Showing posts with label motivation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label motivation. Show all posts

Monday, July 15, 2024

Life goes on day after day.

Good morning! It is peak summer, and I am a little unmotivated. Why not create a playlist of songs produced by Trevor Horn, staring with a thirteen minute banger that will take me all the way and into the park?

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 28:59
Pace: 9:20

Trevor Horn Playlist
Welcome to the Pleasuredome - Frankie Goes to Hollywood  
Close (To the Edit) - Art of Noise
Leave It - Yes
Relax - Frankie Goes to Hollywood

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 74°
Climate: overcast & humid
Mood: all right
Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Pain Reliever: TBA

Yes. Every other day, yes. That is how we rest and recuperate, and not hurt all day.

Upper body: 
Core Strength: 

Baseline: 185 lbs.
Weight: 171 lbs. (+1.0)
Goal: 165 lbs.

Breakfast: coffee w/cream, two fried eggs on toast
Coffee Break: latte
Lunch: chicken Caesar salad
Dinner: pepper jack Doritos, Bumble Berry ale, tomatoe beef orzo soup, roasted string beans 

Friday, May 10, 2024

You take my breath away.

Body by Perrier
Exercise is mental. I mean, it's physical, but it's also mental. And requires planning. But not as much time as I think it does. Last night I thought oh, I didn't do abdominals. Do I need to do abdominals? That's how it starts. But I got up and did them. It didn't take very long. And then they were done.

Keep it going.

Distance: 1 mile
Duration: 9:03

1986 Playlist
Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone) - Glass Tiger ft. Ryan Adams  
Seven Day Weekend - Elvis Costello & the Attractions ft. Jimmy Cliff
Don't Leave Me Behind - Everything But the Girl

It's funny my graduation cohort has two songs pleading for you not to forget about us. Three if you want to count that EBG track.

Route: Neighborhood Loop
Temperature: 51°
Climate: sunny & cool
Mood: good!
Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Motivating a one mile is tough. Like, is it worth it? And then I'm like, don't be a dick, some folks can't even run one mile, what's your excuse? 

The day begins with energy.

Upper body: 60 rep
Core Strength: 
   Sit-Ups: 40
   Bicycles: 40
   Planks: 60 sec.

Jesus. I just remembered that it was on this date in 1986 that I first got laid. Why does my brain work like this?

Baseline: 185 lbs.
Weight: 179 lbs. (-1.0)
Goal: 175 lbs.

Breakfast: coffee w/cream, fresh fruit, granola  yogurt
Lunch: roast beef sandwich, chips, ginger ale
Happy Hour: Bumble Berry
Rehearsal Treat: Twizzlers
Dinner: ramen w/scallion & veggie sausage
Cocktail Hour: Midwest IPA

See? Record your meals.

Saturday, September 23, 2023

Don't worry, there's no hurry.

How do we take a Saturday and make it the best run ever? I have been resting evety other day now, I think next month I hope to do fifteen runs, that's the goal, not twenty. It's time to ease off, but to maintain.

I'm not paying for the zombie app, so the episodes unlock once a week now, and that's fine. In fact. a Saturdy run in fall is the perfect time for one of these, so I am content (with the content. GET IT?)

A Voice in the Dark: 0107
Distance: 3.8 miles 
Duration: 33:34
Pace: 8:50

Awesome run, full of strength. The BPM playlists do help, they usually do. Today it was 160-169. Sometimes brisk, sometimes easy. Always great.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 66°
Climate: sunny & perfect
Mood: good
 
Now, can I do the exercises, too? That's what I have been missing this month. Do the extra work -- it's not extra, though. It's part of it.
 
Stretches: yes
Sit-Ups: tbd
Planks: tbd 
Upper body: tbd
Water: yes

That was a great episode, by the way. Full of hope.

Breakfast: coffee /cream, fresh fruit w/granola & yogurt
Lunch: ravioli & buttered bread, Moxie
Dinner: nachos & hot dogs
Alcohol? Bumble berry Brew

Baseline: 195 lbs.
Current: 171 lbs. (-0-)
Goal: 165 lbs.

We maintain, we have been 170 lbs. since the end of June, nearly three months. But we are also now entering sugar season, which will last until, I don't know, next March. As the lady said, it's decision time again.

