Remember me to one who lives there.

July 2, 2006: Four our seventh anniversary (wool) my wife got me five albums that had the word "wool" in them, either the artist or album title. She got me the "TOCA Race Driver 3: Official Soundtrack" It's the soundtrack to a video game, composed by Plastic Man & the Wool One. Pretty sweet.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 29:58
Pace: 9:39

Music From the Big Love (1994-2024)

Bandits (Live) - Josh Ritter

Doctor Who Theme (2005) - Murray Gold

Old Town Road - Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus

Wise Up - Aimee Mann

Girl From the North Country - Rachel Stern & Company 

Devil Doll - Roy Orbison

Hips Don't Lie - Shakira ft. Wyclef Jean

Dead Sea - Lumineers

This Land is Your Land - Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings

Brimful of Asha - Cornershop

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 81°
Climate: sunny & hot
Mood: coping

• Tucson (2023)
• Clearwater (2000)
• Memphis (2000)
• Chicago (2017)

Stretches: yes
Water: yes
Weight: 165 lbs. (-0-)

Pain on the top of my right foot, around my right calf, in my right glute. All down my right leg.

Planks: TBA
Push-ups: yes

Sit-Ups: yes

I could be your kryptonite.

Because I have not, will not run two consecutive days, I could not have hoped to run more than 182 times this year, and will run fewer, as there are times when I have not been able to run even that much. So I cannot run more than I did in 2023, or 2015.

But I have already surpassed my worst year, which was 2011. And it's only July.

Last night, Gabby asked me about "runner's high" and I wasn't sure what to tell her. Wikipedia calls it "a transient state of euphoria coupled with lessened feelings of anxiety and a higher pain threshold." I'm not sure about that. Euphoria is a pretty high bar, and I don't believe running in any way creates in me a higher pain threshold, not even a transient one.

But it makes me happy. It has been a long time since it has felt like a chore. I look forward to it. And it is that, more than the running itself, that I would suggest is the cause of any lessened anxiety.

Distance: 2.69 miles

Duration: 30:26
Pace: 11:17

Bedtime was unpleasant, I was suffering what I can only describe as "brain zaps" which is odd because I have been taking my medication consistently ... at least, I think I have been. It was highly disorienting and there was nothing to do but lie down and get the day over with. I mean, it was after ten, anyway. But. Still. You get it.

Upbeat Playlist

Brimful of Asha (Norman Cook Remix) - Cornershop

Ready or Not - Bridget Mendler

Dance Wiv Me - Dizzee Rascal ft. Calvin Harris

Lampshades on Fire - Modest Mouse

Cake By the Ocean - DNCE

Show Me Love - Robin S

Tik Tok - Kesha

SexyBack - Justin Timberlake ft. Timbaland 

Ants Marching - Dave Matthews Band  

Sometimes Ze and I share the earbuds for music. We have been discussing the possibility of a race together, possibly some time in 2026.

And I am planning to apply for the TCS NYC Marathon. What if?

Route: Forest Hill Park
Temperature: 73°
Climate: sunny

Mood: good
Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Weight: 160 lbs.

Never, never ever stopping.

Nice doggie.

Regular running, in the morning I feel a kink in my left ankle, low pain in my right thigh, and lower back. What if I ate better, ran on a semi-daily basis, maybe did some core exercises? Would I breathe more easily? Move through space more easily? 

Also, my knee. My right knee.

Distance: 4 miles
Duration: 39:48
Pace: 9:57
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 42°
Climate: overcast, just before the rain
Mood: good
Weight: 186.5 lbs. (-2.5)

This is old guy, he walks a massive black, blind pitbull. He nipped me a couple years ago when I surprised him. I wasn’t paying attention. Guy yelled at me for surprising him. Still, I hadn’t committed a crime that was worthy of getting mauled. Seriously, I appreciate there are nice pitbulls, this isn’t one of them. Head like a bear trap and ready to use it.

Why don’t you like dogs, David? I don’t know, some people know how to take care of guns, too. But I don’t trust guns or their owners, either.

Anyway, I step out this morning. They are both at the end of my drive. The dog is off his leash. I wait for them to walk down the street, and run in the other direction. Blind, unleashed pitbull.

Anyway, that’s why the longer run. Also? It may be cold in the next couple of days. Also? Great playlist. If I wasn’t a runner, I question whether I would maintain this healthy diet of new music. Having children helps, also that I am unspeakably hip.

