Summer was marginal at best and now it feels like Winter. Where did September go? What a non-month even though it had kick ass moments. And tomorrow is Oct 1sr, my 32nd B-Day but really just another Earth cycle. My knee is still going to feel like ass and the wind off lake Huron is going to blow hard making my bike ride a suffer fest. The last 2 days I rode 2 hours each afternoon. The first effort involved Frankie dropping me off about 55k from her parents house. Ordinarily this is a joke of a ride but it was the worse headwind I have ever experienced on the bike and since I was just heading north it was around the whole way. Brutal. At points on the ride I was screaming for it to stop (i know shouting can't make the wind stop), thats how irrational I was. Got back exhausted. One of the hardest rides I have ever done. A long straight road for 30+ miles with 30-60 MPH wind coming off the lake. Today was not bad although had I not rode yesterday I would have said it was horrible. I did an out and back with cross winds all the way. I enjoyed the ride and pushed hard over the last 30 minutes. Two solid days in the bank.
Thom York just announced his band for the solo material tour. The band is as yet unnamed but let me tell you, I'm very excited. Flea is his bassist! With Joey Waronker on drums. He usually plays with REM and Beck. Much more will be announced about this over the coming days but for right now it seems like it will be awesome. They are playing shows in LA next weekend. I would love to go but its not possible. People better take good video footage!
Thats all I got. Canada for a few more days and then its Bye Bye to Frankie and a return to US and A. A little more positive today!
I'm not running for a while, letting my knee settle down etc. I'll try some biking but that will hurt too. Anyway, check out the Julian Plenti singing "Only If You Run" from the show at the weekend. Potentially going to see Matt&Kim this Thursday in Toronto. Nice.
Right knee is really, really sore. Almost to the point that I think I may have torn something. Hopefully its just tendonitis or something else but either way its bad. I am very frustrated. Driving to Canada tomorrow, lots to get done and lots to think about for 10 hours solo in a car.
My leg has been bothering me so much lately that I have found no desire or energy to write about it. Complete transparency aside not one wants to read constant moaning so I will avoid doing such. The last three days have been a challenge with the top of my calf, tendons in my knee, and hammy all acting very strange. I know its because of my attempts to change my gait. Not that I am giving that up, its essential that I stay the course. But the growing pains are not pleasant.
Today I head down to NYC with Frankie. I am visiting some stores and meeting people. Then tonight we see Julian Plenti at the Guggenheim Museum. It will be close, emotional, epic, and rare. Needless to say I need this right now. It is our last weekend together for 2+ months, maybe longer. Lots of strange energy, sadness and joy that she is chasing the dream much like I have been as a runner for the last 10 years. It is a great opportunity for Frankie and even though I will miss her I wouldn't change anything and I encourage her to maybe extend her stay in Geneva (selfishly hoping she'll stay through the spring so I can bring my bike and ride some of the famous Tour De France passes!!!!)
Like I have said many times before, Julian Plenti is amazing. He is the lead singer of the band Interpol and this is his solo project that has been in existence long before Interpol formed. Paul Banks is a fantastic singer with such a distinct voice that is addicting and intoxicating. I love Interpol but I really love Paul Banks voice. Not that this is a knock on the band. They work really well together and are very tight but Paul has a sadness in his vocals that really hits home with me. Not on the level as Thom or Spencer Krug but certainly very high up on the list of guys I could listen to sing for a very long time. Tonight will be epic and I hope to be right in front of the stage. Will post pics and video over the weekend.
Not a great a weekend with the old training game or healthy living but a very good weekend all the same. It all went pearshaped on Friday when I ran an 8 mile loop from the office and decided to test the waters with some uptempo running at the end. The quicker pace felt nice so I pushed on and timed my last mile at 4:50-52ish. This makes no sense at all but I truly didn't feel like I was running hard, I was running at a pace I figured I could hold for 30 minutes and only doing it for a mile. I expected a 5:20 at the quickest. My leg became very sore afterwards and it wasn't my bad knee, it was the right leg. My back and hip are all jacked up too and for my troubles I had 2 days off.