Reading: tbd
Writing: 30 min.
Blog: tbd

Actually writing a new thing. It must mean I am putting off finishing the now thing.

What's That Lyric?
It's Gonna Get Better - Genesis

Sunday, June 11, 2023

We think that you are John or Dave.

What are we going to do to remain ... motivated? When I have more time, will I know what to do with it? When will I resume writing, and how? About what? I have some ideas, something to futz with.

But. Avoiding the compulsive feeding. And the exercise. Moderating the drinking. Even the drinking -- I tell myself that I'm not drinking during the week, but I am. At the movies on Monday. At the game on Thursday. 

How are you doing, David? How are you doing today?

Distance: 4.1 miles 
Duration: 40:21
Pace: 9:50
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 76°
Climate: sunny & hot
Mood: good

My left knee hurts all the time. Except when I'm running. Discuss.
 
High School Playlist (1982-1985)
I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) - Hall & Oates
Ball of Confusion (US Version) - Love & Rockets
Whip It - The Treacherous Three ft. Philippe Wynne
New Day - The Cure
A NIght Like This - The Cure
Rock the Casbah (Ranking Roger Version) - The Clash
Oh! Pretty Woman - Van Halen
Fake Friends - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
Conditioning (153 BPM) - Howard Jones
 
Stretches: yes
Abdominals: 90 sec.
Upper body: 10 reps. (2x)
Water: yes (not enough)

Saturday, we indulged in a true summer fashion, sneaking beer at Parade the Circle, scarfing kettle corn (God, I love kettle corn), and picking up food where it was presented; brats at a booth, or tacos at a grad party.

Breakfast: coffee w/cream
Lunch: fresh cherry, blueberry, strawberry w/granola & yogurt
Afternoon Delight: Coke over ice
Dinner: sesame chicken & Szechuan broccoli over rice
Snack: fizzy water, flavored almonds, dried cranberries
Alcohol: no

Camp begins this week. Let's stay focused. Think I can run at dawn every morning?

Baseline: 195 lbs.
Current: 175 lbs. (+2.0)
Goal: 170 lbs.

Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Playing with fire ... and not getting burned.

Christ, I am sick of cold weather. I'm just done. I need a gym membership or something, because I am not going out in the bleak and damp anymore.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 31:01
Pace: 10:01
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 43°
Climate: overcast & cool
Pavement: dry
Mood: good -- now

And yet. Feeling listless, adrift and sore. we head out into the cold. Tomorrow is more promising.

1994 Playlist
I Don't Understand Anything - Everything But the Girl
Supernova - Liz Phair
Stay (I Missed You) - Lisa Loeb
Prayer for the Dying - Seal
B-Boya Makin' With the Freak Freak - Beastie Boys
My Name Is Jonas - Weezer
Welcome to Paradise - Green Day
Here Come the Hotstepper - Ini Kamoze

And for our efforts, we are rewarded. I feel energized, the rest of the day looks bright, in spite of the clouds. Seriously, I take a day in between to rest and it feels to me as though it's been a week. Keep it up, even when the year runs are over, and you might make something of yourself.

What was 1994? Like the man said (though he wouldn't say it for a few years), "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." Guerrilla fell apart. My marriage fell apart. The most significant relationship in my life took a new direction. And here we are.
 
Stretches: yes
Abdominals: 90 sec. (2x)
Upper body: 6 reps
Water: yes

Monday
Breakfast: coffee w/cream
Coffee Break: latte w/oatmilk 
Lunch: Buffalo chicken salad wrap, potato chips
Treat: 2 Tagalongs
Happy Hour: Beck's NA
Dinner: egg & tomato stir fry w/rice, roasted asparagus

Tuesday
Breakfast: coffee w/cream, raisin bran w/fresh banana, raspberries, strawberries, oatmilk
Coffee Break: latte w/oatmilk, 2 Tagalongs
Lunch: buffalo chicken salad wrap, chips
Dinner: steak w/red wine reduction (the boy made that), frozen tater tots (I made those)

Baseline: 195 lbs.
Current: 181.5 lbs. (+2.0) 
Goal: 175 lbs.

Friday, June 03, 2022

Don't stop now.

