Tag: Running

Another Great 2019 Run! Music by The D Project

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Yesterday’s morning temperature  was 41 degrees at 9:00. That’s just about 10-15 degrees higher than normal morning temperatures in January. So with a temperature like that there was no way I wasn’t running.

I decided to run a four-mile course and followed through on that decision! The only bad part of the run was it was slightly windy when I was running in a southwesterly direction which was for about half of the run. Oh and when I had to stop and tie my shoes!!

The Results

Miles- 4.02     Total Time: 40:36    Pace: 10:05 min/mile

The Splits: Mile 1 10:11  Mile 2 9:59 Mile 3 10:09 Mile 4 10:01  .02 -9:17

Avg HR 141     Max HR 156    Calories Burned: 513

The Soundtrack  Find Your Sun – The D Project.

The soundtrack for the run was Find Your Sun from The D Project. The D Project  is a  Neo Prog band from Canada founded by singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist Stéphane Desbiens and author Francis Foy. From their website:

The first album « Shimmering Lights evoked a mix of different music styles; progressive rock, classical, metal including jazz.In 2008, was the release of the album Sagarmatha Dilemma , for which the music was inspired by Mount Everest images and its conquest by the climber Maxime Jean.

In 2011, D Project offered a more rock and direct sound with the album « Big Face. Then came the album  Making Sense which arrived just in time for the band to offer a memorable performance at the 2014 Quebec Summer Festival with Marillion.

Moreover, part of the sound of the last three albums was produced by Andy Jackson, Pink Floyd sound engineer. D Project always surrounded themselves with prestigious musician and artists.D Project is a mix of Pink Floyd, Genesis and King Crimson, but with a personal touch and characteristic sound. ‘’Pink Floyd meets Classic rock’’

About Find Your Sun

Find Your Sun is The D Project’s fifth studio album. Throughout the life of the band  special guests have played an important part in the band’s sound. Artists like: Tomas Bodin from Flower Kings, Martin Orford from IQ and Fred Schendel from Glass Hammer have all contributed to the band’s work.

The core band on Find Your Sun is Stéphane Desbiens / guitars, keyboards, vocals, composer, Isabelle Cormier / violin, backing vocals, Philippe Desbiens / bass and Jean Gosselin / drums

Special guests include:

  • Peter Falconer / vocals
  • Fred Schendel / keyboards
  •  Romain Thorel / keyboards
  • Marie Noelle Harvey / violin
  • Laura Laberge / cello
  • Sylvain Laberge / flutes
  • Nathalie Gobeil / bassoon
  • Daniel Simon / sax
  • Chorale de Saguenay / chorus vocals

Overall, I really enjoyed the album and look forward to.becoming more.familiar with it over the next few weeks. during the first listen both the guitar of Stéphane Desbiens and the violin of Isabelle Cormier caught my attention.

So Check It Out! Again,as for me, I will be checking out their back catalog!

Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of The D Project

Artist’s Website

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

Here is the  video for “Find Your Sun” from The D Project…..

My Fastest Training 5K-Music by Bryce Janey

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Tuesday night before bed I checked what kind of temperatures to expect yesterday morning. The temperatures were predicted to be in the mid-30s, which is perfectly acceptable, to this weather runner! My temperature law is that anything below 30 is just a little too cold! Anyway, I was thinking about adding some distance to my 5K run and running four miles.

I actually did a little work around the house before my run, so I decided to stay with my 5K run.

When I was contemplating my run I want to map the route before hitting the road. I previously would use WalkJogRun to create routes. However last time I tried to use the site I discovered it had stopped working. I had downloaded Map My Fitness, but I have never used it on a run. Anyway, I discovered you can map routes with it. So I checked the route I thought about running and the route would be 4 miles. But as you know I decided it’s to run the 3.1 miles instead.

I did decide however to run with both my Fitbit and Map My Fitness logging my run. Surprisingly, the distances measured were different. The miles logged by Map My Fitness were shorter than the Fitbit miles! They weren’t off by much but enough so that my average pace per mile was about 4 seconds faster on Map My Fitness.