We had a work event this weekend that involved a U2 concert at Foxboro in the Reebok VIP suite. Needless to say it was a unique and very enjoyable experience. Next day, after many hours of detailed meetings I ran an easy hour with a few of the gang, finishing off easy and controlled with first class traveller John Clark. KD, Ryan Fen, Nate Brooks, and Kris Hartner decided to bury me and John putting 3 odd minutes into us at the end. All good lads but payback is rough in the jungle!
The hour was not good in terms of how my leg felt. I am getting some Chiro work done tomorrow. I think I have a nerve and muscle issue going on. I'm sure it will be fixed by this weekend so its not bad. Maybe this is a good opportunity for me to accept that Euro XC has to become a moot point. There was a little part of me that seceretly dreamed of making it back for the trial but its not happening. I am so far away from running hard that I need to cop on and focus on getting healthy and building a rational, functional aerobic base with a true, realistic goal at the end.
New Thom York material out. The double-sided 12" features a new song called "The Hollow Earth", it is an uptempo electronic number that may have been a B-Side n The Eraser. Like the A-Side single it is very dark and driven by skittish beats and Thom's amazing voice. Great Tune!
The A-Side is "Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses". This track was the mother of "Reckoner", and in fact used to be called Reckoner. Thom has performed it many times live and its amazing so naturally when "In Rainbows" came out many fans were disappointed with their initial listen since Reckoner sounds nothing like we thought it would from the live performance. Anyone still disappointed with the song is clearly demented and I would find it difficult to be friends with them.
"Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses" follows the same vein, sans chorus, as the live version that has been floating around for a long time. It is not driven by the band or even acoustic, rather it is electronic, full of pads, an echoing Thom Yorke vocal and a sick bassline. I do prefer the live version but this is definitely cool. Check both songs out below and if you don't want to buy the hard copy Thom will have the songs available for download in October.
Ran the very same loop as I did yesterday. And did the same core routine. The intention was to do a serious bike session today but my right knee is inflamed. So my knee is very sore. Not my injured knee, my decent peg. Naturally this is very unsatisfying but I can't do anything positive about it. In order to fix it I need to back off and I feel like I'm hardly doing anything right now! Little swimming action I guess. Song of the day is below,
Today was a long work day but lots on my mind and busy work to get done. Fortunately I ended up being pretty productive given my state of mind. I waited until the evening to do any exercise. I was temped to take the day off but felt I'd be better served getting my training on. It was a good call and I felt pretty good considering the lack of energy I brought into the run. Finished my last lap on the track at a good clip. Knee pain was 5 out of 10.
Marc Darroch, older brother of Frankie has offered up 3 ep's worth of music for free download. The music comes from his Mossyrock moniker, a fuse of electronic folk and postrock with lots of soothing vocals and melody. But what does any of that mean? Well you just have to download the music and spread it to your friends and families. And maybe even people you don't like or you think need a pick up! The music, regardless of the style, is first and foremost fun and joyful. Nothing else matters. The track, "I want to eat your eyes", is below. GET IT, AND FEEL THE LOVE!
In other music news, I saw the USC marching band perform a medley of "15 Step" and "Paranoid Android" as a half time show at one of their recent games. I really appreciate this, especially given the collaboration at the recent Grammy Awards. They obviously enjoyed themselves and truly enjoy the music. Makes me support USC a little more!
AM: 43 Minutes, RIC w/Add on PM: Bike Trainer Workout, 70 Minutes
Worked from home today, drinking copious amounts of coffee and eating far to much chocolate. But I was productive. Starting the day off with a nice 7 mile loop always helps although I didn't feel as bouncy or as pain free as I did last night. Rocked the new kicks again mind you so I felt pretty fleet of foot. My knee did hurt afterwards however especially my right knee which is like salt in the wounds. Its bad enough to have major concerns about my injury without having to worry about a swollen knee on the other leg. Good training all the same.