This week is not good. I am listless and aimless. There are moments of happiness, but even so my diet has been sobatoaged (I did that to myself) and I feel uninspired and weak.

I need to write. I need to be writing. Writing needs to happen It's not just exercise, it's a good diet, exercise and writing. I need motivation. I need to be motivated. I need 

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 32:01
Pace: 10:19
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 63°
Climate: sunny & bright
Mood: all right
Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 190 lbs. (+1.5)

Slow run, beautiful morning. Winded. Got to keep going. Fewer naps, man. Those things destroy me.

Intake
Breakfast: Tastykake Cherry Pie, coffee
Lunch: pizza, juice
Dinner: TBA

Got to close to the goslings, goose came at me in the air. I ducked and ran away like a goon.

2013 Playlist
When a Fire Starts to Burn - Disclosure
Ain't It Fun - Paramore
The Wire - HAIM
Brave - Sara Bareilles
Work B*tch - Britney Spears
I Will Wait - Mumford & Sons
Suit & Tie - Justin Timberlake ft. Jay-Z
I Love It - Icona Pop ft. Charlie XCX
Chocolate - The 1975

Monday, March 21, 2022

I know I'm the poop.

Thank you, Shock G.
Big weekend. Big weekend for eating. It’s that time of the year when I am anxious to run but unsatisfied with the temperature. Best to keep going, though.

Yesterday, I said (out loud) that I run to keep my heart healthy. The wife said that’s not why I run, and it’s true— I have had other reasons in the past for why I do run. But that one has taken precedence. 

I used to run to alleviate anxiety, but today I take drugs for that. Now I run to live and breathe.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 30:11
Pace: 9:44
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 58°
Climate: sunny & perfect
Mood: good
Weight: 189 lbs. (+2.0)

Intake
Breakfast: cake & ice cream, coffee (2x)
Lunch: broccoli quiche
Dinner: TBA
Also: Fizzy water (1x)

1990 Playlist
Metropolis - The Church
Do Me! - Bell Biv DeVoe
Bloodletting (The Vampire Song) - Concrete Blonde
Rhymin' on the Funk - Digital Underground
Driving - Everything But the Girl
I Am Stretched On Your Grave (Apple Brightness Mix) - Sinead O'Connor

1990 music is so weird. Still in school, with one foot out the door.

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

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

Friday, January 25, 2019

Can you show me where it hurts?

The New Year was an opportunity to do new, great things, to flip the script (as the kids used to say) but you know, I was pretty sure that was not actually going to happen. No real change in diet, on sporadic restraint in the sugar department. Exercise is not happening.

But it's early, you know? It's January. There are so many events flying about, so many plans to be made, and now it's cold. Perhaps we can pull it together, exhibit restraint. Because it's all about restraint -- about not doing the other thing, about concentrating on this better thing.

Deleting apps from your phone can be a revelation. It can also be short-lived, if you justify their return. Maintaining focus is a constant struggle. So do it! Enjoy the struggle! There is nothing for you there, it's all out here.

Distance: 3 miles
Route: Rec Center
Mood: all right
Exercises: yes

So, the last couple times I have tried a treadmill (at a hotel, at the urging of the boy)I have been unhappy. I have felt uncomfortable. I have felt, in a word, hot. Hot and uncomfortable.

This struck me as strange. Twenty years ago we had a membership at a gym, and I used a treadmill. It's how I got up to speed, in a manner of speaking. Built my strength, endurance, my ability to breathe. I quite around 2004, to run the roads, and never looked back.

Only today, using the track at the rec center, have a realized (duh) what the main difference is. It's air. I thought perhaps I was bored, running place, and that made me more aware of how heated I was getting.

But you get cooled when air is moving past you. Why have I never thought of this before?

Baseline: 179.5 lbs.
Today: 179.5 lbs. (+2.0)
Goal: 175 lbs.

And we're back.

2003 Playlist
Sunrise - Simply Red
Miss Indepedent - Kelly Clarkson
All Things (Just Keep Getting Better) - Widelife ft. Simone Denny
Comfortably Numb - Scissor Sisters
The District Sleeps Alone Tonight - The Postal Service
Keep Me In Your Heart - Warren Zevon
The Way You Move - OutKast ft. Sleepy Brown
Such Great Heights - The Postal Service

Visit my Team Challenge Crohn's & Colitis page and support my bid for the Chicago Marathon!

