I'm quite sure I've mentioned this before, but prior to this COVID-19 business, I would run and swim every other day, Monday through Friday. Sure I'd miss some days here and there due to laziness, soreness, or being hungover, but I would do my best to keep that cardio consistently in my life. High blood pressure and cholesterol run in my family, so any failure to workout regularly and eat right, will surely result in a bad ending, and I do NOT want any parts of that.

During this outbreak, I've been too paranoid to run outside, so I've become resourceful and creative. I've run up and down staircases, I run in the house, I skip rope, I do pushups, and I am still able to break a sweat here and there. But it ain't the same. So this morning, I decided to throw caution to the wind and do my five-mile run. And man did it kick my ass. I was winded, my legs felt like two 18-wheelers and my chest was burning but I made it. I ran at 6 in the morning, so there were only 4 or 5 other people on the sidewalk, and the streets were virtually car-free, so it was just a free and easy run. But...

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about Ahmaud Arbery from the time I tied my running shoes to the moment I came home and rubbed my shoe down with Lysol wipes. I found myself wondering how many miles he ran before he was killed, what was he listening to, was this his first run since the 'Rona, and did he have an Apple Watch to track his miles? Because those are the type of innocuous thoughts that go through a runner's head during a run. Safety and the thought of someone rolling up on you to kill you, isn't at the forefront of your mind. Not in Georgia where he was killed and damn sure not here in DC where runners of all races run all types of hours of the day and night. Running is supposed to clear your head, not fill it with more bad thoughts or bullets.

Yes I'm tired of black men and women being senselessly killed by people who need to be killed (yeah that's harsh) for their stupidity, and no I don't see an end in sight despite all of these social media posts from big-named people who honestly mean well really do not move the needle on changing jack shit in. I signed the petition to help bring justice to the man's family but even that feels woefully inadequate. I just keep thinking about the innocence of that brother on his run. It was unsettling this morning while I ran, and it is even more unsettling as I sit here trying to articulate my feelings

In more upbeat news, my main man Sabin asked me to write the foreword to his new book and i'm nervous as hell. I've written published articles before, but they've all been sports-related, and this bit of prose will be nothing of the sort. I have started and stopped about 7 or 8 different drafts, I'm in on my own head about what does and doesn't sound good, and I am pulling a classic Rashad (third person alert) by overthinking every aspect of this 500 words-or-less adventure. But that's what being an alleged writer is about right?