I ran a half-marathon today with my mom.

At mile 10 I got a stitch on my right side, like clockwork. I always get stitches 3/4 of the way. Meant to research how to deal with those before running, forgot to.

I still finished semi-strong. 1 hour 35 minutes. 7:18 minutes a mile. 88th out of 1440. I feel like there are few places I can write that and not be bragging. Here's one of them. Let's say it's for posterity.

My mental state was a-ok until 12.5 miles. Then I realized I was running on a bike path, one that started in the open but then the ground around it rose up and made a small valley, trees around both sides. The leaves were changing and falling, I tried to catch them whenever they spun past me.

The path ran downhill and underneath an overpass, High Street. I was on the opposite side of the state but I might as well have been running in the Berkshires, along the Rail Trail, on my way back to K's a year ago. Very overdramatic, but between the cramp and being tired I didn't really have as good a grip as I wanted. I really could have been running the Rail Trail.

No punchline. I kept running but a little sadder. I ran and finished alone. I'd left my mom with a hug a few seconds after the start. I jumped from pack to pack, settled in with a girl my age for a little. She fell back for miles 6-12, but jumped past me after the cramp had slowed my pace. I switched off back and forth with a guy a foot taller than me. He finished 20 seconds ahead of me. Shook my hand after we got our participation medals. Closest thing I had to a buddy.

I went back for my mom after finishing. I waited for her for 45 minutes and ran the last 1/5-mile with her when she showed up. I'd hoped that my presence might cause some visible change in her running, but she just kept going. Laughed when I called her 'Thunder Thighs' and 'Adle', my dad's nicknames for her back when they ran together.

Whenever I come back to Boston to visit, I bring the laminates and backstage passes I accumulate on tour and I hang them in the closet of my bedroom here. This trip I had one badge from a conference we played in Portland, it's the last music one I'll hang for a little bit. Today I put up my race medal with them all. I'm one month into living a normal life and I'm okay with how it's going.

Today was good and I guess I'm pleased with myself, but like most times that happens it'll be gone by the time I wake up.