The PM session involved a Chuckie V workout. He is a former world class triathlete and his blog provides much entertainment. Anyway, occasionally he gives bike workouts and I did one of them this afternoon although due to time constraints I needed to cut it short. After 20 Minutes steady warm up I did 12 minutes of 1 min out of the saddle grinding a big gear, 1 minute in the saddle with the same gear about 70 RPM, 1 minute 105-110 in a medium gear. Repeat 4 times with no rest. After the 12 minutes I took 2 minutes before doing 8 x 20 seconds all out in a medium gear with 10 seconds recovery. Its only 4 minutes but it is very, very hard. I then followed up with 3 x 6 minutes hard with 2 mins recovery. Short cool down and I was all done. Lovely training in the bank.
I have a little conundrum. Dutch Trancemaster/Cheesemaster DJ Tiesto is starting to try his hand at being hip and cool by using current, influential artists to collaborate on his new album. Tegan + Sarah, Metric, Bloc Party to name a few. I don't really have a problem with this. That is until now. He has collaborated with Jonsi Birgisson of Sigur Ros. Jonsi is one of my favorite singers and Sigur one of my favorite bands. So how am I supposed to take this news. So I listened to it many times and I actually like it......the shame! How am I supposed to call myself a true pioneer of the techno sound and like Tiesto! Horrible and very confusing. I had to tell fellow techno head Shawn Donnelly the truth today. Not good. But it would be worse if I pretended like I hated it. That would be insincere, something I am not. I may be a little arrogant when it comes to music but we all have our guilty pleasures. The tune is below so check it out.
Cracked open a new pair of shoes this afternoon. Reebok has a new lightweight trainer coming out in the spring and I was lucky enough to get an early pair. They are similar to DS Trainer or Zoom Elite. However, after months of running in cushion shoes these felt like racing flats. Really nice and responsive. I ended up running quicker than I expected but the combination of new shoes and lots of energy helped make me feel great. I avoided too much pounding by running light and really focusing on that mid-foot landing rather than my typical heel strike. Some days are better than others.
Lots of work being done these days. Need to wrap up some projects considering I have potentially a week away helping Frankie move back to Canada. So I avoided the music press today. It usually eats up a solid hour of my time so I'll just have to do 2 hours tomorrow.....
Love Kel
Sunday, September 13, 2009
AM: 3:06 Bike Ride, 30 Minutes Run - Brick
The morning involved a lot of coffee to compensate for my inability to wake up. It was 10pm before I got out the door, which given the effort I was about to put forth made no sense. Should have just got up and go on with it, the morning was cool but right at about 11 bells the sun came out and the heat was turned up manys a notch.
The first 25 minutes were easy riding before I hit the hills on Log road. At that point I was starting to work and elevate the HR. By 2:15 I found myself in Lincoln woods where I did some tempo, really pushing the hills. Got home feeling nice and tired and very warm. Turnaround was about 3 minutes or less and I did a 5 mile loop and just under 6 minute pace. My knee was really bothering me but I was so tired that it didn't really matter. I thought I was only running 6:45 pace but obviously when I finished 5 miles in 28 and change it was a good explanation for feeling so terrible.
It was a great day of training and right now I feel very satisfied. Been pretty smashed all day and need to to a better job replenishing. Last I checked cans of Naragansett didn't cut it! I can't really be bothered running the numbers for the week. I am very aimless right now because with my knee being the way it is I cannot commit to anything. Its not a great situation to be in but I could be a lot worse.
After a nice night with a few scoops and good conversation I felt ready to train today. I did have a day off yesterday, essential given the pain in my knee all day. Myself and Tarpy met up with Kurt B and in a light rain did a few easy miles, the best miles I've done since Feb. My knee didn't hurt too much and I felt really good. The temptation to run an hour or so was overwhelming but once I hit 40 minutes I felt a sharp pain. A reminder that I am actually injured and may never be able to knock out hour runs, pain free, ever again.
The afternoon called for a workout on the Trainer. It was really hard. Given the heat in the basement and the fact that I was sans fan even the warm up was rough. I did 15 X 1 min on/off. I started off with steady cadence in big gears but by the end the minute effort was at max output. I got dizzy after the last rep and felt awful, but really joyful at the same time. Great session.
New Sunset Rubdown video has been released. It is for the track "Black Swan", one of my favorite biking tunes. Its angry and very emotional. Lovely.
