Jesus rides beside me.

Pain in my thighs/hips. Mostly right, but then there were flashed of pain in my left yesterday. Going to see what putting a few miles on it during the afternoon does.

Distance: 3.5 miles
Duration: 35:02
Pace: 10:00
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 79°
Climate: sunny & hot
Mood: all right

God, this sucks. I have strength, I have stamina. My breathing is excellent, I can run in heat without getting exhausted.

But the sciatica. Oy! There is this band around my thigh and it hurts.

And yet, we run. Because every other part of it is pleasurable.

What's That Lyric?

Can't Hardly Wait - The Replacements

Hamlet explains running.

(Take it with a pinch of electral 🙂)

To run or not to run, that's the question
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous early mornings,
Or to take arms against a sea of marathons,,
And by opposing end them? To drink: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heel ache and the thousand ITB shocks
That feet is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To drink, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of FMs,what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this hydration belt,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long runs;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of garmin
The organizers wrong, the proud pacers contumely,
The pangs of despised PBs, the GPS delay,
The insolence of Sub 4 and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy dry fits
When he himself might his quietus make
With a cold beer? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary flyover
But that the dread of something after DNF
The undiscover'd ultras from whose events
No runner returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those medals we have
Than fly to other marathons that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make runners of us all;
And thus the native hue of barefoot
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of vibrams
And LSDs of great pace and tempo
With this regard the runners turn awry
And lose the name of action

- Karthik TMK

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 19:32
Pace: 9:45
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 75°
Climate: overcast and muggy
Mood: not well
Weight: 183 lbs. (+1.0)

To run or not to run, indeed. It has been a difficult day, hard to concentrate on my work. I believe it is allergies, I feelt headachy and somewhat stuffed. So why not get out and run?

Lord I feel like I'm, like I'm losing it.

Back on the road. The wife and I are taking a "drying off" period, as far as I am concerned, summer is over. Journeys are complete and it is time to concentrate on work. Work work, school work. And so we will drink less, or not at all. Because quarantine has been excessive, vacation even more so.

This morning I felt a rise in my chest. The low throbbing feeling. I can feel it in my abdomen. Is it high blood pressure? Something else? No idea. I have had success in the past by laying off the mix of sertraline and alcohol, I think. I'm not sure.

But running feels good, so.

Distance: 3 miles
Duration: 30:29
Pace: 10:09
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 79°
Climate: sunny & hot
Mood: all right?
Weight: 182 lbs. (-0-)

I gained no added pounds on vacation!

What's That Lyric?
Don't Wanna Go the Other Way - Cody Chesnutt

Run away.

Our last full day, we must depart tomorrow at nine. am. Traditionally it is at noon, why so early? They clean the cabin from top to bottom, a thorough disinfecting. Indeed, when we arrived I had never found the place so clean. I mean, it's been clean, but there's clean and there's clean.

Check out at nine, next family cannot check in until five. They have taken things seriously here, and so have we. Always distanced, never stepping into anyone else's cabin. Outdoor meetings only.

The weather has been so pleasant, we have done our fishing and reading and reading and reading. The boy caught a four pound bass yesterday in Crystal Pond. He has not yet eaten any of his catches, back into the pond it went. But that was a real big fish.

The work resumes on Monday, if permitted I believe I will return to the office. There is so much we need to do.

Summer reading (hers, not mine.)

Distance: 3.5 miles
Duration: 33:28
Pace: 9:34
Route: Martin Point Run
Temperature: 79°
Climate: sunny & hot!
Mood: good, thanks.

Brisk run, hot and free. Right hip complaining for a bit, now my left knee. But there s nothing for me to complain about, really. A week that began with a deep slide into much controlled mourning (there are no secrets in this house, there are no ceilings upstairs but for the roof, my tears were muffled and silent) has resolved itself into a feeling of relaxation and something akin to relief.

Long drive tomorrow, a short one on Sunday. And that would be my birthday.

I see my reflection as I slowly pass.

The fewer people, the fewer interruptions. The boy sleeps until noon, if I do not wake him to go fishing, as happened yesterday. The wife has her own business, writing, reading, meditating.

I have time to read as much as I like. We are under self-imposed quaratine, we are not (supposed) to visit other cabins, to go into the market (they deliver, which is very nice) let alone venture to other towns. Just as well, Camden, I hear is busy with shoppers, and the sidealks are so narrow. Ridiculous.