Intake

Breakfast: cereal, milk, banana, coffee (3x)

Lunch: ramen w/egg

Snack: cheese & crackers

Dinner: pizza

Also, fizzy water (1x)

I need to drink more water.

The wife says that's not a pitbull. It's bigger than a fucking pitbull.

2020 Playlist

Take a Chance - Naked Giants

Trouble's Coming - Royal Blood

We Go On - The Avalanches ft. Cola Boyy, Mick Jones & Karen Carpenter 

Levitating - Dua Lipa

Your Love (Déjà Vu) - Glass Animals

I Just Want to Dance - Sault

lucy - Soccer Mommy

This Is What You Did - This is The Kit

The Adults Are Talking * - The Strokes

Straight to the Morning - Hot Chip ft. Jarvis Cocker

Ordunun Dereleri * - Altin Gün

No, seriously. If you come at me saying you don't know any of these, it's not me, it's you.

2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon

This is Chicago.

Saturday evening we hooked up Chris's cousin and her husband and hung around Wrigleyville. Had a beer at the Cubby Bear, then massive carboloading at Happy Camper. Pita and hummus was the order of the evening and I fairly stuffed myself.

Official Time: 4:05:18
Avg. Pace: 9:22

Personal Best: 3:42:07 (Twin Cities 2015)

Not my best day. It feels wrong to be self-critical. But this was hard. Very, very hard. Like, New York City hard. The last two races, while not a walk in the park, were full of positive energy. I felt good, even when I was stiff and wanting to stop.

It all comes down to training. NYC I did my best, but I had no idea what I was in store for. It's not just about building muscle and endurance, you are putting chemicals into your muscles throughout training that make it possible to go long distances.

My first half was under two hours. But by mile twenty I was sore. Not spent, not like New York where my stomach hurt and I was dehydrated and under nourished. Quite the opposite, I feel I consumed too much water, too many energy snacks. I just crapped out. I wanted to walk. I wanted to quit.

And yet! Four hours and five minutes? That's great! Really, it is. I set a goal for myself -- four hours -- which was arbitrary. I wasn't out to break any records, knew I couldn't. I may even have kept up but I stopped to pee twice. I haven't needed a bathroom break the last two marathons. I timed it just right then, never needing to stop.

The Chicago is big, 45,000 runners. That's well more than Cleveland and the Twin Cities combined. And it was a beautiful day, just perfect, in spite of my fears. Glorious. I was dressed appropriately, with long sleeves, gloves (which I eventually ditched) a beanie (also hit the curb) and a billed hat. I haven't worn sunglasses for a marathon and didn't start today. Shorts were also called for and I was never uncomfortably chilly.

And there were live bands and lots and lots of loud music, and enormous crowds! My knowledge of Chicago neighborhoods is not impressive, but I was particularly touched by the excitement in the Mexican neighborhoods, and the Greek neighborhood, and Chinatown, and that part of town where they had stages and stages of dancing drag queens.

What marked this city as different from the few other races, or specifically New York where there are also enormous crowds, is how narrow the streets are compared to NYC, so the crowds were deafening, and pushing into the street. I felt like I did a lot more jostling for position, and all the time than I have ever had to do before.

In spite of the stiffness and pain (my sciatica, oy) I was pretty fierce on the inclines. That's a thing I do. And I did rally very late in the game, in the last mile, to keep my chin up and make a good showing. Crossing the finish line, I thought, well. I did that.

Once I made my way through the gauntlet of drinks and snacks and apples (oh GOD, that apple was the best thing I ever ate) and getting warm clothes on, I met up with Chris and Allie, and also my mother-in-Law Connie and her sister Nell, who were visiting this weekend. We all found a table at Rudy's Bar and Grille and I ate and relaxed and was so grateful to have crossed that particular finish line.

I will never forget, though, shortly after the race was concluded, and this wonderful volunteer gave me my medal. I looked at the inscription and at the bottom it reads I AM A MARATHONER.

I started to cry. Because whatever else you might call me, I certainly am that.

Congratulations to all those members of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation TEAM CHALLENGE, and thanks to all those who supported my campaign. We did good.

And thanks to Chris and Allie, so much, for their love and support throughout my training and especially for this memorable weekend.

The sun is up. The sky is blue.

