Day Off
Woke up at 1 am and needed to ice my knee. It became all swollen last night. Obviously I rode too hard in my 45 minute evening session. Its really pathetic. A mere 45 minutes should only be a warm up on the bike. Clearly getting ahead of myself. A rest day is alright I suppose. I feel a cold coming on so loading up on various pills and good food to nip it in the bud. Spending this evening listening to old techno and post rock. Back on the saddle tomorrow.
More fantastic electropop from Australia. So many great young bands making this kind of music. Easy to listen to many times over. Puts a smile on my face every time. Even when I'm in doom and gloom mood like I am right now!
Love Kel
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Coloring Of Pigeons
AM: 40 Minutes Ride, Core Work
PM: 45 Minutes Steady/Hard Ride
Decided to workout twice today in an effort to see how my knee would respond to the additional workload. I have always felt that 2 short sessions is easier than one long session and rather than ramp up to 80 or 90 minutes I figured a couple of shorter sessions that were up tempo might be the right option at this point in time. Felt fantastic during both rides and would love to have done more. A good feeling.
In more important news, The Knife have allowed fans the opportunity to download one of the tracks off their forthcoming album Tomorrow, In A Year. The deal is, The Knife, along with collaborators Mt. Sims and Planningtorock, were commissioned by the a Danish Operatic group to write the music for their new Opera based on Charles Darwin's "On The Origin Of The Species". This is the only track I've heard and by signing up for The Knife's newsletter you get a free download. The music is as beautiful and bizarre as I would expect. Wonderful.
Love Kel
PM: 45 Minutes Steady/Hard Ride
Decided to workout twice today in an effort to see how my knee would respond to the additional workload. I have always felt that 2 short sessions is easier than one long session and rather than ramp up to 80 or 90 minutes I figured a couple of shorter sessions that were up tempo might be the right option at this point in time. Felt fantastic during both rides and would love to have done more. A good feeling.
In more important news, The Knife have allowed fans the opportunity to download one of the tracks off their forthcoming album Tomorrow, In A Year. The deal is, The Knife, along with collaborators Mt. Sims and Planningtorock, were commissioned by the a Danish Operatic group to write the music for their new Opera based on Charles Darwin's "On The Origin Of The Species". This is the only track I've heard and by signing up for The Knife's newsletter you get a free download. The music is as beautiful and bizarre as I would expect. Wonderful.
Love Kel
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Get The Eggs, Get The Flan In The Face.
PM: 60 Minutes Trainer, Core Work
Another hour steady on the bike followed by core work after a long day at work. Need to start getting up in the morning because sitting down to dinner at 9 bells and then watching soccer until 11 is not conducive to good work and fitness. Basically I'm aimless right now because of my recovery so its not exciting. I need a goal or something. Sounds amateur but thats where I'm at. I hate training for the sake of training, I love competing. Anyway, its all irrelevant right now because its my first week back exercising after my surgery and with tender joints comes conservative training. Off to bed to listen to Memory Tapes,
Love Kel
Another hour steady on the bike followed by core work after a long day at work. Need to start getting up in the morning because sitting down to dinner at 9 bells and then watching soccer until 11 is not conducive to good work and fitness. Basically I'm aimless right now because of my recovery so its not exciting. I need a goal or something. Sounds amateur but thats where I'm at. I hate training for the sake of training, I love competing. Anyway, its all irrelevant right now because its my first week back exercising after my surgery and with tender joints comes conservative training. Off to bed to listen to Memory Tapes,
Love Kel
Monday, January 4, 2010
Singing I Miss You
PM: 60 Minutes Trainer, Core Work
The training is kind of boring and flat right now. I am still nursing this knee after surgery so I can't really push it. However I think I got over the first hump today. Over the last 4 rides I still felt a little tweak here and there but today there was nothing. The joint felt fluid and right now I have a big ice pack wrapped around it. I might be able to increase the volume on the bike with some double days before I kick into the 90+ minute trainer sessions. Putting all thoughts about running out of my mind for the next few weeks.
