Make Your Voice Break, Sing It Out

That was a long week. I feel like I've spent more nights in hotel rooms and on planes in the last six weeks than I did all last year. And it shows no signs of slowing down. We are hammering it out and its going well. If only the buzz at Reebok could be translated into my personal well being. Tomorrow morning will see me finally make the trip back to the Doc. I am so on edge that I either drink too much or stay awake all night. Either way its not good and I'm hoping he can help me. At this stage I can safely say that my knee is actually worse than it was before surgery. I literally haven't done a lick of exercise in 2 weeks and the swelling is still very bad. The general pain scale sits at about 8 and thats just from walking around.

I started this blog 18 months ago to capture the daily training and energy around my comeback from quitting the competitive side of the sport. It was really great and I loved logging my training and the music that accompanied me. It was even successful considering I hit my first goal. But now it seems empty. This blog is about Running and Music and the running side is slowly disappearing. However if I get my knees sorted I may just have to push the reset button and set goals again, and of course log training. That is what its all about.

Frankie comes into town this week for the first time since September. We are going to see Editors on Thursday night which should be awesome. Of course Four Tet happen to be playing on the same night and same time. Typical Boston!

Please send some positive energy for the Doctors visit tomorrow, I'll give it all back,

Love Kel

Sing Me To Sleep

I'm down in the ATL with the Reebok crew and even though I'm surrounded by great friends I feel like ass. This flu is lingering in a pretty major way and I turned down the option to go on the swills in favor of swilling nyquil and trying to get some sleep. I'm on the floor so it should be all good. I love sleeping on hard surfaces. I got my tix to see Jonsi and I'm very pleased. To celebrate I will show you his new video for the song "Go Do". Feeling somewhat positive about the decisions I made regarding my knee and the course of treatment I've outlined.

Love You ALL,

Kel

To The Basement People, To The Basement

I am getting over a flu brought on by a lot of travel, late nights, and stress. The stress has nothing to do with work, its all related to the brutal pain in my knee. The weekend certainly didn't help. We had an athlete summit and it was followed by a good lash of vino and swill after. Managed a few hours of kip before waking up and feeling like complete ass, and not the hangover type. It was a long day at the Boston Indoor Games but some of the performances were really inspiring. I can say without bias that the Mens 5k was the race of the meet, not only because Bernard Lagat broke the American Record but because when Galen Rupp took up the running with a K to go I've rarely seen such energy at a track meet. There were chants of U-S-A followed by chants by the large Ethiopian contingent half way down the back straight. There was similar action in the Womens 3k but the 5k was a different animal altogether. It was the strongest indoor 5k ever on American soil. And it was a privilege to be part of the wonderful crowd and team that help Global Athletics make this meet happen. Unfortunately I couldn't enjoy the post race activities the same way I usual do (which is not necessarily a bad thing) but I still had a good time hanging with the old Providence crew and some of the runners who were up for a bit of a laugh. I was trying to get some kip to kick this bug I have but alas it didn't happen so now I'm paying for it.

Tomorrow I'm off to Atlanta and Philly for 5 days and when I get back to P-Town next Sunday I start to prepare my recovery plan. Monday sees a visit to the Doc up in Boston and hopefully a MRI to rule out a further tear. Assuming there is no tear I will ask for a shot of good old fashion Cortisone and if there is a tear I want the Doc to go back in as soon as possible. I have a bunch of sessions lined up with Mike Silva at Foundation Performance and Dr. Lani's chiropractor center. Its not for lack of trying as far as I'm concerned and if i don't get better I need to know I've exhausted every angle. So thats the latest buzz. New Video by Two Door Cinema Club who hail from Ireland. Little bit poppy but as I've said its softer I'm getting. I'm looking forward to hearing this complete album at the end of the month.

Love Kel

On The High Rise Estate

Had a thorough examination down at Foundation Performance and Mike reckons I do need another MRI to rule out further tears. My leg length discrepancy is actually getting worse and on a basic test of hammy strength its been reveled that I have more power in my little toe than I do in my Hamstrings. Obviously the biking is contributing heavily to this. So we think that the tear came as a result of severe muscle imbalance and the fact that my orthotic needs adjusting. I am very fired up about the session because if I had to diagnose myself I'd say I have a micro tear and if that was ruled out I'd say exactly what Mike told me. So the formula is clear, MRI to rule out tear, and if thats the case go head first into getting the glutes and hamstrings stronger. If I'm going to continue riding so much I may go and actually get fitted for my machine. Might be worth it.

