Warm Fuzzies On A Damp Dreary Day

"Just one beat of your heart and stranger than fantasy,I knew from the start it had to be the place for me
Someone that I would die for there's no way I could ever leave
Is your love strong enough?like a rock in the sea am I asking too much?
Is your love strong enough?

Is Your Love Strong Enough-Bryan Ferry

Man, I thought I was upset that The Cure didn't get into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame,seems the Gods were so overcome w/ grief they cried all day.......hence the rain!!!
Clearly no run again today I'm not risking getting sick for the sake of a 10 miler,there will be other days this week I'm confident I'll be able to get out there and do what I have to do.
Couldn't resist another picture of Florence Welch,the love of my life right now,was so happy to hear "No Light,No Light" on WXPN just b4 lunchtime.
I'm guessing it's too late in the day to convince/bullshit the "Jolly Fat Man" I've been good all year to expect to find Flo in either my Christmas stocking or under my tree Christmas morning but a boy can dream yeah?? after all didn't someone once say"don't tread on my dreams,my dreams are all I have"???!!!

To Cut A Long Story Short

No run this evening as the rain had other ideas,tomorrow's isn't looking champion either......poxy weather!!!
However when life gives you Lemons.......

I used my unscheduled down time to finish off Tony Hadley's autobiography "To Cut A Long Story Short".
Having previously read Gary Kemp's autobiography "I Know This Much" I felt compelled to read Tony's version of the split of Spandau Ballet in the late 80's,unlike Gary's revised and updated autobiography which includes the bands successfull reunion in 09 "To Cut A Long Story Short" doesn't go that far, when the book ends in 04 Tony was approached about a potential reunion,given the acrimony behind the lawsuit Tony Hadley,Steve Norman and John Keeble filed against Gary Kemp and lost it's a miracle those former band mates ever spoke to each other let alone reformed so at a time when the potential train wreck of Guns N Roses being inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame looms large and has the naysayers doubting things can go off w/out a hitch in Cleveland next year I say stranger things have happened.....

You Can Take The Boy Out Of South East London......

.....But you'll never take the South East London out of the boy!!!
Nice easy 10 miler to kick off the week and also get any residual gunk out of my legs from yesterdays 1,000m repeats.

I've never hidden my love of my South East London roots,born in East Dulwich in SE 22 and spent most of my 24 years growing up in Lewisham SE13 South East London will always be home for me even though I left 24 years ago and haven't been home to visit since 03.
While I'll be a Spurs fan till I die I have a soft spot for the three South East London teams Millwall,Charlton and Crystal Palace and still keep tabs on my birthplace's side Dulwich Hamlets in non league soccer,we're currently third in the Ryman Isthmian League One South,it's highly unlikely they'll ever make the Football League but the Hamlets will always be near to my heart.

We've also produced several musicians and actors over the years,Jude Law is from Lewisham,Gary Oldman is from New Cross and Michael Caine is from Bermondsey and musically there's Squeeze,Status Quo,Bowie,Billy Idol,Siouxsie Sioux,Japan and now Florence Welch of Florence And The Machine.
I read somewhere she was from South London which instantly drew me in like a moth to the flame,upon closer research{wikipedia} I discovered Florence is from Camberwell in SE 5 which means she has my undying love and support,I was gutted to discover she played Philly this summer at Festival Pier b4 she made it on to my radar but w/ the release of her sophomore effort "Ceremonials" I keep checking her website for news of a US tour,it'll either be Jan/Feb b4 her European tour kicks off or next summer afterwards either way I look forward to having a fellow South East Londoner here on these shores.

Not Too Shabby If I Say So Myself

After a seven week absence from the oval{ the track not the Surrey cricket ground!!!}it was back to the wonderful world of interval and track repeats.
For me indoor season kicks off in just over three weeks time at the Armory on Dec 26th in what will probably be the 1,500m followed closely 10 days later w/ the mile when the Thursday Nite At The Races series kicks off also at the Armory so it was always my intention to return to the track on the weekends to get some speed under me.

Today's form of torture.....I'm sorry bill o fare was the always fun 5x1,000m I figure it serves a couple of purposes,gets me ready for the 3,000m and maybe 5,000m if my schedule allows it but also helps w/ the 1,500m/mile so it felt like the ideal repeat to kick off the preparation for the upcoming 2012 indoor season.
Given my seven week hiatus from repeats on top of the fact that pre and Post Worlds and Nationals almost all my repeats were either 3x2 miles or 4x1 mile mixing it up w/ a return to an old staple was a good way to reintroduce myself the fray.