The Run

Anyway here are the results from the Fitbit App……

Total Distance: 3.11 miles Total Time: 31.57 Average Pace 10:16 min/mile

Mile Splits. Mile 1 – 10:26 Mile 2 10:20 Mile 3 10:10. Mile 0.11. 9:08

Avg Hr. 140 bpm. Max HR 150 bpm

Cals Burned: 402

The great thing about the run was that I wasn’t really pushing it over the last two miles but my times say otherwise!! That last mile is the fastest I’ve run in a long while!! Can I go under 10 minutes??

The Soundtrack

The soundtrack for the run was Brand New Day the 2018 release from blues rocker Bryce Janey. I have seen Janey’s name for a while but I have never listened to his music – mistake!

I really enjoyed this album, at least the times I drifted back to it! I am probably going to try to listen to the album of more times and then write a separate post about the album. Until then here’s Bryce with “Falling Down” from Brand New Day

An Oliver Walking Challenge Leads to a 5K with Grand Marquis.

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Today I had a great run accompanied by Grand Marquis and their album Brighter Days Here’s how I got there .

A few weeks after I started my 21-day Yoga Challenge I realize that wanted to add some more to my exercise regime. I thought back and remembered how I started to gain weight, when I stopped babysitting Oliver two plus years ago. While I was babysitting I would take him for two or three 30 minute walks during the day.

Once those walks stopped on came the weight! Anyway I thought even though you won’t be pushing a stroller you can walk twice a day numb nuts! So I created the 30-day Oliver Walking Challenge. The aim of the challenge was to use walking to help me get back into shape with the idea that I would then be able to start and run again.

Well the Walking Challenge worked so well that within two weeks or so, I was running again.

The Run: 3.1 Miles….

Yesterday I ran for the third time this week. It’s the fourth week in a row that I have done such! The first week I ran 3.1 miles on Sunday and then did the same on Tuesday and Thursday. On the following three Sundays, including this past Sunday, I ran four miles and 3.1 miles on the following Tuesday and Thursday.

The end result is that I ran 11 days in May and have run 3 days so far in June. Yesterday’s  run was my fourteenth since May 1st and one of my fastest. I completed the 3.1 mile course in 33:53 about two minutes faster than the first 3.1 mile run I ran on May 6th.  One of the better things is that I am running faster with a lower average heart rate.

Yesterday’s  run was over the 5K (3.1 miles) course that I have run the majority of May and June. I completed the course in 33:53 as mentioned above. That calculates to an average pace of  approximately 10:53 minutes/mile. Here are the mile splits…

Mile 1 – 10:49 Mile 2 – 10;56  Mile 3 – 10:46  0.13 Miles – 10:00

I think this may be the first time that the pace for all three  Miles was under 11 minutes per mile. And it certainly was one of the few times that my last mile was faster than the first mile!

I don’t think that I have ran three days a week for four weeks in,well,  probably,  more than four years. But hopefully like my yoga routine I hope I can keep this up!

Better Days - Grand Marquis - a Run Soundtrack

The Soundtrack: Brighter Days – Grand Marquis

The soundtrack from yesterday’s run was provided by a band that I am unfamiliar with, Grand Marquis. I listened to their latest release Brighter Days. Grand Marquis is a blues and Americana roots band hailing from Kansas City. The band formed in 1998. Since then they have become a mainstay of the Kansas City music scene. They have also released eight albums and performed coast to coast.Their music is their own brand of Americana Roots, Blues and Prohibition-Era Jazz

grand marquis

Members of the Band include:

Ben Ruth: upright bass, sousaphone, backing vocals;
Chad Boydston: trumpet, backing vocals;
Ryan Wurtz: electric and acoustic guitars;
Trevor Turla: trombone, backing vocals;
Fritz Hutchison: drums, backing vocals;
Bryan Redmond: lead vocals; soprano, alto, tenor & baritone saxophones

Currently, Brighter Days is No. 8 on the Roots Music Report’s Blues Charts.