I went to Goddard with Pat early this AM since he was doing a long easy run. I figured I'd go 50 or so minutes but ended up with 70. Maybe a little aggressive but I felt good and it was great to be out on the trails on a crisp, early fall morning. My knee is a little sore, no doubt and I won't be doing more than 50 minutes again over the next few weeks. The thing is that my right knee is actually giving me more trouble than my left knee. It seems like the whole joint is a little swollen, no doubt from favoring. Left knee can tolerate training as long as it is pretty easy. All in all running is great but my knees are not.
Things went from bad to worse when I had to stop my trainer ride 45 minutes in. The plan was 75 minutes with some 3 min reps but my right knee was hurting after 2 minutes and I dealt with it until I saw no point in going any further. Not like I'm getting on the negative train or anything. Just need to be a little careful with both knees now.
The upside from the day was listening to the new Editors track "Papillon" from the forthcoming album 'In This Light And On This Evening'. It has a very Nu Wave Synth sound, and is certainly a departure from the tracks on the first two albums. They are following the trail of Bloc Party. The 80's sounds are most definitely back and that makes me a happy camper.
PM: 45 Minutes Steady Spin Bike, 40 Minutes Run With Pat.
Everyday out the door on the road is fantastic. I will NEVER forget that. Tonight, around the streets of P-Town running with Tarpskin was fantastic. I was super warmed up off the bike and with a 5 minute transition I bounced out the door. Nothing special other than the act of running on a sore knee that is not actually all that bad for 6 miles around stomping grounds that have shaped my entire adult running career. Much more to come.
I missed the MEW tour this year. I could complain but considering I see nearly all the bands I want to (discussion with Martin Fagan today about how Flagstaff sucks ass for music, and Phoenix is not much better) so if I miss one I really shouldn't be a moaner about it. With this one I am going to moan, a lot. I basically let it fall to a part of my brain where it remained dormant. However tonight I was riding my trainer and "Introducing Palace Players", came on so I decided to check out a live version of the song (see below) and now I am depressed. Roll on U2 and Julian Plenti to curb my ailment!
Big shout out to Mario Fraoli who is suffering yet another Sacral Stress Fracture. It sucks bro and you need to get to the bottom of the issue that is causing it. But keep the eyes open. There is a light that never goes out.
Kevin Adams, Lee Cox, and myself did the drawing for store clerks to come and see U2 at Foxboro. To keep things exciting and honest we filmed the event, captured on a small digital camera (classy, I know) To see who won check out the action below. Thanks to all who participated.
Weekends, especially long ones go by so quickly. Not that I did much other than training on my bike and a few scoops. Its just nice to switch off. With that being said it was nice to get back into routine today. Didn't run until this evening when I managed to grab a few miles with Pat. We ran at a little more of an uptempo clip, I think Pat had the race pace in his legs from yesterday. Fantastic.
My knee didn't hurt until the latter stages of the run. Frustrating, but its all part of the game. I was chatting with John Supsic tonight. John is a talented runner who suffers the same fate as the likes of myself and Thom McArdle. He trains, gets fit, but always falls victim to injury before he can race. So what keeps us all going? Its a discussion I had with John and I really don't have an answer. It is quite torturous. Most runners get hurt and I laugh when some runners get injured for the first time and you would think their small world has completely crashed.......little do they know what it is like to have your entire running career marred by injury. John was asking me what keeps me coming back for more, knowing that the end result will most likely (given the odds) be another injury. I simply think I am addicted to running, but not in a psycho way, rather I truly love it and while I can still manage something the desire to get out and run will never go away, and neither will the dreams. There is a light that never goes out.
Listening to Florence And The Machine today. How good is the song in the youtube clip below.
AM: 45 Minutes Run, RIC PM: 2:10 Bike Ride, w/ Tempo
Didn't feel as tired this morning as I thought I would. In fact I jumped out of the bed feeling bouncy. Met Kurt for an easy 45 minutes around RIC. The one thing I lost touch with was running hills. I spent a lot of time running up and down the Blvd and as much as I love it there is no replacement for hills. Knee wasn't too sore but then again I did not pound on it. This is the new way. And I am still focusing on mid-foot landing which seems to continue to help.
