Now the party's over. I'm so tired.

Made it!

A long day of driving, many thanks to Ze's uncle Nick for providing us the truck. And I've learned so many things! How to attach a U-Haul trailer! How to drive a truck hauling a U-Haul trailer! All kinds of crazy things for a fifty-eight year old never to have done before.

Distance: 2:45

Duration: 24:29
Pace: 10:01

It turned into a late night, I don't want to go into the details. They are embarrassing. I had an existential crisis in the room I had rented for myself to stay in and asked our kid to pick me up to stay with them.

As a result, I got to help them put their bed back together, so I think it was a good thing. But that was hard. 

Route: Humboldt Park Loop
Temperature: 76°
Climate: overcast, threatening rain 
Mood: glad to be running

Songs For My Funeral
Avalon - Roxy Music

Pictures of You - The Cure

Dust in the Wind - Gabriel & Dresden ft. Molly Bancroft

All I Wanna Do - Sheryl Crow
Stuck In the Middle With You - Stealers Wheel

Strange discoloration on my right forearm, like a bruise but it doesn't hurt. Weird. Bug bite? Been around a lot of different insects the past several days. Maybe I will develop superpowers. Or get sick.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Our child has landed an excellent first apartment in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. I headed out for a run, to see what the park is like, and noticed there were far fewer cars on the side of the street where we had parked the trailer. Sure enough, there were temporary signs posted that street cleaning is today. So, instead of taking it back after, we got ourselves together to return the thing right away. Another milestone.

Humboldt is a nice city park, the paths haven't seen some love in a long time. Lot of food trucks getting ready for lunch -- but then we had a tornado warning. I hope they were all okay. 

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: TBA

And that's it. Cincinnati, Athens, Chicago. Tonight I head for home, and there will be no one to greet me but the cats.

Wear me on your wrist and I'll tell you things ten thousand times.

We rise. We pack. We drive to Athens. We learn how to drive a pickup with a trailer hitch. We get U-Haul. We load. 

We run.

Distance: 4 miles

Duration: 36:56
Pace: 9:14
Route: Hocking Rover Bike Path
Temperature: 75°
Climate: hazy & hot, dusk
Mood: maintaining

Songs For My Funeral

Tinseltown in the Rain - Blue Nile

One of These Things First - Nick Drake

Get Me - Everything But the Girl

Marquee Moon - Television

This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) - Talking Heads

Do You Realize?? - Flaming Lips

Águas de março - Elis Regina & Antônio Carlos Jobim

The fair is in town!

Stretches: I mean
Water: yes

Planks: no
Push-ups: no

Sit-Ups: no

Lovely run by the river. Really pushed myself after an exhausting day. Lot of time with my kid, though much of it was either woozy in the car (the rest, man) or negotiating furniture. I'm apprehensive, but also looking forward to our journey tomorrow.

Columbus, Indianapolis, Chicago. With no air conditioning. And rain. We will be sweating.

Thank you for holding me.

August begins in earnest. I am currently alone. And yet, I am booked. It has me a little freaked out, honestly. But maybe it is a good thing. I have plans, I have so many plans. I am also adrift, I don't know what to think, or how.

I need more sleep. Even more sleep. There is never enough sleep.

And I will continue to run.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 29:50
Pace: 9:37

Songs For My Funeral

Thank You For Hearing Me - Shuhada' Sadaqat

Love Is Stronger Than Death - The The

Put Your Records On - Corrine Bailey Rae

The Things We Do For Love - 10cc

Baker Street - Gerry Rafferty

Cue Fanfare - Prefab Sprout

September - Earth, Wind & Fire

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 76° 
Climate: sunny & hot
Mood: better

Spent several hours last night with a good friend, sweating it out on the side porch. I put out the main bulb, so it was all pepper lights and candles, and as our talk continued, the sun went down and our cups refilled, her face began to change. It's always so incredible when that happens. It was a very good night.

I do have friends. Sometimes I know where to look to find them.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 169 lbs. (-1.0)

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: TBA

Got to get on this.

Graduate Hotel Cincinnati Fitness Room

Distance: 2 miles

Route: Graduate Hotel Cincinnati Fitness Room
Mood: yes

Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: TBA

The other side of summer.

Two days on the road, driving home. Lovely visit to Oneida to stay in the community mansion house, spotted a runner Saturday night and though, that looks nice. But taxing. I have had that dizzy feeling again recently, much of it to do with poor sleep.

So sleep we must.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 28:44
Pace: 9:16

Also, while I would like to create a list resolutions for the month of August, it is a question as to whether I will be able to stick to them.

