Going backward.

Nineteen runs in February, tied for record set in 2012.

February 2017 Median Run Temperature: 41.6°
February 2012 Median Run Temperature: 35.2°

Granted, those are days I chose to run. Some days I intentionally chose not to because it was so cold, but that's true of both years.

Distance: 3.3 miles
Avg. Pace: 7:38
Duration: 25:12
Route: Forest Hill Loop

#resist

Late nights, this week we are watching When We Rise. Can't believe a series like this is on network TV. I remember the Red Hot + Blue controversy in 1990 when basic information on AIDS/HIV prevention and awareness was scrapped in lieu of biographical information on Cole Porter.

Pavement: wet
Temperature: 43°
Climate: sunny & cool
Mood: all right

Yesterday, I got several, sporadic, shooting pains in my right ankle after my run. The first one almost made me fall over. Lasted about an hour, then they were gone.

Last night I grimaced briefly as this stabbing pain momentarily afflicted my left foot. The wife asked what was wrong, I described it just as I did now. She looked concerned. I said, "Don't you get those? Just occasional, stabbing pains?"

"No," she said, looking at me as though I were disturbed. "No, I don't."

Baseline: 174 lbs.
Today: 164 lbs. (+1.0)
Goal: 165 lbs.
Ideal: 160 lbs.

1983 Playlist
Everything Counts - Depeche Mode
Human Alchemy - XTC
Power and the Passion * - Midnight Oil
Moon 83 * - The B-52's
Coconut Champagne (Live) - Maynard Ferguson
Trommeltanz (Din Daa Daa) - George Kranz

Please be kind if I'm a mess.

How bizarre. My children, my wife have school today -- but I do not. All of our actor-teachers, attending four different schools this week, all of those schools are closed due to a little snow. And so I have been told to stay home, and just when I needed it most.

I'm not ill, nor am I very tired. But I have soul anxiety, and to be honest, I have been damnright cold for several days, and I am tired of it. Staying home, running lines for Entry Point, doing housework, putting my business and thoughts in order ... I needed a day like this.

Distance: 3.25 miles
Avg. Pace: 8:56
Duration: 29:04
Route: Forest Hill Run

Waited until the temperature rose above freezing. However, those sidewalks which had been shoveled were a think veneer of ice, the crusty slush much safer. Fortunately, only the people in my neighborhood are conscientious enough to actually shovel their walks, so for the most of my run it wasn't an issue.

Wet feet. No matter, great run.

Pavement: crispy slush
Temperature: 34°
Climate: cold .. but not that cold
Mood: anxious

Baseline: 174 lbs.
Today: 170 lbs. (-0.5)
Goal: 170 lbs.
Ideal: 165 lbs.

2001 Playlist
Cigarettes & Chocolate Milk (Reprise) - Rufus Wainwright
Star 69 - Fatboy Slim
August Day Song (Château Flight Remix) - Bebel Gilberto
Bird Watching at Inner Forest - Cornelius
Point of View Point - Cornelius
Hella Good - No Doubt
Weapon of Choice - Fatboy Slim

Better angels.

On your left.

One thing I neglected to note yesterday was how pleasant it was to run in the dark in temperatures in the mid-60s. Delightful, really.

Also, last week Fil asked about shoes. His were past their freshness date, but he has a long race coming up and should he continue to wear them through the race or get new ones?

People had all kinds of opinions, but as I normally ask in any given situation, "How does this affect me?" I checked and realized my shoes are well over a hundred miles past their limit.

Distance: 6 miles
Duration: 48:23
Avg Pace: 8:03
Route: South Euclid Loop

Radio 360: American Icons: The Lincoln Memorial

The idea of listening to podcasts is not necessarily inspiring. However, often I find them useful. Certainly downloading them means I am not streaming data, which helps with our cell plan. But I also run briskly while listening to them, and I feel as though I stand straighter. Today's episode concluded just as I was rounding the last bend and as I walked the last few yards I felt taller. Perhaps I was inspired by the man himself.

Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
- Song of Solomon 8:6

Temperature: 57°
Climate: cool
Weight: 155.5 lbs.
Intake: banana
Hydration: yes
Water Stop: no
Stretches: yoga (10 min.)
Upper Body: 80 reps

The road just leads to nowhere.

When you pay money for something, and then you apply it permanently to your five-figure vehicle, you are making a statement.

People with this sticker on their car (see right) aren't just saying, "I don't run."

They are saying, "Fuck you, runner."

There those who state that we live in a time of overreaching political correctness, and that people today are too easily offended.

Might I suggest that people today go to great lengths to casually offend people they don't even know.

Distance: 7 miles
Avg Pace: 8.07
Route: Forest Hills-Cain Park Loop

Temperature makes a great difference. So glad I rose early to put in this longer daily run than wait until this evening when it will be twenty degrees warmer. A brisk seven miles and I don't even feel winded.

Something about my run today felt effortless, and as a result I wasn't really listening to the MMR women in my head telling me what my pace was. My pace wasn't something I was thinking about. However, I was going about 160 bpm, which felt ideal.

Last night some friends of ours and we were watching our kids play ball on the fields in Forest Hills, and Marcie mused how odd it was to think we were just standing there, watching a game where the Rockefeller's used to stroll. That is odd to think.

I ran through this same space today, through Forest Hills, the former Rockefeller estate. Had to jog away from the pond near the pavilion as there was a fawn grazing right by the water. No idea whether mother or father was waiting in the pavilion. 

Temperature: 55°
Climate: cool!
Weight: 157.5 lbs.
Intake: energy gel
Hydration: yes
Water stop: yes
Stretches: yes
Upper Body: 160 reps

Three year old energy gel? Sure. Why not.

What's That Lyric?
New Life - Depeche Mode

Slow down, man, you're losing them.

I had a dream. There was a large crack in the wall of my home. The south face was coming apart from the rest of the house. On the first floor, you could put your fist into a crack that size. In the girl's room you could see the wall pulling away from the ceiling.

Some believe this is a form of claustrophobia, others that it is a representation of agoraphobia. I believe it is a fear of my house falling apart.

Temperature: 28°
Pavement: thin snow and ice
Distance: 3.25 miles
Weight: 175.5 lbs.

Missed the above-zero temps as I wrangled children (and one adult) our of the house. It is a holiday, and the children will play, but we have work yet to do.

The snow melted a little bit -- and then froze. So it was a bit slippery today. I took the reverse route today, so the wind was at my back on Monticello.

Odd temperature, I wore less under my fleece and pants, but still sweat. A lot. As a result I was getting chilly the last half-mile. Just an observation.

1988 Playlist
Hey You!!! * - The Cure
Mary, Mary - Run-D.M.C.
Down In It (demo) - Nine Inch Nails
I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - The Proclaimers
Rebel Without A Pause - Public Enemy
(Nothing But) Flowers - Talking Heads
Cult of Personality - Living Colour