day.
Now I must vomit and shower.
1982 Playlist Desperate But Not Serious - Adam Ant Let's Pretend We're Married - Prince Situation - Yazoo The Chauffeur - Duran Duran Beat It - Michael Jackson Hungry Like The Wolf (Night Version) - Duran Duran It's Nearly Africa - XTC The Hanging Garden - The Cure
DUDE: You know how birds make that "V" formation then they fly? You know why one side of the "V" is always longer?
ANOTHER DUDE: No, why is one side longer?
DUDE: There's more birds on that side.
I love that joke. Thank you, Chris Bohan.
Running by the Hocking, however, I saw something I'd never seen before. One flock of birds (not sure what they were) flew up from one band, as another flew up from the far bank. Each was in a single, opposing, diagonal line. The two lines came together gracefully over the river - creating a "V".
Here's a reminder for runners who sit by the pool or wear the flip-flops. Put sunscreen on your feet. Because they can burn. Yes they can.
Every now and then I get numbness or tingling in my fingers when I run. Not all the time. Today, for example, and a week or so ago. Answers? Anybody?
Bumper sticker of the weekend:
When evolution is outlawed, only outlaws will evolve.
Thank you, Athens. Time to head home.
Distance: 4.25 miles
Temperature: 69°F
1992 Playlist House of Love - East 17 Girlfriend - Matthew Sweet Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover - Sophie B. Hawkins Nearly Lost You - Screaming Trees Steam - Peter Gabriel Rump Shaker - Wreckx-N-Effect Springtheme - Ween Free Your Mind - En Vogue
The aroma of pre-treated raw sewage always takes me back to my pre-adolescent romantic yearnings.
Distance: 4.25 miles
Temperature: 76°
The morning is for families and disgruntled golfers. Packs of families on bicycles, baby-wagons in tow, maybe mom is pedaling with dad on a pair on in-line skates. Everyone wearing wide-brimmed floppy hats and reeking of sunscreen. Meanwhile, dudes by the river, trying to get a putt in wait, survey, wiggle their hips, look up, get this pissy look on their face and wait a little longer.
2002 Playlist Spectral Mornings - Cornershop Cry Me a River - Justin Timerblake Heavy Metal Drummer - Wilco Bring Me To Life - Evanescence The Man Comes Around - Johnny Cash Let's Go Again - Telepopmusik Ug (178 bpm) - Mr. Scruff
Hot. Sweaty. Sunshower, mmmm. Dr. Bronner's. Sundried. We're all going to the pool!
Exhausted. Eye-strain. Slightly nauseous. Dehydrated? Big glass of water. Banana. Feeling bloated. Two days of troubling digestion. Beautiful in Athens. Time for a run.
Distance: 4.25 miles Temperature: 79°
Late afternoon run by South Green. Undergrad couple having a picnic by the Hocking. I've been there, I've done that. I look at the parking dock behind Wray House, and the one next to it, can't remember its name. Twenty years ago this weekend I flew home from Los Angeles to go with my girlfriend to a three-day pagan festival in Indiana. Seriously. Two decades.
Awesome run. Every symptom I reported at the beginning of this post? Forget about them. I feel spirited.
Time to eat grilled burgers and swill iced mojitos.
1973 Playlist Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting - Elton John Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five - Paul McCartney & Wings Living For The City - Stevie Wonder Free Ride - The Edgar Winter Group Stuck In The Middle With You - Stealers Wheel Higher Ground - Stevie Wonder Blockbuster - Sweet Heartbeat (It's a Lovebeat) - The DeFranco Family Keep Yourself Alive - Queen
Running from dusk until dark, the temperature is high but the breeze is cool. Deceptive. Muscles relax, warm, I fly down the street. I am not even trying.
I have not run for ten days. It never lets up. Grants to complete, birthday parties to throw, houses to clean and laundry to do, classic novels to adapt (no time to read) meetings to attend, notes to take ... I am not missing anything, but I am hitting everything. So much to do. But as long as the rain holds and the air is good.
My head is clear. The seasons have changed. My head does not hurt, my sinuses are free. Remember this feeling. Be glad. You can breathe, and think.
My basement is seeping. The garage is falling over. When I am dead these things will not matter. My girl stayed up past 10 PM to finish her science project. She is so dedicated to her work, whatever it is.
The boy and I played baby pat-a-cake games from a book ... I have seen this book on the shelf for years but never opened it, not this one. He said the book is really for little kids, but he didn't care. He's going to be big so soon.
Let the basement crumble. Let the garage collapse. This day will never come again.
1983 Playlist Don't Let Go - Wang Chung Leilani - Hoodoo Gurus Young Guns (Go For It!) - Wham! I Love You - Yello Kiss Off (177 bpm) - Violent Femmes Just Got Lucky - JoBoxers Blue Monday - New Order I Don't Remember - Peter Gabriel Someone To Talk To (158 bpm) - The Police Undercover of the Night - The Rolling Stones
That was a really good year for music.