I never get a true listen to an album on a run, but I did like what I heard. So Brighter Days will go into my music rotation and I’ll let you know in a bit what I think!

A Video to lead to  “Brighter  Days”……..

 

Links

Artist’s Website
Spotify
AllMusic

grand marquis

About Grand Marquis

Grand Marquis epitomizes the fusion of tradition and innovation, infusing the essence of American roots from Kansas City blues to Memphis soul with the vibrant spirit of a New Orleans second line revelry. Their music resonates as a testament to the past while embracing the pulse of the 21st century. A symphony of resounding horns harmonizes with a rhythm section that grooves intensely, all set against the backdrop of soulful vocals, creating a captivating soundscape that showcases their masterfully crafted originals More

 

My Yoga and Walking Challenges Lead to a Month of Runs…

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A few weeks after I started my 21-day Yoga Challenge I realize that wanted to add some more to my exercise regime. I thought back and remembered how I started to gain weight, when I stopped babysitting Oliver two plus years ago. While I was babysitting I would take him for two or three 30 minute walks during the day.

Once those walks stopped on came the weight! Anyway I thought even though you won’t be pushing a stroller you can walk twice a day numb nuts! So I created the 30-day Oliver Walking Challenge. The aim of the challenge was to use walking to help me get back into shape with the idea that I would then be able to start and run again.

Well the Walking Challenge worked so well that within two weeks or so, I was running again.

.The Run: 3.1 Miles….

Yesterday I ran for the third time this week. It’s the fourth week in a row that I have done such! The first week I ran 3.1 miles on Sunday and then did the same on Tuesday and Thursday. On the following three Sundays, including this past Sunday, I ran four miles and 3.1 miles on the following Tuesday and Thursday.

The end result is that I ran 11 days in May and have run 3 days so far in June. Yesterday’s  run was my fourteenth since May 1st and one of my fastest. I completed the 3.1 mile course in 33:53 about two minutes faster than the first 3.1 mile run I ran on May 6th.  One of the better things is that I am running faster with a lower average heart rate.

Yesterday’s  run was over the 5K (3.1 miles) course that I have run the majority of May and June. I completed the course in 33:53 as mentioned above. That calculates to an average pace of  approximately 10:53 minutes/mile. Here are the mile splits…

Mile 1 – 10:49 Mile 2 – 10;56  Mile 3 – 10:46  0.13 Miles – 10:00

I think this may be the first time that the pace for all three  Miles was under 11 minutes per mile. And it certainly was one of the few times that my last mile was faster than the first mile!

I don’t think that I have ran three days a week for four weeks in,well,  probably,  more than four years. But hopefully like my yoga routine I hope I can keep this up!

The Soundtrack: Brighter Days – Grand Marquis

The soundtrack from yesterday’s run was provided by a band that I am unfamiliar with, Grand Marquis. I listened to their latest release Brighter Days. Grand Marquis is a blues and Americana roots band hailing from Kansas City. The band formed in 1998. Since then they have become a mainstay of the Kansas City music scene. They have also released eight albums and performed coast to coast.Their music is their own brand of Americana Roots, Blues and Prohibition-Era Jazz

Grand MarquisMembers of the Band include:

Ben Ruth: upright bass, sousaphone, backing vocals;
Chad Boydston: trumpet, backing vocals;
Ryan Wurtz: electric and acoustic guitars;
Trevor Turla: trombone, backing vocals;
Fritz Hutchison: drums, backing vocals;
Bryan Redmond: lead vocals; soprano, alto, tenor & baritone saxophones

Currently, Brighter Days is No. 8 on the Roots Music Report’s Blues Charts.

I never get a true listen to an album on a run, but I did like what I heard. So Brighter Days will go into my music rotation and I’ll let you know in a bit what I think!

You can check out Grand Marquis’ website here. Or visit them on Facebook

Here’s the band performing  “Brighter  Days”……..