1968 Playlist - or - "The Beatles"
Back In The U.S.S.R.
Dear Prudence
Martha My Dear
Savoy Truffle
Revolution 1
Mother Nature's Son
Glass Onion
Happiness Is A Warm Gun
Blackbird
I'm So Tired
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
I Will
Julia
Helter Skelter *
Good Night

Ultimate Classic Rock has a feature called the 45-Minute Album Police. It is not a unique opinion that there is not a single double album in the history of popular music that needs to be that long, that could not have been improved upon through some common sense editing.

Blood, Sugar,Sex, Magik comes to mind. Sign O' The Times. Even George Harrison himself knew he was being a dick when he released his first solo record as a three-album set and named it All Things Must Pass.

The White Album (which any prig will tell you is really titled simply, The Beatles) is certainly too long, a disjointed mess which includes numerous beautiful tracks lumped in with novelty songs, Paul's old-timey music hall bullshit and "Revolution 9" which no one has ever listened to in the presence of another human being.

I chose the edit by Nick DeRiso, because I liked it well enough, and because it was the first list on the page.

I chose to listen to this album for this run because in July I turn fifty, and a few months later, so will the The White Album.

Distance: 5.5 miles
Duration: 46:19
Pace: 8:25
Route: Forest Hill/Cain Park Loop
Temperature: 48°
Climate: just gorgeous
Pavement: dry
Mood: apprehensive, but forward-looking

What I most remember about this album is that I first listened to it when I was nine or ten, when I was first introduced to the Paul is Dead legend. I have no doubt that John put in one or two, but at the time, I was hearing clues everywhere, and this record -- according to legend -- is full of them.

As a result, it wasn't until I was an adult that I could listen to "Revolution 9" at all. Even today, whatever John and Yoko were intending it to sound like, it plays for me like a long, creepy seance.

Stretches: yes

Just a perfect day for a run. Welcome, spring. Clear, blue sky, light breeze, smiling faces in the park, on the street. And I run, I am running. No, it's not perfect. I am not without pain. But still, I run. The running is happening.

Baseline: 178 lbs.
Today: 164 lbs. (-0.5)
Goal: 165 lbs.

Temperature's dropping at the rotten oasis.

We ate 'em.
But we didn't like 'em.

The rest of Tuesday was fine. No issues. There is pain, always. Different levels of pain or irritation. But running, when I stretch after, no longer debilitates me.

1996 Playlist
Return of the Mack (C & J Street Mix) - Mark Morrison
Broken English - Queue Up
Super Bon Bon - Soul Coughing
Older - George Michael
Devil's Haircut - Beck

Again with the cold and the hail and hurting and the heyyy.

Distance: 2 miles
Route: Neighborhood Loop
Temperature: 32°
Climate: hail
Pavement: slippery with hail
Mood: maintaining

Pace: 9:15
Stretches: yes

Baseline: 178 lbs.
Today: 172.5 lbs. (-0-)
Goal: 170 lbs.

Took mom out for dinner and a show last night to celebrate her birthday. Dined light. That's what I have been doing at restaurants lately, dining light. I'm sure the waiters hate it.

You got me tripping.

The girl can't help it.

So, I'm directing Troilus & Cressida this summer. Boy, what a piece of work. Acidic smartassery. Sometimes I think Shakespeare hated absolutely everyone, if you weren't Anglo-Saxon royalty, you weren't shit. It will be hard not to stage this sincerely.

2006 Playlist
Clumsy - Fergie
Eleven (Extended Club Mix)
Tracking Treasure Down
Dust In The Wind - Gabriel & Dresden
Punkrocker - Teddybears ft. Iggy Pop

Distance: 3.25 miles
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 62°
Climate: breezy!
Pavement: dry
Mood: creative

Lots of thoughts about the solo show. Complete re-write, neat one hour. Answer all the questions. Intimate, audience of ten, surprisingly location. Probably in the summer. To raise money -- in case I need it -- for a race.

Pace: 8:49
Stretches: yes

Okay, so? I run faster in the warm weather. Will this hurt me, that is the question. Did my stretches, I will have to remember to record how the rest of this day goes.

Baseline: 178 lbs.
Today: 172.5 lbs. (-1.0)
Goal: 170 lbs.

Popcorn for dinner. Deeply unsatisfying. Mall movies popcorn. Also, my teeth. Chewing strictly on the left side. Very unpleasant. Hate this.

My whole world is dying.