Distance: 5.15 miles Temperature: 70º Weather: GLORIOUS Weight: 169 lbs.
The answer is no, I am not running The Cleveland this weekend. I actually entertained the idea of running the Half - once again - but in the interests of not doing serious damage to, well, any part of me, really, I would have insisted on doing at least a modicum of preparatory runs but they never happened. 10 miles two weeks ago? 8 two weeks before that? Just too much else going on.
I am a little happier with the route. They keep altering the route. Now it's back to up the Shoreway first, and West Cleveland then through Ohio City & Tremont before coming back through downtown - and up Euclid, which is entirely new. It's still six miles flat out of tow, only now with a jog North on 55th Street to Chester before hitting MLK and the horrible run into the wind, back into the city.
Euclid Avenue means -- PlayhouseSquare! And Cleveland State University! And ... eventually ... wait for it ... past a bunch of brownfields ... don't like the look of that guy ... here we go ... and ... The Agora!!!
Here's to all my homies on the run tomorrow. I'll put in six for you on my own.
1993 Playlist Too Much Information (12" Jellybean Mix) - Duran Duran All I Wanna Do - Sheryl Crow Human Behaviour - Björk Rebirth of Slick - Digable Planets Macarena - Los Del Rio None Of Your Business - Salt-N-Pepa My Sister - Juliana Hatfield Three Step It Up - Stereo MC's That's What I Think - Cyndi Lauper Nuthin' But A G Thang - Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg
Had my gear on yesterday, and it came down hard, so I decided not to. Then it stopped, and I suited up again, and it rained again, so I gave today. Today I was all ready to go, and it started to thunder and pour.
I started out anyway. And it stopped after 30 seconds. Thor can suck on it.
After the rains ... Cleveland Heights smells like ... freshly peeled potatoes. That's weird.
The George Gund Foundation employed world-renown, award-winning photographer Amy Arbus to capture images of artists from Cleveland arts organizations they support, including Cleveland Public Theatre, Great Lakes Theater Festival, Karamu House, GroundWorks DanceTheatre and the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra. I am honored to have participated. All of the photographs are beautiful, and make me proud of Cleveland's cultural arts scene.
The weather is turning. I have been wearier of all of the carping about this winter than of the weather itself ... but it has been grueling. A lot of snow. A lot of cold. A lot of rain. And here we are. Almost makes it worth it.
2003 Playlist Zombie Nation (Dave Clarke Remix) - Kernkraft 400 Milk Shake - Melis There There (The Boney King of Nowhere) - Radiohead Krazy In Luv (Junior's Dance Radio Mix) - Beyoncé Toxic - Britney Spears Sunrise - Simply Red Burning Down The House - Tom Jones & The Cardigans Mainframe - Kaada The District Sleeps Alone Tonight - The Postal Service The Way You Move - OutKast Feat. Sleepy Brown Slow (Chemhical Brothers Remix) - Kylie Minogue
Distance: 5.15 miles Temperature: 61º Weather: what i dream about when i dream about running Weight: 170 lbs.
In the mid-morning, I hunger, and feel ill. I try to stanch the feeling with water, maybe coffee, or a piece of gum.
At lunch, at last, I eat. By this time I have snacked, hopefully on something good I have brought with me, like carrots or an apple.
Regardless, I feel bloated and unhappy. I need to unbutton my pants. I have gas. I become lethargic, less productive. I struggle.
When I eat a Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie, I see the face of Jesus.
When I have 99 cent bag of Doritos, it tastes like ground glass. When I tuck into a Family Sized bag, all is right in creation.
So much housework, no time to run. Feels pointless, anyhow.
Eating is easy. Making time for me is hard.
1974 Playlist Stone Cold Crazy - Queen The Wall Street Shuffle - 10cc Loose Booty - Sly & The Family Stone Chameleon - Maynard Ferguson In The Cage - Genesis It's Only Rock N' Roll (But I Like It) - The Rolling Stones Boogie On Reggae Woman - Stevie Wonder September Gurls - Big Star
Distance: 4 miles Temperature: 64º Weather: warm and lovely Weight: 170 lbs.
What do we runners actually sound like to ordinary human beings? I spotted a dude at a social charitable event last night, we were both the "wives" for the evening. Didn't know anyone, our own spouses generously introduced us to people, it was at a bowling alley and I did have the kids, it would have been easy to be anti-social and yet not appear like an a-hole.
And yet, I thought I would play nice and asked about his Chicago Marathon T-shirt. It was an all right conversation, his wife was going to be running Cleveland, he says he never had and he will be in Sweden or somewhere on the 15th so he is going to run 26.2 miles that day, where he is, in support of her.
