The last time I updated this blog was August 23, 2019. A few things have happened since then. A global pandemic happened and continues to happen. A president left office and a new president took office and 50% of the country seems cool with that and the other 50% is definitely not cool with that. I bought tickets to see the Rage Against the Machine reunion tour and it’s been postponed 3 times, with a rescheduled date sometime in 2024. Will Smith slapped Chris Rock during the Academy Awards, moments before Jackass Forever won Best Picture.

War, famine, racism, fascism, and greed persisted, but so did love, kindness, laughter and the enduring beauty of the natural world and the first two Strokes records. I thought I was going to die, but it turned out to be a weird migraine variant that I’m learning to live with. 3 teams won the Super Bowl (I can’t remember any of them) and All Elite Wrestling crowned its first four world champions: Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega, and “Hangman” Adam Page.

The most important event, at least to me, was the birth of my son Moses. In 2.5 short years, a teeny tiny baby has grown into a rambunctious mini-human who knows the name of every member of KISS (original members ONLY) and concedes that Cars 2 is the weakest film of the trilogy. Becoming a dad is the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me.

Mo went for his first run with me a few months ago. I came home from track practiced and asked him if he wanted to go for a run. Don’t worry, I’m not a maniac parent who’s going to force a sport on my two-year old kid, I’ve just watched Mo run more and more during our walks around the neighborhood and wondered what he would do if we went out for an actual “run” rather than a walk. He screamed YEAH and let me slip on his fire shoes (velcro shoes with fire on them, duh).

He started running down the sidewalk the way all little kids run, full energy, all excitement, limbs flailing in all directions. He proceeded to run a half-mile without stopping. After about 20 minutes he started to slow down and asked if we could get a cookie from the coffee shop (Five Lakes on W. Main, a great spot). We got the cookie, a choclate chip masterpiece warmed to perfection, and walked the couple blocks back home.

The joy of watching my kid go for his first official run reignited a spark for writing this blog. I hope to update it regularly and I hope some of you will come along for the ride. I haven’t missed a day of running since January 1st, 2014 — 3064 days — but more important than the miles documented on Strava is the life lived in between. The hope is that even if you’re not a distance runner, you can find something to relate to. And if not, that’s cool too, I’ve heard there are other things on the internet.

Thanks for reading. Happy Running.