Start of April

Due to business, I've had to skip getting up to 50 miles last month, and gotten a late start on April. Today, I opted to go up and into Grove Hill, out towards University, up Moore's Mill to Dean, and back down to University and home. Turns out it's not quite five miles. One more good run will have me back on track for my monthly goal, though. Hopefully I can find the inspiration for those eight nine ten mile runs again.

Playlist
All Apologies	Nirvana
Jump Around	House of Pain
The Jean Genie	David Bowie
Walk On By	Cake
Strange Apparition	Beck
Draw the Line	Aerosmith
Manic Depression	Jimi Hendrix
Tougher Than It Is	Cake
A Little Better	Gnarls Barkley
Notion	Kings of Leon
Heart of Glass	Blondie
Epistle to Dippy	Donovan

Distance 4.95 mi

Cumulative 4.95 mi

Time 42:42

Pace 8:38 min/mi

Warm Friday

Having finished my lecturing for the week, I knew it was time for another run. I set out shortly after 8 AM, which was, of course, the coolest it was going to be on this run. I went over the Interstate and west on University, up Donahue to College, and past the Art Museum back to Gay and home (not turning down Briarwood). Looking at my time, I didn't think I'd gone 4, but measuring the route showed that I went 4.1 miles. Yay. My BRAND NEW headphones have started going all wonky again. I think that when they get sweat in the microphone they start trying to activate Voice Control, and making the music play oddly. Boo. Otherwise, they're nice headphones.

Playlist
Turn It On -Flaming Lips
Novacane -Beck
Safe European Home -The Clash
The Width of a Circle -David Bowie
E-Pro -Beck
Crazy -Gnarls Barkley
Purple Haze -Jimi Hendrix
Notion -Kings of Leon
For Your Life -Led Zeppelin

Times
L1 15:06
L2 6:27
L3 3:26
L4 11:53
L5 0:50
Total 37:42

Distance 4.1 miles
Cumulative 35.2 miles

Summer 5K part III

Another hot one for the Summer 5K series. The t-shirts have arrived, my first "tactical" or whatever they're called. And to top it all off, the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup! Which is awesome for me, since they hadn't won it since I was a few days old, and missed out on it during a formative period of my life.

Playlist
Jean Genie -David Bowie
Run (I'm a Natural Disaster) -Gnarls Barkley
Hit It and Quit It -Funkadelic
Mother Popcorn -James Brown
Stepping Razor -Peter Tosh
One Nation Under a Groove -Funkadelic
Good Old Funky Music -the Meters

Time (unofficial)
28:05

Distance 3.1 miles
Cumulative distance 22.9 miles

Forest Ecology Preserve 5k

Ran the 5k, last weekend now. Let me say this: Chicken fingers are not the dinner of champions. I didn't drink at all last Friday, but I did eat a mess of chicken fingers, and I didn't run at all during the lead up to the race either. I was a bit tender for a few day after the Tough Ten.

I ran as part of the Forestry team, and we won! For the first time since I've been running it, our Forestry five won it. By default, but we'll take it, take it away from those Fisheries sorts. My friend Wayne ran also, and got second in our age group, so in his honor, I started with some Stones, his fave.

Playlist
Tumbling Dice -Rolling Stones
Save It For Later -English Beat
Lust For Life -Iggy Pop
Mexican Radio -Wall of Voodoo
Electric Avenue -Eddy Grant
Whip It -Devo
Crazy -Gnarls Barkley

I think that's all?

Time
26:34 or so. Awful, really, even for a trail run.

Distance 3.1 miles
Cumulative distance 25.3

Adjective Noun

Trying to get one more semi-long run in before the Tough Ten. Gay Samford College Woodfield and back with a little extra at the end. Feeling pretty good, quite good actually. Knees a little sore. Hopefully didn't cripple myself for tomorrow's long day in the lab.

Playlist (lots of adjective noun band names)
Oh, Atlanta -Alison Krauss
Save It For Later -English Beat
The Wizard Turns On... -Flaming Lips
Caught Up In You -.38 Special (a number adjective band, just to mix it up)
Houses In Motion -Talking Heads
Banned In D.C. -Bad Brains
Whip It -Devo
Let's Dance -David Bowie
Mexican Radio -Wall of Voodoo
Crazy -Gnarls Barkley
Seven Nation Army -White Stripes

Times
L1 13:21
L2 6:28
L3 7:27
L4 3:30
L5 11:45
L6 0:46
Total 43:18

Distance: 5.0 miles
Cumulative distance 12.2 miles

New month, off to a better start

Last month was the worst in a while. A total of 26.8 miles. Factors: Soreness in calf. Travel. Kids out of school. Rising temperatures. Lack of a good schedule. SLOTH.
Yes, the SLOTH is back. I haven't been eating as well as I should, or as little as I should. I've been getting lazy. I could have gone out either weekend day or yesterday, but I didn't.

