Get the hell out.

Brief trip to Cincinnati and back, to hear the boy play the jazz. A time to relax and talk, or to just say nothing. November now, and the weather holds.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 25:53
Pace: 8:20

Sudden obsession with the Substack but it's a hobby. Conflicted as to whether I should let anyone know I even have it. Every new thing it's like, "Hey! This is the new thing!" It's not a new thing, it's an old thing.

What's next?

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 63°
Climate: overcast & cool
Mood: awesome & nervous

Acton refused Ramaswamy's concession call, because fuck that guy.

160-169 BPM Playlist
A Bar Song (Tipsy) - Shaboozey
Get Outta My Room - The Donnas
Everywhere I Go - The Call
I'm Your Baby Tonight - Whitney Houston
Too Dramatic -Ra Ra Riot
The Last Time - Rolling Stones
Hard to Explain - The Strokes
Roll Over Beethoven - The Beatles
Another Bridge - Everything But the Girl

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 163.6 lbs. (+0.4)

Twenty years ago today, it was one day before the big race. I reflected upon my entire running journey. Later, I wrote a play about it.

What if my father and I had had one conversation about running? Anything about it, anything at all. Some pointers, some encouragement. Maybe I might have learned something.

Sounds like he was already dead. But he wasn't.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

I hope I never stop running. I want to be one of those wiry old men who jog slowly up the street, past your house. And I want to run one marathon. I'll do that tomorrow. Wish me luck. - 11/4/2006

The Devil will find work for idle hands to do.

We turn the clocks back and all hell breaks loose. Couldn't sleep last night, woke around three am to work on some new project. A new project? You haven't even finished the old ones! Anyway, I am trying out a Substack. We'll see how long that holds my interest.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 26:35
Pace: 8:34

Twenty years ago today, we were preparing to fly to New York City for the big race.

A pace team is headed by an experienced marathoner who will get you there in plus or minus two minutes from the time you choose. That means I'll be locked in to a finish time, but after all of this training, I believe it is reasonable to assume it will take 4.15. Remember; the goal is to finish.

I would be disappointed not to break four hours. And yet, I said it right there, I would take 4:15. And I wasn't too far off.. 

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 61° 
Climate: over cast & cool
Mood: great!

160-169 BPM Playlist

Magic MOuntain - War ft. Eric Burdon

You! Me! Dancing! - Los Campesinos

I've Done Everything For You (Working Class Hero) - Rick Springfield

What Difference Does It Make - The Smiths

Mansard Roof - Vampire Weekend

Mysterons - Portishead

Digital - Joy Division

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 163.2 lbs. (-1.8)

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

Get on that.

I'm a lyrical poet.

Twenty years ago today, I ran five miles and the only thing I posted was the header "That sucked." I believe the reason for this was an argument my wife and I had right before heading out that made me miserable.

An anonymous commentator, one who had been following my my progress, wrote:

Well, what did you expect? You didn't stretch or drink. You listened to no music, it took no time and you weighed nothing.

He also added:

Seriously, keep going, guy. You've trained, you've done the work. You will survive this.

I really appreciated that. I think that was my brother.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 27:08
Pace: 8:44

We made it to Thursday, and then I collapsed. Work at 3 AM with a headache. Slept too warm, got up, took pain reliever, didn't make any difference. Called off work. I feel bad about that, of course, but it/s noon and I still feel like shit.

This is becoming a regular thing now and I do not care for it. Then again, what I particularly do not care for is conducting a five day residency. It's very taxing for me now, on my feet for five hours, engaging somewhat disinterested students, using my voice a lot.

And Death of a Salesman. I mean, come on.

Anyway, I'm hoping a run will drive this out of me.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 72°
Climate: sunny & hot
Mood: good! but my head hurts!

Fall 1990 Mixtape
Praying For Time - George Michael

I'm Your Baby Tonight - Groove Is In the Heart - Deee-Lite

Dance of the Dream Man - Angelo Badalamenti

Feels Good - Tony! Toni! Toné!

Policy of Truth - Depeche Mode

We have begun shedding weight. For the moment I have become accustomed to eating less and getting anxious about any additional intake. I need to find the right balance. I can feel it in my hips, my end, my legs.

Of course, as I said, I have also been standing this week, a lot more than usual.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 163 lbs. (+0.2)

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: TBA

I'd die without you.