Here's the thing; I actually brought my running kit to England. Had it with me in Yalding and in Winchester. The two days we spent in Winchester I saw people running through the center of town, I even mapped a run through the city but still. It wasn't happening for me.

Part of that was due to jet lag. I never got a single complete night's sleep, so sleeping in was required. I knew they would be long days walking about, but still. It was disheartening. I used to love running through odd spaces, but I just couldn't make it happen.

Distance: 3.25 miles
Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 36°
Climate: cool
Mood:not bad, considering.

One year ago today we woke to the news that Donald Trump would be our next president. Actually, most of us did not sleep that night, and knew it already. My daughter crawled into bed with us (which also made it difficult to get any sleep) she was so unhappy. The country was full of people who would elect a man who hates women for president. I didn't tell her that, she was paying attention.

If there is such a thing as woke, she it. Now excuse me, I will never use the word "woke" again.

Jesus. Cigarette and Chocolate Milk just came on the Current. That was my earworm all night that night, rolling around in my head, fretting about the future. Nice timing, guys.

Anyway, it's been quite a year. And we're still fighting, aren't we?

Late Night Beats - The Post Club Sound of Britain (1998)
Starwayze - back 2 earth
... And Then You Die - The Receiver
Summer Bummer - Crazy Penis
Can I Be Free From Crying (The Underwolves Remix) * - Bim Sherman
Spudink - Plaid

Tuesday night my hip hurt, and also my knee. I resisted the idea of running yesterday morning, and by evening I felt good. No running two days in a row. We must exercise and then rest.

You may notice I got the idea for the title of my running play from this album. I really love this disc. And a perfect five-and-a-half mile listen.

Keep it pumping.

This is only my third run since the 5K in Friendship? Feels like forever since we returned from vacation. August is not even in double-digits but the summer is winding down. We attended outdoor theater on Friday and it was uncomfortably cold. The children are speedily approaching back-to-school and my work is all about the fall.

Chris and I had made plans to take a long run yesterday, but I was exhausted and he was under it. Ah, well. This morning we continue our routine. It is a few degrees colder, and you can tell. That and the sun no longer rises before 6:00 AM.

Distance: 3.25 miles
Route: Forest Hill Run

This morning I set out on my own, a jog around the park. I have begun to walk a few steps, on inclines. It's mental, I wish I wouldn't do that. That part of my brain that used to push through weariness and pain now thinks I am too old to do that, it's stupid, it's not real, and it needs to stop.

Temperature: 62°
Climate: cool & overcast
Mood: all right

Yesterday I walked through haunted Tremont with a few friends. Had brunch in the former Actors' Gym space. That's something else that weirded me out, I have been in that space, I have performed in and produced shows in that space since the Guerrilla days. But sitting in there, eating food in that space. I was having a lot of uncomfortable thoughts.

Baseline: 174 lbs.
Today: 174 lbs. (-0-)
Goal: 170 lbs.
Ideal: 165 lbs.

Made it through the weekend without picking up any weight. That is a good sign.

Guerrilla Theater Years (1992-1994)
Hello City * - Barenaked Ladies
Too Funky (Extended Mix) - George Michael
So What'cha Want * - Beastie Boys
Refazenda (Live) - Gilberto Gil
Creep - Radiohead
Just Keep Me Moving - k.d. lang
Voodoo Lady - Ween

See how I've changed now? My head's so clear.

Last week I gave up. It has been a long time since I have done that, but I just stopped exercising entirely. The fact that it has been cold has a lot to do with it, but also because I have been in pain and I was tired of exacerbating the pain. In my hip, my sciatic nerve. Monday morning I woke up and my legs just felt horrible, heavy and pained.

Also, depressed. Uninspired. Without motivation of any kind. These moods come. They also go.

Distance: 3.25 miles
Avg. Pace: 8:15
Duration: 26:49
Route: Forest Hill Park Loop

Meanwhile, I ate everything. I ate all the things. Just stopped caring. And as I passed the ten day mark I realized I had become afraid of running.That doing so would be a bad thing, not a good thing. The pain would return, and I would be depressingly more aware of the pounds I had added, after being so judicious and careful since New Year's.

I have been through this for more than half my life. But I have never been in this kind of existential quandary about running itself. Not that I can't run, that I am prohibited from running, physically. Nor that I am depressed and that I do not want to run, emotionally.  But that I actually feel what is the point of all this running? Why do it?

Personally, I blame Trump.

