Whippoorwill it's been a while

Logged another long one today. 8 miles, out a route so old it's practically new. Down Wright's Mill to Chewacla, and up the bike path to Canary Drive, and all the way around Whippoorwill. I opted to head down and around the big part first, then the smaller loop. On the way back, I decided to stretch it a bit and instead of turning into Tanglewood right away, up to Briarwood and down Mill Branch, making it an even 8 miles. It's a bit chilly out there, so I got to wear the spandex, which makes me smile.

Listened to an all-African mix, which has also been missing for a while. Heavy on the Mahlathini, because he is AWESOME.

Playlist	All African
Qhude Manikiniki	Umahlathini Nabo
Dadje Von O Von Non	Gnonnas Pedro et ses Dadjes
Indoda Yejazi Elimnyama	Amaswazi Emvelo
Feeling You Got	El Rego et Ses Commandos
Baba-Ye	Mahlathini
Guajira Van	No. 1 de No. 1
Thul'ulalele	Amaswazi Emvelo
Yonde Love Me	Kanda Bongo Man
Coumba	Orchestre Baobab
Cantique	Kanda Bongo Man
Beaux Dimanches	Amadou et Mariam
Kudala Besifuna	Mahlathini
Kumnyama Endiini	Mahlathini
Sai	Kanda Bongo Man
Ukuluma Izindaba	Amaswazi Emvelo & Mahlathini
Akekho Noyedwa Owaziyo	Amaswazi Emvelo & Mahlathini

Time 1:08:16

Distance 8.0 miles

Cumulative 14.6 miles

Pace 8.39 min/mi

Nd'in ga ba tondi ra yu...

s'a goona desi me ga. Which is a Zarma proverb, ay ma feeri aran se (which I must open for you). "If you want the honey inside the rock, don't look at the edge of your axe". Today I established a new personal best long for running, 1:31:55. I had an objective in mind, the intersection of Ogletree Rd and Moore's Mill Rd. I'm not sure how far it is yet, but I'm going to measure, believe me. Why? I don't know, I felt I had it in me (and I'm pretty sure whatever "it" is, it's gone, or is at least very tired). Knowing I had a long run ahead of me, the theme of the playlist is African. A lot of these songs are long (over 5:00 minutes), including two Fela tracks, which seems to be common in most of the African music I've heard.

Playlist
Qhude Manikiniki -Umahlathini Nabo
Indoda Yejazi Elimnyama -Amaswazi Emvelo
Lady -Fela
Okuzua -Orchestra Lissanga
Cantique -Kanda Bongo Man
Naam -Christy Azuma and Uppers International
Beaux Dimanches -Amadou and Mariam
Coumba -Orchestre Baobab
River Luv Rite -Oneness of Juju
Funky Crookee -Exile One
Army Arrangement -Fela
New bell -Manu Dibango
Qhwayilahle -Moses Mchunu
Thul'ulalele -Amaswazi Emvelo
Sakutumbe -African Brothers

Time

Home to stop sign 8:45

Stop Sign to Stop light (Ogletree and MM) 35:34

Stop light to stop sign 37:31

Stop sign to home 10:04

Total 1:31:53

Not too surprising that the splits started to lag between out and back. I'm not disappointed.

Sonoma Valley Regional Park

Last Sunday I engaged in something I'd rather not do: drive somewhere to go jogging. We're up in Glen Ellen, in Sonoma County California, and there's not much of an alternative.
The alternatives are to go up and down the short landing strip several times, or to drive for five minutes to get to Sonoma Valley Regional Park. SVRP is a nice place for a short jog.
Playlist
Thul'ulalele -Amaswazi Emvelo
Beaux Dimanches -Amadou and Mariam
Lady Luck -Billy Eckstine. A recent addition to the Tune-o-matic. I have this one CD (No Cover, No Minimum), and some 45's by Mr. B.
Never Get Weary -Toots and the Maytals
Bedy -Kanda Bongo Man
The Battle of Evermore -Led Zeppelin. Okay, one of these things is not like the others, and there is a reason. I received a 'tater bug mandolin as a Xmas present, and I've been trying to learn to play it. As with most instruments I've picked up, I come to enjoy songs that feature the new instrument, so there may be more mandolin-containing or mandolin adaptable songs in future playlists.
Total time: 25:48.

Upside down

I started out with the intention of going on a quick one, then changed my mind. I found I had to slow down, and ran out of gas before I wanted to, so I had to walk for the last quarter mile or so.
I did listen to some tunes, with a distinctly African flavour.

Qhude Manikiniki -Umahlathini Nabo. Another great from the Indestructible Beat album
The W.A.N.D -The Flaming Lips. Not African, but still a great song
Okuzua -Orchestra Lissanga. From Afro Rock Volume 1. Will there ever be a Volume 2? Who knows?
Dimanches a Bamako -Amadou and Mariam. The Blind Couple of Mali once again
Cantique - Kanda Bongo Man. Some lovely lovely Zouk.

What is it all about?

Okay. Here's the deal.
I'm not a great athlete.
I've never run a marathon, though I'd like to some day.
I'm writing this because I started jogging again recently, and I'd like to continue. Thus I see this blog as a motivating factor, even if no one ever sees it. It may even inspire me to do some research into how I can better myself even more.
And also, I've always wanted to write liner notes.
When I run alone, or with my dog, Trixie, I listen to music, and that helps me to keep pace, and measure how long I'm out. So that's what it's really about.
Here's tonight's playlist.
Dirty Water -The Standells. Whenever the Red Sox win, this is the first song I listen too. Tonight, they beat the Blue Jays, 4-3, to pull within 1 game of Tampa Bay in the AL East.

Manteca -Dizzy Gillespie. Manteca is Spanish for butter or lard. Dizzy wrote this song with Chano Pozo, and it was one of the first popular songs to fuse jazz and Cuban music. A great song, beautifully orchestrated, and enough energy to jump start a cruise ship.

Sweet Emotion -Aerosmith. I remember buying Aerosmith's Greatest Hits on vinyl, only to find that the opening bass and vocoder riff were edited out, and the song started with the splash. Man, did I ever feel ripped off. I also remember almost getting to meet Aerosmith one New Year's Day, when I was volunteering for the Boston Food Bank. They were having a canned food drive where lucky fans bringing in one hundred odd cans of food (the sponsoring radio station's frequency), got backstage passes. I was there to collect the cans and put them up. I was supposed to meet the band, but missed out due to some snafu. I did go backstage and almost drank Aerosmith's chocolate milk. One of my first brushs with fame.

Join Together -The Who. A real nice segue from Sweet Emotion. Also a good pace and inspirational vibe to spur on the sweaty.

Who Are You -The Who. I don't watch CSI. I just like this song and have since I was a pup.

Beaux Dimanches -Amadou and Mariam. A very catchy song by the blind Malian duo, singing about life in Bamako, capital of Mali. It reminds me of life in Niamey, Niger, where I spent a good deal of time in the Peace Corps. I first heard this one through David Byrne's radio playlist from February 2008. I've been a long time Talking Heads fan, and have found some of DB's playlists to be absolutely fantastic. This one nearly made me weep, both by nostalgia for my days in Niger and South Africa, and by introducing me to some of the Dark Continent's greatest popular music.

Paradise -Ana Serrano van der Laan. A freebie from the iTunes store. Very catchy, bouncy, and almost saccharin sweet.

Total time: 27:32