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The dog began to trot after me as I passed, but then stopped just before he passed his owner.

The man looked over, nodded and we passed a “Merry Christmas� between us.

I ran to the end of the street and then turned right toward Haddad Riverfront Park. The plan was to go as far as Magic Island, turn and then come back by way of Virginia Street, past the courthouse, past Recovery Sports Bar and then turn again on Capitol Street and run down Quarrier.

I’d been saving this particular run for the end of December. I planned to end up on Summers Street, at Slack Plaza, where I’d finally take a tour of the Christmas trees, which had been there since before Thanksgiving.

I was looking forward to it. Holly Jolly Brawley is one of the more festive things the city has come up with in the past few years.

I could make it to the park, at least, but it wasn’t much of a victory lap.

Few of these One Month projects have faced as much resistance from the universe in general as the simple plan to try and put my foot on roughly all 300 miles of ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä city streets inside of about 30 days.

Just as I got started, I ended my nearly four-year streak of perfect health with a mild bout of COVID. The bug laid me out for about a week and then I spent the rest of the month trying to shake a cough.

The cough didn’t stop me from running, but it slowed me down. I ended every 5 or 10K hacking like a career two-pack-a-day smoker.

As is my tendency, I also picked the dumbest time of the year to do something like this. The days grew shorter and running in the dark, even with a lamp strapped to your chest, can be nerve wracking.

My Grrl Gang friends will sometimes do night runs in a pack, but alone, I always felt I was two or three steps from becoming a hood ornament.

It didn’t help that I tried to also maintain my regular commitments. I still went to CrossFit most mornings. I showed up for work. I spent the better part of the first week of December rehearsing and then performing with the ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Ballet for “The Nutcracker.â€�

I even met West Virginia Symphony Conductor Maurice Cohn, who didn’t seem to care that the guy who’d interviewed him for the paper was wandering around topless backstage at the Clay Center.

There was also Christmas shopping, the buying and decorating of a tree, and I sent out my usual stack of Christmas cards.

And then I ran into trouble with my phone company.

The greatest advancement in distance running since the running shoe has been ear buds and smart phones. Most solo runners, like me, rely on music playlists and podcasts to keep them company or focused while they complete whatever course.

It’s mostly the fast weirdos who run without a soundtrack, but steady, slow joggers like me need hair metal bands with aggressive drums, loud guitars and exceptionally dumb lyrics to get through it.

Over the last couple of months, my old phone was breaking down, looking beat up, and seeming kind of dated. The new phones supposedly took better pictures and had more memory, which sounded great.

Sometimes, I like to download songs or entire albums from Apple Music. I create playlists to listen to in the car or while I run, but with limited memory, I don’t keep them for long.

But my cell phone carrier kept saying I might be eligible for a “free� new phone.

So, the morning after my secondhand iPhone 10 failed to charge, I went online and chatted with a Verizon customer service representative.

All I had to do to get the better phone was upgrade to a new plan, which didn’t seem so bad. My monthly bill would only increase by five or six bucks. That was almost like an early Christmas gift.

So, I ordered the phone, which arrived a few days before Christmas. Everything was fine until I slipped on my running shoes and ear buds and went for a run.

I had no music. Apple was gone. The new mobile plan didn’t include any of the subscriptions I’d had for the last couple of years.

To have those, I’d have to pay more.

Somehow, that small detail got glossed over.

I felt a little misled, but went ahead, subscribed to the missing services through Verizon for an additional $20 a month and wrote it off as the cost of living the life I wanted.

But Apple Music wouldn’t activate through Verizon. There was an error message.

I spent half an hour working with a Verizon representative trying to figure out the problem, but nothing worked, they gave up, filled out a service ticket and told me to holler back in four or five days.

Meanwhile, the rep promised I wouldn’t be charged for the time the service was unavailable, and would I be interested in swapping out my son’s phone, too?

My reaction was, “what?�

I was mad, but it wasn’t the rep’s fault. This was some sort of software glitch, but cheerfully telling me I should just suck it up until the end of the week still seemed a bit much and it seemed to fit in with the how many more hassles does this month of running need?

I felt a little defeated and stewed all morning, but then decided I needed to run to clear my head.

So, I went and hit a few more flat streets in Kanawha City.

As I ran, it occurred to me that ordering a new smartphone right around the holidays was a stupid idea, even if the phone company wants you to believe they make fabulous gifts.

Smartphones are complicated. Complicated things are prone to problems, especially problems that can’t be solved immediately, particularly when technical support staff might be taking a few days off.

Simplify was the answer. So, I canceled the add-on services through Verizon (Goodbye, Disney and Hulu) and just subscribed to Apple directly.

And just like that, I had music again.

For my next run, I listened to favorites from the past year as I trotted around the streets of ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä. All felt right with the universe again — or pretty close.

I ran and wound up where I thought I’d be, taking a stroll around Slack Plaza, looking at brightly decorated trees and enjoying a cool, but sunny Christmas morning.

I didn’t get anywhere near 300 miles for the month, but success is never guaranteed. The point, always, was to try and learn something.

I learned again (I am a slow learner) that I needed to plan better, consider my time and timing more seriously (there are only so many hours in the day and fewer daylight hours in December — it’s a scientific fact!) and maybe put less stock in online interactions and transactions.

It’s a pretty good lesson going into the new year.

Anyway, just because I failed to visit every street in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä inside of a month doesn’t mean I have to quit. If I can’t do it in 30 days, maybe I can get it done in 365.