 

Finding Gobi – Dion Leonard – A Wonderful Tale

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Finding Gobi: The true story of a little dog and an incredible journey – Dion Leonard

Dion Leonard and GobiDion Leonard’s  Finding Gobi is the typical boy finds dog, boy loses dog, boy searches for dog, ultimately finds him and brings him home. Only the boy is an ultra- marathoner who races in some of the most grueling races around the globe. And it was at one of those races that Leonard found Gobi. The race was a grueling seven-day 155 mile run that crosses the China’s Gobi Desert.

Gobi and Dion Leonard Meet

Actually, I guess it’s more correct to say Gobi found Leonard. That’s because at the start of the initial stage of the race, little Gobi started attacking The shoe covers Leonard had on his running shoes. The covers were in place because during the first part of the race,  the runners would be going up a sand dune! Anyway, as the race started Gobi started running too and stayed by Leonard’s side through the whole 26.2 miles! That night Gobi slept in Leonard’s tent.

The following morning Leonard and Gobi set off again on the next leg of the race. All and all Gobi stayed by Leonard’s side through three marathons! Of course there were a couple of times that   Dion had to carry Gobi.

When it came to cross the scorching black sands of the desert, which was virtually devoid of life, Leonard knew that he could risk allowing Gobi to run. So Gobi moved ahead with the race official and met Leonard at the finish line.

Bringing Gobi Home

When  the race ended Leonard couldn’t imagine leaving Gobi behind. But bringing a dog out of China and into the United Kingdom (the Leonards live in Edinburgh, Scotland) proved to be quite a challenge. The cost in money and time was going to be much higher than anticipated. Ultimately  bringing Gobi home would require crowdfunding and a six month sabbatical for Leonard.

Additionally, after Leonard returned home to begin the arrangements for bringing Gobi to Scotland Gobi went missing. So Leonard went back to China to join in the search!

Bottom Line

Finding  Gobi is a great book on many levels. If you are a runner you can enjoy Leonard’s description of the Gobi Desert race,as well as, past races. However, Finding Gobi is also about the impact that an animal  can have on a person‘s life

At first saving a little orphaned dog he had named Gobi seemed like the right thing to do for Gobi. But eventually it was an even better thing to do for Dion Leonard.

So check it out!

Goodreads Rating:4.11. My Rating : 4.0*

*Really,really liked it!

Links for the Further Exploration of Gobi

Wikipedia
FindingGobi.com
Facebook: Dion Leonard
Facebook
Goodreads

Book 57 on a goal of 60 books read in 2017!

 

A Call During Run, Slows First Mile, But Leads to a Fast Run!

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For All We Know’s Latest  – Take Me Home Provides the Music

:So today was a running day, I left about 8:15 knowing that would give me enough time to finish, take a shower and eat before 10:30 when I had to pick up granddaughter Zoe at school. The one thing that I didn’t remember was my wife had A doctor’s appointment at 10! One of the reasons that I forgot was that she was sick this morning and didn’t go to work.

II was made aware of my forgetfulness a little more than a half mile into my four mile run. In order to answer the phone I had to take off my headphones. That action along with the call I need to make to the doctor to make to cancel the appointment forced me to walk a short distance.

When I started again I was a short distance from the first mile. I passes that point in a time of 11:28 ! That was not a bad time considering the walking I did! In addition, I actually felt better than. I did before I walked and my average pace was dropping

I decided though to deviate from the course that I had planned to run. The basic reason for the deviation was the course I had planned to run would have required another lengthy uphill run!

The Run Post Phone Call

Anyway for the rest of the run, my overall pace continued to drop which meant that I was on pace to run the course in about the same time that I would have run it without the stop. By the time I finished 4 miles my pace was 10:50 minutes per mile! Since I felt pretty good i decided to kick it home with a little sprint. That brought my overall pace time down to 10:48 per mile. That makes the run one of my fastest!