Someone must explain to me these Saturday/Sunday headaches. I used to think o no, I had two drinks last night and now my head hurts. I am a bad person. But there is no drinking, no drugs. Just sleep. Must I wake up at five or six to have coffee on weekend mornings? I mean, I can do that. 

Then there is the old man, who disrupts me regularly. I just want to have a weekend free from discomfort and pain, alas.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 27:18
Pace: 8:48

Twenty years ago, I was in malaise, tapering, waiting for the big race. It was eleven days until the New York City Marathon.

Ever since the weather turned I have felt in limbo. Also, since the numbers started going down instead of up. Just treading water. Staying limber.

This week I will be attending evening rehearsals and teaching five classes a day. That's in addition to just taking care of house and spouse. I should be grateful I am not training for a marathon.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 47°
Climate: nice & cool
Mood: good

Moving in.

Fall 1992 Mixtape

Jeremy - Pearl Jam

Crucify * - Tori Amos

Rhythm Is a Dancer - SNAP!

Erotica - Madonna

I'd Die Without You * - P.M. Dawn

Don't Stop - Fleetwood Mac

This is when the 90s truly began.

Stretches: yes
Water: no. oops.
Weight: 165.2 lbs. (+0.2)

Ate whatever I wanted yesterday. Burrito, sushi, pizza. It was pretty cool.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: yes

I am not going out like any punk bitch.

2275 Professor Street
Then (1992) & Then (2018)
(coffee shop formerly known as Beviamo)

Cat kept me up all night. He can go months without sleeping with me, then he remembers how nice it is. And I am glad he still gets out of bed to pee. But then he wants back in.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 27:28
Pace: 8:51 

The next week will be a bear. I teach five classes a day, every day next week. It's going to be a drag.

Had a dream last night, I was leading a lesson but some kids who weren't paying attention were comparing tunes on transistor radios. I lost my temper, which is not my style, but they were so rude.

I said, "Give me the fucking radio."

And that was kind of it for the class.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 47°
Climate: cloudy & perfect 
Mood: all right

Fall 1992 Mixtape

Good Stuff - The B-52's

Too Funky (Extended) - George Michael

Jump Around - House of Pain

Baby Got Back - Sir Mix-A-Lot

Happiness in Slavery - Nine Inch Nails

Pretend We're Dead - L7

As summer leaned into fall that fateful year, we were preparing a space for performance. Crazy, right? I was 24 years old and starting a theater company. What a fantasy!

Yesterday, I was in that space. I was giving a rep from our sister company the nickel tour of CLE and came through Tremont to show off some thing. I bought him a coffee at Roasted, which is located in the former Professor Street Theater.

I also skipped lunch. Didn't mean to do that.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 165 lbs. (-0.4)

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

Twenty years ago, I ran fifteen miles by taking the five mile circuit around my house three times. I was tapering, I had already run the trek from my house to my parents' on Sept 30, and should have done another twenty but never did.

The blog post for this fifteen miler is the most visited post on my blog, three times as many visits as the post that comes in second. I attribute this to the fact that I listed every single track I listened to on my run, which is a lot and must show up on countless searches.

"I rose and dressed for cold. Welcome back butter beanie, welcome back bullethead. Yesterday I got new soles, new gloves (awesome gloves) and a new running hat."

I'm wearing those same awesome gloves today.

Then he ran.

"Lapdog"
Peter de Sève
The New Yorker
Oct. 12, 2026

Twenty years ago, I took a 48 hour trip to London to share I Hate This with members of the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society (SANDS UK). It was a conference where the director wanted to pitch a tour of the show around Great Britain.

Yes, in the midst of marathon training, I took a very brief transatlantic journey. 

"A small man, on the another side of the planet, going for a run. Different air, different land, same pair of shoes."

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 27:40
Pace: 8:55

I tried some of that British Lucozade, a "performance energy drink" much like Gatorade. The name was originally Glucozade, get it? 

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 47°
Climate: cool & crisp
Mood: 

We are getting close to recreation center time. Not looking forward to it.

Fall 1983 Mixtape

Big Log - Robert Plant

Undercover (Of the Night)- Rolling Stones

Owner of a Lonely Heart - Yes

Stand Back - Stevie Nicks

Puttin' On the Ritz - Taco

Jacqueline Kennedy
Onassis Reservoir
October, 2023

Suddenly Last Summer - The Motels

I need to make a Fall 1994 Mixtape, full of all the things we were listening to in October 1994.