Sunday, September 02, 2018

I got a marathoner's pace.

Why do I run? Why do I not run? How much of what a person does or does not do on any given day is based on imposition, inspiration, or compulsion? Which is to say, what others require of you, what motivates you, or what you are unconsciously compelled to do?

The first is my job. We began residency rehearsals this week, which means I wake at five, and break at five, in the service of family and collaborators. The last is eating, breathing, but also washing, doing chores, engaging socially ... though these last could become the second.

For that second one, that is where happiness can sit, and also your unhappiness. Because it is what you choose. And if you do not choose, but believe you should, that creates anxiety and regret. That is where the shoulds dwell.

I should be writing. I should be running. Also, I should not be eating so much. I don't generally run a lot in September, anyway. But I do gain weight.

Distance: 4.5 miles
Pace: 8:46
Route: Hocking River Bike Path
Temperature: 85
Climate: hot & sunny
Mood: anxious

Okay, acupuncture. So, put simply, very thin needles were inserted into my flesh and an electrical current was run through them. It was not an unpleasant experience. But you do feel it, it's like receiving a deep tissue massage.

The thing is, all the different exercises I have been doing have done little to alleviate the discomfort and/or pain of my nerve issues. We are trying different things. The goal, as I am to understand it, is for the discomfort and/or pain to cease. Not to "become manageable" but to "go away."

I find it hard to believe this will ever be the case. But that's what the man says. We'll keep going.

Exercises: soon

Eminem dropped a new album yesterday. A lot of people are hating on it, but LeBron James is a fan, so that is what I am listening to today.

Kamikaze - Eminem (2018)
The Ringer
Greatest*
Lucky You*
Normal*
Stepping Stone
Not Alike
Kamikaze
Fall
Nice Guy
Good Guy

Justin (skit): Ha ha! Shady got some dude to impersonate Bon Iver! Wait, what? That's really him? Oh, shit.

Felt good to get back out on my feet again. Hot, sweaty day. The wife and the girl all came out to the bike path, we each had our own routine. After, I met with Dr. Condee at Eclipse Company Store, the catch up, stuff ourselves with brisket and enjoy craft beer.

He's a runner, too. But the past several meet-ups have been work-related, as in he knows lots of things and I don't know anything, and I have this play to write. Four years ago it was the Globe Theatre, two years ago it was wayang kulit. So we finally got to share a lot of stories about running after fifty, about injuries, incidents and near-death experiences. He's an inspiration to me in so many ways.

Friday, July 13, 2018

You're making me run when I don't want to think.

Another hot afternoon run. That's three runs, three days in a row, which is nice.

Went to the chiropractor yesterday. I think there is progress, which is hard to tell. I need to do the exercises every day, and not just when I run.

I need to work on my upper ... and, yes, lower body strength.

And I need to run at least every other day. Today was much less mechanical, I felt less stiff. They change up the exercises every week, which is good, because it makes me feel like we're working toward something.

I do miss doing stretches on the deck in North Carolina. That was special, inspiring, and very, very helpful. I hope exercising on the porch at Barnstable offers as much solace and motivation. It probably should.

Distance:3.3 miles
Pace: 8:42
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 84°
Climate: hot & sunny
Mood: all right

Exercises: yes!

Baseline: 178 lbs.
Today: 165.5 lbs. (-1.0)
Goal: 160 lbs.

Ok. Keep going.

What's That Lyric?
There's No Other Way - blur

Friday, April 14, 2017

Feel it right down 2 my toes.

Cousin-book-love.
Well. Nothing like a four-hour car ride with a fourteen year-old to provide a rich diet of complete garbage. Chips, candy, soda, chocolate ... I feel like an inflatable tire full of goo.

Also, late night, early morning, long drive, took a nap from which I could not awaken. Still rather dizzy. But ti's beautiful warm, fragrant and overcast, and there may be coeds by the river.

Distance: 3 miles
Avg. Pace: 8:12
Duration: 24:37
Route: Hocking River Run

What did I think while suiting up? What do I gain from running. Like, what am I going to gain from this. Am I striving toward a goal, a race, to complete a strong of annual playlists, am I excited about writing this blog.