Haven't listened to any new music today. Work was long and I literally feel hammered. Going to play some Album Leaf and read some Irvine Welsh. The hype is all about the new Vampire Weekend but I can't really be bothered. The first album in my opinion was the most over rated, over hyped, uninteresting record of 2008. I'll admit, after a few listens I never gave it another go but when I hear the songs they still don't do it for me. I will listen to the new album but I'll wait until next week when its officially released.
Love Kel
The training is kind of boring and flat right now. I am still nursing this knee after surgery so I can't really push it. However I think I got over the first hump today. Over the last 4 rides I still felt a little tweak here and there but today there was nothing. The joint felt fluid and right now I have a big ice pack wrapped around it. I might be able to increase the volume on the bike with some double days before I kick into the 90+ minute trainer sessions. Putting all thoughts about running out of my mind for the next few weeks.
Haven't listened to any new music today. Work was long and I literally feel hammered. Going to play some Album Leaf and read some Irvine Welsh. The hype is all about the new Vampire Weekend but I can't really be bothered. The first album in my opinion was the most over rated, over hyped, uninteresting record of 2008. I'll admit, after a few listens I never gave it another go but when I hear the songs they still don't do it for me. I will listen to the new album but I'll wait until next week when its officially released.
Love Kel
Sunday, January 3, 2010
In A Big Country
AM: 70 Minutes Trainer Ride, Core Work
I finally figured out a way to do sessions on the bike without temptation to do intervals. Its quite simple really, watch TV. I set up my TV and DVD player in the basement and started watching movies. Listening to music is what gets me all fired up so for easy days, especially these current days on my comeback, I will only watch the box. The ride was easy and my knee is getting stronger after only 4 bike efforts. I will up the load since I think I can handle more and will continue to do the core work that the Dr. suggested. Its going to be a long road back to fitness and I can't help but feel a little frustrated because I need to stay very motivated knowing that my left knee may not be able to take on a training load and that I may never get back to racing again. However, one closed door opens up new doors and I am thoroughly enjoying the bike riding so maybe a break from racing on two legs to racing on two wheels is just what I need.
My friend Vinny Mulvey is also coming back from an injury of his own and has just joined up with a new coach, John Downes. You can follow Vinnys progress on his website, www.vinnymulveyfitness.com. While there you can also read some of his articles on all things fitness. Should be a nice journey to be part of.
The song I've listened to more than any other in 2010 is Green Knight by Memory Tapes. This album really should have been in my top 10 of the year. I really love it and when I was supping Coffee at the Exchange on Saturday I realized this fact. This is perhaps my favorite song on the album excluding the fantastic 22 minute closing instrumental which is a whole mix in itself. Check it.
We are right into the new year and tomorrow is back to work both at Reebok and with getting fitter, happier, more productive.
Peace and Love,
Kel
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Best Albums Of The Decade
I alluded to the fact that I don't put too much stock into a new year but it's remarkable to me that the first decade of the new Millennium has passed. A better case to start a process of reflection. I brought in the Noughties at a house party, DJ'ing hard techno to many friends and amid a cloud of smoke and weird energy. Wouldn't exactly say it was memorable and as the night progressed and the techno got harder and faster I made an exit, wishing I was with Frankie, Podge, Tubs, and Ed who were hanging out in Francine's house in Canada. The turn of the Millennium kind of forecast the years to follow. The reason we ended up at a house party was because every establishment in town decided to milk the regulars and force them to stay at home. But from an athletic view point and a musical view point the months that followed were remarkable. I returned to the States from that winter break completely out of shape and it was in the months that followed that I decided to actually take running seriously. 2000/01 was my favorite time in America. Not only did my running go to a whole new level but it was the only year I had no injuries, no cares, success, and constant fun times. The lads on the team all ran well and we fed off each others energy. The girls team were running great too and I don't really remember any negative vibes from June 2000 - October 2001. From a running stand point everything went downhill after October 2001 but the rest of the decade had a lot of high points. Since this blog is about Running and Music I don't need to go into politics or any of that. It was obviously a very significant period for the entire globe. We saw the best and the worst of human behavior.