Here I recognize the problem and use the changing of the calendar to try and motivate me to repent. Today I went on the same route as a few days ago, Gay, Woodfield, College, Samford, Gay (GWCSG, henceforth). I was tempted to walk for a while, but I perservered. When I got home, I was totally beat. Usually, a rest of a few days leads to an invigoration, but this hiatus left me floored. The weather was deceptive. It looked cooler due to the partly cloudy conditions, and I was prepared for rain, but it turned out to be super-muggy and rather warm. All right June, I don't know if I'll get in 20 runs, or 100 miles, but that's what I'm trying for starting TODAY.

Playlist
I Wanna Know If It's Good To You -Funkadelic
Mexican Radio -Wall of Voodoo
(I Love It When You) Call Me Names -Joan Armatradding
Xtabenium -Acme Rocket Quartet
Demolition Man -the Police
Wouldn't It Be Nice -the Beach Boys
Speaking in Tongues -Eagles of Death Metal
Shadrach -Beastie Boys
Paradise -Ana Serrano de Laan
Run (I'm a Natural Disaster) -Gnarls Barkley
Rock & Roll -Lou Reed

Times
L1 12:20
L2 3:23
L3 7:25
L4 6:08
L5 11:41
L6 0:55
Total 41:53

Distance 4.6 miles
Cumulative distance 4.6 miles

UDMGAG, a new tagged route.

University, Donahue, Magnolia, Gay, Armstrong, Gay. UDMGAG. Perhaps that what I should tag this route? It's cool and overcast. No students around due to Spring Break. Pretty much ideal conditions.

Playlist
Jumping Jack Flash -Rolling Stones
Miuzi Weighs a Ton -Public Enemy
It's Expected I'm Gone -Minutemen
Hot Pink -Meat Puppets
Cocaine Blues -Johnny Cash
So Easy -Eagles of Death Metal
Love Me Two Times -The Doors
Queen Bitch -David Bowie
Send a Message To Her -Beck
Finger Lickin' Good -Beastie Boys
Pay To Cum -Bad Brains
Back In Black -AC/DC
Peaches En Regalia -Frank Zappa
Run (I'm A Natural Disaster) -Gnarls Barkley
Our Lips Are Sealed -Go-gos
Manic Depression -Jimi Hendrix
I Love It Loud -KISS

Times
L1 (University) 13:56
L2 (Donahue) 16:04
L3 (Magnolia) 5:13
L4 (Gay/Armstrong/Samford) 5:47
L5 (Upper Gay) 5:35
L6 (Lower Gay/Home) 10:55
Total 57:31 Looks like a pretty good time. PB? YES! 7.0 miles in under an hour. Yay!

Sweet Virginia

I didn't listen to this song today, but there's a line in the song that struck a chord with me. And my shoes. Last night I was wearing the recently cleaned old New Balance shoes and misstepped in the dark. I thought, perhaps rather than scrape, I could run to get the mashed excreta off my shoes. Another reason this song resonated today was my route. Apparently I've been running the wrong course for this Saturday's Race to Help Haiti. I've been running all the way up Wright's Mill Rd to Samford and back to Gay Street, but the proper route cuts back over to Gay St. via Virginia St. I don't think it's much of a difference distance wise, but it does add an extra dip and climb. So I ran the proper course today, out of sequence since I wanted to try for a decent time but not end up doubling the route. Theoretically, this is an easy day. It's pretty cold out there (count my blessings, most of the rest of the country is deep under snow right now), and I wasn't feeling fantastically great out there, but my time was OK.

Playlist (more eclectic on-the-go)
Sissyneck -Beck
Tougher Than It Is -Cake
The W.A.N.D. -Flaming Lips
Walk On By -Cake
The Book I Read -Talking Heads
Buddy Holly -Weezer
Clampdown -The Clash
Cold Sweat -James Brown
Crazy -Gnarls Barkley
Fish, Chips and Sweat -Funkadelic
Guns of Brixton -The Clash
Hot Pink -Meat Puppets

Times
L1 (to Loftin) 6:57
L2 (the proper 5k, out of order) 26:47
L3 (back home) 6:34
Total 40:18.