The one thing that I did like about the runs was that because the first mile was so slow for the remainder of the run my overall pace kept going down! That kept me positive any running hard for the full run!!

The Results

Total Distance 4.15 miles    Total Time: :4 Average Pace: 10:47 (m/m)

Mile Splits Mile 1: 11:38 m/m Mile 2 – 10:33 m/me 3 10:28 m/m Mile 4 10:43 m/m   0.15 – 9:34 m/m

Average Heart Rate ; 144 bpm  Max Heart Rate 160 bpm

Calories Burned: 586  cals

The Soundtrack: Take Me Home – For All We Know

A Fine Day for A Great Run – Music by Karibow

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A Fine Run Highlighted by a 9:52 Mile! – Music by Karibow

Over the last few weeks I have been checking Weather.com’s rating for going for a run. Considering the conditions, clear skies, low temperature and humidity I figured it would be a high rating. It was 8 out of 10. That was slightly lower than I thought it would be, but still great. No excuses if today’s run wasn’t a good one!

The Run

But with that said the run didn’t start out too well. I wasn’t too far into the run before I realized I forgot my Fitbit! I had left it in the house charging. So I turned around and walked back home! I know I never ease into runs like I should so I considered  this minor delay my easing into this run.

So I see out again when I passed the first half-mile mark in under five minutes I thought to myself” could this be the day I run a mile under 10 minutes! Sure enough I ran the first mile in 9:52! Now came the hard part not sucking wind over the next 3 miles!

I slowed down a little but I still felt pretty good. I ran the second mile in 10:19, with an average pace of 10:05. Once again I slowed down a little more but again I still didn’t feel too bad! Mile 3 was completed in 10:38. I looked at my time when I hit the 5k mark and my time was 31:56!

Since at this point in the run I had run my fastest mile and 5K this year I had no problem with slowing down some more. The last mile was 10:50. At the end of the 4 miles I felt pretty good so I gave it a little sprint covering the last 0.13 miles at a 9:33 pace!!
So I was really, really happy with the run!

The Nerdy Details

Total Distance 4.13 miles    Total Time: 42:54  Average Pace: 10:23 (m/m)

Mile Splits Mile 1: 9:52 m/m Mile 2 – 10:19 m/m   Mile 3 10:38 m/m Mile 4 10:50 m/m   0.12 -19:35 m/m

Average Heart Rate ; 150 bpm Max Heart Rate 172 bpm

Calories Burned: 595 cals.

The Soundtrack From Here to Impossible – Karibow

The soundtrack for the run was From Here to the Impossible from the Prog Rock band Karibow. Karibow is a Ctossover Prog band from Germany. From Wikipedia…..

Karibow is a German progressive rock band, the essential elements of the neo-progressive rock with the compositional characteristics of the Adult Orientated rock (AOR) connects. Karibows music is characterized by clear melodic lines, rhythmic complex arrangements and epic, sometimes futuristic text content. Musical relationship consists of bands such as Saga , Marillion and Toto . December 2014 Karibow were with the German Rock & Pop Prize awarded “Best Progressive Band”. Read More

I really like this album and will be writing about it soon! Until then here’s the album trailer!

 

A So-So Run Made Better By Age-Graded Running Times!

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Using An Age-Graded Running Calculator Helps Me Stay Positive…

 

So the only things that were rolling through my head this morning as I ran down Long Beach Boulevard on Long Beach Island were thoughts about the Robert Earl Keen song “The Road Goes on Forever”. And that’s what it seemed to do! The second part of that thought was  ” I haven’t seen a party yet!”  The run was a two-mile straight run from 7th street to 52nd street. At 52nd street, I made a right turn and went slightly uphill to Ocean Boulevard. There I turned and headed north back to my starting point. The total run was four miles. And while it wasn’t that warm out, it was very humid. As a result, I was drenched in sweat when I stopped!! But it was a good run overall!

