Scoreboard
A Goal: 13 min/mile pace
Actual: 12:25 pace
B Goal: 3 hour finish
Actual: 2 hour, 44 minute finish
C Goal: Finish
Actual: Finished

A year ago at this time I was on the couch with a broken arm and broken leg after getting hit-and-run by a car on Christmas Eve. While I lay on the couch, January 1st of 2021, my neighbor Cathy ran the “First on the First 5K” for me.
Today, we ran the race together on a wet morning.
825 people had nothing better to do on a New Year’s Day morning but to gather in the rain and run three miles through Westerville neighborhoods.
I spent 2021 recuperating from the accident. During the last year I didn’t keep track of how many miles I ran or how long it took me to complete them. I just tried to work my way back.
Today is the beginning of being back. It was not a particularly fast run, we averaged close to 11:00 minute miles. My weight is 30 pounds more than this time last year. But I strapped on my Garmin watch for the first time in a long time and took the first steps to being back as a runner.
We were hoping to set a new PR for Cathy but missed that by 20 seconds (making the last mile uphill didn’t help that).
It rained so much I couldn’t see out of my glasses, but it is good to be back.
I am not sure what races I will run this year. COVID has made organized, in person races uncertain. But today I begin the journey of running 2,022 miles this year–only 2,019 to go!
Five Stars: The top 10 albums of the year. Call Spoonful Records and get these on vinyl
2021 brought with it far fewer running miles. After bouncing off a car on Christmas Eve 2020, much of my year was spent in physical therapy and recovery. I began running again in June, did a 5K in August, and 10K in October.
Despite the reduced miles, there was still so much great music that came out this year. Here are the 100 best songs (in my unprofessional opinion) for running, driving, working out, cleaning, or just jamming.
You can listen to this playlist on Apple Music at https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/2021-running-songs/pl.u-06oxp93CYpkqX9p
Enjoy! Let me know what you have been listening to and what I missed.
In the Team Possum running world, the person who finishes last is seen as the most courageous. After all, it is the person who finishes last who has run for the longest amount of time. At the end of a Possum race, the DFL (Dead F*ing Last) person gets a ridiculously large trophy. I hoped today might be my opportunity.
I signed up to run the Spooky Dam 10K about 12 hours before race time, not particularly trained for a race. On Monday I saw my doctor and complained about weight gain. He said I should run more. So after my appointment I did as the doctor ordered, went for a run, fell, and injured my rib. I took the rest of the week off running and in the first mile of the race could definitely feel it.
The race is an out-and-back course on the walking trail that parallels the shore of Buckeye Lake. It was a typical late October, Ohio day: gray, cool, and drizzly. Yet, it is a picturesque community with cute lakefront houses. Residents came out in costume and cheered as we ran by.
At the 5K turn around point, the singer Shawna Croder ran up next to me and turned around with the overwhelming majority of the runners. The first quarter of the race featured a nice crowd; the last three quarters was pretty sparse.
After turning around at the 10K point, I initially thought only one person was behind me and this was my chance to finally get the illusive DFL. A few minutes later I saw an older gentleman still headed toward the turnaround point who was walking. I knew I couldn’t get the DFL with integrity. Always a bridesmaid, never a DFL.
However, on the return journey I ran with a guy named Brad. Brad was running his first ever 10K and I shared with him the Possum adage that “if you get to the finish line and haven’t made a new friend, you are doing it wrong.” He said, “well, I guess I’ll be your friend.”
In the last half mile I let Brad go ahead and crossed the finish line listening to the Dead Kennedy’s song, Halloween.
Probably the slowest 10K I’ve ever run and the closest I ever came to DFL. The only person slower than me was a man walking. However, considering it was 10 months since bouncing off a car and five days after falling on a rib, I am glad for the ability to finish.
I have attempted the run the year challenge for three years in a row. And, I have fallen short each time.
In 2018 I finished with 1800 miles—a new personal best and a good start. In 2019 I again set a personal best with 1801 miles but still a couple hundred below the goal.
In 2020 I was determined to run the year and run the miles. I was sick in January, so missed a few days at the first of the year, and was behind ever since.
The virtual runs offered during coronavirus lockdowns did not help. In fact I think the uncanceled runs, provided by the same people who created run the year, served as cross purposes. While racing in a number of events sounds like a good way to catch up on miles, the resting before and after a race creates a net negative affect. In 2020 I raced in over 30 virtual races. Both wanting to push myself, and to support the running community.
I sought to run these races with some integrity. Not every race was a PR, although I did set some of those. But I did not go out and simply jog a 5K or finish a marathon as a slow jog. I put out a real effort as if I was racing. Among these 30 events I ran about a half dozen marathons and ultras.
Every week the deficit for my running balance improved more and more. Soon it was in the single digits. With a week to go, I had less than 50 miles to run. I can remember thinking on Christmas Eve morning, if I wanted to, I could run this whole thing in one day. But that is not how the day would turn out.
A mile into the run I got hit head on by a car. The driver didn’t stop. I could see the headlights coming at me but it was too late to do anything about it. I flew in the air like a cartoon character and landed on my right side. The adrenaline initially masked the pain, but I soon realized my arm and leg were like Jell-O. Another attempt at running the year was finished. Another time I have fallen short.
I am lucky to be alive. I can remember details of the accident that I wish I didn’t. I am sad to have put the ones i love through this hell again. But as the tattoo on my clavicle reminds me, i will rise above.
2020 is a year that will go down in infamy historically… but, has been a remarkable year musically.
For the last several years I have put out a list of my top albums of the year. This year, I kept a list of all the new albums I listened to. Instead of limiting to a finite number of favorite albums, I ranked them all. This worked out to 366 albums, one for each day of the year.
Here are my favorite albums that came out in 2020. The year may have sucked, but the music was fantastic. Thanks to Henry Rollins and his KCRW Radio Show, Iggy Pop’s Iggy Confidential, NPRs All Songs Considered, and all the other music sites that help to keep it fresh.
What did you listen to in 2020?
2020 Albums of the Year