Someone told me there are 2 types of bike racers, those who have crashed and those who haven't. I was very happy to fall into the latter of the two, until tonight. I had my first smash and while it hurts it really wasn't as bad as it could have been. It happened on an uphill sprint you see so there wasn't too much skin loss but I landed hard on my shoulder and thought I might have done in my collar bone. Alas it was just a hard landing and unlike my legs it seems my upper body has some resilience. We were sprinting pretty hard - out of the saddle stuff.
It was the biggest smackdown I've ever done and the biggest group I've ever ridden in. About 12 people altogether. We set out steady but I was not comfortable in the pack so I hit the front and pushed the pace. No one was in trouble which was a good sign. The smackdown was taking shape and that shape was one of suffering and torture. On Austin I hit the front again and pushed the pace on my pull up the hill. A group of 4 of us broke away. I'd never ridden with the other 3 guys although I have seen Donnie ride around Providence a lot. He is the spitting image of my friend Hamish Thorpe. I've no pics to show you so you'll have to take my word for it. Anyway, it was Donnie who made the first move and only Evan responded. I was dropped as was Evan's team-mate but not really dropped, rather we took our time bridging which we did comfortably before the first of 2 climbs up to the first sprint point. It was on the first climb that I made my effort, about 450 yards out. The three lads grabbed my wheel, something that I had not experienced recently or expected. I was pushing hard and slowly Evan and I gapped the other two. About 150 yards out from the line, just as the hill was about to level out Evan came around me. We both held our ground and then next thing my quick release got caught in his back wheel and I ripped out 5 of his spokes, causing me to flip off the bike and onto my shoulder. It all happened so quickly. I was on my back and my shoulder was very sore. Evan was pissed because he has been having bad luck with losing spokes lately and I was very nervous because he has a new frame. I didn't realize until an hour later that he actually didn't go down! So at the end of the day we both lost spokes, I need new handle bar tape, and we both missed out on what surly would have been an awesome training ride full of attacks. I was so excited all afternoon for this and its such a letdown to have it end. Its my last smackdown of the season given I'll be traveling for the next 2 Tuesdays.
My love/hate with biking continues. I LOVE the pain, the suffering, the tactics, and the constant attacks. I don't love the fact that the machines and everything else cost so much compared to running and I don't love that punctures or crashes happen so often. I mean, how have they not come up with ways to prevent punctures! I don't like all the nutrition and the need to constantly drink/eat. I struggle with drafting. I'm not comfortable on someones wheel so I tend to lead a lot which means I will never really win anything. But the pain is awesome. Its a killer sport and I find that it is easier to really punish myself because I'm not great and there is no pounding. In running my knees get sore before I get tired these days. So where's the fun in that? Onward and upward. Getting a new bike very soon and will put another winter in the legs so I can race a full season next year. Down but not out.........
Love kel
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Interpol - "Interpol"
The new Interpol album comes out tomorrow. Its been up on their myspace page for some time now, streaming in all its glory. The album has been getting heavily criticized on various reputible blogs and music media outlets. Its not all hate but for the most part Interpol are going to continue to battle the ghosts of the seminal Turn On The Bright Lights. Since they announced a return to their original sound the expectations have been too great and while I think this album is maybe tied with or just ahead of Our Love To Admire (albeit very different) it still has much to celebrate. My least favorite Interpol album is still better than most of the drivel out there.
Some of the struggles stem out of the departure of Carlos D, the bassist responsible for the wonderful hooks on all the classic Interpol tunes. Not to mention his impeccable dress sense. He did play during the recording sessions but clearly didn't see the direction the album was going so rather than compromise he left. At least this is what I read, it could have been something completely different. However, its a minor blip because these songs still sound Interpol to me and thats enough. There are constant challenges for bands to maintain the sound that drew people to them in the first place. My favorite band struggled with it more than most after OK Computer but they kept the real fans and over time solidified their legacy. Our Love To Admire can be criticized as a departure from the Interpol sound but not this album. I think its classic Interpol. Elements of shoegaze, dreampop, ambient, all charged by the magic voice of Paul Banks. I have always believed a good vocalist can keep the fans coming back and this album is an example of why. It is missing the hooks, the big anthems, the dancefloor energy but it has Banks tinged with atmospherics, layers and the same edge we heard in the first album. Thats what pulls us back.