A lot of them would be from the mid 1980s.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 163.8 lbs. (-3.4)

It's weird we were in Arizona in early October, and then New York City in late October. Good times, for a few years there. Covid made us adventurous. I wonder if we will be like that again.

Planks: yes
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

Went to see a show last night. So strange not to obsess about having a cocktail. Because I just wasn't going to have one. I also didn't clean my plate, nor that plate of appetizers. But I ate well, all day. And now I weight fewer than 165 pounds, which was my goal.

How do I maintain this? Maybe it helps to be entirely anxious an distracted by things entirely out of my control. I hate this.

Wherever there is comfort there is pain.

On this date, twenty years ago, I was deep into marathon training. Five miles on a Wednesday.

"Okay, that hurt. I neglected (forgot?) my shin stretches before going out, and now they both are singing. The front of each shin was bright and pained, it made for little, tiny - but swift - steps. Hmn. Gotta watch that."

Indeed. Here we are, without pain in our legs at all. I was developing muscles on the front of my calves, I didn't know you could do that.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 29:07
Pace: 9:23

Also, I was listening to Podrunner a lot. On September 6, 2006 it was "I Put My Big Boy Pants On" which was one of those early mixes that included music he either didn't have the rights to or lost the rights to, in either case it is no longer available.

I have it burned on CD. It's one of my very favorites.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 70°
Climate: bright & beautiful
Mood: all right

In the 1970s, Tim Finn put together a band called Split Enz. It was quirky pop, frenetic post-punk, agitated (and agitating) tunes, aspiring to be "Ashes to Ashes" David Bowie or Sparks or early XTC but never really as good as any of those. 

By the early 1980s Tim's kid brother Neil had joined the group, who was to become one of the greatest (and underrated) songwriters of the decade. Singing lead for truly great songs like I Got You, One Step Ahead and Message to My Girl, you can see in the music videos how Tim tries embarrassingly to attract attention to himself, as if to remind people it's still his band.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 173.4 lbs.

New digital scale. And this makes sense. My revised weight goal is 165 lbs., which I believe is only appropriate. I much prefer the accuracy. I stepped on the thing three times, it said the same thing every single time. 

When did I buy the manual scale, how long have I had that thing? Liar.

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

After Split Enz broke up, Neil started his own act, Crowded House, and almost immediately produced one of the best known and loved songs of the decade, "Don't Dream It's Over." The original Crowded House trio of the Neil Finn, Paul Hester and Nick Seymour created two amazing albums, Crowded House (1986) and Temple of Low Men (1988), which were so important to me during my college years.

Then in 1991 it was announced that Tim had joined the group. I can only imagine the holiday dinner over which Tim Finn was able to wheedle his way into the act. The result was Woodface, which includes some of my very favorite Neil Finn creations, and a couple unfortunate songs that are obviously Tim's. He even managed to sneak a few stupid turns of phrase into otherwise decent Neil Finn creations. A "lounge room lizard"? That's Tim's schtick. See also, his lead vocal on All I Ask.

And let us not mention the execrable, fat-shaming opening track, Chocolate Cake.

Woodface - Crowded House (1991)

Chocolate Cake

It's Only Natural

Fall at Your Feet

Tall Trees

Whispers & Moans

Four Seasons In One Day

Fame Is

... As Sure As I Am

Italian Plastic

She Goes On

That it dropped during the summer of that fateful year, as I was going through a tense will they/won't they with the person who I would eventually be married to (for a short while) gives the truly great songs a nostalgic pull for me, tracks like It's Only Natural, Fall at Your Feet, Whispers & Moans, Four Seasons in One Day and She Goes On, they are all hers.

Tim left the band during the tour.

Showing out, showing out, hit and run.

Cleveland!

Twenty years ago today, June 27, 2006, marathon training officially began. I happened to be in Vermont, looking after the kids while the wife took classes, pursuant to her MFA.

"Out on RT 2, lush trees and mountains ... and the occasional semi. I'd try to find a path through the woods, but it rained for a day solid yesterday, I can't imagine any of them are at all dry."