The Results

Total Distance:4.1 miles    Total Time: 44:55 Average Pace: 10:56 (m/m)

Mile Splits Mile 1: 10:31 m/m Mile 2 – 11:02 m/m   Mile 3 11:00 m/m Mile 4 11:16 m/m   0.1- 10:27 m/m

Average Heart Rate ; 144 bpm Max Heart Rate 163 bpm

Calories Burned:  593 cals.

My New Obsession Age-Graded Running Times

So my new favorite thing is Age-Grading, which is a way…..

….of putting all race participants on a level playing field, regardless of age or gender. This age grade calculator lets you compare your race times to older and younger runners, as well as those of the opposite sex. Simply input your data and your age-graded score and age-graded time will appear automatically.

As an example, a 40-year-old man who runs a 3-hour marathon would earn an age-graded score of 70.24%. To find your score, input your data in the dropdowns above.

Your age-graded score is the ratio of the approximate world-record time for your age and gender divided by your actual time.

Your age-graded time is your finish time adjusted to that of an open division participant using a factor for age and gender. Thus, the times for women and older participants are adjusted downward, while the times for most open division participants (such as 25-year-old men) remain the same. Read More at  Runner’s World

My Age-Graded Time Makes Me Feel a Whole Lot Better!

 

So here’s how this makes me feel good about my slow plodding along. When I input my time (44:54) for this morning’s run into the age-graded calculator I get the following…..

Age-Graded Score: 48.35%
Age-Graded Time: 34:57

That gives me an age-graded mile pace of 8:44 minutes per mile. Which is a to about the pace I could maintain 5 to 6 years ago! Anyway knowing that I am maintaining an equivalent pace considering my age makes me feel better. Now that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to get my race time lower (remember this was just a training run) because I do want to and now I think maybe I can!!

So if you’re an older runner like me, after your next run put your time and age into this calculator and see if it makes you feel a little better and makes you want to go out and run again!!

The Soundtrack for the run was Monuments from EdGuy.They are a heavy metal band from Germany. From The Metal Music Archives…..

Edguy is a power metal band from Fulda, Germany formed in 1992 and is currently signed to Nuclear Blast. The current lineup features Tobias Sammet on vocals (and occasionally keyboard), Jens Ludwig and Dirk Sauer on guitar, Tobias Exxel on bass, and Felix Bohnke on drums. They released their first album, Savage Poetry, in 1995 (re-recorded in 2000), and followed up with Kingdom of Madness in 1997, both when all members were still in their teens. Read More

 

A Good Morning Run Over a New Course with Old Memories!

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A Four Mile Run Some Shade, Some Sun, Some Memories – Good Music from Amplifier

So this morning I decided to creat a new course for my run. My training plan since my early 40s has been running four miles on two weekdays.! And then a five to eight mile run on the one of the weekend days. This year I have not run any distance greater than four miles. As a result there are portions of those five to eight mile courses that I have not run this year.

One of those places is along the Rancocas Creek bear its confluence with the Delaware River. So I designed the course so that I could have a four mile run that included that part of Delran and Riverside. Here are two pictures taken along the creek somewhere in the third mile of  my run. The second one is the view I had as I plodded along hoping for shade!

RancocasCreek – looking towards Delaware River

Rancocas Creek looking upstream

A little farther along on that third mile I came to Whomsley Field where my boys played Little League baseball. Needless to say a lot of memories came back when I passed there. I went back after the run to take these pictures.

I looked for the sliding board that used be out beyond right field fence on this field. The reason was that was the slide that our third son fell off of day at a game!! Got him a big knot on his field and a trip to the doctor!

The Run

But back to the run. The first part of the run had more shade than sun, while it was the reverse on the second two miles. The first two miles were completed in 10:37 and 10:39 While the sun shiney portions of the run were covered in 11:08 and 11:34. Yes I was sucking wind at the end. But I still managed to crank it up over the last 0.17 miles. Running that short distance at a pace of 10:41!! Here are the complete results!

