I'm going to fly from side to side.

Two weeks dry. First bad night's sleep all month, but it was entirely circumstantial, work-related worrying. Nice night last night, hanging out with our son who is home for spring break.

Distance: 1 mile
Duration: 9:34

1969 Playlist

I Want To Take You Higher - Sly & the Family Stone

What Goes On - The Velvet Underground

Route: Neighborhood Loop
Temperature: 62°
Climate: overcast  breezy
Mood: all right

Not really feeling it today, so I chose a short run. I need to rest these pins a little more.  

Stretches: yes
Water: yes

I need to do knee bends, that may help. It's not enough to just stretch.

Breakfast: fresh fruit, Greek yogurt, granola, almonds, dried cranberries, coffee w/cream
Lunch: Reuben (half)
Happy Hour: Diet Pepsi

Dinner: brisket burger (half), fries w/aioli, buffalo cauliflower, strawberry lemonade

Show Bev: sparkling mineral water

Upper Body: 6 reps.

Core Strength: 20 sit-ups

My heart is that much harder now.

Residency rehearsal period. In the past, it has been a time of marathon training. Or a time when I do not run at all. These days, it is a time of good, of feeling good, and free. For I rise earlier every other day, to write and then run, and that is good. Every other day I rise later, to write and then to read my homework. So responsible! So pleasurable!

Coming soon. (get it?)

Distance: 3.25 miles
Duration: 32:11
Pace: 9:54
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 59°
Climate: cool
Mood: good
Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Weight: 181.5 lbs. (-0-)

Goal: 180 lbs.

Yes, stretches. Much cooler today, so it is that much more important. I feel much stiffer than I did when weather was in the 70s and 80s. 

But fifty-nine degrees is the perfect weather in which to run! So, stretch, drink ... I would like to resume abdominals (and upper body work) as I no longer worry it will add pressure to my eye.

What's That Lyric?

Before Today - Everything But the Girl

Last night I got nearly eight hours, what what a night! I felt like I slept for years, natural sleep, natural dreams. Lots of dreams, great adventures, alligators and and stairs and hallways. And I think my entire family was there!

Don't look back, just keep on walking.

Shortly after mile two I felt a twinge in my right glute. That could be a sidelining injury, and right when the season is about to turn. I walked, stoped, stretched, and headed on gently.

Take it easy, old man. You are in a mood for running and we do not want to be sitting on the bench.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 31:11
Pace: 10:03
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 40°
Climate: sunny & cool
Mood: good
Weight: 187.5 lbs. (-2.0)

Intake

Breakfast: granola, yogurt, dried fruit, sunflower seeds & honey, coffee (2x)

Treat: half a bookie (book-shaped cookie) w/milk

Lunch: Boba tea, macaroni & cheese

Snack: cheese & crackers, beer

Dinner: beans, greens, squash, chicken & beer

Also; fizzy water (1x)

2005 Playlist

Do You Want To - Franz Ferdinand

[REDACTED]

Robot Rock - Daft Punk

Buttons - Pussycat Dolls

Waters of Nazareth - Justice

Tribulations - LCD Soundsystem

Chicken Payback - The Bees

Black Horse & the Cherry Tree - KT Tunstall

Sixteen Military Wives - The Decemberists

I had put a new song on my playlist, and it actually offended me. Oops. I think it meant to suggest one thing, and it made me think another thing, and that was it. Can't deal with it.

And don't it feel good.

Welcome home. You know when there's a thing you know you shouldn't eat but you go ahead and eat it anyway? So, yeah, that's a thing that happened. Glorious nights, horrible mornings.

Also, my mouth feels like trash.

Debated whether to go back to sleep or not, but then I stepped outside and it was cool and beautiful. So here we go!

Distance: 4 miles
Duration: 33:53
Pace: 8:28
Route: Cain Park Loop
Temperature: 68°
Climate: humid & beautiful
Mood: good!
Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Kinks in both ankles. Did not stretch enough, that is true. Also, my right knee has been bothering me ... since I banged it against the car, I guess. Need to monitor that. Took the time I need to take for my body to settle. This morning that meant water, coffee, several trips to the bathroom, and Pepto Bismol.

It's a crap "medicine" I know, but my life would be so much sorrier without it. Thousands of years from now all archaeologists will find of my body is a stomach-shaped ball of clay.

Last day of vacation. Housework to be done, and also writing. Writing!