A three mile run at 5:00 am in Vermont. Nice.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 28:37
Pace: 9:13

Brother comes into town this weekend. Time to clean up the house a little. Or at least the spare room.

Sophisti-pop 80s Workout Playlist

Cue Fanfare - Prefab Sprout

Mercy Mercy Me/I Want You - Robert Palmer

What Have I Done to Deserve This? - Pet Shop Boys ft. Dusty Springfield

Love Changes (Everything) - Climie Fisher

Home Town (Live at the Roundabout Theatre) * - Joe Jackson

Robert DeNiro's Waiting - Bananarama

Love Is the Drug - Roxy Music

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 68°
Climate: sunny & warm
Mood: good

Beautiful day, beautiful run. No pain. So much to do, I didn't want to tax myself with a six miler. Maybe next week. Maybe Monday.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 165 lbs. (-0-)

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: TBA

Keep up with the exercises, man.

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

Her little white boys.

Thank you, Zendaya, for this big horny bi tennis movie (that's not really about tennis). Seriously, though. When do we get unapologetically non-phobic bisexual men in mainstream film? It was a hoot, the last five minutes made me so happy.

Distance: 3.2 miles
Duration: 29:36
Pace:  9:17

 

But it's not just all the sloppy tongue kissing, Reznor and Ross have been making incredible film scores, and this one had me so thrilled. Listening to it on its own I was reminded of all the new music I discovered as I trained for my first marathon.

And then I remembered my first marathon was in 2006. And the events of this film begin in 2006. Jesus Christ! They made a period-accurate techno album!  

Challengers (Original Score) - Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross (2024)

Challengers

"I Know"

Yeah x10

The Signal

Brutalizer

Stopper

Brutalizer 2

The Points That Matter

Pull Over

Challengers: Match Point

Compress/Repress

Route: Hocking River Bike Path
Temperature: 68°
Climate: overcast & glorious
Mood: good

Here's the thing, music is the motivation. I didn't begin running in earnest until the invention of the iPod. It's just a fact. I can run because I want or need to run, but sometimes just knowing what I will be listening to on the run drives me to get that kit on and go.

The "year" runs began as a way to get me back on the street after my first marathon. What if I create playlists from every year of my life, that could be fun. I have been doing that, more or less, since 2007.

But the fact is, the earlier we go the less interested I am. Music from the late 60s isn't my bag. I mean, it moves me but it doesn't move me. So, in spite of good weather, knowing I need to listen to the 1967 playlist has actually been a deterrent. And ain't that a shame.

Anyway, we are in Athens. And the weather is perfect, I can listen to whatever I want, if it gets me on the bike path. Today that's some retro techno. 

Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Perfect day by the Hocking. And I felt good. You can see, my time was faster. Last week I was trudging, it wasn't enjoyable. Today? Very enjoyable. It's about weather. It's about rest. So much to do with rest.

I was hoping to run yesterday, but I started the day with a headache and that kind of threw everything off. Can I run at least three times a week for the next three weeks? It is a goal. And we will begin with music from 1967.

Upper Body: 20 reps.

You better run away for good.

The training continues! It does! As we taper, I have been advised not to change up my diet too much, which is fine, because I have been eating shit all month.

Just yesterday a colleague described this sexual experience she had eating a McDonald's spicy BBQ chicken sandwich while driving, so I just had to try it!

Do I regret it? Oh, fuck yes. Would I do it again? Probably.

Distance: 8 miles
Duration: 1:08:13
Pace: 8:31
Route: Forest Hill to Cain Park (and back)
Temperature: 68°
Climate: bright, sunny, awesome
Mood: very good, actually
Stretches: no
Water: yes, but I couldn't tell

What's That Lyric?
Rainy Taxi - Spoon

Baseline: 179.5 lbs.
Today: 165.5 lbs. (-0-)
Goal: 160 lbs.

Endorphins make me cry.

Pre-Run Thoughts: The schedule demands eighteen miles, which I feel entirely unprepared for but I did complete sixteen miles two weeks ago, so anything is possible. Running to Dead Man's Curve and back (which is, my friends, eighteen miles) is not something I want to do, it feels arduous and I am not in the headspace for that.

Instead, I made plans to run across town, to mother's house. The last time I attempted this it was also my father's house, alas. But the city was different then, the Cultural Gardens not as grand, fewer people living in the city, fewer other runners. Edgewater not yet the Metropark which thousands flock to. What will I see on a warm Sunday afternoon, heading from one side of town to the other?