The Results

Total Distance 4.17 miles    Total Time: 45:51  Average Pace: 10:58 (m/m)

Mile Splits Mile 1:  10:37 m/m Mile 2 – 10:39 m/m   Mile 3 11:08 m/m Mile 4 11:34 m/m   0.17 – 10:41 m/m:

Average Heart Rate:140 bpm Max Heart Rate: 152 bpm

Calories Burned: 580 cals.

The Soundtrack

The Soundtrack for the run was my first listen to Trippin’ with Dr. Faustus the latest from the Psychedelic/Space Rock ban Amplifier.

From ProgArchive

AMPLIFIER is a Manchester based space rock band. This three-piece makes extraordinary music which is quite similar to the, also Manchester based, band OCEANSIZE. The band consists of Sel Balamir who plays guitar and is also the band’s lead-vocalist. Than there’s Matt Brobin, who is the band’s drummer. Last, but not least, there’s Neil Mahony who is the bassist. As you can see there’s no keyboardist on board, so all the weird sounds and effects are played on the guitar, hence the name “AMPLIFIER”…..

….Their music is highly original. They combine deep personal lyrics with walls of noise, combined with stunning melodies.

This band has been hailed a lot in the media. Kerrang! Magazine said this was “.the British rock-scene altering record” when talking about their selftitled debutalbum. Metal Hammer said they were “.the future of rock.” and even Q magazine said that “.at present British rock doesn’t get much better than this.”  Read More

As with the other albums that have been soundtracks for recent runs, I hope to write about Trippin’ with Dr Fautus after listening to it a few more times. It may sound just a little different if I’m not half-dying while listening to it!!

But for now let’s listen to “Kosmos (Groves of Triumph) ” from Trippin with Dr Faustus by Amplifier

 

 

Another Shaded Early Morning Run

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A Struggling 3.25 Mile Run is  Better Than No Run – July 19, 2017

 

As I  sit here now (12:19 pm) I see that the current temperature is 90 degrees and it’s very, very sunny. So I know that I made the right decision about running this morning. But it was a bit of a struggle to get out the door. The whiny, heat hating me said, “But it’s still going to be hot running, even though it’s 75 now. You know the sun is going to be hot!” The good me said “I know that so what I’m going to do is once again alter my course a little more to get a few more blocks of shade into the run!” The whiny me said “Okay you win!”

The Run….

So out the door I went with a slightly altered course that offered a little more shade than my last run. The course I had laid out was a four-mile, but I didn’t care if I made the whole four miles. I was ok through the first two miles, completing them both in 10:51. Then the wheels fell off the bus, and the sweat was pouring from my body!  And that put my distance at whatever it was when I got back to my house. The course I had laid out, had a run around the park, and some more, to make it a full 4 mile run . I knew that wasn’t happening!

Without the extra distance the course ended up being 3.25 miles. which I finished in 36:01. My average  average pace per mile was 11 minutes and 4 seconds. Typically, I would have tried to sprint to get my pace back under 11 minute per mile pace. But that was not the case today. What do they say “Discretion is the Better Part of Valor” I will live to run another day!

I decided that, like the other day, I would walk another 0.75 miles to make the total run/walk 4 miles. It wasn’t tpp long into my walk around Spring Garden Park that I stopped an said “Whoa!”

One of the largest and oldest trees in the park had been reduced to a stump!

Anyone care to count the rings?? I  bet there’s close to 150 or so. The tree is  probably as ol as the park!

The Results of the Run…..

Mile Splits: Mile 1 – 10:51 Mile 2: 10:51  Mile 3: 11:21 an 0.25 – 11:40 (out of gas on the last quarter-mile!

Total 3.25 Mile 36:01  – Average Pace 11:04 min per mile Average Heart Rate 142=3 bpm  Calories Burned: 475

The Soundtrack for the Run  Anu]bis – The Second Hand 

Anu]bis is a Neo Prog progressive rock band from Australia. You can read about the album here at ProgArchives The band’s album Behind Our Eyes (Live 2014) was the soundtrack of a previous run. So I think it’s time for a review at FreeWheelin’ Music Safari.