Love Kel

There Is Love In You

Its been an overwhelming 24 hours in music. We got another new Jonsi song handed to us and I went and bought the new Four Tet Album, There Is Love In You. The Album is really beautiful and soulful. It even has some elements that make me want to get up and start dancing. I listened through 4 times at work today (productive few hours) and found myself wanting to breakdance in my cube. The album is certainly more dancey than my other Four Tet albums. While certainly not in the genre of hands in the air, trance beats or anything like that, it certainly gets the head nodding, the shoulders swaying, and the mind thinking. Kieran Hebden has been DJing for many years at London's Plastic People and I can certainly hear the influence of dancefloor builders, minimal techno, and obviously house music. While Hebden has ventured these paths many times this album is the most complete dance album he has done. The cymbals and keys from earlier work are very evident but the bright, uplifting energy is consistent throughout the record unlike its predecessors. I found the songs to be extremely emotional and ones I'll revisit many times this year.

Speaking of emotional, the full studio recording of Go Do on the new Jonsi album was played on Zane Lowes BBC Radio 1 show and its available for listening and smiling. The track is very Boy Lilikoi sounding and now that we've had two tracks from the forthcoming album its very clear that outside of Radioheads new work (when they release it) it may be the album of the year. Check out the track below.

I ran 1 mile today in a lot of pain and I did a lot of core work. I blame Four Tet for my actions. I couldn't bare to sit at my desk any longer.

Love Kel

Luv Deluxe

Back into the swing of things at work and another day of no training. Some major positive news coming out of today is the fact that Radiohead have apparently completed their new album. I have no idea how this one will be released but needless to say I'll be on edge until it happens. Jonsi is releasing tickets for his forthcoming US tour very soon. I'll be going to at least 3 shows. That much I can guarantee. Even though there is still zero improvement in my knee I am not too down which is no surprise really considering I've been listening to Cinnamon Chasers all night. Riding the bike tomorrow morning because rest isn't doing anything.

Love Kel

Pausa Caffe

My flight back from Geneva is delayed by a solid 90 minutes making my connection to Boston looking more and more like its not going to happen. The free internet in the airport, all one hour of it, is most welcome and sitting down with black coffee while listening to Joy Division and surfing the web will see this hour pass quicker than any other will today.

I had a fantastic though very short (too short) stay in this strange but beautiful city, however I'm looking forward to getting back and sorting out my knee. I am not sure where or when I made a balls of it but I only have myself to blame. Dare I say that I might have torn some more meniscus or cartilage because seeing as my recent self diagnosis has been bang on it is safe to assume that I'm right again. We had a conversation last night over some Scotch about how many athletes are so in tune with their bodies that a visit to the doctor is usually just a clarification of the problem and a request for some prescription meds. I can't remember the last time I asked a Doctor what was wrong with me, and neither could the other guys in the conversation. So back to the point I'm making. Clearly something is causing major instability in my knee and by avoiding a very thorough rehab the underlying problem has not been corrected. Maybe I had my puncture repaired but there is still a sharp piece of glass in the tire and it has re-punctured me. I am going to get another MRI as soon as possible so I can be very specific on what needs to be done and on what time line.

Runners are a bit of a twisted breed. I haven't really trained hard in 6 weeks so naturally I've put on a couple of kilos. Given the mass amount of partying I did over Chrimbo and even this last 4 days I should really be grateful that I'm not worse off. Nevertheless, I still feel fat and out of shape. If I can't run I will have to figure some other way to get my "fix". Maybe a bit of swimming for the time being will hit the spot. Swimming and I don't mix and I can't really do much of it but if it keeps me sane it will be very much invited into my life. The rest of my energy over the next 3 weeks will go into getting my knee right so I can at least use the Alter-G and get back on the bike. I wish I could let it go and enjoy the rest of what life has to offer (I kind of do that anyway which isn't necessarily a good thing) but I can't so I'll do what I do best, get healthy again and over do it with massive amounts of hard training, chasing the dream (which isn't really a dream anymore) and telling myself that this time will be different.

Peace and Love,

Kelrock