Baseline: 179.5 lbs.
Today: 166 lbs. (+3.0)
Goal: 160 lbs.

That I only gained three pounds is pretty amazing. While I did not go insane on vacation, there were a lot of restaurants, desserts, large portions, and sweet alcoholic drinks. And yet, three pounds. I would like to reach 160 by the time we conclude residency rehearsal, which is in the middle of September.

What's That Lyric?
Walking On Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves

Twenty-one runs in July. Last marathon training I did twenty-four. No plans to make up for the twelve mile I missed last Sunday, but I am looking forward to running a half Sunday next.

Don't like to feel out of control.

Two days on the road, I was able to drive and be a passenger without much discomfort. There was six of us in a borrowed van (many thanks to Kelly and Josh, we would have had to take separate cars otherwise) bringing the kids and a friend each back to Topsail Beach.

They have not been in two years. I have not been in three. Last year there was, as they say, "too much going on." The yer before I went to Alaska, and could not afford to spend so much of the summer away from the office.

Barefoot running is something I have not tried in a while. I decided to take it easy this morning, so as not to tear up my feet. The girls did last night, they said they must have run two miles, if they went to the pier and back.

I have been much more diligent in the new exercises I have been recommended by my chiropractor, but they do take a lot out of my thighs. So? Muscular, sore thighs.

Distance: 1 mile
Route: Topsail Beach
Temperature: 80•
Climate: hot & sunny
Mood: all right

Good run, a little pain in my left hip. It can be a bit of an obstacle course, avoiding shells, moving to the appropriate sand consistency, hardness. There's a lot of weaving, it's a trial. One mile, that's enough. I can already feel microabrasions in my soles.

So now what do we do? Read in the sun, I think. Who knows?

What's That Lyric?
Just a Ride - Jem

Put a wiggle in your stride.

shame (SHām)
n. 1. a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior.
synonyms: humiliation, mortification, chagrin, ignominy, embarrassment, indignity, discomfort
v. 1. (of a person, action, or situation) make (someone) feel ashamed. 

1988 Playlist
Do You Believe in Shame - Duran Duran
Not Alone Any More - Traveling Wilburys
Mr. Jones - Talking Heads
Touch Me I'm Sick - Mudhoney
All She Wants Is (U.S. Master Mix) - Duran Duran
Baladi We Hetta Hossam Ramzy

Big Thing is the most underrated of Duran Duran albums.

However, it is a terrible album for someone depressed, alone, and between girlfriends. Or its the perfect album. Not sure.

Also, Naked is not Talking Heads' last studio album. True Stories is Talking Heads' last studio album, Naked is most obviously David Byrne's first solo album. I can't be the first person to say this.

Distance: 3.25 miles
Pace: 8:15
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 35°
Climate: sunny, beautiful & above freezing!
Pavement: dry
Mood: troubled

Brisk run, good one. I feel pain down both legs, there's a new string that hurts in my right calf. But heading out was totally fine, took what felt like forever, though. Probably because I have had little sleep this week, rising at five every morning to read. Thank God it's Friday.

Stretches: yes

Very painful stretches this morning, which means I have probably been doing them wrong.

Baseline: 178 lbs.
Today: 164.5 lbs. (-2.0)
Goal: 160 lbs.

Ok.

A hundred turns left to go.

Against my own better judgement, I took a hot run. Running in the blazing sun. Just a lap around the block. By this point in the evening, bicycling to the middle school seemed like too much of a hassle. Remembered the stretch my hamstrings upon concluding.

Distance: .85 miles
Route: Once around the block
Temperature: 86°
Climate: HOT
Mood: maintaining

That felt good. I need to do more of that. Running, I mean.

Baseline: 174 lbs.
Today: 170.5 lbs. (-0.5)
Goal: 165 lbs.
Ideal: 160 lbs.

Erie Effusion - LIVE on WRUW
When You Were Mine - The Church
Peppermint Pig - Cocteau Twins

I can't help it if I want to run back to you.

Old Marshall Crenshaw is old.

Running every day, staying on top of laundry has become a thing. When we returned from vacation it seemed like our hamper was an bottomless bread bowl of dirty things to be washed, dried, folded and put away. Now there's just my things, soggy, limp, running things. After about an hour, they smell, so it is vitally important to keep them circulating.

Tiny wash loads.

This morning I pulled out my red shorts, which I do not regularly wear. Red shorts, black shirt, red runner's helmet (bandana). The wife commended me for my color-coordination. It is a shame I do not have red running socks.