Next year!

Last night was Pandemonium, a scene I wrote premiered, but I left shortly after the dance party kicked into gear. I was asleep before midnight and just kept sleeping until I was finished. This morning I have eaten carbs, a bagel and later some buttery pasta. I have energy, if not the strength I was hoping for.

Still have no idea what I am going to listen to.

Distance: 18 miles
Duration: 2:42:47
Pace: 9:02
Route: Rec Center to Mom's House
Temperature: 68° → 65°
Climate: overcast & cool w/light rain
Mood: all right
Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Energy snacks: Gatorade Prime Energy Chews

Post-Run Realities: Perfect day for it, I'll tell you that. And a lot of beautiful everything to look at. I can barely remember the first half, maybe because it is so familiar. I will say, running along the lake on a cloudy while Annie Lennox sings Whiter Shade of Pale was a truly introspective experience and one I enjoyed a great deal.

It was the home opener at Browns Stadium (we were spanked by the Titans 43-13) and I arrived just as everyone was leaving, which was a thrill, dodging the crowds. Detroit Avenue from the river to West 65th is such a different experience than when I first did it in 2006, and Edgewater was also extremely pleasant.

But fall is fast approaching, there were a lot of people at the beach, but not the crush of people you would find on a beautiful summer's day.

The major win for the day was my hydration and energy consumption, as I was able to spread out energy chews and hit water fountains roughly four or five miles apart, the longest stretches with hydration were from the East 55th Marina to Lower Edgewater, and from Upper Edgewater to mom's house. But I never felt dehydrated or depleted.

Amusingly, I was on Lake Avenue, the homestretch, when Carrie called my phone. When I answered she yelled "WE'RE BEHIND YOU!" and I turned and saw she and her friend David running up the street. They'd been trying to catch up when they'd seen me several blocks back, but even after running sixteen miles I run faster than the average human.

Stopping to talk to them, however, made my legs freeze up and the final two miles were hard going. Alas. But I did finish strong, about a half mile short of mom's house, which was good because it meant I finished walking, and didn't immediately sit down.

And I listened to 90s music the entire way.

What's that mondegreen?
"The dolphins make me cry."
- "Only Wanna Be With You" by Hootie & the Blowfish

Week Thirteen Total: 32.5 miles
Total To Date: 304.25 miles

You glorify the past when the future dries up.

First week of rehearsal is always a busy week, and the days are even more full with activate, teenage children. Cross-training and short runs fall by the wayside in favor of weekend rehearsal, orchestra parent meetings, and the desire to be present as children and spouse prepares for a day in school.

Meantime I have my own business, writing or preparing applications. We enter September, move into fall. And travel to Athens. My business has kept me from here since Christmas, I think. Memorial Day I had Lear rehearsal, my wife and son came to town to see my nephew (now three and a half months old) while the girl and I were in New York.

But we are here. A cool morning, after the rains. And it's another long one. On the drive down I said I had to run twelve miles today and my wife said she just can't comprehend that. Running that far, it's simply an impossible thing she could never physically accomplish.

Maybe not, but there's a first time for everything.

Distance: 12 miles
Duration: 1:47:41
Pace: 8:58
Route: Hocking River Bike Path
Temperature: 70°
Climate: overcast & cool
Mood: all right
Stretches: yes
Water stops: plenty
Snack: banana

Good day on the bike path, feeling strong. Not winded, not sore, not slow. Weather was perfect, and there were several water fountains along the way. Got to use a bathroom. So it was relaxed, not arduous, no worries. Listened to a playlist of songs from my college days. I have tried, throughout the years, to keep up with popular music. I haven't turned against it, but I have found nostalgia to be soothing. I mean, right?