He asked if I would be an I said I was considering running the Half and it took a few more moments of conversation to realize he scorned the very idea of "The Half." He informed me it is a well-know fact that over a 10K the damage you are doing to yourself makes running any further entirely useless, why bother if you aren't going to run the entire thing?
And I'm like, huh. Do I sound like that kind of a dick to non-runners?
1984 Playlist Concealed Weapons (12" remix) (152 bpm) - J. Geils Band Master And Servant (Slavery Whip Mix) - Depeche Mode Street Dance - Break Machine Love Kills - Freddie Mercury Are We Ourselves? - The Fixx Rock Me Tonight - Billy Squier Ghostbusters (12" remix) - Ray Parker Jr.
Distance: 5.15 miles Duration: 40.5 minutes Pace: 7.8 min. Temperature: 59º Weather: wet ... cool ... glorious
Wore my jacket. That was a mistake. 48º? Seriously? Had it wrapped around my waist after a mile.
After the rains. Okay, not really, they'll be back. But a perfect morning run. Asleep around midnight, woke at 5 and knew I would not be able to get back to sleep. Am I ... in training for something? Just the rest of my life, I guess.
1994 Playlist - or - The Downward Spiral (Side One) Mr. Self Destruct Piggy Heresy March Of The Pigs Closer Ruiner The Becoming I Do Not Want This Big Man With A Gun - Nine Inch Nails
Not the most obvious way to greet a beautiful spring morning when all appears correct with the world. And now my ears are ringing. I remember when I was unhappy. Or at least, unhappy in that way. And that was a very long time ago.
You know, Broken loses some of its sex appeal when you know it's all about a record contract dispute.
Distance: 5.1 miles Duration: 40 minutes Pace: 7.8 min. Temperature: 48º Weather: wet ... cool ... glorious Weight: 169 lbs.
2004 Playlist Pale Yellow - The Ditty Bops Hounds of Love (New Mix) (168 bpm) - The Futureheads Lebanese Blonde - Thievery Corporation Beware - Punjabi MC ft. Jay-Z Call On Me - Eric Prydz No Expectations - I Am The World Trade Center As The Rush Comes (Gabriel & Dresden Mix) - Motorcycle Holiday - Green Dauy
Distance: 3.25 miles Duration: 28 minutes Pace: 8.6 min. Temperature: 73º Weather: real sunny Weight: 166.5 lbs.
1975 Playlist Love Rollercoaster - Ohio Players Love Is The Drug - Roxy Music The Hustle - Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony Tush - ZZ Top S.O.S. - ABBA Ease On Down The Road - Stephanie Mills, Tiger Haynes, Ted Ross, & Hinton Battle Island Girl - Elton John Stand By Me - John Lennon
It is not my fault I always thought they were saying, "I'm just lookin' for some touch."
Distance: 3.25 miles
Temperature: 45º
Weather: rainy!
Weight: 168 lbs.
That was incredible. At first I was a little irritated, the air was so comfortable this morning, and now quite brisk - but perfect-brisk, with a little tailwind (thanks for sending that my way, Boston Marathon People) and I was utterly flying.
Good Lord, I have been wanting to run all week. I had a sudden, mild back spasm on Monday (more on that here) and there just wasn't much to do about that except swallow ibuprofen, take hot baths and stretch. Today was perfect timing to run, I guess.
Three more performances, tomorrow, Friday and Saturday. I had no idea the run would be so emotional for me, but it is, and in ways I did not expect. I even have ideas how to cut more time out of And Then You Die, but that can wait for another day.
Still. You know. Minnesota. 1985 Playlist Take Me Home - Phil Collins Kiss Me On The Bus (164 bpm) - the Replacements Some People - Belouis Some Something About You - Level 42 Baby Screams - The Cure We Care A Lot - Faith No More Can't Get There From Here - R.E.M. I Must Confess - Everything But The Girl Tambourine - Prince & The Revolution Running Up That Hill (12" mix) - Kate Bush Shout - Tears For Fears
Distance: 5.15 miles Temperature: 48º Weather: spirited! Weight: 168 lbs.
Distance: 5.15 miles Temperature: 52º Weather: delightful! Weight: 168 lbs.
Anxiety. Uncertainty. And a lot of cheese curls. Damn you, Dan Dee.
1995 Playlist Clubbed To Death (Kurayamino Mix) - Rob D Army of Me (171 bpm) - Björk Where's Summer B? - Ben Folds Five Hey Man, Nice Shot - Filter 1979 - Smashing Pumpkins Hello - Poe In the Meantime (168 bpm) - Spacehog Jaded (157 bpm) - Green Day I'll Be There For You - The Rembrandts The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana) (163 bpm) - Liz Phair with Material Issue The Heart's Filthy Lesson - David Bowie