The songs have a lot of repetition and certainly build in the mix with more and more layers, horns, keys, atmospherics, and vocal samples . The leading 2 songs "Lights", and "Barricade" best exemplify this. And fittingly both songs sit in the first part of the record. I guess the fundamental sounding Interpol. The second part of the record sees a more operatic sound take hold and some deeper lyrical content including a bit of Spanish thrown in on "The Undoing", a closer that mixes between the two languages and samples some of Pauls own lyrics into the mix. Even with the two different styles the album flows perfectly and hits a peak right before the closing track. "All Of The Ways" is for me the emotional peak and the song would sound at home on any Interpol album, or even on Pauls solo effort Julian Plenti is Skyscraper. In fact I liken this album to that work more than Interpols last album.
Interpol fans should like this album, maybe even love it. Paul Banks continues to blow me away with his wonderful baritone voice and all of the atmosphere is still there, even if Carlos D's bass is turned down, a lot. Will new fans jump on board? I doubt it but that just means there is more for Interpol followers to keep for themselves including smaller venues and crowds that sing along. Loyalty is becoming more and more a rarity in music and if this is the direction Interpol want to go in (which is actually not really that different) then I'm along for the ride.
I haven't really listened deeply to the lyrics but does the line "I did not take to analysis so I had to make up my mind" refer to some of the recording sessions? Maybe his clash of ideas with Carlos D?
Love it.
Kel
Friday, September 3, 2010
You Have Not Been Paying Attention
I just got back from a trip to the homeland where I got to meet my new and wonderful niece Alicia. Not that there is much to see, she is only a couple of weeks and holding her is more nerve racking than anything. Well at least it is for me. I also got to hang with the rest of the family, my nephews Ryan and Cian. Awesome. There was the Saturday club with The Lads FC and while we age gracefully I find nothing so thoroughly enjoyable as discussion among the best bunch on the planet over a few creamy pints of Guinness, a throw back to anytime over the last 15 years. I am eternally grateful to have grown up with crew I did. Its humbling to have such friendships. Another reason for the trip home was the wedding of Ro McGettigan and Myles Dumas. It was a spectacular few days down in Wicklow. The Guinness was lovely, the sun was shining and everyone was in party mood. Ro and Myles looked great and I found myself dancing hard to the likes of Kate Perry and Lady GaGa which means that I was pretty much ga-ga myself. The next day saw a horrible bus journey and extreme hangover. I had Spencer Krug for company.
Last year, August 22nd, Radiohead played in Prague on the In Rainbows tour. A bunch of hardcore fans decided to meet up before the show with Flip cameras and agreed to spread out among the crowd so they could film the gig. The goal was to take all the footage and edit it to make a DVD of the live concert experience. There was nothing professional about the shoot, it was literally fans with the same Flip cameras. The editing was done over the last year. Ordinarily this is considered illegal and bands for the most part would not endorse such behavior however Radiohead are not some bands. They are on a completely different level and embrace the internet community which is why in the midst of illegal downloading the file sharing they are still successful. When they heard about what the fans were doing they completely embraced the concept and allowed them to use the soundboard recording from the show. So what started out as a fun project now has the bands stamp of approval and has soundboard 320kbps quality sound. Its a completely free download available in many formats, from fans to fans. So organic and beautiful. You can grab it in any of the many formats offered HERE
You can also read about the people that did the shooting and grab the setlist etc at the site. With so much amazing music out there I find myself often drifting into the sounds that are calling me at a given time. This summer the bands are Wolf Parade and Interpol. I saw 7 concerts between the two of them. However just viewing these videos reminds me how much I love Radiohead. Watching Idioteque literally gives me chills. I wish someone would do this with Wolf Parade because I think Spencer Krug is the closest vocalist to Thom on the scene right now (throw Jonsi in there too but his is a little bit of a different buzz). However such is the size of Radiohead that projects like this only get completed by the die hard community that surrounds them. The downside is of course that its almost impossible to see Radiohead in the venues that Wolf Parade and Interpol etc play. In fact, a band like Interpol are actually getting smaller which completely baffles me. Radiohead have the "cool" factor so therein lies the conundrum, if there is one? I'm waffling here. What I'm saying is that I think a band like Wolf Parade can be Radiohead in stature but won't be and a band like Interpol should be huge but they are now playing smaller venues and no longer selling out some shows. It must be very difficult to make it in the music world today and I respect those that devote their lives to the cause. I can't sing or play so I can only listen and support. Hats off to these kids in Prague. I would love to be part of a project like this. And by downloading and sharing we all kind of have a part. Awesome. Check out a couple of videos below and tell me it doesn't suck you right in. I love the comment one person made under Idioteque, "the best bit is between 0:01 and 4:26", I couldn't agree more.