I have spoke to a lot of people about whether or not the 90's edged the 00's out as far as music goes. Almost all of my friends agree that the 90's had it. It is significant to note that we (me and my mates) lived through very inspiring culture shifts in music. A shift that we didn't see in the 00's. In fact there were two major musical movements that I personally experienced. Rave Culture and Brit-Pop. In the USA there was the grunge thing (which was also massive in Ireland) but I never got into that and still don't really like the sound. But Rave and Brit-Pop were amazing. I remember back in 1992 and 1993 making the almost religious weekly trip to Luci's with the rest of the town. Every Friday and Saturday night the lines outside were ridiculous. Rave had gripped everyone and unfortunately so did a little white pill called Ecstasy. Not that everyone was doing it or anything but it was certainly a major reason why the clubs were packed to the rafters every week. I like to think the music had a lot to do with it but thats just my buzz and always has been. I bought my Decks and wanted to be a DJ.
Right at the same time a band from Manchester called Oasis hit the scene and Brit-Pop was born. Blur, Elastica, Pulp, Supergrass, Suede, there were so many. The energy was a real wake up to youth to bring back the good times and the fun. It was a backlash against some of the self loathing of grunge and the introverted shoegazing sounds. It was about "Cigarettes and Alcohol". Looking back it is amazing to think how big Oasis were. Even though I was more of a Blur fan I saw Oasis 4 times in concert and so did the rest of the country. It was nuts and really memorable.
With that being said I don't necessarily think the decade had better records than the 00's, even though my favorite album of all time, OK Computer came out in 1997. I am somewhat on the fence. I think the 90's were more significant in that the social change that music evoked was massive in scale and shaped and changed so many people growing up and experiencing their first concerts and nights out. But as far as the actual music goes, I think if I had to do an all time favorite albums list more albums from the 00's and maybe even the 80's would place more regularly. This decade it seemed that bands broke the mold with each album. While in the 90's we didn't want our bands to change and evolve the opposite was true of the 00's. So many new genres emerged and the revival of sounds from the 80's fused with modern music technology created lots of new groups and types of music. The series of "post" rave, rock, punk etc all presented fantastic albums. No one sound dominated. However, with that being said, the lowest common denominator of music took off in the 00's and that is the world of Pop/American Idol and X-Factor. But we won't talk any more about that here.
I put my albums into 2 categories. Top 10 of the Decade in order. And the rest that I couldn't rank because I kept changing my mind and it was doing my head in! Note, I picked a live version of a song from each album which shows how amazing these groups are.
1. Radiohead - Kid A (2000)
Idioteque is my most listened to song of the last 10 years and maybe my favorite song of all time. And this album turned me from loving Radiohead to becoming fanatical about Radiohead.
2. Wolf Parade - Apologies To The Queen Mary (2005)
I'll believe in anything. One of my favorite songs ever. And the album that kick started my obsession with Spencer Krug and everything he does.
3. Sigur Ros - () (2002)
Suggested to me on a Radiohead message board. Apparently Thom and Jonny were listening to these guys so I went out and bought this album and have been fanatic about these guys ever since.
4. Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007)
From the way it was released to the amazing music the record contains. Beautiful. Still listen to these songs every single week.
5. Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights (2001)
Heard NYC somewhere random way back when and loved Paul's voice. Bought the album on the cheapo in Newbury Comics and played it until it was riddled with scratches and needed to be thrown out. Amazing.
6. Blur - Think Tank (2003)
I really thought Blur were done and that they had their best days. But this along with 13 in my opinion is their best album. Saw the songs performed live in the Olympia with a few devoted fans and was blown away.
7. Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover (2007)
Some of my most listened to songs in the last 2 years came off this album. I could never get bored of this record. Spencer and his band at their best. So uplifting and inspiring.
8. Radiohead - Amnesiac (2001)
The very quick follow up to Kid A. Not as good but still full of amazing tunes from the best band on the planet.
9. Sigur Ros - Takk (2005)
Perhaps my best concert moment of the decade was Sigur Ros on the Takk tour stop in Bostons Opera House. Very strange feelings. Such a joyful album.
10. Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004)
Jumped on the bandwagon and bought into the hype until I had about 2 or 3 listens and realized it was very real and that this album is genius.
The Rest In No Particular Order:
Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
Thom Yorke - The Eraser (2006)
Mew - And The Glass Handed Kites (2005)
Editors - The Back Room (2005)
Radiohead - Hail To The Thief (2003)
Mogwai - Happy Songs For Happy People (2003)
Royksopp - Melody AM (2001)
Explosions In The Sky - The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place. (2003)
M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas, and Lost Ghosts (2003)
Morrissey - You Are The Quarry (2004)
Interpol - Antics (2004)
Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust (2008)
Ulrich Schnauss - A Strangely Isolated Place (2003)
The Shins - Wincing The Night Away (2007)
Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City (2007)
Boards Of Canada - The Campfire Headphase (2005)
Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer (2009)
LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver (2007)
The Album Leaf - Into The Blue Again (2006)
I have spoke to a lot of people about whether or not the 90's edged the 00's out as far as music goes. Almost all of my friends agree that the 90's had it. It is significant to note that we (me and my mates) lived through very inspiring culture shifts in music. A shift that we didn't see in the 00's. In fact there were two major musical movements that I personally experienced. Rave Culture and Brit-Pop. In the USA there was the grunge thing (which was also massive in Ireland) but I never got into that and still don't really like the sound. But Rave and Brit-Pop were amazing. I remember back in 1992 and 1993 making the almost religious weekly trip to Luci's with the rest of the town. Every Friday and Saturday night the lines outside were ridiculous. Rave had gripped everyone and unfortunately so did a little white pill called Ecstasy. Not that everyone was doing it or anything but it was certainly a major reason why the clubs were packed to the rafters every week. I like to think the music had a lot to do with it but thats just my buzz and always has been. I bought my Decks and wanted to be a DJ.
Right at the same time a band from Manchester called Oasis hit the scene and Brit-Pop was born. Blur, Elastica, Pulp, Supergrass, Suede, there were so many. The energy was a real wake up to youth to bring back the good times and the fun. It was a backlash against some of the self loathing of grunge and the introverted shoegazing sounds. It was about "Cigarettes and Alcohol". Looking back it is amazing to think how big Oasis were. Even though I was more of a Blur fan I saw Oasis 4 times in concert and so did the rest of the country. It was nuts and really memorable.
With that being said I don't necessarily think the decade had better records than the 00's, even though my favorite album of all time, OK Computer came out in 1997. I am somewhat on the fence. I think the 90's were more significant in that the social change that music evoked was massive in scale and shaped and changed so many people growing up and experiencing their first concerts and nights out. But as far as the actual music goes, I think if I had to do an all time favorite albums list more albums from the 00's and maybe even the 80's would place more regularly. This decade it seemed that bands broke the mold with each album. While in the 90's we didn't want our bands to change and evolve the opposite was true of the 00's. So many new genres emerged and the revival of sounds from the 80's fused with modern music technology created lots of new groups and types of music. The series of "post" rave, rock, punk etc all presented fantastic albums. No one sound dominated. However, with that being said, the lowest common denominator of music took off in the 00's and that is the world of Pop/American Idol and X-Factor. But we won't talk any more about that here.
I put my albums into 2 categories. Top 10 of the Decade in order. And the rest that I couldn't rank because I kept changing my mind and it was doing my head in! Note, I picked a live version of a song from each album which shows how amazing these groups are.
1. Radiohead - Kid A (2000)
Idioteque is my most listened to song of the last 10 years and maybe my favorite song of all time. And this album turned me from loving Radiohead to becoming fanatical about Radiohead.
2. Wolf Parade - Apologies To The Queen Mary (2005)
I'll believe in anything. One of my favorite songs ever. And the album that kick started my obsession with Spencer Krug and everything he does.
3. Sigur Ros - () (2002)
Suggested to me on a Radiohead message board. Apparently Thom and Jonny were listening to these guys so I went out and bought this album and have been fanatic about these guys ever since.
4. Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007)
From the way it was released to the amazing music the record contains. Beautiful. Still listen to these songs every single week.
5. Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights (2001)
Heard NYC somewhere random way back when and loved Paul's voice. Bought the album on the cheapo in Newbury Comics and played it until it was riddled with scratches and needed to be thrown out. Amazing.
6. Blur - Think Tank (2003)
I really thought Blur were done and that they had their best days. But this along with 13 in my opinion is their best album. Saw the songs performed live in the Olympia with a few devoted fans and was blown away.
7. Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover (2007)
Some of my most listened to songs in the last 2 years came off this album. I could never get bored of this record. Spencer and his band at their best. So uplifting and inspiring.
8. Radiohead - Amnesiac (2001)
The very quick follow up to Kid A. Not as good but still full of amazing tunes from the best band on the planet.
9. Sigur Ros - Takk (2005)
Perhaps my best concert moment of the decade was Sigur Ros on the Takk tour stop in Bostons Opera House. Very strange feelings. Such a joyful album.
10. Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004)
Jumped on the bandwagon and bought into the hype until I had about 2 or 3 listens and realized it was very real and that this album is genius.
The Rest In No Particular Order:
Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
Thom Yorke - The Eraser (2006)
Mew - And The Glass Handed Kites (2005)
Editors - The Back Room (2005)
Radiohead - Hail To The Thief (2003)
Mogwai - Happy Songs For Happy People (2003)
Royksopp - Melody AM (2001)
Explosions In The Sky - The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place. (2003)
M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas, and Lost Ghosts (2003)
Morrissey - You Are The Quarry (2004)
Interpol - Antics (2004)
Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust (2008)
Ulrich Schnauss - A Strangely Isolated Place (2003)
The Shins - Wincing The Night Away (2007)
Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City (2007)
Boards Of Canada - The Campfire Headphase (2005)
Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer (2009)
LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver (2007)
The Album Leaf - Into The Blue Again (2006)
Friday, January 1, 2010
Green Knight
AM: 50 Minutes Trainer, Lots Of Core Work
Rehab is really frustrating. It places limits on how much I can do which is a big no - no. The overwhelming desire to train super hard and long today was blocked by rational. I am following Doctors orders so the training is really uneventful and boring. I rode steady with no real resistance for 50 minutes and then did a full core routine to try and salvage something out of the training. My knee has improved radically over the last week. Compared to all my other surgeries this feels amazing. I can't believe how quick the swelling disappeared and the range of motion returned. I almost feel like testing it with a sneaky run but like I said, the new year will bring some more maturity.
I received my annual "songs of the year" CD by the legendary Bob Schwelm. Knew most of the music on there but had a few surprises thrown in. One track stood out for me from a band I've never heard of, Throw Me A Statue - Noises. Throroughly enjoyed this track and will need to check out more from the rest of the band. I've also been busy compiling a few year end CD's myself and working on compiling my favorite albums of the decade. Its really tough but I think I'm done. The songs are almost impossible to compile in order. So much amazing music.
First day of 2010 and it was soild. Training done and hanging with some great friends at Abes and Cuban Revolution. Lovely.
Peace,
Kel
Rehab is really frustrating. It places limits on how much I can do which is a big no - no. The overwhelming desire to train super hard and long today was blocked by rational. I am following Doctors orders so the training is really uneventful and boring. I rode steady with no real resistance for 50 minutes and then did a full core routine to try and salvage something out of the training. My knee has improved radically over the last week. Compared to all my other surgeries this feels amazing. I can't believe how quick the swelling disappeared and the range of motion returned. I almost feel like testing it with a sneaky run but like I said, the new year will bring some more maturity.
I received my annual "songs of the year" CD by the legendary Bob Schwelm. Knew most of the music on there but had a few surprises thrown in. One track stood out for me from a band I've never heard of, Throw Me A Statue - Noises. Throroughly enjoyed this track and will need to check out more from the rest of the band. I've also been busy compiling a few year end CD's myself and working on compiling my favorite albums of the decade. Its really tough but I think I'm done. The songs are almost impossible to compile in order. So much amazing music.
First day of 2010 and it was soild. Training done and hanging with some great friends at Abes and Cuban Revolution. Lovely.
Peace,
Kel
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