However. I may run in Athens, Cincinnati and Chicago before the month is through. And wouldn't that be interesting?

Route: Forest Hill Loop

Summer 1991 Mixtape

The Other Side of Summer - Elvis Costello

Mama Said Knock You Out - LL Cool J

Who? Where? Why? (The Crisis 12" Mix) - Jesus Jones

Pop Goes the Weasel - 3rd Bass

A Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturdays" - De La Soul ft. Q-Tip & Vinia Mojica

Kiss Them For Me - Siouxsie & the Banshees

Pure - Lightning Seeds

The best mixtape I ever made was the summer 1991 mixtape. Or maybe it wasn't, who knows. It was stolen the following LL summer, along with the minivan it was in. But I put a lot of time and love into that tape. Themes from sit-coms, snatches of porn films, and some truly amazing songs, chronicling a major transformation. A true beginning.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 170 lbs.

It starts there.

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: TBA

This is the race of the year!

Doubt comes in.

Took six days off and still managed fourteen runs in July, half of them here on the cove. What a month. No seriously, What. A. Month. And August, well. I have no idea.

Wednesday we drove to Augusta to see Hadestown on the big screen, after we had pizza at a local pizza place, it was packed on a Wednesday night. August is nice, the capital of Maine. It's like Portland only much, much ... smaller.

Distance: 3.5 miles

Duration: 32:26
Pace: 9:16

80s Running Alternative Mix

Not Now James, We're Busy - Pop Will Eat Itself

Trip Away - Jane's Addiction

Sick Sad Little World - Incubus

Orange Crush (Live) - R.E.M.

New Day Rising - Husker Du

Can't Hardly Wait (The "Tim" Version) - The Replacements

Spacehopper (162 BPM) - Julian Cope

Bastards of Young (Ed Stasium Mix) - The Replacements

We Care a Lot (Live) - Faith No More

Okay, now this is thing is getting bogged down with live recordings, which can be fun, but live recordings always sound terrible. Unless you're Peter Gabriel. Also? Maybe it should be called "80s Inspired."

Route: Martin Point Run
Temperature: 71°
Climate: sunny & beautiful 
Mood: rested & resigned

Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Last day in the cove. This was a respite. The next month is an unknown. I mean, a big unknown. I will spend a great deal on my own, in my own head. My sciatica has eased off since we arrived. I can stand and sit with minimal distress. The mattress here has been fabulous. How well will I run in August? How well will I sleep? Will I remain focused? Work is the great distractor, social media is not.

I will make myself positively occupied. I will see movies. I will attend plays. I will write. I will make plans for the house. I will prepare for the fall. And I will think of her.

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: TBA

Start to run into the trees.

Easy days, working on the synopsis. It's always good for me to have a little project.

I find myself just staring past the birch trees, at the water. Standing, sitting. Like I owe it to someone to be doing that. It's not normal for me, to sit passively like that. Maybe I'm missing something. Maybe I am meditating and don't realize it. I'm certainly not thinking anything.

First Leg

Distance: 2.1 miles

Duration: 19:47
Pace: 9:28

80s Running Alternative Mix
A Forest (Remix Mix) (163 bpm) - The Cure
Idiot Box - Incubus
The Perfect Kiss (Live) - New Order
Fruit Machine (168 bpm) - Ting Tings
Falling to Pieces - Faith No More
Bad Day - R.E.M.
There's a Barbarian in the Back of My Car (166 bpm) - Voice of the Beehive

Route: Martin Point Run 
Temperature: 66°
Climate: overcast & cool
Mood: all right

Last night we all went to the community cabin to play bingo. Entrance to play is that you bring a prize. I brought a dish of blueberry muffins I had baked that morning, and I won a "Property of Shawshank Maine State Prison" T-shirt. Next year I need to remember to bring an Ohio State Reformatory T-shirt to offer.

Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Absolutely gaining weight on this trip. The notches in my belt don't lie. Not much I can, or want to, do about it right now. There has been a great deal of stress eating. But also, portioning my meals ... which have been fried to a significant extent.

It doesn't help that all the local produce has been scraped up and I am wary of the salad. America today is so fucking stupid. 

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: TBA

Sit-Ups: TBA

Stopped to see my brother at the place he is staying, which is conveniently along my route. Saw his wife taking a walk and she asked if I was stopping by for coffee and I whined, "I'm in the middle of a run ..." which is dumb, I'm on vacation and never turn down an invitation for coffee.

Second Leg

Distance: 1.45 miles 

Duration: 13:34
Pace: 9:24