Good to be back,
Love Kel
Last year, August 22nd, Radiohead played in Prague on the In Rainbows tour. A bunch of hardcore fans decided to meet up before the show with Flip cameras and agreed to spread out among the crowd so they could film the gig. The goal was to take all the footage and edit it to make a DVD of the live concert experience. There was nothing professional about the shoot, it was literally fans with the same Flip cameras. The editing was done over the last year. Ordinarily this is considered illegal and bands for the most part would not endorse such behavior however Radiohead are not some bands. They are on a completely different level and embrace the internet community which is why in the midst of illegal downloading the file sharing they are still successful. When they heard about what the fans were doing they completely embraced the concept and allowed them to use the soundboard recording from the show. So what started out as a fun project now has the bands stamp of approval and has soundboard 320kbps quality sound. Its a completely free download available in many formats, from fans to fans. So organic and beautiful. You can grab it in any of the many formats offered HERE
You can also read about the people that did the shooting and grab the setlist etc at the site. With so much amazing music out there I find myself often drifting into the sounds that are calling me at a given time. This summer the bands are Wolf Parade and Interpol. I saw 7 concerts between the two of them. However just viewing these videos reminds me how much I love Radiohead. Watching Idioteque literally gives me chills. I wish someone would do this with Wolf Parade because I think Spencer Krug is the closest vocalist to Thom on the scene right now (throw Jonsi in there too but his is a little bit of a different buzz). However such is the size of Radiohead that projects like this only get completed by the die hard community that surrounds them. The downside is of course that its almost impossible to see Radiohead in the venues that Wolf Parade and Interpol etc play. In fact, a band like Interpol are actually getting smaller which completely baffles me. Radiohead have the "cool" factor so therein lies the conundrum, if there is one? I'm waffling here. What I'm saying is that I think a band like Wolf Parade can be Radiohead in stature but won't be and a band like Interpol should be huge but they are now playing smaller venues and no longer selling out some shows. It must be very difficult to make it in the music world today and I respect those that devote their lives to the cause. I can't sing or play so I can only listen and support. Hats off to these kids in Prague. I would love to be part of a project like this. And by downloading and sharing we all kind of have a part. Awesome. Check out a couple of videos below and tell me it doesn't suck you right in. I love the comment one person made under Idioteque, "the best bit is between 0:01 and 4:26", I couldn't agree more.
Good to be back,
Love Kel
Thursday, August 12, 2010
As If You Didn't Know That It Would Sting
The week off has been very good to me. Knees have settled down and while I didn't (actually couldn't) get in to see Dr. McKeon he sent me an email reassuring me that I needed to take days off when my knees swell up because that is all he will tell me to do, along with maybe giving me another shot of cortisone although we both agree that it does nothing for me. I have tried to look back on everything I've been doing and frankly its been a little too much. The buzz is better and tomorrow will be a week off and I should be ready to get back into light jogging.
The Bobby Doyle 5 miler is on Saturday and I am tempted to do it given I missed last year. I am good friends with the Doyle crew and would like to support the event although it could result in my running too hard and going back to square 1. At this point there is no way I will take it easy. Impossible.
In other news I have decided to book a ticket to Chicago to see Wolf Parade in November. I've been having some anxiety about not seeing these guys again so when they added a second round of shows I needed to make a decision which has resulted in my flying to Chicago and hitting the House Of Blues with fellow music scenester Ryan Hall. Can't wait.
The Thom Yorke solo stuff at The Big Chill festival has been nothing short of magical. "Give Up The Ghost" has been played for a while but Thom mentioned (very quietly) for the first time that it was a new Radiohead song. The wheels are in motion. If we get this album by the end of the year, 2010 may be the best year of music I can remember. Then again, I think it will be early 2011 before we see the record surface. Check out the vid below and maybe allow yourself some time to watch it again, immediately. Its haunting and very beautiful. Thoms voice is majestic. And below that we have Planet Telex played on Piano. First time I've seen this action. And how wonderful is it to see Thom playing a song from The Bends amid all the new material. Epic stuff altogether.
Love Kel
The Bobby Doyle 5 miler is on Saturday and I am tempted to do it given I missed last year. I am good friends with the Doyle crew and would like to support the event although it could result in my running too hard and going back to square 1. At this point there is no way I will take it easy. Impossible.
In other news I have decided to book a ticket to Chicago to see Wolf Parade in November. I've been having some anxiety about not seeing these guys again so when they added a second round of shows I needed to make a decision which has resulted in my flying to Chicago and hitting the House Of Blues with fellow music scenester Ryan Hall. Can't wait.
