Gloves and Green Day

On the menu today was just an easy 7 miles w/some hills. Simple enough. But it's still fricking cold here! And I was NOT yet awake at 8am when I set out for this one...and in Duluth, at least from where I live, if you want hills (on an out and back route) it basically means up on the way out and down on the way back. As someone who takes a little bit of time to warm up and get into the groove of a run, I would prefer the opposite. Alas.

This run was never particularly inspiring, but it also wasn't bad. Really, there was nothing negative about it. There was a STRONG wind that I swear changed directions whenever I did...and I was kinda thirsty and hungry the whole time (still have not mastered pre-morning run eating)...but it was still a solid effort and, well, I got in the miles.

I am a true believer that you can find some good - something positive - in everything...even if it isn't necessarily exciting or inspiring on its face. (On it's face? Did I just write that? I am reading way too many legal Opinions.)

So here are my random positives for the day:

Today, finally, I remembered to wear gloves. Oh, what joy I derived from having warm - or maybe just not having numb - hands. So much better. Good call, Baldwin.

This was also a good one because it began and ended with appropriate Green Day tunes. I loves me some Billie Joe. I do. The (former) pop music scholar in me analyzes my particular appreciation as relating to the fact that the songs are basically show tunes in disguise. (I-vi-ii-V-I never hurt any song as far as I am concerned.) They are. Same harmonic sequences, same repetitiveness, etc. Now, this could be said of a lot of pop music, of course. But there is something inarticulable about it (the fact that I can't articulate such things is perhaps why I did not continue on as a pop scholar) and I swear I felt this way before American Idiot, Green Day's "rock opera"/Broadway show.

Anyway, this run started with "Jesus of Suburbia" which just might be my current favorite song for starting out a run. Now, I didn't plan this. My ipod shuffle has about 130 songs on it - and it does not circulate through all of them before going back to others. Sometimes it is weeks or months before I hear a song. Just lucky I guess.

The run ended with "Basket Case" which was just a little too perfect since I was running down 4th street. "Basket Case", or rather, Dookie, was in the tape player of my 1976 Ford Maverick (named Gunner) the day I got my license and the first time I drove by myself. I vividly remember driving on 19th Ave E to 4th street and almost causing an accident because I forgot that the cars going in the opposite direction didn't have a stop sign.

Good memories. Good times. And, in the end, a good run.