My first run of 2016 is in the books. Rather, it’s in the Excel spreadsheet.

The stats: 5 miles on the local high school track. 1.5 mile warm up run. 1 mile of easy to moderate 100 meter intervals. 2 miles of moderate to intense 100m intervals. Two easy laps for a .5 mile cool down. Plus a 1 mile walk to and from the school.

I definitely feel the weight hanging on me. It felt good to run as hard as possible to try to shake some of that lard off.

While I was at the track there were two young guys intensely practicing passing and receiving with a football, a young lacrosse player half-heartedly lobbing a ball back and forth with a man (Coach? Dad?), a couple of boys happily kicking a soccer ball into a net, and one other middle-aged comrade lugging himself around the track. There was also a girls soccer team practicing with two older male coaches. One of the coaches, the one with the English accent, frequently called out, “DAGNABBIT!!” As in, “DAGNABBIT, ANNA, GET WITH THE PROGRAM!” Or, “CHERYL! DAGNABBIT! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO FIELD THE BALL!! DAGNABBIT!” I laughed to myself every time he yelled it.

My wife was done with her workout and had lunch prepared by the time I got home: salad with chickpeas and vinaigrette dressing, lentil soup, and a ham sandwich with fat-free American cheese. We both said, “Food tastes so much better after running!” You can’t argue with that, dagnabbit!

Onward and upward in 2016! (Or onward and downward as far as my weight goes!)