O.U. Playlist (1986-1990)
God Part II - U2
La Bamba * - Los Lobos
Girlfriend In a Coma - The Smiths
Waiting For the Great Leap Forward - Billy Bragg
Rhymin' On the Funk - Digital Underground
Christopher Tracy's Parade - Prince
Channel Z - The B-52's
Wild Thing - Tone-Loc
Globe of Frogs - Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians
I Hope You're Happy Now - Elvis Costello & the Attractions
Domino * - Genesis
Something to Save - George Michael
The Cactus - 3rd Bass
Kiss (Aon Mix) - The Art of Noise ft. Tom Jones
Don't Disturb the Groove - The System
Driving - Everything But the Girl
Merely a Man - XTC
World In My Eyes - Depeche Mode
Route 66 - Depeche Mode
Elephants & Flowers - Prince
Free Fallin' * - Tom Petty
Summer of Love - The B-52's
Blood & Roses - The Smithereens
Twisting - They Might Be Giants
Things That Make You Go Hmmmm ... - C+C Music Factory
The Sensual World - Kate Bush
Buffalo Stance - Neneh Cherry

Week Twelve Total: 23.5 miles
Total To Date: 271.75 miles

In space no one can hear you dream (and others.)

Lying awake at 3:30, not able to get back to sleep. Knowing there are a million things I could do this morning instead of running for two hours. The enthusiasm I was feeling just two days ago (or was it mania?) has given way to malaise and a doubt.

So, I could listen to anything for two hours. Podrunner, Spotify playlists, "1619" ... instead, it's all Improvised Star Trek. Because I need some serious distraction.

I choose improv comedy. Who knew?

Distance: 16 miles
Duration: 2:36:50
Pace: 9:48
Route: To East 55th via MLK and back.
Temperature: 59°
Climate: cool & groovy
Mood: angsty
Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Snack: granola bar

Yep. Sixteen miles. Did that thing. The comedy was quite enjoyable, and it kept me from going very fast. A nice trot down MLK Jr. Blvd. and back. The One World Day festival is today! As I headed back earlybirds were setting up tents and tables. Should be quite an event.

Baseline: 179.5 lbs.
Today: 165 lbs. (+0.5)
Goal: 160 lbs.

Improvised Star Trek has been around for ten years, but I just heard about it. I listened to a few episodes last week and got hooked. Then they announced they are ending the show. I hate my life.


Week Eleven Total: 31.25 miles
Total To Date: 248.25 miles

Afraid to lose.

So this is where it gets a little crazy. I am slated to run sixteen miles tomorrow. Remember how hard thirteen was? Didn't I run fifteen just a couple days ago? Didn't I run eight just yesterday?

Running all the time. I do not know where I have the time or energy or anything for that. But here I go.

After my eight mile yesterday, I drank so much water, all evening. It was a compulsion. More water!

Distance: 3.25 miles
Duration: 26:32
Pace: 8:09
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 64°
Climate: bright & sunny
Mood: surprisingly good
Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Tore that up. Feeling the weight of everyone around me, their pain, loss, disappointment, so much anxiety and fear. So I have a slight pain in my head, I have no right not to push myself, and I ran. I ran well. It felt good. Lightened the doubt.

But Jesus, have you ever listened to the lyrics of Good Girls Don't? My laws, that song is filthy.

"New Wave" Playlist
Rebel Yell * - Billy Idol
It's My Life - Talk Talk
Good Girls Don't * - The Knack
Drive * - The Cars
Heart of Glass - Blondie
My Sharona - The Knack

Baseline: 179.5 lbs.
Today: 164.5 lbs. (+3.0)
Goal: 160 lbs.

You can run to me.

To run or not to run. It's a question. You make plans to run early, because there is a full agenda for the day, and when you rise there is very loud thunder. As you prepare to leave, pulling on your kit and making coffee, the wind begins to rise, the wind is so loud that it sounds like the rain that you know if coming. And then the rain does come, just as you are prepared to step outside.

This isn't the race. This is training. You don't have to go. It's not safe. And yet, you were psyched, prepared to run fifteen miles this morning. It's disappointing, and very disappointing.

But really. Lightning. We do not chose to run in lightning.

Week Ten Total: 33 miles
Total To Date: 217 miles

Distance: 13.75 miles
Duration: 1:57:39
Pace: 8:33
Route: Forest Hill-Cain Park-Neighborhood Loop (2X)
Temperature: 72°→68°
Climate: distant thunder and light rain to bright, blue skies
Mood: all right
Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Snack: banana

Left later than I would have, for safety reasons, and cut the run short because I had a phone date with my brother at 9am.

Started out in the thunder and rain, which cleared up shortly thereafter. A nice, coolish morning, the BPM kept me moving briskly for the first half (or what was supposed to be half) when I stopped back at home from water, the bathroom and a snack.

