I can handle my shit.

My goal this year has been consistency. That, whatever else is happening, that I run every other day. Also, that I not run two days in a row. Take that break, even when I am desirous to move. Run, rest, repeat.

So far this year I have run as many times as I did in the entirety of 2017, which was a year that involved a lot of travel, and a lot of distraction. A wedding, a graduation, a fatal illness. Ninety-nine runs in 2025, as of today.

Many year I run between, let's say, one hundred and one hundred and ten times. Two years ago, in 2023, I ran almost two hundred times, which isn't normal at all. No idea why I did that.

At this rate, I hope to have run between 160 and 170 times by New Year's. That's a lot. But I think I can do that.

Distance: 2.34 miles
Duration: 27:09
Pace: 11:35

So, anyway. Had to take an extra day. These days are hot, and I am listening to my body. That's good, too. Take that break.

Also, we spent a day (and two nights) this past weekend at Cedar Point. Okay, so now summer is over. Just kidding, it's not. We have two baseball games to attend just this week. It's crazy.

My spouse encouraged me to ride more ride than I would have desired to, but I am all right. I have a real discomfort with heights, but there were some special moments. Daddy wanted to see all the young college students doing their dancing and their singing before they all return to college. Is that creepy? Of course it is. Totes creep.

Route: Forest Hill Run
Temperature: 75°
Climate: overcast & humid
Mood: all right

Eesh. Shooting pains in my left calf. Right heel still still. I'm a mess. A hot mess.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 162 lbs. (+2.0)

Portion control, yo.

Planks: yes
Pushups: yes

Running Summer Playlist

Walking On Sunshine - Katrina & the Waves ft. Carstn & Agent Zed

Ways to Go - Grouplove 

Coming Back to Me - Kasabian

Happy Customers - Two Door Cinema Club

American Pie (L'Tric Remix) - Don McLean

I Can Do It With a Broken Heart - Taylor Swift

Saving Up - Dom Dolla

Espresso (Mark Ronson x FNZ Working Later Remix) - Sabrina Carpenter

Nobody Else - The S.L.P.

I don't know. I think these playlists kinda suck.

Are you receiving me?

When I told my wife I was experimenting with  zombie run app she said, "I thought you hated zombies." 

And she's right. I really hate zombies. But I like storytelling and radio drama, and that part I enjoy very much.

Distraction: 0102

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 30:10
Pace: 9:43

Steps: 4622

We went to Cedar Point Halloweekends and boy did we get our timing right, the weather was ideal.

Neither the wife nor I are big haunted house people, so we just got our fortune told and rode some rides -- the trip was more for the boy, who brought a friend and they had their time while we had ours.

But if I had to do it again? I'd go into one of the haunted attractions. I guess I am still evolving. Next time!

  
Route: Forest Hill Loop

Temperature: 74°
Climate: sunny, bright & humid
Mood: slight headache

 
Stretches: yes
Abdominals: 30 sec. (3x)
Water: yes

Weight: 186.5 lbs.

My sensible eating practice went off the rails when I got Covid. Not that it was very good up to that point, but I was eating less garbage. Cedar Point trip, of course I ate more than necessary.

It's sugar season. Let's see if I can exert healthy control.

Breakfast: banana bread, latte

Lunch: ramen w/carrot & egg

Snack: apple, banana
Dinner: pierogis, sautéed apples & onions, sour cream

Also: fizzy water (1x)

What's That Lyric?

88 Lines About 44 Women (Original Version) - The Nails

Let me show you the world in my eyes.

End of summer fun at Cedar Point. We took the boy and his friend for an overnight at Hotel Breakers which I have never even seen before. I had no idea. I had no plans to get onto any roller coasters, but the temptation was too strong. It wasn't speed I was concerned about, but centrifugal force.

Oh, also? Yes to corndogs, cola, ribs and fries, thank you. And beer. Okay, back to work.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 31:19
Pace: 10:06
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 76°
Climate: daybreak, humid
Mood: all right
Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Weight: 183.5 lbs. (+3.0)

Goal: 180 lbs.

Erotic80s Playlist

Curated by "You Must Remember This" podcast

One Night in Bangkok - Murray Head

Relax - Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Life In the Fast Lane - The Eagles

I Didn't Mean to Turn You On - Robert Palmer

You Can Leave Your Hat On - Joe Cocker

All She Wants to Do is Dance - Don Henley

So Alive - Love & Rockets

I seem to run out here.

Last Sunday was the halfway mark, eight weeks into a sixteen week training period. As it was celebrated plotzing on a treadmill for less than three miles, the significance seemed to have escaped me.

Sunday I am due to run eighteen miles. Not sure yet where that will take me. In the past I have gone down to Dead Man's Curve and back. That can be a drag. Maybe I will be able to think of something better.

Distance: 4 miles
Duration: 32:15
Avg Pace: 8:03
Route: Forest Hills

Slower today. Humid again, muggy.

This past week I heard news of two middle-aged men who died in accidents. One I knew, the other did not. The first tragic, the second ... avoidable. I want to say stupid but it's horrible enough.

When we were at Niagara, I wondered how many iPhones are lost to the falls every single day. How many phones, sitting at the bottom of the falls. There have to be many, people drop their phones all the time. Maybe they break, maybe they don't, but you can always just pick them up. You lean over the wall, just stick you hands out over the wall that divides you from the ceaselessly rushing water. Drop that phone, it's just gone. And it was like everyone there had a phone, hundreds and hundreds of pictures.

This week a colleague, the father of one of my children's classmates, he died in a fall. It was just an accident, a tumble down the stairs. Like the owner of Happy Dog, a workplace tragedy. I think of this man's wife and his daughter, and his absence. It makes me sad, and I will be honest it fills me with fear for my own life, and what would happen if I were not here.

I would like to think that if I was on a roller coaster and lost my phone, that I would ask for assistance rather than trying to fetch it myself. If we were in Montreal and one of our phones were dropped into the tracks of the subway, wouldn't we ask for assistance? Would I be foolish enough to try and get it myself? Well, fuck no, for one thing my wife wouldn't let me.

I know nothing about that guy. He's about my age, probably has a family. I don't need to know. It's haunting. My wife took the girl and her friends to Cedar Point on Wednesday, apparently a fun and memorable time for everyone involved. I'm so glad they weren't there yesterday.

Temperature: 72°
Climate: muggy
Weight: 157 lbs.
Intake: yogurt, granola & raisins
Hydration: yes
Water Stop: no
Stretches: yes

What's That Lyric?
Revolving Doors - Gorillaz