I would wash these items by hand, but I always fail to get the stink out.

Distance: 6 miles
Duration: 48:09
Avg Pace: 8:01
Route: Cain Park Loop

Seventy-three degrees at dawn. Summer's not over yet.

Thank you, Marshall Crenshaw playlist. Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello, Alex Chilton, The Smithereens, The Squeeze ... all those songs that make me feel so horribly, horrible aged.

Temperature: 73°
Climate: overcast and muggy
Weight: 158 lbs.
Intake: yogurt & granola
Hydration: yes
Water Stop: no*
Stretches: no
Upper Body: 90 reps

* The water fountain at the tennis courts in Cain Park is missing. It was off its base and leaking last time, perhaps it is being repaired, but I don't expect to see it again before Spring.

Know what? Stretching, not stretching, No difference.

What's That Lyric?
Run Back To You - Marshall Crenshaw 

You will pay tomorrow.

Pavlok. Because you aren't miserable enough.

Always hated stretching. As far back as elementary school I remember the gym teacher leading us through stretches and the pain made me feel sick to my stomach, and unnatural pain and I didn't understand how it was associated with the exercise I was trying to do, but there it was.

There was a period when I was in college, when the emphasis on the body was so great that I was actually what you might call limber. I could actually keep my legs straight, reach over and toes my toes. Yes, those were good times. I suppose if I worked on it every day, as I had then, I could once again have such loose muscles and tendons.

But no, screw that, I hate stretching. I cannot see how warming up before a run is any more beneficial than warming up by running. What I really need to do is to make myself stretch after running.

Today I feel all right, considering yesterday's miles. There are complaints all down my right leg. And yes, I have stretched, and it just draws undue attention to the fact that my right leg hurts.

Distance: 3 miles
Duration: 25:43
Avg Pace: 8:33
Route: Boulevard Loop

Hydration. Yesterday I had a bottle with me, kept it full whenever possible. Came home, drank a large glass, then another. When the urge hit me, I had another, and another. And I felt fine.

Strong memories of my first twenty mile run, from the Heights to Lakewood. I felt hungry. I wasn't hungry, I don't need much food. I was dehydrated, and that's it.

Temperature: 72
Climate: bright and humid
Weight: 158 lbs.
Intake: none
Hydration: yes
Stretches: yes, okay?

Yes. There is a device called the Pavlok that will shock you if you skip your workout. I have logged 136 workouts already in 2015, which is more than I ever have during any single year. The fear of obesity and diabetes has been a much more effective motivational device.

What's That Lyric?
Ship of Fools - World Party

Taking different roads.

Good morning, deer. One deer, by itself, in the pre-dawn, on someone's lawn. I got pretty close, it kept its distance, and then I remembered to look around to see if another were coming at me. You rarely see them alone.

Nope. Just one deer. And no skunks.

Temperature: 52°
Distance: 3.36 miles
Avg Pace: 8.28
Climate: cool, but muggy

The morning, I-just-woke-up run doesn't feel slower, but apparently it is. We hit snooze a couple times so I dashed right out. I really need to take more time to stretch or this pain is not going away.

I mean, I could stop running for a couple days, but I think that would drive me mad.

Weight: 159 lbs.
From Goal: -1.0
Tuesday Alcohol Units: -0-
Wednesday Alcohol Units: -0-

What's On Daddy's iPhone?
Love Will Tear Us Apart (demo) * - Joy Division 

Never let a fool kiss you, or a kiss fool you. Also, do not step into the bedroom of anyone with a "Love Will Tear Us Apart" poster.

— David Hansen (@dhansenx) May 4, 2015

Sweat pours down.

So dehydrated today. Dehydrated and cold. So glad to get out in the early evening for a run, it has been a beautiful day. Bright and cool outside, the kids each had a soccer game, the wife and I made plans for the week and for the summer. And big plans they are.

I think, for the first time, I will participate in a 5K at Topsail Beach. Correct that - the entire family may participate.

Temperature: 48
Distance: 3.36 miles
Avg Pace: 7.32
Climate: bright and cool - ideal

Weight: 161.5 lbs.
From Goal: +1.5

Saturday Alcohol Units: -0-
End-of-Week Total: 3.0

We are drinking less.

Playlist: Talking Heads Radio

Tingling again in my right foot. Yesterday Nina said it may have something to do with my disinterest in stretching. I have a pulled string in my thigh, and have had for months. Also feeling it in the front of my right thigh tonight. Stretching certainly couldn't hurt, so let's find out.

