A lil' roundup
It's been a little while
Hi there. Sorry it's been a minute. I'm trying not to treat this entirely like a LiveJournal and just make rambling posts all the time. Rather, rambling posts on occasion. Much better, I'm sure.
It's an exciting month. The lad turns 4 months this weekend, and it's wild to think he's this old. These past months have been too fast. I go back to work at the beginning of March--in just over a week!--and the thought fills me with dread.
My run crew, A Tribe Called Run, officially started our partnership with Asics this past weekend. Very stoked on that; Will and the captains have really built something amazing over the past almost-four years and I'm happy to have been a part of it. We had a big kickoff run around the harbor Saturday morning with Charm City Run Fells Point. Jessi and the team down there have always been super supportive of the crew, and it's always fun to get to do events with them. I'm not an Asics man normally, but now that I get 20% off their gear and shoes, I might finally test drive a pair of Kayanos.
Getting Older/Losing Touch
Man, being old is tough. It feels like ever since January 2023, it's been a weird series of mostly-minor injuries. After a perhaps too vigorous home strength training session last week, my back (already in rough shape due to a few herniated discs. I do not recommend) was horribly sore. Only when going from sitting to standing, but still. Prior to that, right before the Disneyland Half, my heel/Achilles was in agony. And by "right before" I mean "until the morning of the race." In 2023 I dealt with bursitis in my hip, gout, and a few other smaller issues through the fall that were more annoying than anything.
It's funny about the back thing, because the workout routine I've been somewhat adopting was in an effort to do more core/supporting strength, in order to avoid more injuries, as I've spent far too long doing nothing but running, in terms of physical activity.
Of course, before, when I was hurt and had to rest a bit, it was frustrating but easy enough to just take a few days/a week/whatever to recover. Now that there's a tiny child in the mix, there's much less room for that. Every time my back twinges when standing up, I am acutely reminded that I am an Old Dad, and will be an Old Dad for his entire life, and what effect that may have on him and our relationship. What sort of stuff could he miss out on simply because I'm physically not up to the task? It's scary and depressing, honestly. What's the solution? Aside from learning some kind of dark art to reverse aging, I guess it's just trying to be smart about how I run, workout, etc. Do the things to avoid injury, including strength training and easy runs. Maybe get back to PT.
Let's Rock Out
Are you all familiar with Music League? I'm in a few with friends and it's a fun way to get exposed to new music that your pals are into. Or if you're me it's a way to make people listen to all the obnoxious hardcore and such you like. Sorry, friends. I did one league where I submitted a thematically-appropriate Jimmy Buffett song for each of the 15 rounds, so it could be worse, right?
Anyway, what's rad this week? I don't need to tell you to listen to the new Beyonce songs, but I do need to tell you about:
Crush Your Soul - Crush Your Soul
This is a Mindforce side-project, and sounds like you'd expect; it does not stray from the main event. The little skits between tracks are something I haven't seen in a while in hardcore, and I don't mind them at all. Probably because the music is, as one might hope, crushing. Let's open up the pit.
1000s of Cats - Next of Cat
I read about this in the new Razorcake and checked it out almost solely because of the name. Came out last year, but is new to me. The fact that it's some fun indie-punk from Japan just sweetens the deal.
The Breath - Reasonless Hate
Another one from Japan, this EP from Tokyo's The Breath is an absolute ripper.
Anyway, that's it for me. Catch you all next time!