Practicing for the 5k

I thought I'd practice for next weekends 5k, taking the course from start to finish, which meant I had to jog up to the corner of Gay and Samford. Knowing that, I took it easy on the way up Gay Street, as you can see from the time to the 1st stop sign, which I've been getting to in 12 minutes in recent attempts. My right foot has been blistery, but I've started soaking in Epsom salt to try and soothe it.

Playlist (more of the on the go one from the 10 k, M-->T)
Mushroom Men -Les Claypool
The Next Episode -Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg
Novacane -Beck
Once in a Lifetime -Talking Heads
Push Th' Little Daisies -Ween
Queen Bitch -David Bowie
Rastafari Is -Peter Tosh
Rebel Rebel -David Bowie
Rock & Roll -Lou Reed and Velvet Underground
Settin' The Woods On Fire -Hank Williams
She Don't Use Jelly -Flaming Lips
Smiley Faces -Gnarls Barkley
The Song Remains The Same -Led Zeppelin
Straight Outta Compton -N.W.A.
Sugar Never Tasted So Good - White Stripes
Sweet Emotion -Aerosmith
There Goes My Gun -Pixies

Times
L1 (Home --> Gay/Woodfield stop sign) 13:07
L2 (stop sign --> Gay/Samford) 6:38
L3 (the 5 k route) 26:14
L4 6:14
L5 12:23
Total 1:05:00 I'm starting to feel like an hour isn't such a long time to be on the road, which is good.

Gnarls Barkley

So, tonight I got a late start, I really didn't leave the house until
almost 10 pm. But I felt good, and had a good pace going, so I decided
to make an effort to break the 30 minute mark down to Chewacla and
back. Thanks to some inspirational Gnarls Barkley, I did it! Almost
two minutes off my previous best! W00T!!

Playlist
Charity Case
Who's Gonna Save My Soul?
Going On
Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)
Surprise
Blind Mary
A Little Better
Go Go Gadget Gospel
Crazy
Smiley Faces

Times
L1->7:46
L2->6:29
L3->7:15
L4->8:06
Total->29:37

Not quite as long

I had a heavier dinner than I should have, and was feeling rather lethargic starting out. Truth be told, I felt unmotivated and was close to bagging on the run tonight. The weather is supposed to turn ugly here soon, so I figured I'd go anyway. It didn't take long to get into the spirit of the thing, although I didn't feel up to crossing the Interstate, so I just went on a couple of loops around the neighborhood.

Playlist, another "alternative" mix:
Cellphone's Dead -Beck
Dashboard -Modest Mouse
Going On -Gnarls Barkley
Buddy Holly -Weezer
The W.A.N.D. -Flaming Lips
Confusion Fog -Meat Puppets
I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend -Ramones

Time out, 26:09

Inspired and all over the place

I decided to do something I haven't really done since I was in South Africa; run in broad daylight. It's been unseasonably cold the last couple of days, but today it warmed back up. I was working from home, and I just felt the need to get out. I wasn't exactly planning on going so far, but then I did. I headed out towards the State Park, then down the bike path. I think it was a new long, at least since South Africa. The musical theme was inspirational and springy, from all over the place.

Playlist
Dirty Water -The Standells. Baseball season again! Woot! Beckett pitched a gem last night!
Sexx Laws -Beck
Magic Toy Missing -Meat Puppets
Maiden's Milk -Meat Puppets
Buddy Holly -Weezer
Nite Klub -The Specials
Nitemare Hippy Girl -Beck
Moonage Daydream -David Bowie
Nappy Dugout -Funkadelic
Tougher Than It Is -Cake
Zombie -Fela. I love Fela, but I rarely listen to him while running because it can be uninspiring to be listening to the same song for 15:00, and realize that I have to keep running that whole time. But today, I knew I'd be at gone for at least another Fela song.
Marie Jose -Ryco Jazz
The W.A.N.D. -The Flaming Lips
Hey Ya! -Outkast
A Little Better -Gnarls Barkley
Novacane -Beck

Time 1:07:06. Yup, that's a new long

Songs in the Key of G through J

Two points make a line, and so you can say I'm back on track. I went back over the Interstate, up past Town Creek Park, to the stop sign. I thought of this as a short run. But after such a long hiatus, the hills felt a lot steeper, and my pace was a bit slower, and I did make it without expiring. For some reason, the them of the playlist was songs by artists in the G's through J's.