The second half was more difficult, plodding, my shoes were wet so that didn't help. But my mind wandered many places and figured a few things out on my way. Mostly I just wanted to be done. I am disappointed not to have run the entire fifteen but I'll get there.

First Hour
Podrunner: Sky Ground Wind Go (167 BPM)
Second Hour
Spotify Duran Duran Playlist

What's That Lyric?
Liberty - Duran Duran
(Not actually the correct lyric, sometimes I think I heard the word "run" in songs when it isn't there.)

Baseline: 179.5 lbs.
Today: 164 lbs. (-4.5)
Goal: 160 lbs.

Man. The indigestion yesterday. Crazy.

2019 Hofbräuhaus Cleveland Half Marathon

Finish line refreshment.

The course for the Hofbräuhaus Half Marathon is like they took the second half of the former route for the Cleveland Marathon, before they decided to ignore the east side of Cleveland and concentrate on the exclusive west side neighborhoods of Edgewater and Lakewood.

Starting at Hofbräuhaus, we headed through Asiatown, and Hough, down and up Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., and back to the restaurant.

Official Time: 1:43:00.7
Avg. Pace: 7:52
Overall Finish Place: 73/335
Place Men 50-54: 9/21
Personal Best Half: 01:41:21 (Cleveland 2016)
Temperature: 71°

I had no intention of making a personal best. For that matter, I hadn't considered my time at all! The original plan was to run this with Chris, and we would do what we would do. That last two half we have run together it snowed and rain, in May, respectively. Shitty, shitty days.

Fabio & me.

I made my personal best in 2016 because it was so cold and I was so wet I ran faster just so that it would be over. Also, Chris and I were pushing each other forward.

But Chris has been side-lined with an injury and is maintaining his marathon training via swimming pool. Seriously, while I was not doing twelve miles last week, he spent two hours running aquatically.

This morning I was very happy to receive a ride to the race site from Fabio -- he and Chris did a trail run a few weeks back when I was in New York. Chris and Allie also came a long, for moral support, which was greatly appreciated.

I decided to stick with the 7:30 (minute/mile) crew for as long as I was able. My goal, when I decided on one, was to beat 1:45. That's good, right? I paced myself by following this bickering couple with  headphones. At the first miles she was like," WHAT'S OUR TIME," and he was like, "WHAT?" and she was like, "OUR MILE, TELL ME OUR TIME," and like that. This happened every mile.

Meanwhile, behind me was coughing man. Or rather, coughing and spitting man. He appeared to be ten years older than I am. and everything thirty seconds or so he would cough up something and spit. I mean, more power to him, running the race, but I had this disturbing sound behind me for most of the run.

Feeling good.

Until he was next to me, and then in front of me. Not sure what his deal was, but if I need to cough and spit and run this fast when I am sixty, well. All right.

The first half (of the half) went well. The turnaround at the end of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard messed me up in a number of ways. I grabbed a water -- but I missed the gel table. They weren't handing them out, they were just sitting there, spread out on a table.

I actually doubled back to get one, because I had already been feeling like I hadn't had enough to eat. I was feeling drained in that way. And because I was hungry, I ate it right there, and it was awful because it was like this raspberry chocolate flavored thing and that is awful, and I had blown one of my basic gel rules which is hang onto it until you have about a quarter mile to the next water table so you can slam it and wash it down fast.

Instead, it's like I had this gooey cakey chocolately berry phlegm in my mouth.

Whatever, I kept going. I was tired. It was warm. And I kept fearing the inevitable, that the 8:00 pace guys were going to pass me. Because eight minute miles is a 1 hour 45 minute run. And they did, just as I passed the eight mile mark. Five miles to go, chasing the 8:00 signs just so I could clear 1:45.

It's Laura!

But I did. I followed them. I did not pass them. And I kept thinking, "They're lying. They're not going 8:00, they're going 7:55 or something. If I can just not lose them, I'll be fine."

And they were lying, they were going 7:55 or something, because that was my pace.

I was delirious at the finish, in a manner I am not accustomed to. But I was no so out of it that I didn't recognize an old friend from high school as we were getting water and bananas. And then Chris, Allie, Fabio and I grabbed a table to enjoy our beer and brats.

Week Eight Total: 29.35 miles
Total To Date: 177.5 miles

In the streets.