Pavement: dry
Temperature: 54°
Climate: overcast & cool
Mood: trying.

Did I mention the headaches? Allergy season. It was between fifty and seventy degrees yesterday, but there was just no way.

Baseline: 174 lbs.
Today: 168 lbs. (+3.5)
Goal: 165 lbs.
Ideal: 160 lbs.

Winded at first, just like starting over. Eased up as I went. First I felt a twinge in my right knee (did I mention I had an evening last week when my right knee was in a great deal of pain) then a twist in my left ankle. Both went away. Kept moving.

Felt good to visit the park again. Trees that fell over two weeks ago, cut up and waiting to be carted away. Wonder if I would get apprehended for taking a few of the smaller ones for the fire pit.

Did I mention I got a fire pit? The wife is out of town for the week, and there will be a few pleasant surprises around when she returns.

Did I mention my wife is out of town?

1992 Playlist
My Name Is Prince - Prince
Blood Makes Noise - Suzanne Vega
My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It) - En Vogue
Freedom (Back To Reality Mix) - George Michael
The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead - XTC
Fascination (Live) - Everything But the Girl

This was the year everything happened. Started my first theater company, Bill Clinton was elected, also I was married -- for the first time.

Good Lord, but that last one describes the feelings I had about her. Sad lesson.

What was it we were thinking of?

How long can a good thing last?

Pain comes, pain goes, but this ache in my left hip continues and I am taking it a bit easier and I don't like that. Can't tell what's going on here, my entire left leg has been affected this season, from my hip on down. Aggravation.

Distance: .85 miles
Avg. Pace: 8:44
Duration: 7:10
Route: One lap around the block.

And yet. Two days without a run, and my right thigh is doing that thing it does, the burning sensation, when I do not exercise. Can't rest, can't win.

Pavement: dry
Temperature: 23°
Climate: cold
Mood: tired

On top of that, a zipper on the cuff of my cold weather running pants busted. Admittedly, my brother gave me these as a gift well over ten years ago. Still, it was a little depressing. Used rubber bands on the cuff, plan to get new pants tomorrow. Big sigh.

Baseline: 174 lbs.
Today: 164.5 lbs. (-0.5)
Goal: 165 lbs.
Ideal: 160 lbs.

Not feeling it today. Heading out it felt too cold, a light breeze was making my cheeks ache with the cold. Also, my hip started hurting. Also, just felt generally tired. Staying up too late, waking up early. Eff Daylight Saving Time.

The wife wonders if she should be worried. I mean, I am fine, I felt I have pushed myself too hard this winter. Fighting too hard.

1972 Playlist
Pusherman - Curtis Mayfield
Soul Survivor - The Rolling Stones

Never want to put my feet back down on the ground.

Dig that little waistline.

Yesterday I'm picking up my son from his music lesson. There's a number of adults waiting for the band to break up. I'm looking at my screen, this guy is sitting at a desk making a note on something. I haven't met him before, but he turns to me and starts a conversation.

He begins, "You look about my age, can I ask you something?" He does look about my age. He wants to know, if it's going to make you hurt, what is the point of exercising? You're going to hurt one way or another.

He says this, and I think of how it pained me to get out of my tiny car, just minutes earlier. I had taken my run, cleaned up, cooled down, got into my car for twenty minutes to pick up the boy, and getting out of that car, yeah, it hurt.

"Some pain is better than others?" I offered.

It's a question.

Distance: 7:50
Avg. Pace: 7:49
Duration: 58:38
Route: Forest Hill/Boulevard/Noble Loop

Anyway, I found out this was not another parent, but my son's new instructor, so that was a cool introduction.

Pavement: dry
Temperature: 27°→32°
Climate: cold, then not-so-cold
Mood: determined

How to crush a sub-freezing Sunday run? College music. Seriously, that playlist is one for the thirty year reunion.

Baseline: 174 lbs.
Today: 163.5 lbs (-1.0)
Goal: 165 lbs.
Ideal: 160 lbs.

Lost ten pounds since New Year's. 160 is ideal.