The wife gifted me with The Mirror and the Light back in March, and I have been an unresponsible reader with it. It is over 750 pages, a hefty tome. Authors tend to go long when they are trying to tie things up, but I have poor reading habits working days, even in quarantine, taking in a page or two a night before becoming drowsy. I have read perhaps a hundred or more since the week began.

The smell of the cove enfolds me this morning, sitting out on the new porch. There is no odor like it anywhere else in the world, not that I have enountered. Sea and tree and cut wood. I am privileged to be here, and I believe I am only now embracing my gift. Before it was not my choice.

Distance: 3 miles
Duration: 29:07
Pace: 9:42
Route: Martin Point Run
Temperature: 72°
Climate: overcast & breezy
Mood: all right

The Martin Point route is pleasurable, with its many rises and falls. As long as it is not too sunny (today it is not) and the breeze is mild it's downright idylic. See the chart for the elevation -- it is not a perfect mirror because I decided to stop at 3 miles, not for any particular reason except I was satisfied and wanted to walk a little bit.

What's That Lyric?
I WIll Possess Your Heart - Death Cab For Cutie

I'm feeling jake.

Barnstable, c. 1974

More vacation, more time away. We return to the ancestral place of respite. We do not own this cabin it owns us. My great-grandfather actually rented the Defiance on the water, bringing his family here first a hundred and ten odd years ago. that cabin was raised this past year, rising sea levels have caused it to flood at spring tide.

I heard a story once that the old man coveted the Barnstable, and was in conflict with the renter here to finally secure his place on the schedule to have it for the summer. I do not know what this means. Whoever told me that story has passed.

The Barnstable, too, has received a pleasantly signifcant upgrade. The porch is new. No longer sagging forward, and with wide, open stairs now in the middle, rather than off to the side, providing more space to move around and a new, unobstructed view of the cove.

Barnstable, 2020

Distance: 3.5 miles
Duration: 34:28
Pace: 9:50
Route: Martin Point Run
Temperature: 77°
Climate: gorgeous
Mood: all right now

Running at noon, the morning clouds burned away. A bright and sunny run. Kayakers. Dog-walkers, one other runner. All more than six feet away.

We are three in the big house. The first time it has been in my own name. I never thought that would happen. Next year it will be different. We had plans t put mother to rest but no one else wanted to risk the journey, and that is fair. We can wait. There is always time.

What's That Lyric?
Just Got Lucky - Jo Boxers

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 18:09
Pace: 9:05
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 79°
Climate: sunny & warm
Mood: angsty
Weight: 182 lbs. (-1.0)

Home. Sigh.

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 18:02
Pace: 9:00
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 70°
Climate: sunny & humid
Mood: decent
Weight: 183 lbs.

I gained one pound on vacation. That's a big win in my book.

Running around the block is not as much fun as running on the beach, but it is easier.

The hot heat rising.

Great way to close out the week, and absolutely delightful barefoot run, and I gave myself a fat blister on each of my big toes. Seriously, no complaints. Feels like a brief vacation, but all I need right now.

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 19:51
Pace: 9:55
Route: Topsail Island Beach
Temperature: 79°
Climate: sunny and breezy
Mood: good

What's That Lyric?
Send My Love (To Your New Lover) - Adele

This harbor town is waist-deep and sinking fast.

Don't fuck with the sea turtles.

This morning we rose a bit earlier. Just did, no alarm. Over cast and cooler, light rain for part of the run, tide headed out.

Fewer people, more space. Pain in my right thigh, which subsided. Listening to the 155-159 BPM mix which is my early 50s sweet-spot, I suppose.

Stretched it out to four miles, one out then back, and another out then back. That was a run I could relate to.

Distance: 4 miles
Duration: 40:32
Pace: 10:08
Route: Topsail Island Beach
Temperature: 77°
Climate: overcast, light rain
Mood: determined

What's That Lyric?
Hello City - Barenaked Ladies

I'll keep coming back.

The tide is high, so I am going to try something different, I will run in bare feet. That was, I can tay near the surf without being angsty about getting my feet wet.