Couldn't have asked for better conditions,I didn't check the official temperature b4 I left home around 10am but the sun was shining brightly enough to warrant shades which is always good even if only from a psychological standpoint and after shedding my hooded sweatshirt and warm up bottoms post mile warm up I then ditched my fleece after repeat #1 to conclude proceedings in a long sleeved running shirt{w/ sleeves rolled up of course!!} and three quarter length bottoms,it remains to be seen if I get that lucky the next two weekends.

The target was 5x1,000m in 3.15 and under,given I was averaging 1.20 per lap during my 3x2milers I felt 1.20,1.20,35 was a reasonable target and expectation........

#1 1,000m 1.14-1.17-37-3.08.3.Woah! wasn't expecting an opening lap of 74,YES I know I need to run much faster in the 1,500m and mile but after being away from this particular repeat since March 26th b4 switching up to 8x1,000m I was mildly taken aback.

#2 1,000m 1.15-1.21-35-3.11.7. Another brisk opening lap,but clearly work to be done over the coming weeks and months on that 1.21......perhaps the memo to my brain and legs that this was a 1,000m repeat not a 2 mile repeats had gotten misplaced???

#3 1,000m 1.14-1.21-35-3.10.6. More of the same,coming off the first turn and down the straight two words leapt to the forefront of my brain.....lactic acid followed by two more in double quick time oh shit!!!!
Granted my second lap was becoming a concern but I could not have predicted or expected opening laps of 1.14,1.15,1.14 and I was still after all sub 3.15......

#4 1,000m 1.16-1.22-36-3.14.5.Ah that time honoured Grand Piano falling out of the sky on the second to last repeat and that oh so pleasant hands on knees while bent over in two at the finish line sensation......how I'd forgotten you!!!!

#5 1,000m 1.15-1.21-35-3.11.2. Good to see the white flag didn't go up and that while I'm somewhat rusty on leg turnover and knee lift the brain knew to respond to the "no damn it I said faster" battle cry!

All in all a good start to my return to repeats,granted there's work to be done over the coming weeks and months but for someone who thought 3.15 was a legit target time these weren't bad numbers to post,that said when I next revisit this repeat I'll look to run 3.10's.
Not a bad week,35 miles and more importantly back on the track.
PS for the record on March 26th I went:3.05.2.-3.11.7.-3.13.9-3.15.4-3.12.5.

Real Life

After a 5 hour dance marathon at Sex Dwarf last nite there was no way I was attempting a track workout today,it was 3am when I got to be bed again and the prospect of hitting the track seemed about as appealing as an IRS audit or Root Canal w/out the Novocaine so I elected to make today a 10 miler on the extended out and back course along Cobbs Creek Parkway at lunch time.

The sun may've been out when I hit the road around 12.30pm but I'm glad I got my wardrobe selection right for this run my new Adidas half zip running shirt over a long sleeve shirt,not quite hat and glove weather yet....but it's coming!!!

Time was not an issue today,which suited me as I was still feeling the effects of my late nite but hopefully tomorrow when I hit the track I'll be well rested period much less about to conduct my first winter track repeat and also firt repeats since October 15th.

Europa And The Pirate Twins

No run on tap today......but a 5 hour aerobic workout on the dance floor of Club Fluid for the December edition of Sex Dwarf,I can thank my stamina of lasting the whole nite on the dance floor to my running I guess!!

Well the soccer Gods paired Ireland w/ Croatia,Spain and Italy in the group stage of the Euro 2012 C'ships,let's not kid ourselves it won't be easy I mean Spain are only the current World Champions and defending European champions!!!
Kind of a given we'd get Italy,Giovanni Trapatoni's home land and we had them in our group for the last World Cup qualifying stage and it should be noted Croatia have three Spurs players in their squad.
For the record England have been drawn w/ France,Sweden and Ukraine,the fun and games begin on June 8th.

Gettting Ready For The Great Indoors

W/ the calender saying December 1st I felt a sense of duty to get out there tonite and clock a 10 miler.
I skipped Tuesday,I think I'd have fallen over if I tried to run as the events of a long weekend caught up w/ me and if I'm being 100% honest I just wasn't feeling it yesterday,but I of all people know those days can't be allowed too often so it was back on the horse this evening for a 10 miler on the extended out and back on Cobbs Creek Parkway.

The indoor track season is beginning to take shape,it looks like most of my races prior to Indoor Nationals in Bloomington Indiana in mid March will be in New York(ohh there's a major surprise!!!!!) it's just a matter of which eight meets I pick my six races from.
There are a couple of meets that have yet to be determined,the US Open at Madison Square Garden has yet to say if there'll be a Masters race{what I wouldn't give for them to offer a Masters Mile!!!!!} and also the new Millrose Games at The Armory has a Club DMR on the schedule,I've gone on record as saying I have no desire to run the Masters 4x400m relay so we'll see if a Distance Medley Relay can come together.
Once those two meets get resolved I can flesh out the rest of my indoor season.