How about the run itself? A run by the river in a beautiful region of the state at the perfect time of year. Isn't that enough? Yes, it is. It certainly is.

Temperature: 79°
Climate: bright & warm
Mood: getting there

O.U. Nostalgia Playlist
Bust a Move - Young MC
Soul Free - George Michael
Can't Stop This Feeling I Got - Prince
Halo - Depeche Mode
The Queen and the Soldier - Suzanne Vega
Vanishing Girl - The Dukes of Stratosphear

Wednesday, February 01, 2017

Don't run back inside, darling.

And some mornings I feel entirely listless, like I never want to run again. Then I realize I have been up for three hours and haven't had a thing to eat.

Distance: 1.75 miles
Avg. Pace: 8:41
Duration: 15:14
Route: Neighborhood Run

Also, I always believed I needed to wear think socks to run, for fear of blisters and callouses. But you get those on long runs, why not wear thick, warm socks on winter runs? Or even on a short warm weather run, they're more comfortable! Thick socks. Mmn.

Pavement: wet & patchy with black ice
Temperature: 34°
Climate: cold
Mood: head down

Short run, much to do. Treacherous, slippery. Little steps.

Baseline: 174 lbs.
Today: 167 lbs. (-0.5)
Goal: 165 lbs.
Ideal: 160 lbs.

1975 Playlist
That's The Way (I Like It) - KC & The Sunshine Band
The Hustle - Van McCoy & the Soul City Symphony
Rhiannon - Fleetwood Mac
Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

Sunday, April 03, 2016

Why do you write like you're running out of time?

Vogue
Freak snowstorm last night, this morning it is bright and crisp and shiny. We, all of us, slept in until 9 AM today. This was a long time coming, at least for the wife and I, and well-deserved. It would be easy to settle down with the boy to watch a movie (I am giving him an education on the Civil War in film, beginning with Gettysburg, then Glory, next up Lincoln -- I make a point of making historical the inaccuracies clear) but then again. Training.

Training in sub-freezing weather. The wife asks if I am bringing water on this trek. Hmn. I really don't want to do that, I don't want a leaky water bottle in my hands today. Meanwhile I am writing this post in advance of my setting out, in the hopes that coffee and gravity will result in some backfield action. I do not wish to have an incident Uptown.

Distance: 9 miles
Avg Pace: 7:50
Duration: 1:10:31
Route: Forest Hill/Lakeview/Uptown Loop
Week Four Total: 26 miles
Training To Date: 81 miles

Water, water everywhere - in the form of crystallized condensation. Yes, I found fresh snow in off-the-path places and melted it on my tongue. Right?

Almost wiped out in Forest Hill Park, some paths were clearly melted, others not so much. Did not, for example, sprint down the hill past Rockefeller's monument.

Temperature: 28° → 32°
Climate: cool
Pavement: deceptive
Weight: 162 lbs. (-1.0)
Mood: awesome

The plan was to run eight miles. For obvious reasons, I was compelled to run nine. And get this, I ran exactly nine miles. With a final sprint - check the beats per minute - I crossed the nine mile mark right in front of my house, precisely on the final cannon of act one. (That's true.)

Keeping pace with Stay Alive brought me all the way up through Little Italy, followed by Ten Duel Commandments where the pace dropped just a touch where I needed to get over the top. That was amazing, too.

Hamilton (Act I)
Alexander Hamilton – Full company (except King George)
Aaron Burr, Sir – Hamilton, Burr, Laurens, Lafayette, and Mulligan
My Shot – Hamilton, Burr, Laurens, Lafayette, Mulligan, and Company
The Story of Tonight – Hamilton, Laurens, Lafayette, Mulligan, and Company
The Schuyler Sisters – Angelica, Eliza, Peggy, Burr, and Company
Farmer Refuted – Samuel Seabury and Hamilton
You'll Be Back – King George
Right Hand Man – Washington, Hamilton, Burr, and Company
A Winter's Ball – Burr, Hamilton, and Laurens
Helpless – Eliza, Hamilton, and Company
Satisfied – Angelica, Hamilton, and Company
The Story of Tonight (Reprise) (164 bpm) – Hamilton, Burr, Laurens, Lafayette, and Mulligan
Wait For It – Burr and Company
Stay Alive (160 bpm) – Hamilton, Washington, Charles Lee, Laurens, and Company
Ten Duel Commandments (156 bpm) – Laurens, Hamilton, Lee, Burr, and Company
Meet Me Inside – Washington, Hamilton, and Company
That Would Be Enough – Eliza and Hamilton
Guns and Ships – Burr, Lafayette and Washington
History Has Its Eyes on You – Washington and Company
Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down) – Hamilton, Lafayette, Laurens, Mulligan, and Company
What Comes Next? – King George
Dear Theodosia – Burr and Hamilton
Non-Stop (182 bpm) – Hamilton, Burr, Eliza, Angelica, Washington, and Company