Fathers are black holes that suck up the light.

Have you seen me?
I am from Cleveland, y'all. This is not a blizzard. This is called snow.

Distance: 8 miles
Route: 5 laps around the block, then to Green Rd. and back

This endeavor is insane. And yet, it keeps me sane. I am currently exhausted. And yet this exercise keeps me alert and alive. I am sore and worn. Yet, I am losing weight, breathing more freely, and fit into my pants.

My right hip hurts. I remember the hip aches, I must stretch to accommodate. Stretches now must include 1) knee bends to strengthen the muscles around my knees - they do not hurt. 2) shin stretches - my shin splints do not trouble me. If I add side stretches (sometimes I do them, sometimes I do not) perhaps that will help with this issue. Suggestions, as always, are welcome.

Temperature: 19º
Climate: ankle-deep snow.
Weight: 172.5 lbs.
Snack: PowerBar
Hydration? yes
Stretches? yes

My days are spent writing grant proposals for my employer. In addition, I am working with select fifth graders at my kids' school to create a Women's History Month event which will be presented March 30.

My evenings are taken up with the Great Lakes Outreach Touring Production of Agatha Christie's The Mysterious Affair at Styles. I wrote the adaptation from her novel. I am playing Hercule Poirot. That's why I have this stupid-looking mustache. The tour begins in three days.

Then, rehearsals begin in another week for the Cleveland premiere of Eric Coble's The Velocity of Autumn at Beck Center. 90-minutes. Two actors, one of whom is Cleveland legend Dorothy Silver. Dorothy and me. 90-minutes. Opens March 23.

Then I get a break for about a week before conducting auditions for The History of King Henry the Eighth (All Is True) for the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival. I mean, I have to finish cutting it first. Rehearsals will begin some time in April.

All of these things will happen. And I will still be in training. The Velocity of Autumn closes April 29. The race will be only nine days shy of a month away.

Why do I do these things to myself? I have to be honest. When I am not in the act of creation, I am dead. When I am in the act of creation, I am miserable. But at least I am not dead.

1995 Playlist
All Mixed Up - 311
Cupid De Locke - Smashing Pumpkins
Stupid Girl - Garbage
California Love - Tupac ft. Dr. Dre
#1 Crush - Garbage
Girl U Want - Devo
Car Song - Elastica
Geek Stink Breath - Green Day
The Brooklynites - Soul Coughing
I'll Be There For You - The Rembrandts
Where Does a Body End? - Swans
Animal - Prick
The Tra La La Song (One Banana, Two Banana) (163 bpm) - Liz Phair w/Material Issue
Possum Kingdom - The Toadies
Hello - Poe
Jaded (157 bpm) - Green Day
Alice - Mylène Farmer
Mama Told Me Not To Come - Wolfgang Press
Wonderwall (173 bpm) - Oasis
Jackson Cannery - Ben Folds Five

Cooldown:
Scream - Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson

What the hell is a modem?

Somehow I stay thin.

Week 3 Total: 26 miles

Took the boy to the Rock Hall again, to catch the Women Who Rock exhibit before it closes. Can't believe I actually sat through an 80-minute U2 concert movie, but the boy got a lot out of it. Never realized what a pretty voice the Edge has.

I lack sufficient daily hydration.

Distance: 4 miles
Route: To Parkside Blvd. and back.

I believe I run too fast on these daily, four-milers. Going into a long run, I start easily. Maybe too easily, but I don't feel so tired, so fast. The short runs I think I'm trying to get them over with, I am not mentally preparing myself for it taking a little time.

Temperature: 39º
Climate: cool & dry - shorts!
Weight: 176.5 lbs.
Snack: banana
Hydration? yes
Stretches? yes

The stretches include knee bends, I started at 10 and have increased to twenty. Dr. V. told me that part the problem with my knees is that I use cartilage - the meniscus - in place of muscle. Muscle cushions the repetitious blows that comes with running. If I do not have strong muscles in and around my knees, I am letting the meniscus take all the damage.

There are also the shin splint stretches, which appear to help. Yesterday my shins did not complain at all, today barely so.

1991 Playlist
Who? Where? Why? (The Chaos Mix) - Jesus Jones
International Bright Young Thing - Jesus Jones
Enter Sandman - Metallica
7 - Prince
All This Time - Sting
Theme for Northern Exposure - David Schwartz
Sax and Violins - Talking Heads
Until The End of the World - U2
Rush - Big Audio Dynamite II

Cooldown:
Too Much Passion - The Smithereens

Cue fanfare.

