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

Short Day, No Fooling

That last 10-miler hurt. Yesterday I came up lame, with greater tightness in my right calf. It's been troubling me for some time and not getting better. Also, my left knee started giving me some grief, in front on the inside (away from where I had surgery before). So I decided to stop at 21 for March, and try my luck at April. I'm still a little sore today, but decided to get back out there for a little shorter of an endeavor, and not too quickly either. Up Gay to Samford, back down College to Woodfield, and back via Gay. A nice little 4.54 mile run. I may go for 20 more this month, but not if I have to try and hurt myself in the process. I like to say, brave is doing something dangerous because you have to, stupid is doing something dangerous because you want to.

Playlist-African
Dadje Von O Von Non -Gnonnas Pedro et Ses Dadjes
River Luv Rite -Oneness of Juju
Marie Jose -Ryco Jazz
Beaux Dimanche -Amadou and Mariam
Qhude Manikiniki -Umahlathini Nabo
Joyce No. 2 -Johnson Mkhalali
Cantique -Kanda Bongo Man
Gazera -Moussa Poussy
Coumba -Orchestra Baobab

Times
L1 12:38
L2 5:41
L3 0:49
L4 6:11
L5 3:27
L6 12:15
Total 41:01
Distance 4.5 miles

Afreakin'

Saturday, 6 February, is the annual Love Your Heart Run, sponsored by AORTA (which I'm thinking of joining, but haven't yet). I'm planning on running in the 10K. So I wanted to go on a long run sometime this week (other than the 10K, which for me is a long run), but didn't get out that long on Monday or Tuesday. So I thought I'd go today. Now, when I ran track back in high school (I was a sprinter), we'd always take an easy day before a meet, so I thought that's what I'd do. I went out to the Shel Toomer Bike Path, which I reclocked with a digital odometer, and it came out to 3.2 miles each way, so it's actually a bit longer than I thought. I made a conscious decision to take it slowly, which I haven't really done in a while, though it was my original plan. It actually felt amazingly good, which surprised me. On the way back, I tried to speed up on the uphills, just for a bit of a challenge. An all-African playlist today.

Playlist
Shakalaode -Wganda Kenya (actually a Fela cover)
Heavy Heavy Heavy -Geraldo Pino
Beaux Dimanches -Amadou and Miriam
Gazera -Moussa Poussy
Jiin Ma Jiin Ma -Orchestra Baobab
Sai -Kanda Bongo Man
Qhude Manikiniki -Umahlathini Nabo
River Luv Rite -Oneness of Juju
Mondo Soul Funky -Ebo Taylor Jr. and Wuta Wazuri
Kovita Gbe De Towe -Antoine Dougbe
Marie Jose -Ryco Jazz

Times
L1 9:03
L2 7:36
L3 15:25
L4 15:45
L5 8:11
L6 8:30
Total 1:04:40. So, I wasn't going for speed, but I did want to make sure the last split was better than the first, to make sure I wasn't getting too fatigued. Also, I'm feeling good. And my time wasn't that far off from previous runs.

Naughty, naughty me.

I've been a very very naughty boy. I've taken almost two weeks off. I didn't run in the half-marathon. I've been a lump. Why? The irony of the matter is because I got bad news that should have inspired me to run more often: my cholesterol is through the roof. For some reason, this news glued my butt to my chair when I should have been running. Given that my family has a history of heart disease, I shouldn't be too surprised. Fortunately, there are meds that can help mitigate the problems of high cholesterol in the form of statins, which I am now taking. And exercising is one factor that can reduce the likelihood of heart disease developing down the line. I guess I thought the running beforehand would have helped keep the numbers down. I should have learned from Jim Fixx.
The last time my cholesterol was checked was when I lived in California, and ate a lot better. More vegetarian meals, fewer chicken fingers, less barbecue. My physician there suggested that one of my numbers was off, and I should be careful. Now, 4 of 5 of my numbers are high. So I'm trying to change my diet; no more bbq, less fat and beer, more oatmeal, whole grains (brown rice), fish oil, fruits and vegetables. My wife thinks I should try a few months with just the dietary approach, but the efficacy of statins is well documented, with few adverse effects (although I'm on the lookout for the myalgia).