The Playlist
A Little Better -Gnarls Barkley. This felt like an appropriate song to kick off on. Nice, triumphant and inspirational tone.
Our Lips Are Sealed -The Go-Gos
The Jackass Song -Harry Belafonte
Paint The White House Black -George Clinton. A prescient ditty from the early Bill Clinton years. You may think George Clinton should be filed under C, or Harry Belafonte under B, but then you wouldn't be my Tune-O-Matic.
Sufferer's Time -The Heptones.
I Gotcha -Joe Tex
Police and Thieves -Junior Murvin. I much prefer this original version to the Clash's version. Sorry, The Clash.
25 Minutes to Go -Johnny Cash. An upbeat song about capital punishment.

Total time: 31:29

New Year's Resolutions

So it's a New Year, and looking back on my resolutions from last year. I don't think I did so well on my resolution to drink less. However, I did not drink more, so that is achievement of a sort. I did much better on my resolution to eat more salad. I ate a salad just about every day through June, and then at least four times a week until December. With all the traveling at the end of the year, it was tough to keep up with it, but I'm back and settled and ready to recommit to salad eating. Maybe I'll try to drink less as well, eat less processed food, and of course, keep running at least three times a week.

So I finally went on my first jog since I got back to Auburn. While I was in South Africa my family got a new puppy, which matches our older dog Trixie. So I had a bit of a quandary; the puppy, Jin-Jin, is still quite a fresh young thing, so I didn't want to take both dogs out together. So I decided to go out with Trixie first, then Jin-Jin. That worked out pretty well, since running around the neighborhood is a series of loops anyway.

Playlist:
Our Lips Are Sealed -The Go-Gos
Blind Mary -Gnarls Barkley
When Doves Cry -Prince
Cold Sweat, Part 1 -James Brown
(This is where I switched dogs)
Carbon Monoxide -Cake
Watching the Detectives -Elvis Costello
Veronica -Elvis Costello
Total time 26:13

Morning again, mixed

Managed to get up and go again this morning. It's getting easier and more necessary, as the sun comes up earlier and earlier, and we've been having afternoon showers almost every day for a week or more. It actually feels good to come into work, all jogged up and all.

The Playlist
Who's Gonna Save My Soul -Gnarls Barkley
Dashboard -Modest Mouse
Flashlight -Parliament
Fat Bottomed Girls -Queen
Bang A Gong (Get It On) -T.Rex
Wow and Flutter -Stereolab
Time out 38:04

Yes, I've still been running

Okay, so I missed two nights of blogging but not two nights of jogging (going every other night). You see, I was jogging with my wife, so I wasn't listening to music, so there's not playlist. I could tell you what we talked about, the exact spots where Trixie the Dog took a dump, etc., but I don't see that as good blogging.
Instead, here's the playlist for tonight. I didn't go out until after the end of the Auburn-LSU game, which features into the playlist.

The World's A Mess It's In My Kiss -X. Auburn lost, the Sox lost. What can I say, this song just expressed my feelings at the moment., in a delightfully upbeat way that's good to get started jogging with.

Love Her Madly -The Doors. Perhaps inspired by the Ray Manzarek influence in the previous song.

Our Lips Are Sealed -The Go-go's. This is one of my favorite pop songs of the 80's, because of the awesome dreamy chord progression. I've thought it kind of ironic to sing a song about one's lips being sealed. I mean, it could just as easily be instrumental if one's lips were truly sealed.

The Boogie Monster -Gnarls Barkley. Another song with a catchy chord progression. It also reminds me of my jogging inspiration, my dear old Dad, who would call home from work sometimes. When one of the kids would answer and ask who it was, he would always say, "The Boogie Man".

You're My Best Friend -Queen.

Junco Partner -Professor Longhair. In honor of the other Tigers (from LSU), who took the game from my Auburn Tigers this evening. I loves me some Professor Longhair. My favorite verse:

"I heard him singin', six months ain't no sentence.
He said one year, was not no time.
He said he had a friend, still in Angola,
Servin' from 14 to 99"

Seven Nation Army -White Stripes.
Meg's thump-thump-thump sounds like my feet. I used to find the line "make the sweat drip from every pore" a little absurd, until I her it while jogging. I still find the idea of going to Wichita on a whim a little absurd.

Sheena Is A Punk Rocker -The Ramones.
I often like to end with the Ramones for two reasons, their songs are usually short, and generally quick, which is good for my ritual of "digging it out" at the end. My typical strategy is to go slow, because my goal is to get my heart rate up and get the cardio benefits of jogging, while reducing stress on my joints. I'm not trying to get fast, I'm not worried about my legs giving out, I just want to get my ticker going. However, I do like to get a little sprint on at the end of my run. This is on the advice of another of my running inspirations, my brother in law, who told me this is a good thing to do. So I do it.

Total time: 26:20