Did it. I am registered to run the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon on Sunday, May 20, 2012.

Distance: 4 miles
Route: To Parkside Blvd. and back.

Up a good part of the night, fretting. We began rehearsals last night, I need to set rules for myself and follow them. Come right home, drink tea, go to sleep. Falling asleep has been troubling the last two nights, and I woke several times thinking Time To Run. It was a relief when I finally looked at the clock and saw it was only 3 am.

Rounding the block and heading for home, I just realized how good I felt, for the first time in days. Or since my last run, anyhow. It didn't last long, but I am glad to know it is still possible to feel that way.

Really feeling the burn in my left shin. Simple exercise: Stand with your back to a wall, place both feet one foot-length from the wall. Lift your toes to the sky 10 times without lowering them completely to the ground. Three reps. This is how I have taken care of shin splints before.

Temperature: 34º
Climate: light, wet snow
Weight: 177.5 lbs.
Snack: banana
Hydration? yes
Stretches? yes

No run tomorrow. 6 miles on Saturday.

1984 Playlist
Fuck Art, Let's Dance - The Adults
This Charming Man - The Smiths
Perfect Skin - Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
Blue Light - David Gilmore
Romancing the Stone (12" version) - Eddy Grant
Birdmad Girl - The Cure
I Send a Message - INXS
Handsome Devil - The SMiths
Cue Fanfare - Prefab Sprout
The Glamorous Life (Club Edit) - Sheila E

Cooldown:
I Feel For You (Remix) - Chaka Khan

Nostalgia supplies.

People rushing round with no time to spare.

My pants are a mite looser around the waist. Not losing weight, just moving it around. Everything in its right place.

The zipper on my green thermafleece jacket has bitten the dust. So now I need new shoes and a new jacket. And, you know. To register for this marathon I am supposedly training for.

Just as well, temperature said above freezing but I did not believe it. If I had worn the 'fleece I would have burned up.

Distance: 4 miles
Route: To Parkside Blvd. and back.

Feeling a bit tight in my shins before the run, so I stretched a little. I do not usually strecth before runs, only after -- and that seems to do the trick. However, as I said, I stretched before this morning. And now I feel a pinch inside my left shin, dammit.

Temperature: 36º
Climate: dry pavement. wow. crazy.
Weight: 179.5 lbs.
Snack: banana
Hydration? yes
Stretches? yes

1982 Playlist
English Roundabout - XTC
Shake It Up - The Cars
Let's Go To Bed - The Cure
It's Nearly Africa - XTC
Desperate But Not Serious - Adam Ant
Don't Go - Yazoo
Don't Pay The Ferryman - Chris de Burgh
Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' - Michael Jackson
Jukebox (Don't Put Another Dime) - The Flirts
Mexican Radio - Wall of Voodoo

Cooldown:
Space Age Love Song - A Flock of Seagulls

Roundabound.

Last night I dreamed I had burning hands.

I guess that this must be the place.
Running just before sunrise in the middle of a cool break in August. Cool as June (but not this June.) Getting up early enough so that there is time to stretch out there where it's nice before coming in to prepare for the day. Pack lunches. Make breakfast. Send everyone off to camp. Vacation is over for me, but summer isn't.

Dreamland Genius Mix
Dreamland - The B-52's
Other Voices - The Cure
Dazzle - Siouxsie & The Banshees
Like A Stranger - The Psychedelic Furs
That's Good - Devo
Hold Me My Daddy - XTC
Never Let Me Down - David Bowie

Distance: 3.35 miles
Temperature: 72º
Weather: cerulean blue skies (with white fluffy clouds)
Weight: 174.5 lbs.

That makes me sweat.

Every day's forecast says tomorrow it will thunderstorm. Yesterday was darker than usual, with threatening rumbles in the distance, but nothing but a little rain here, briefly. Right now, gorgeous, again.

Running, every day, is glorious, but wearing. The hills are exciting and I never get tired of this short route. But my shins are singing, and my back hurts. The wife reminded me to stretch right after the run, which I usually don't bother to do.

