»Dump the first espresso of the day.« That was the advice, I saw in a reel the other day. A guy standing in a spotless kitchen, speaking with quiet authority. No drama, no irony. Just a clean instruction. Even if you single dose. Even if you weigh your beans to the tenth of a gram. The coffee sitting in the dead space of the grinder overnight will have oxidized. It will dull the shot. It is not worth drinking.
The first time I read about Before the Coffee Gets Cold, I was sitting in a café not unlike the one in the book — quiet, a little narrow, the kind of place where time seems to gather rather than pass. Outside, the city was still in its morning hurry, but inside there was only the soft hum of the espresso machine and the faint clatter of cups.
When it comes to running, the years of the COVID-19 pandemic were actually pretty good for me. Not that I enjoyed the lockdowns, and I don’t want to downplay the suffering of so many people and the consequences. But when it comes to the flexibility of work and the rise of remote work, I have to say, all of that had a positive impact on my training. I could run more regularly, be more flexible, and, as a result, more consistent.
As I step out into the chilly air, I can feel the weight of the past year bearing down on my shoulders. My Achilles tendon still aches, a constant reminder of the injury that has slowed me down for so long. And yet, despite the pain and the setbacks, I lace up my shoes and begin to run. It’s the first day of a new year, and I am determined to make it a successful one.