So today, I thought I'd only start out small, up to Woodfield/Gay and back. Baby steps, there will be other half marathons, hopefully someday a full marathon.

Playlist
Flaming heart -Meat Puppets
She Don't use Jelly -Flaming Lips
Let's Spend the Night Together -The Rolling Stones
No One To Depend On -Santana
On verra ca -Orchestra Baobab

Time
There 12:38
Back 12:43
Total 25:20. Pretty fast for this route, considering my hiatus.

Slackin' again

I've taken a week off. I blame my children, which I admit is an awful thing to do. However, since I've been with them by myself for the past week, I plead parenting as priority over peripatry. Now my wife is back, and we just got her some new running shoes today. So we may start running together, Hooray!
It's cold out there, at least it feels cold. The weather station says 30 degrees, though most other folks around the country are under snow and such. I had to warm up with a lap around the neighborhood before embarking on the path over the Interstate, which I now prefer. The dogs now have a fenced yard, so they don't require my walking/running services quite so much.

I did go a bit long, which I like to do after a long rest. A week is too long though.
In any event, the playlist. It started out with a genre, then spiraled into lunacy. I just listened to whatever I felt.
Jeepster -T. Rex. My latest fave song.
Girls Got Rhythm -AC/DC. Continuing to explore the oeuvre of Australia's ambassadors of Rock
Midnight Rider -The Allman Brothers.
Sugar Never Tasted So Good -White Stripes. This song reminds me of a former co-worker whom I just reconnected with.
Sweet Home Alabama -Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Turn It On -The Flaming Lips
Good Old Funky Music -The Meters
Higher Ground -Stevie Wonder
The Sky Is Falling -Queens of the Stone Age
Gnawoe -Orchestre Baobab
Time out: about 45 minutes. I didn't start the timer until about halfway through Jeepster.

Spandex

I am of the opinion that spandex is a potentially dangerous substance. It can provide unnatural ego enhancement in some, and may be a blight on others. That said, I like to wear the stuff on my legs when it gets chilly, which it is getting. I still have legs that do justice to spandex, while my ]torso would look like I was feebly attempting to smuggle a basketball. It keeps me warm, and snug, so I wear some occasionally. Also, I run in the dark, so no one has to see it.

I took a couple of nights off, or rather I spent a couple of nights on, as in, on the job, so I decided to go longer tonight. Tonight's playlist features the letters O-T prominently:

Dirty Water -The Standells. You know what that means. Bring on October!

Sock It To 'Em, J.B. -The Specials. Apparently, they weren't allowed to mention double O seven by name, so they just called him J.B. He's got you doing the bossa nova, he's got you doing the scratch!

Making Flippy Floppy -Talking Heads. I totally heart Talking Heads.

Bang a Gong (Get It On) -T. Rex.

Emperor Tomato Ketchup -Stereolab

Let's Spend The Night Together -The Rolling Stones, or, as Ed Sullivan would have it "Let's spend some time together".

Marie Jose -Ryco Jazz. Vibrato + Zairean Soukous + Scooby Doo references = WIN!

What'd I Say, Parts 1&2 -Ray Charles. Another influence from my Dear Old Dad, who was a fan of RC from way back in the day. I got to see him performing with the Modern Jazz Quartet some years ago. I remember Ray playing and just bouncing as if he only needed to keep one toe on the stage. I can't help but think of John Belushi as Beethoven, though.

Old Fowl Ska -Roland Alphonso

Coumba -Orchestra Baobab, another gem from one of David Byrne's monthly playlists.

Nansi Imali -Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Back before Apartheid crumbled, before Paul Simon made them world famous, there was the Indestructible Beat of Soweto.

Total Time: 50:49, enough time to go down to Chewacla SP and back. A personal long since starting back in the whole jogging thing