What You Need Genius Mix
Don't Stand So Close To Me - The Police
Need You Tonight - INXS
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John
We Got the Beat - The Go-Go's
Saved By Zero - The Fixx
Call Me (Debbie Does Dallas Mix) - Blondie
Wild Wild Life - Talking Heads
Why Can't I Be You - The Cure

Distance: 3.8 miles
Temperature: 67º

Projection

A happy improvisation, we discovered it was impossible to rig the projector for Saturday night without making the image enormous ... so we decided the hell with it, and Ali, Josh & Kelly hung a gigantic screen of sheets on the back wall of the Parish Hall. Often the image was projected onto me.

And it was really freaking cool.


Struggling up the Queensboro Bridge.


The Legend of Marathon


Twenty Miles.

Listening to: PODRUNNER Classic - Velocity Angels (172 BPM)

The mixes I am currently listening to were released when the 2006 Marathon was over, and I was taking a break from running. So I haven't heard a lot of them. This one was particularly, inspiring, soothing ... and fast!

One side-effect of re-rehearsing this production in a week, rather than a few months, is that my calves are very sore today.

On an entirely different note ... dude needs some new jock straps.you

Got five more days of summer arts camp to go. We stage a final presentation on Friday. Wish me luck!

Distance: 3.25 miles
Temperature: 60º
Weather: cool & humid
Weight: 154.5 lbs.



... mmmmmmaybe ...

Push the Button

Hey, hey - FringeNYC buttons!

A:

B:

Vote (at right) for which I should stick with on the blog for the duration. I just can't make up my mind about anything these days.

What Might Pengo See at the Fringe?

The Aperture
Cleveland Public Theatre
Writer: Sean Christopher Lewis
Director: Craig J. George
Inaugural winner of the Kennedy Center Rosa Parks Playwright Award. In the woods outside of Baltimore, Alex McGregor is staging fake photos of war torn Uganda. Notoriety follows until her subject - a boy soldier refugee - reverts, committing a horrible crime.
0h 55m National Cleveland OH
Drama FringeHIGH

Gotta support the home team. Missed it in Cleveland, so I'll catch it in New York.

Or maybe not. Remember: "I like my theater funny."

Listening to: PODRUNNER Classic - Cloudrunner (150 BPM)

Distance: 3.25 miles
Temperature: 63º
Weather: nice
Weight: 155.5 lbs.

Beginnings

So this friend of mine is going Couch to 5K. And I am proud of him. And I know it's hard. The other day he asked me, "So ... when does the running stop hurting?"

The eternal question. Today I was trying to decide if it does stop hurting, or if runners simply twist their minds a certain way so that hurting becomes something you do, like breathing, and you get used to it.

And then I thought, that's a terrible piece of advice. And besides, I was running when I thought it, assessed my situation, and decided I was not actually, in pain at that moment. At least, I didn't think I was in pain.

What I did ask this friend, at the time, was where it hurt. Was it his chest, was it breathing? That might take a couple months. Just to get used to breathing deeply and hard - which goes away, you don't keep breathing hard as your lungs get used to the aerobic activity. I am a pretty controlled breather when I run.

If it's in your belly, maybe it is because you haven't eaten, or eaten the wrong thing. Or you didn't drink water before you set out.

He said it was his feet and legs, and that he felt he wasn't running right, that he is pounding straight down with his feet onto the pavement (and we all know where that can lead.)

Developing a good roll to your foot (I read recently that you aren't actually supposed to roll from heel to toe, you do land somewhere in the middle of your foot and roll forward, still it needs to be a controlled step) requires limber muscles. If you can't bend your ankle very far, you don't have bendy feet.

I promised him a few basic stretching exercises, the kind that are gentle and require more gravity than exertion.

When I broke my heel, I need to work out the scar tissue and the other damaged parts of my foot structure. Placing the ball of your foot on the bottom steep of the stairs, and letting gravity pull the weight of your body straight down is a great, gentle stretch for the foot, and the back of your calf.

Also, crossing one foot on front of the other, keeping your back straight and bending at the waist is a good one. Don't try to "touch your toes" just keep your back straight, and lean out. Use something for support if necessary. Then switch feet.

For my shin splints I did this thing where you lean against a wall, with both feet placed on foot-length away from the wall. Your legs should be straight. Then raise you toes back to touch your calves. Of course, you can't actually touch, but that's the idea, raise your toes. Don't hold it, just do about ten lifts in succession, then break for a few seconds, and do them again for three reps. After a few days, increase to fifteen lifts each. That one hurts at first, don't kill yourself, do as many as is comfortable.

How's that?