1987 Playlist [Extended Remix]
I Know You Got Soul - Eric B. & Rakim
Hand To Mouth - George Michael
Never Let Me Dwon Again - Depeche Mode
I Want Your (Hands On Me) - Sinead O'Connor
Hard Day (Shep Pettibone Remix) - George Michael
I Started Something I Couldn't Finish - The Smiths
Rock Steady - Sting
Strange - R.E.M.
My Sister Rose - 10,000 Maniacs
New Sensation - INXS
A Japanese Dream - The Cure
Guns In The Sky - INXS
Rent - Pet Shop Boys
Diamonds - Herb Alpert ft. Janet Jackson & Lisa Keith
Big Love - Fleetwood Mac

Just couldn't stop running. Every song kept pushing me forward.

Now I'm really in pain.

Those roads. These skies.

Mitch's Long Back (2016)
Daniel Maidman

No complaints. Really, none. The past two winters were arduous, and I accepted them as well. This one has been mild, only the past week dipping into frozen temperatures. I could run, I have run while the mercury is in the teens. However, between my children's schedules and my own, plus the deep freeze, it has not been possible.

Soon the temps will rise again. The ice will melt. See? No complaints.

However, I have been feeling pains, strange pains. My left gluteus maximus (yes, that) has been sore, intermittently, for several weeks. I believe I have been sitting far too much. I have had an awful lot of desk work lately and have been in front of that screen a great deal.

Then there's my car, a two-door Honda Civic (2005.) Driving slowly on these slippery roads has become a literal pain. I am used to the discomfort which comes with making a road trip to Athens, say. What is different is getting into my car as I did yesterday to drive the girl to a futsal game, and almost immediately feeling sore and crabby.

Following that, I got to sit in a chilled warehouse-like athletic facility for three hours. I should have watched the games on my feet. I often do more things on my feet. I should find some kind of secure platform on which to put my laptop for writing scripts.

The wife suggests incorporating my stretching exercises into my routine, which I think is a very good idea.

Instead of an image of my own ass, I decided to present you with a much more attractive piece of work, a sketch created by the extremely talented, Brooklyn-based artist and my friend Daniel Maidman.

Distance: 3.58 miles
Avg Pace: 9:34
Duration: 34:16
Route: Forest Hill Loop

Woah. That was a workout. Brilliant day, sun reflecting brightly off the snow, wore shades. The clumpy snow is hard on my knees and ankles, also I took the Forest Hill Park route, most of which was no different from the sidewalks (when I could stay on the paths) but the sidewalk up Forest Hills Blvd. I took back became extremely deep before I ditched it and walked in the street.

I had to walk because I had been lifting my knees so high to play over and through the drifts my heart was racing very fast. My heart is strong, but please. Let's not test that.

Temperature: 18°
Climate: cold and bright
Pavement: deep drifts of snow
Weight: 164 lbs.
Mood: decent

1999 Playlist
Thursday's Child - David Bowie
Futurama Theme - Christopher Tyng
Big Pimpin - Jay-z ft. UGK
Thank You - Dido
The Future of the Future (Stay Gold) - Everything But the Girl
Stars All Seem To Weep - Beth Orton
Porcelain - Moby

Won't you breathe with me?

Sad runner.

Now that the dust has settled, that my training is concluded and the race has been run, let me speak on behalf of long distance runners.

Stop being an ass when talking to your friends who are long-distance runners.

This summer there was an article on a certain website which flogged a recent British Psychology Society study which determined that most long distance runners (which in this study meant people running for eight miles) are miserable when running.

A lot of people made sure I knew about this article. To see if this is true. Because I'm a fucking moron or something because I run long distances.

Now I don't know anything about this study, only what I read condensed in that one blarticle. I do know I ran 26.2 miles on earlier this month - which isn't even a normal distance for me, you know - and I wasn't miserable. I was only feeling discomfort the last few miles, and no one thinks that football players or soccer players become "miserable" when pushing their abilities from playing their sport.

Who are these people, these people who run eight miles and are asked to record their thoughts while running, and for three minutes out of ten babble about how in pain they are? I don't have a clue. I would recommend they choose a different exercise routine. They should just freaking stop.

So should the people who keep asking their running friends if it's true they are totally stupid for running.

Distance: 3.2 miles
Avg Pace: 7:38
Route: Boulevard Loop

I don't like being negative on this blog. Don't be negative with me, okay?

Temperature: 57°
Climate: cool with light rain
Weight: 159.5 lbs.
Mood: anxious

What's That Lyric?
Born Under Punches - Talking Heads

MLK Twelve-Miler

Morning, Mahatma.