The Thom Yorke solo stuff at The Big Chill festival has been nothing short of magical. "Give Up The Ghost" has been played for a while but Thom mentioned (very quietly) for the first time that it was a new Radiohead song. The wheels are in motion. If we get this album by the end of the year, 2010 may be the best year of music I can remember. Then again, I think it will be early 2011 before we see the record surface. Check out the vid below and maybe allow yourself some time to watch it again, immediately. Its haunting and very beautiful. Thoms voice is majestic. And below that we have Planet Telex played on Piano. First time I've seen this action. And how wonderful is it to see Thom playing a song from The Bends amid all the new material. Epic stuff altogether.
Love Kel
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Try Pleasing With Stealth
I finished out the rest of the week with one run. Just a sneaky 5.5 miler with Martin Fagan who was in town for the Interpol show and on a much less important note, to run Beach to Beacon 10k. We did the Blue Hills loop in what was the most humid conditions I've experienced this summer. Brutal. Not to sound like a broken record but knee was sore and swollen. Same result, but a great run with a great friend in anticipation of a great gig keeps the negative energy far away.
My third Interpol gig this Summer was as good as Rochester and better than New Haven. A lot of people (me included) are very negative about the House Of Blues. PBR cans for $6? Please. The attitude of the staff, the fact that you need an ID to get a bracelet and then you still need to show ID every time you order a drink. Whats the point in getting a wrist band if thats the case. Bollox. However, corporate music venue bullshit side, the sound is excellent. The stage is nice and high, and the floor has ample room. I haven't experienced a bad gig in HOB and I've been to 5 this year. All great and all sounded better than any of the other gigs I've been to. Myself and Fagan got a good spot on the floor about 10 rows back from the stage. Cool people around us sang the songs and smiled all the time. A complete d'bag came in late with his girlfriend and started chatting. I lost the plot and got very angry with him. He left and I got high fives from 3 or 4 people who stood around him with the same frustration as I had but lacking confidence to tell him to shut up. Paul sounded excellent and was genuinely surprised at the response from the crowd saying it was the best crowd they played in front so far on the tour. Personally I thought the atmosphere in Rochester was much better but then again there were about 500 people at that gig and about 2000 people at HOB. Small, intimate crowds always seem louder but I'm sure looking down at 2,000 people with their hands in the air gives the band a little more energy. Set list was very similar again with Heinrich Maneuver played in place of Mammoth. Not Even Jail ended the main set and the encore had Hands Away, C'Mere, and Obstacle 1. Absolutely smashing.
I took Friday completely off all exercise and had Tommy McArdle in town for the evening. Always great to see Tom. We headed out for a few scoops to some of my favorite P-Town spots, Garden Grill and The Avery. On Saturday morning we met up with Coxy for a 48 mile ride. I promised to take it easy since Tom has not been riding much more than an hour and Lee is only getting back into shape. We had a lovely ride on one of the nicer mornings this Summer. Tommy got the knock after about 40 miles and after an opportune puncture he decided that since his tire was wrecked he would lay in the grass and have Coxy pick him up since we were only 2 miles from Coxys house. I continued on riding hard all the way home. We did a lot of attacking in the second half which is what buried Tom. It all started out as a bit of a laugh but it still hurts. We kept the attacks going for about 10 miles so ultimately it was a great workout. Took it easy down at Mark Brissettes house for the rest of the day having a few scoops and playing some Bocce Ball. Lovely day.
This morning my plan was 4 hours over hills to proper bury myself. I got about 5 miles in and punctured. I went to get my spare tube but forgot that I gave it to Tom the day before. Lovely. I had my hand pump and was able to get air in to free wheel down hill. The puncture was tiny and releasing air very slowly. I had to walk the last 3 miles but it was no stress. My knee was sore on the first climb so maybe its a good thing. Kicking around some ideas for what to do next week starting with scheduling an appointment with Dr. McKeon to see what my options are.
There are no good videos from the Interpol show in Boston. I'm sure some will surface. I did go back to watching some Wolf Parade from Portland, ME and found a great sounding "Kissing The Beehive" that will bring a massive smile to any face.