So? This morning I slept in, unsure as to whether I was up for training. It's almost noon, and I have already achieved much, the wife and girl are working, the boy out in the now-above-freezing weather on his ripstik. I feel alive and ready for the week.

Would I have been a successful, dedicated runner without the modern mp3 player, without the iPod, without the motivation I personally require, the motivation inherent in music? Probably not. How lucky we are to be alive right now.

Let's go.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Are you in or are you out?

Like, long-distance running! Cross-country running!

Unlike absolutely everyone my age, I did not see Grease when it was released in theaters, and I scorned it when it played on a continuous loop on cable. This is a shame for two reasons. One, as I eventually learned, Grease is awesome. Two, Sid Caesar would have convinced me to go out for track.

Temperature: 12°
Pavement: dry streets, anyway.
Distance: 2.65 miles
Weight: 175 lbs.

Keep moving. This too shall pass.

2002 Playlist
Losing My Edge - LCD Soundsystem
A Better Future - David Bowie
Let Go - Frou Frou
Banquet - Bloc Party
People Power - Cornershop

Did I say 1982 was the greatest year in the history of music? I meant 2002.


Ha ha! Winter runners are assholes!

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Go for it!!!


Brief breath of spring, back into it on Monday. Very nice run today, the city seems like its still digging out from the early snow two weeks ago. Not the snow -- the leaves and branches.

Been using the wii every other morning ... should be every morning, but this week was challenging, there were a number of before-hours emergencies which kept me from writing or exercising. But still, there is something like a regimen happening, which is reassuring. These things must be carefully maintained.

At the very least, fifteen minutes of writing in longhand. Fifteen minutes of reading. Fifteen minutes of exercise. Every weekday morning. Doesn't sound like a lot, and yet. The writing gets done. The reading gets done. The exercise gets done. This idea that if I do not have an hour or two to concentrate ... I mean, I can't concentrate when I have bags of time. These brief moments, every day, encourage me to focus.

Temperature: 61°
Climate: cool.
Distance: 3.25 miles
Weight: 174.5 lbs.


This is my friend Danny, his brother and I went to school together. Danny is a high-spirited engine of positive energy. He is also a public school teacher, so he is double-plus awesome. When I was in my mid-20s and he was teaching at Aviation High, he asked me to adjudicate his school's Shakespeare monologue recitation competition, which was the first time I was asked to do that.

He is currently working in Waldorf, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C. Please enjoy this inspiring motivational video!

Punkrocker Playlist
Punkrocker - Teddybears ft. Iggy Pop
Take Me To The Riots - Stars
Tear You Apart - She Wants Revenge
Yeah Yeah Yeah - New Politics
I Don't Want To Fall In Love * - She Wants Revenge
Kiss Them For Me - Siouxsie & The Banshees
In The Morning - Junior Boys

Monday, July 30, 2012

The kids are coming up from behind.

Sunday, 6 PM.
No line at Red's Eats.

On the drive up the wife asks, "Why aren't you running?" The obvious answer is, I broke my toe. Cleaning up the house, barefoot, I just crammed my small toe, right foot, into the vacuum cleaner. I have stubbed my toe before. I knew this was broken.

Not much you can do about that. Taped them together, a day or two later it was no big deal. Bruising went down ... but you couldn't manipulate the toe. I couldn't put my little finger between it and the next toe without some obvious pain.

That was a couple weeks ago. It has also been very hot, and I have been very busy at work and at home. Summer is not downtime, the kids have numerous camps and I have end-of-fiscal-year reports. I could get up early and beat the heat, but put simply, I don't want to.