Pain in my right hip this morning. My right knee has been a little pained. I was concerned that running at night the other night was a mistake. My paths were very dark in places -- that is the problem with running on side streets. During the day its night, at night however the trees can make your path invisible and it is possible to misstep, hit the pavement wrong, and hurt yourself.

I have two bruised toenails on my right foot. No idea how that happened. It may have been due to my ten-mile on the beach, wearing the old shoes. I have been trying to keep my nails trim and neat.

Oh, I'm also reading a book. Like, I am in the zone reading a book that I don't want to stop reading to do anything else, like run or write or eat or anything.

Distance: 12 miles
Duration: 2:27:33
Avg Pace: 12.17
Route: Lakeview & MLK Loop

Team challenge: The boy on the bike, and I running. He remembered not to wear cotton, choosing one of his baseball jerseys. Good call.

It was another epic, this time heading through the cemetery and the Case campus onto MLK to the India Cultural Garden and back, taking time to check out Wade Chapel and the lagoon. The boy, like his mother, loves the water fowl.

We discussed the possibility of his joining me for the 20 miler on August 30. That would be a big deal for a ten year-old, but certainly possible. What an education! Though I do not have as many knowledgeable things to say to him as he does to me.

Week Four Total: 31 miles
Training To Date: 102 miles

Made up for missing last week's twelve mile run by having one today. Just worked out like that.

Temperature: 79°
Climate: overcast and humid
Weight: 156.5 lbs.
Intake: yogurt & granola
Hydration: yes
Stretches: yes
Upper Body: 100 reps

A hymn called 'Faith and Misery'.

Several months of concentration and preparation culminated a week ago Monday with a rather stressful video recording session and as a result, all the tension I had been holding back hit me rather hard in my lower back. Like, really low, I don't usually have back pain that low. It has been a painful week.

Heat, cold, tiger balm massage, and lots of ibuprofen. Still hurts, even today. Snows are coming. Got to run.

Temperature: 45°
Distance: 3.25 miles

Dialogue while running:

BENJAMIN Shakespeare would have supported this war! Band of brothers, the Feast of Crispian an all that!
CLEMENT Crispin Crispian? The Battle of Agincourt?
BENJAMIN Yeh?
CLEMENT Agincourt was a war of convenience! We attacked them!

Holiday Run
Fairytale of NewYork - The Pogues Ft. Kirsty MacColl
The Little Drummer Boy - King of Clubs
Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - John Lennon & Yoko Ono
The Closing of the Year - Wendy & Lisa
Come On Home * - Everything But the Girl
O Come All Ye Faithful - Pomplamoose
Holiday - Green Day
My Favorite Things * - John Coletrane

And so it's 5:30 ... and what have you done?

Light will keep your heart beating in the future.

The end of a four-day holiday weekend in Cleveland. The wife made a heritage bird for Thanksgiving, we saw the premiere of Clara & The Nutcracker at Talespinner Children's Theatre and took my brother and his family for a walk around the shiny, new downtown Cleveland.

Thursday evening, the most unusual thing, my arms hurt. I am not used to having such extreme soreness following something as brief as a five-mile race, and never so intensely in my arms. My only guess is that with the slushy, slippery pavement, I was holding a lot of tension in my arms in an attempt to keep my balance.

On Friday I am very happy to say my entire family pitched in and did a lot of cleaning up of the house, especially the downstairs. Today is the last day of November, and I have kids who really, really want to bring the Christmas decorations out of the attic, so I think I know what's going on today.

However, right now it is fifty-five degrees out. And we're not getting any better than that.

Temperature: 55°
Distance:3.25 miles

Also, my abdomen. Lots of upper body work in that race. Maybe this is the beginning of something good.

Light Will Keep Your Heart Beating In The Future Playlist
Light Will Keep Your Heart Beating In The Future * - Mike Doughty
Super Bon Bon - Soul Coughing
Soundtrack To Mary - Soul Coughing
Pompeii - Bastille
See a Little Light - Bob Mould
Don't Let's Start - They Might Be Giants
Vegetable - Mike Doughty
The New Pollution - Beck
Pumped Up Kicks - Foster the People

Funky Gen-X Stylee. Haven't run eight times in November since 2009. Things feel good.

And you can tell the world that you're tired.

Before.

Morning marked by malaise ... I have had an unhappy relationship with sleep since we departed. Hotel bedrooms co-sleeping with kicking children is one thing, I do not know why my comfortable bed here has been keeping me up nights.