Ran to the park with the girl, she was meeting up with teammates for Saturday morning conditioning. I will pick her up after, if she doesn't choose to run home. We live a little over one mile from the park.

Short run for me, tomorrow we do the Hofbrauhaus Half Marathon. All part of the training for Chicago, we move on from here to even greater distances, but Chris and Allie made it a real goalpost, almost halfway through the training, a race! Then we get beer and brats.

Thirteen years ago I ran my first half marathon -- not a race, but the thirteen mile mark in training for New York. It was also a Sunday. August 5, 2006. I weighed 165.5 pounds, exactly what I do today.

At that time I was suffering regular migraines, and taking medication for it which generally did not work. At that time I had only just learned that you must drink your coffee before a long run, and wait until you go to the bathroom before heading out.

These days I believe my headaches were caused entirely by the broken schedule of sleep necessary to change the diaper of an infant child, coupled with a marathon training schedule which required my waking up at 4:30 am. I rarely get migraines these days.

Distance: 3.25 miles
Duration: 28:15
Pace: 8:41
Route: Forest Hill & back
Temperature: 66°
Climate: clear & bright
Mood: good
Stretches: yes
Water: yes

As everyone knows, MTV debuted on August 1, 1981. I was surprised to discover no one had made a Spotify playlist of the songs from that day, so I made one myself. I wasn't surprised by how banal it was, the 80s hadn't really started yet. There were a couple songs by David Bowie, The Pretenders, Talking Heads ... but also a half dozen different tracks by Rod Stewart and Iron Maiden. So much Rod Stewart!

And absolutely no black artists. I mean, none.

Baseline: 179.5 lbs.
Today: 165.5 lbs. (+0.5)
Goal: 160 lbs.

What's That Lyric?
Message of Love - The Pretenders

Until I get there.

Take one of the Captain.

The long run, or not the long run? Today should be a break day, but I took a break on Wednesday (no gym) and I will be in transit on Sunday.

That's not true, I will be in transit some time during the day on Sunday. I could run twelve miles in the morning, not a problem. I would even be nice, if I got up early enough.

There is a 5K tomorrow. I think I should rest today, run the race tomorrow, and perhaps twelve miles Sunday morning.

But then, it's my birthday. I can do anything I want.

Distance: 3.5 miles
Duration: 29:02
Pace: 8:11
Route: Martin Point Run
Temperature: 72
Climate: sunny skies, relatively low humidity
Mood: good, truly
Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Snack: Blueberry bread, macaroon. It's my birthday!

And so I did. Beautiful day, and I love to run. Stopped in to say hi at my Aunt Dede's place (I always run past it on this route) and then pressed on, very fast today. Or at least it felt so to me. Driving up hills, and down again, straight back, free of pain. Mostly.

What's That Lyric?
I'm a Ram - Al Green

Gonna make me run.

The boy and I will be in transit tomorrow, so the plan was for Chris and I to take our seven mile his morning. I was up early to help the women move onto a soccer tournament, and just as well as we are stuck in a heatwave.

Should be in the nineties by this afternoon, but that's cool because the 90s are having a comeback.

Week Six Total: 20.35 miles
Total To Date: 128.75

Disastrous and ideal! It was raining lightly when I departed, but hey. Commitments. Shortly after we met up at the Rec Center and headed into the park (two circuits, and home) the skies opened with rain and thunder.

I was anxious about winds, but they didn't get too strong. Trees fall all the time in this park, and of course there was the potential for lightning. And we were drenched. The upside, of course, was that the temperature went down.

I had been anxious about this run all day yesterday

Distance: 7.2
Duration: 1:08:47
Pace: 9:32
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 80°→74°
Climate: downpour!
Mood: all right
Stretches: yes
Water: yes
snack: banana

The Eagle Has Landed Playlist
Hush - Deep Purple
Love Child - The Supremes
Glass Onion - The Beatles
We're Not Gonna Take It - The Who
The Letter - The Nirvana Sitar & String Group
Baby Please Don't Go - Them
White Light/White Heat - The Velvet Underground
Don't Be Cruel (Live) - Elvis Presley
Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond
Suzanne - Leonard Cohen

Baseline: 179.5 lbs.
Today: 163 lbs. (-1.5)
Goal: 160 lbs.

Can I go on vacation and not gain weight? Let's find out.