Monaural

Up to Gay/Woodfield again. One of the headphones on the tune-o-matic was out, but I didn't catch it until I was off and on my way. So I kept on going, monaurally.

Playlist
Dirty Water -the Standells (awesome win vs. Angels, Papelbon fans 'em in order in the 9th)
What is Life -George Harrison
Hang On Saint Christopher -Tom Waits
Finger Lickin' Good -Beastie Boys
Roses are Free -Ween
Sweet Thing -David Bowie
For All the Cows -Foo Fighters

Times
L1 13:14
L2 11:35
L3 0:53
Total 25:40

Distance 2.7 miles
Cumulative 5.4 miles

Couple of days off again.

So the last two nights haven't worked out, but I did get out tonight. Problems: I enjoy dinner and drinking beer too much. I probably shouldn't eat so much dinner, as a rule, but I realize that I enjoy eating a large meal in the evening. Usually, if that comes later in the evening, it totally precludes an evening run at a reasonable hour. Tonight, although I had a heavy meal of Chinese food (greasy, salty), it was early enough to let me digest enough to overcome my SLOTH and get out. I thought I'd be a bloated potato with lead feet after that meal, but I actually felt quite good once I got going, and really kicked it in the end to get in under 32:00 (for a 3.5 mile run which I have run in under 30:00). But since I hurt my calf, this is still pretty good for down to Chewacla and back.

Playlist
Dirty Water -the Standells (Sox cream the Phillies)
Joyce No. 5 -Johnson Mkhalali (SA scores first goal in the World Cup!)
Opera Singer -CAKE
London Calling -the Clash
Get Up Offa That Thing -James Brown
The Rain Song -Led Zeppelin
Mushroom Men -Les Claypool
Gimme Three Steps -Lynyrd Skynyrd



Times
L1 9:16
L2 7:21
L3 7:32
L4 6:54
L5 0:41
Total 31:45

Distance 3.5 miles
Cumulative Distance 29.7 (not looking good for 100 miles this month, so far)

Here's to you, #42

Today all of Major League Baseball will be wearing #42, which besides being the answer to life, the universe and everything, was also the number worn by Jackie Robinson. Mr. Robinson was the first openly African-American player to play in the Majors. He was born in Cairo, Georgia, on January 31, 1919, though he spent most of his youth in California. Though he did play in the Negro Leagues, it was when he started playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 that his star began to rise.

He was the first "Rookie of the Year" in 1947, was the Most Valuable Player in 1949, and won a World Series Ring with the Dodgers in 1955.

In honor of this, I put together a Jackie Robinson playlist.

Ran the UDMGAG route with a slight variation, at Toomer's I turned right to cross College, as I arrived just in time for the light to change and I didn't feel up to a long stop. I got a new pair of running shorts, which suited me nicely. I may have to get another pair while they're still on sale.

Playlist
Dirty Water -The Standells (yes, the Sox won yesterday, and they're on now!)
The Song Remains the Same -Led Zeppelin (not really in the theme, but I wanted to hear it)
Give It Up or Turn It Loose -James Brown
Equal Rights -Peter Tosh
One Nation Under A Groove -Funkadelic
Jeepster -T. Rex
Bruca Manigua -Ibrahim Ferrer
Banned in D.C. -Bad Brains
Lady Luck -Billy Eckstine
You Can't Catch Me -Chuck Berry
April in Paris -Count Basie and his Orchestra
Manteca -Dizzy Gillespie
The Jack-Ass Song -Harry Belafonte
I Refuse to Lose -James Brown
Quizas, Quizas, Quizas -Nat "King" Cole
Rosa Parks -Outkast
What'd I Say -Ray Charles

Times
L1 11:34
L2 5:35
L3 11:01
L4 4:26
L5 7:21 (these two splits, I'm not exactly sure where they start/stop)
L6 5:22
L7 11:35
Total 59:54
Distance 6.7 miles

African mix

Went on a nice fairly long run. It felt really good. My back has been sore for the past few days, so I wanted to be out for a good long one. I'm headed out of town for a week and hope to get a change of venue. Out to Chewacla and back, and the splits were almost perfect. 18:03 out 18:00 back. .

Playlist
Dirty Water -The Standells. You know why. Actually, haven't had much Dirty Water lately :{(-
Stupid Marriage -The Specials. (And then a turn to Africa)
Aboagywaa -K. Frimpong and Vis a Vis
Ererimbot Ayafung Oko- Rex Williams
Takuta -Babatunde Olatunji

Time out: 36:03.

Dirty Whistling

Yes, I've gone out again! Third time is indeed a charm. Now that I've finally defended, hopefully I can keep my feet on the concrete. Tonight's theme started out dirty, then started whistling, and ended up somewhere else entirely.

Dirty Water -The Standells. You should know why by now.
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap -AC/DC
Big Chief -Professor Longhair
The Whistling Song -Meat Puppets
Undone (The Sweater Song) -Weezer
Roadhouse Blues -The Doors
Calling Dr. Love -KISS

Total time: I forgot to stop the clock, but about 30:00 or so.

Just a short one

I just went on a short one, to keep my legs moving.
Playlist
Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby -The Rolling Stones
Oye Como Va -Santana
Pearl's Cafe -The Specials
Dirty Water The Standells (okay, the Sox played last night, but given how badly they've been doing, I have to get my Dirty Water when I can. Nice job last night, Timmah! Flirting with a no-hitter, pitching a complete game, resting the bullpen, AWESOME)
Time out 15:42.

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

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

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