By my wife's recommendation I took allergy medicine before bed but was still up several times, and worse, with sinus pain. I slept later than everyone else, which I hate. I prefer to read and write before the kids are awake so as not to deprive them of vacation-based attention.

However, so it went and my wife took the kids out this morning so I could sit by the fire, or the porch, and read and scribble and eventually, to write. By noon I was ready to move.

Whither July?

Temperature: 63°
Climate: bright and warm
Distance: 3.8 miles

After.

Running 5 Minutes a Day Has Long-Lasting Benefits
New York Times

Pompeii Playlist
Salt Skin - Ellie Goulding
Landfill - Daughter
Without a Word - Birdy
Not Fair - Lily Allen
Calgary - Bon Iver
I Predict a Riot *  - Kaiser Chiefs
California English * - Vampire Weekend
Still Life * - The Horrors

Without this beat my life would fall apart.

What is up with my foot? Since Christmas, I have had pain in my right foot, in the vicinity of the medial cuneform and the navicular. My feet arch so high, in such a lovely way, that sometimes tying certain shoes can be painful if they are tied at all tightly. I had one pair of dress shoes which I just left untied because it aggravated my right foot.

I am thinking it is the boots, which I began wearing on a daily basis, starting around then. These are not new boots, but it is a new pain, in a new place. I have been worried that this is part of my interior metatarsal bending, and that perhaps it is causing stress where the toe begins.

This pain is not just to the touch, like a bruise (and there is no sign of bruising) but has an effect the way I walk, certainly how I run, even how I stand. Performing yoga poses, any in which I require standing on my right foot, I feel this pain by putting weight down on my leg.

However, now my ankle also hurts. I'm thinking it's the boots.

Temperature: 46°
Climate: Breezy ... when not horridly windy.
Distance: 3.25 miles
Weight: 175.5 lbs.

Ecch. Glad to get out now that we have emerged from the deep freeze. However, wind whips down Monticello, when it's windy, and it was unrelenting and horrible for my first mile. I was wearing a hanky, nothing to cover my ears, and though turning onto Lee was a great relief, my ears were aching and still do, a bit.

But, man. How good it feels to feel my feet on the pavement, and not a blanket of snow or ice. I feel truly aerobicized.

My brain has also thawed, from torpid, frozen sludge, uninspired and dire to actively frantic. This week has seen two plays running from pen onto paper into First Draft, and the news that I Hate This has been posted on Indie Theater Now. Today I met with a cabal of artists working a salon performance (more on that to come) and my wife and I are having an actual date night, with dinner at Rockefeller's followed by a movie at the Cedar-Lee.

Forward.

1983 Playlist
She's a Beauty - The Tubes
Think Too Much - Paul Simon
Maniac - Michael Sembello
Sex (I'm A...) - Berlin
Trommeltanz (Din Daa Daa) - George Kranz
A Ray of Sunshine - Wham!
The Invisible Man - Elvis Costello & The Attractions

God knows this heart of mine could use a rest.

Adventures In Slumberland
"It's quite a treat."
- Christine Howey, Rave & Pan

Slumberland Playlist

Dreamworld - Midnight Oil

Daydream Believer - The Monkees

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - Eurythmics

Wake Up - XTC

Last Night (I Didn't Get To Sleep At All) - The Fifth Dimension

A Japanese Dream - The Cure

The District Sleep Alone Tonight - The Postal Service

Behind The Wall of Sleep - The Smithereens

Sleepyhead - Passion Pit

My eyes are on fire, my head is throbbing. Physically, it has been a challenging day. I woke with a slight headache which has carried on, slow and low, throughout the day. Nice evening with the kids, putting Christmas decorations on the mantle (tree, tomorrow, I promised) but I did not want to go to bed feeling like this, I wanted to run now. Blood will circulate, breathing will be deep.

However, not wanting a repeat of yesterday, I wore a lighter hat. A bandana would be too think, I opted for a butter beanie instead. I have not used one for a while. Now I remember why. They push my glasses deep into my face, it is just too tight.

Otherwise, however ... nice run. Cool and crisp, surprising amount of energy, considering. I am hoping that this end-of-day run gives me a good night's sleep, and pleasant dreams.

Temperature: 36°

Climate: cool, man.

Distance: 3.25 miles

Weight: 173.5 lbs.

Man. The last four years I ran a mere four times during the month of November ... well, except for 2010. Then I ran five.