Labor day was seriously lazy for me so I was very happy to get out for a Bike Ride. Did a loop around North Providence and finished with a hard 4 laps (10 Miles) of Lincoln Woods. I was racing cars like I was in a Peleton. Unsafe? Yes, Great Fun? Yes! Felt fantastic all the way.
Lovely start to the week. Lots of goals and things to cross off over the next 7 days. Time to stop messing around and get back at it, hard.
I rode some miles in Providence before making my way down to Narragansett. I even took a swing into Goddard State park to check out the old stomping grounds. Haven't been there this year yet. My fast time was due to a tail wind on the way down to the beach. I had a good 25 miles of strong wind helping me maintain 24-28 miles an hour on the flat. I turned into a strong headwind for the last 10 miles but by that point I had done a long tempo effort so I cruised the last 30 minutes. Despite the tailwind I hammered and really punished myself. In fact the wind encouraged me to hammer and I kept the HR high for about 90 minutes of the ride. Very tired now, and very satisfied.
I watched the Soloist tonight and enjoyed it very much. Frankie and I talked about needing to get some classical music into our life. Too much music, too little time. Quite day on the sounds aside from almost three hours of shuffle on the old ride. Everything from Grizzly Bear to Bat For Lashes. I do need to revamp the playlist on my iPod. I haven't updated in several weeks. Shoddy. Big week ahead. All is full of love,
Hit the road early this morning with Pat Tarpy and Kurt B. The new system of running plan on sustaining is actually helpful. By new I mean normal pace. Some could say slow? I run too fast by myself and the lads tend to leave the hard running to specific sessions so I am running their recovery runs and it is helping big style. Knee still hurts like hell but it is tolerable and I feel that if I continue to run 6:45 mile pace I can probably get back to 60 miles a week pretty quickly.
I did a workout on the trainer in the afternoon but had to cut it short. The planned session called for 90 minutes riding but it was so hot inside and I was sans fan. The sweat was bucketing off me and by 50 minutes I was becoming dehydrated. I warmed up 20 minutes pretty hard and then did 12 minutes big gear tempo. I took a short recovery and followed it up with 8 reps of 20 seconds on, 40 seconds off. The 20 seconds on was extremely hard, flat out sprinting in a big gear. The 40 seconds recovery was fast spinning. It sounds really easy but if you do it as hard as you can it is anything but easy. By the 8th rep I was nearly throwing up. Lovely.
I listened to a lot of music today. And for some reason one song was played several times. "Strange Overtones" by David Byrne and Brian Eno is such a great track. It ranked in my top 20 tunes of last year but I have not listened to it in a while. While a playlist was on shuffle today it came on and it set the tone for my morning. Great song. Check it out below.
We are entering a new chapter. New decisions, new goals, new focus, new situation. The last week has been a little crazy hence my absence from the blog. Basically these are the most significant changes in the lives of Frankie and I since we started our relationship.
Francine is returning to Canada to attend the University of Waterloo and pursue her Masters In Public Health. Before kicking off grad school she is accepting an offer to work an internship at the World Health Organization in Switzerland. She is heading off on the 26th of the month after we see Julian Plenti in NYC.
We have moved from the East Side back to the Northside and are renting a room off Kim Smith and Pat Tarpy, good friends, great people. Once Frankie leaves I'll be staying through the Fall.
Since I have been denied surgery I have decided to get back at it. Basically I will try and start a new training program. I am going to use pain as a guide. Any run over a 5/10 is cause for concern and I'll back off. If I can run below 5 on the scale I will try and maintain 6-8 miles a day for 2 months. As little as this is I'll actually get quite fit off it. My bike riding will continue and I'll try ride 6-10 hours a week. Finally I am going to Aqua Jog for a couple of hours and even do some swimming. It will be Triathlon training with the goal of getting back to a decent level of running fitness. If I can't race due to pain I'll fight to get surgery paid for or I'll hang em up. There really is nothing left to burn so I am setting myself on fire. If my knee cracks again so be it. Time to go all in.
Back to regular training and music posting tomorrow. So much good stuff to discuss.