Love Kel
My third Interpol gig this Summer was as good as Rochester and better than New Haven. A lot of people (me included) are very negative about the House Of Blues. PBR cans for $6? Please. The attitude of the staff, the fact that you need an ID to get a bracelet and then you still need to show ID every time you order a drink. Whats the point in getting a wrist band if thats the case. Bollox. However, corporate music venue bullshit side, the sound is excellent. The stage is nice and high, and the floor has ample room. I haven't experienced a bad gig in HOB and I've been to 5 this year. All great and all sounded better than any of the other gigs I've been to. Myself and Fagan got a good spot on the floor about 10 rows back from the stage. Cool people around us sang the songs and smiled all the time. A complete d'bag came in late with his girlfriend and started chatting. I lost the plot and got very angry with him. He left and I got high fives from 3 or 4 people who stood around him with the same frustration as I had but lacking confidence to tell him to shut up. Paul sounded excellent and was genuinely surprised at the response from the crowd saying it was the best crowd they played in front so far on the tour. Personally I thought the atmosphere in Rochester was much better but then again there were about 500 people at that gig and about 2000 people at HOB. Small, intimate crowds always seem louder but I'm sure looking down at 2,000 people with their hands in the air gives the band a little more energy. Set list was very similar again with Heinrich Maneuver played in place of Mammoth. Not Even Jail ended the main set and the encore had Hands Away, C'Mere, and Obstacle 1. Absolutely smashing.
I took Friday completely off all exercise and had Tommy McArdle in town for the evening. Always great to see Tom. We headed out for a few scoops to some of my favorite P-Town spots, Garden Grill and The Avery. On Saturday morning we met up with Coxy for a 48 mile ride. I promised to take it easy since Tom has not been riding much more than an hour and Lee is only getting back into shape. We had a lovely ride on one of the nicer mornings this Summer. Tommy got the knock after about 40 miles and after an opportune puncture he decided that since his tire was wrecked he would lay in the grass and have Coxy pick him up since we were only 2 miles from Coxys house. I continued on riding hard all the way home. We did a lot of attacking in the second half which is what buried Tom. It all started out as a bit of a laugh but it still hurts. We kept the attacks going for about 10 miles so ultimately it was a great workout. Took it easy down at Mark Brissettes house for the rest of the day having a few scoops and playing some Bocce Ball. Lovely day.
This morning my plan was 4 hours over hills to proper bury myself. I got about 5 miles in and punctured. I went to get my spare tube but forgot that I gave it to Tom the day before. Lovely. I had my hand pump and was able to get air in to free wheel down hill. The puncture was tiny and releasing air very slowly. I had to walk the last 3 miles but it was no stress. My knee was sore on the first climb so maybe its a good thing. Kicking around some ideas for what to do next week starting with scheduling an appointment with Dr. McKeon to see what my options are.
There are no good videos from the Interpol show in Boston. I'm sure some will surface. I did go back to watching some Wolf Parade from Portland, ME and found a great sounding "Kissing The Beehive" that will bring a massive smile to any face.
Love Kel
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Be A War Child Form A Circle
After taking yesterday off I hoped my knee would feel better but it didn't, its just as bad if not worse. I ran an easy 35 minutes around the Green Street trail to see if easy running on soft trails would be cool. It wasn't a complete failure but it wasn't great either. More of that going through the motions stuff that never ends positively. The whole concept of going through the motions does my head in. It lacks any passion or spontaneity. It is as good as giving up, accepting that life offers nothing great and to use a Radiohead lyric, we are all reduced to not living but killing time. The same is true in running and I don't want to go down that road of getting through a few painful miles here and there because I can tolerate it. It takes the fun away and once the fun is gone whats the point? I accept that like many runners I'm addicted to the activity. I am addicted to racing and very addicted to the pain associated with hard training. But it is not all I am and sometimes when I am limping around a trail or down a road because I can't deal with not running I question myself. What is my plan or at the very least what do I hope to achieve by further damaging my body. Should I not spend that time in the gym working on getting things stronger, something that will help rather than hinder. Should I spend the time doing yoga, or having a nap. I know these are things that will help but I always go down the road of choosing activity either in the form of running or biking. So maybe it is all I am. Maybe I'm in denial that at 32 slowly something I love is being taken away. When I was running at my best in 2000/01 and 2003, I used to take days off all the time. Ray would have me take 3 recovery days between sessions and I loved it. I didn't really care if I had to miss a morning run. But now its like a race against time. I can't bare to miss a session and even though I do take days off the anxiety is still present. I turn to my favorite pass time outside of training which is hearing live music and that helps a lot. So anyway, while I suffer through a down week to let the inflammation go down in my knee I need to really think about the bigger picture. Do I want to still deal with this pain everyday or do I move on and start a new challenge, taking on more of what living has to offer. To quote the wonderful poet Morrissey, "There are brighter sides to life, and I should know because I've seen them, but not very often". I have seen them often and I know there are brighter sides so its time to bring them back. Few days off will help, and it will bring back the positivity that is missing right now.