Distance: 1 mile
Duration: 11:33
Pace: 11:33
Route: Topsail Island Beach
Temperature: 81°
Climate: partly sunny
Mood: all right

Patio Playground, 2020

This isn't working. It's fine, but it's not ideal. It's not supposed to be arduous like this. It's because the tide is high in the morning, and there is a very narrow strip of beach that is appropriate to run on. Also, I have been running too late. Run in the morning, and there are fewer people to avoid.

I could run, and then write. Or I could wake earlier, but I am just not in the mood for that this year.

Go back over this blog by clicking on the "Topsail Beach" label below. See how much younger I am. I've been visiting this beach every year, sometimes every other year, since 2011 (the rest of the family started the year before, but I could not join them.)  See how I have changed. See how the children have changed.

What's That Lyric?
I'll Keep Coming Back - Chanelle

Hey-hey-hello!

Last week the girl and I watched movies pretty much every night. She wanted to get her retro teen flick experience, so we viewed Back To the Future, Ferris Buller's Day Off and Clueless.

Also Sweeney Todd, which was far more gruesome than I remembered, but ah well. She knew what she was getting into. We also watched Hamilton a couple times.

I was surprised to find Party Girl available on Amazon, so we also watched that. Made the same year as Clueless and with less than one percent of that Hollywood film's budget (seriously, Party Girl was made for $150,000) it was a starring vehcle for 90s indie-queen Parkey Posey and though I only saw it once, I bought the soundtrack and that is a much-loved CD.

I wondered if it was available on Spotify (yes, we now have a family subscription to Spotify) and was first surprised to see that it was! And then that it was not -- but what I had found was a fan playlist including all of the songs included in the film, many of which are not available on the CD.

Anyway, that is what I am listening to on my beach runs this week. Imitate a cat puking.

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 22:30
Pace: 11:15
Route: Topsail Island Beach
Temperature: 81°
Climate: dark clouds, spitting rain
Mood: all right

High tide is not the best time to run here, there is only a narrow strip of firm sand to run on, which is sometimes subsumed by surf (I am running in shoes so far) and to avoid all others on the beach, I am sometimes dashing up onto the sandy part. It is like ... well, it is like running in sand.

But it felt good. Two miles under these conditions, with the wind and the sand giving below my feet, is more like three miles. So much more effort. And it's beautiful.

The beach, for those who are interested, is not crowded. When we are on it, we are close to no one. And there is the constant wind. I am unconcerned about transmission in this place.

It's hot in here.

The girl I and drove all day yesterday to join everyone at the beach house. It's a little nuts but as long as we keep to the beach and the house, I think we will be okay. I hope we will be okay.

Yay, hoping against infection.

Distance: 2.5 miles
Duration: 25:21
Pace: 10:08
Route: Topsail Island Beach
Temperature: 82°
Climate: hot & clear
Mood: all right

Running north, into the wind, is harder. Running south, with the wind at your back but not in your face, is hotter. Maybe tomorrow I will get out earlier. But, you know. Maybe not.

What's That Lyric?
Who Wants An Ugly Girl? - Tom Tom Club

Forest Hill on the Fourth of July

Mask: Mary P. Traverse

Fourth of July run with the girl, we took in the park. One or two picnics, someone grilling in spite of that being (I think) not permitted.

Talked about the future. She is so much better prepared to take care of herself than I ever was. Certainly not at her age.

Got the a/c working. We will fire up our own grill in a few.

Distance: 3.7 miles
Duration: 38:18
Pace: 10:26
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 81°
Climate: sunny & hot
Mood: good, you know?
Weight: 182 lbs. (-1.0)

I don't know what I expect to find.

The past few days have been difficult. I had no symtoms of illness, just a general sense of feeling run-down. Listless. Damnright sleepy. I mean, just sleepy-deepy. Since Tuesday morning.

The past two days I just took it easy. No, we didn't wake up at three a.m. to watch Hamilton. We woke up when we woke. Even today I don't feel like doing much, but then I am curious as to whether that is because my wife is out of town.

And it is eighty degrees. Not the best time of day for a run. But I am listless agitated and feel a need to move.

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 18:34
Pace: 9:16
Route: Two times around the block.
Temperature: 82°
Climate: sunny & HOT
Mood: all right
Weight: 183 lbs. (-2.0)

Yes, hot run. Good call. Hot, short run.

What's That Lyric?
The Ghosts of Beverly Drive - Death Cab for Cutie