Training for a race, having a goal, this is such a strong motivator for getting out and doing the running. So is clear, sea air (see: Topsail Beach, Friendship.)

In any event, I am running now, here. And that is good enough for now.

Distance: 3.8 miles
Temperature: 70°

Blow Genius Playlist
Losing My Edge - LCD Soundsystem
Something Good Can Work - Two Door Cinema
This Is What Rock n Roll Looks Like - Porcelain Black
Happily Ever After - He Is We
Helena Beat - Foster the People
Animal (Fake Blood Remix) - Miike Snow
Blow - Kesha

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

You spend time running from depravity.


Lately, life makes me forget about running. It's supposed to be the other way round.

Certain days I suddenly think, well, you are losing interest. Nice try. And I have to work so hard to convince myself, "What the hell is wrong with you, your training is entirely on schedule!"

Except for the junk food. Lotta junk food the last week. That's gotta stop. Holiday's over, pal. No more candy, no more chips. More fruits and vegetables. No more alcohol before bed, it's time for tea, and water, water, water.

Distance: 6 miles
Route: Neighborhood loop

See, this is what I'm talking about. I set out, and immediately thought, oh, don't run six. Five will be fine. Or even three for that matter. I was supposed to run six on Sunday, but only had time for four (had, had, had to get to the bar) so that would be bad, only running four. Or three.

I ran six. And it felt really good! Damn.

Temperature: 39º
Climate: wet pavement, then light rain, cool but not unpleasant (until the light rain started)
Weight: 168 lbs.
Snack: no
Hydration? yes
Stretches? no

Blue Genius Playlist
Feel So Close - Calvin Harris
So Light Is Her Footfall (158 bpm) - AIR
Cold War (160 bpm) - Janelle Monáe
The Girls - Calvin Harris
76, OCean Drive (Apache Vocal Mix) - Nicola Fasano V...
Hunter - Portishead
Worst Day (171 bpm) - Calvin Harris
Wandering Star (160 bpm) - Portishead
Sing Sang Sung - AIR
My Love Sees You - Beni
Radio #1 - AIR
Let Go - Gabriel & Dresden

Sunday, February 26, 2012

I want to be human.

Sick in NYC, 2004.

Thursday night I had developed the stomach bug the girl and the wife had shared for two days prior. Shivering with chills, queasy and achy, I took to bed, but was still up and read to perform a student matinee of The Mysterious Affair at Styles at Lorain High.

Week 6 Total: 12 miles
Training to Date: 135 miles

It also snowed yesterday, a lot. I thought, you know, I do not feel like running. Not at all. I am trying not to feel badly about that. Strange, though. For five weeks I was this guy who was crazy determined to run five out of every seven days. Who was that guy?

Distance: 4 miles
Route: Neighborhood loop

Glorious morning, sunshine, hard to accept it is below freezing, the icicles are melting. Several days rest can make you feel like a million bucks, but I can tell my shin will start singing again soon. Still a little sick to my stomach.

Must prepare for this afternoon's performance at the local library. Gotta love a five-minute commute.

Temperature: 30º
Pavement: clear w/patchy snow
Weight: 170.5 lbs.
Breakfast: pancakes & bacon
Hydration? yes
Stretches? yes

2004 Playlist
Wake Me Up When September Ends - Green Day
TKO - Le Tigre
Ohh La La - The Ditty Bops
American Idiot - Green Day
Future Sightings - I Am The World Trade Center
Hounds of Love (New Mix) (168 bpm) - The Futureheads
Neon Human - Felix da Housecat
Pale Yellow - The Ditty Bops
Decent Days and Nights (170 bpm) - The Futureheads
She's a Rebel (159 bpm) - Green Day

Cooldown:
Ethanopium - Dengue Fever

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Bleeding forehead


Wow. Wow. I did not want to do that. I have never wanted so badly not to do something that I went ahead and did anyway. I really did not want to run today. Thought I did, but motivating myself to actually do it, that was nearly impossible. In theory, great! Let's run! In reality, really? Do I have to?

Huh. Kind of like writing.

PODRUNNER: “CHUTES AND LADDERS” 165 - 170 - 175 BPM

Distance: 3.25 miles
Temperature: 52º
Weather: cool & bright
Weight: 162.5 lbs.