For God's Sake Turn Around

Jen and I have decided to start working out while the weather is still beautiful. 25th Street South, which is one of the major north-south arteries in town, peters out to a gravel road just as it crosses our street (right). It's like a personal, unlimited-mileage out-and-back track for us; when I was out this morning, just one car passed me.

Jen has it all worked out. "If you go to 76th Avenue and back, it's 3 miles," she says. "If you go past the house that's a ways out, it's 4 miles. If you go to where it branches off to the right, 5 miles." And so on.

I'm beginning to believe in the urban legend about your iPod helping you out on long workouts. The other day, Jen was running along this road when Lucinda Williams' "Car Wheels On A Gravel Road" started playing. Perfect, she thought.

Wrong. This morning, my iPod, knowing I haven't run a step in almost two years, decided on Matchbox 20's "Bright Lights" about a mile and a half into my run. It features the lyrics: "You should turn yourself around / And come on home... For God's sake turn around."