Love Kel
Love Kel
Monday, August 2, 2010
They Keep Erasing All The Streets We Gre Up In
I just got back from an Arcade Fire show that lived up to the hype many times over. The Bank Of America Pavilion is not one of my favorite venues in Boston. I find the seats to be very sterile and they contribute to a pretty dull atmosphere. In the case of a show like Sigur Ros it doesn't make a difference, that show is all about listening. Some of the other shows I've been to in BOAP were not sold out and the crowd was chatting with lots of background noise by people who decided to "check out" the gig, maybe not knowing any of the wonderful music being played. Seeing Feist was a real let down because she was awesome but the idiots who decided to treat the gig like a pub show were muppits. I didn't build up this gig at all expecting it to be great music but shitty everything else. Not the case at all. Volume is always an issue, the venue is just not loud, but the crowd, the atmosphere, the passion were all very evident and alive. The people around me either sang the songs or got taken away to a different place. I thought Arcade Fire were magnificent. They opened with one of my favorite songs from the new album, "Ready To Start", and from there it was all new tunes spattered with old favorites. By the second half of the show we got the classics; "Rebellion", "Neighborhood #3" (Power Out), and an amazing closer in Wake Up. The new songs sounded really tight live and even though the album just came out that day everyone around me knew the words to all the songs. I'm not the only one who stole an early copy that was making the rounds online. I'd give the gig a solid 8/10.
One of the issues that contributed to my average mood was the pain in my knees. I really messed up this weekend. It kicked off on Saturday morning with a 3 hr ride. I felt amazing and really strong so when I got home I jumped off the bike and immediately ran 3 miles for no reason. I felt great and was running 5:30 pace, hence why I stopped at 3. I knew I was doing damage so I took it easy for the rest of the day and hung with Myles at the downcity arts and music festival. Went to Garden Grille for a few scoops and hit the bed early. I planned on doing my longest run this morning and I was very fired up. I hit the road with my Garmin (first time I've wore it running in over a year) just to get an idea of the pace I was running. I didn't look at it until about 8 miles which I hit in 46 flat. Right at that point my left knee, the one with the real problem and the one that's actually been pretty good started hurting bad. I needed to stop so took a short cut and ran home. Ended up with 56:40 for 10 miles (pace felt easy) and two swollen knees. My femur and tibia bones have been kissing for the last year but today they made out big time and now the femur has a bruise right where the defect is. I know I'll need time off again. I am an idiot but truly felt that if I run a steady 10 miler it would be find. Everything up to this point has been 45 minutes with the occasional hour and I've only felt my right knee. Now I am limping on each leg.
On a positively positive note, the video below, while not great, captures some of the wonderful energy from the show. The set was too short but for the 90 or so minutes they played things were a little better. Interpol next Thursday, so excited for round 3 with Paul and the lads.
Love Kel
One of the issues that contributed to my average mood was the pain in my knees. I really messed up this weekend. It kicked off on Saturday morning with a 3 hr ride. I felt amazing and really strong so when I got home I jumped off the bike and immediately ran 3 miles for no reason. I felt great and was running 5:30 pace, hence why I stopped at 3. I knew I was doing damage so I took it easy for the rest of the day and hung with Myles at the downcity arts and music festival. Went to Garden Grille for a few scoops and hit the bed early. I planned on doing my longest run this morning and I was very fired up. I hit the road with my Garmin (first time I've wore it running in over a year) just to get an idea of the pace I was running. I didn't look at it until about 8 miles which I hit in 46 flat. Right at that point my left knee, the one with the real problem and the one that's actually been pretty good started hurting bad. I needed to stop so took a short cut and ran home. Ended up with 56:40 for 10 miles (pace felt easy) and two swollen knees. My femur and tibia bones have been kissing for the last year but today they made out big time and now the femur has a bruise right where the defect is. I know I'll need time off again. I am an idiot but truly felt that if I run a steady 10 miler it would be find. Everything up to this point has been 45 minutes with the occasional hour and I've only felt my right knee. Now I am limping on each leg.
On a positively positive note, the video below, while not great, captures some of the wonderful energy from the show. The set was too short but for the 90 or so minutes they played things were a little better. Interpol next Thursday, so excited for round 3 with Paul and the lads.
Love Kel
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