Playing Catch Up

Sorry for the lack of blog post yesterday,long story short I missed the last el train home Friday nite after the Social Distortion gig and ended up having to walk home from Center City,I got home around 1.45am and was back up by 9am yesterday morning,cranked out my 9 miler b4 sleeping through the second half of Man Utd Spurs,managed to rouse myself long enough to take care of the first half of my food shopping b4 taking a very zen like approach to the rest of the day and became one w/ the recliner as I caught up w/ the eight hours of recorded tv shows on my dvr from the past week.
Any plans to sit at the pc and blog yesterday went south as by 8pm I was getting my yawn on,I left the shows I'd recorded from Friday till today and promptly naffed off to bed around 9.20pm following a few pages of the latest Nick Hornby book I'm reading "Slam"

Up and at em this morning by 9am,fast forwarded through the commericals to squeeze in"Smallville" b4 heading out at 10.15am.
Having already notched 59 miles for the week I now needed to log 16 today to give me 75 for the week,I don't think I ever logged 75 miles a week when I trained for marathons but I'd committed myself to between 60-75 miles a week for the next seven weeks as my base mileage programme b4 I drop back down to 45-50 miles per week w/ two repeats each week in the mix in mid December.
Three miles down to Walnut St where I hooked up w/ my friend and team mate Sean,we'd agreed to do an easy 10 miles along the Schuylkill Banks,around the Art Museam Loop and back along the Schuylkill Banks b4 parting company and I'd finish off the final three miles home to notch my 16 for the day,75 for the week.

Ideal conditions for a long run sunny and 60 degrees,it'll be interesting to see what the next 6 Sundays bring.
The pace was comfortable as Sean and I caught up,I haven't seen"my Celtic brother" since Nationals in Sacramento 14 weeks ago and he made me laugh, when I first approached Sean w/ the notion of a 10 miler around the loop he said he had visions of me cranking out one of my typical 64 minute 10 milers and only being able to hang w/ me for the opening mile but I told Sean the whole point of the long run on Sunday was to just put in the miles,I cranked out enough brisk 10 milers this week this was about being in a position to still have fuel in the tank after 13 miles to make my way back home,which I did.

There's nothing more I'd have enjoyed than to take a nap but I still had stuff to do,a phone call to my sister to wish her a happy b'day b4 finishing off the food shopping,knocking out laundry and then the final 2 shows on my dvr.....finally all done, and now a chance to put my feet up and cop the EPL Review b4 calling it not only a nite,a week and a month.

English Rose

"No matter where I roam I will return to my English rose for no bonds can ever tempt me from she.

I've sailed the seven seas,flown the whole blue sky but I've returned w/ haste to where my love does lie.

No matter where I go I will come back to my English rose,for nothing could ever tempt me from she"

English Rose-The Jam

Hard on the heals of Wednesday's anniversary of my father dying comes another land mark anniversary,23 years since I left home and moved to America.

From the time of my first visit to Philly in the summer of 85 I think I always knew I'd move to America which is ironic really because as a child America might as well have been the moon,I knew where it was,I knew it was far away,and I probably wasn't ever getting there....how fickle fate can be.

Looking back I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the"call of the west" was so strong,w/out realizing it at the time there were several American influences albeit tv shows on me,"Kojak""Starsky & Hutch""Hill Street Blues""Colombo""Star Trek"and"Top Cat" were only half a dozen of the American shows I watched growing up in South East London.

Also my early sporting hero's included Jimmy Connors,Chris Evert,John McEnroe,Mary Decker so it's no great surprise that after my first trip here in 85 that the prospect of moving here on a permanent basis was very real.

Next year will be an interesting anniversary,24 years here,I spent 24 in London,do I miss living in London?a little,thanks to the Internet it feels alot closer than the 3,500 miles that separates here and there,at least these days my beloved soccer gets decent coverage over here....we just need to work on the rally naff coverage track and field gets here,when I moved here in 87 I thought given the fact the USA produced such great track runners that Track and Field would get great tv coverage here....boy did I get that one wrong!!!

I don't miss the crap weather back home,that said when it's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey in the winter or when you could fry an egg on the sidewalk in the summer I question moving here but on the whole it was a good move for me,sure I miss Fish and Chips and mixed Kebabs w/ chili sauce,the Sunday papers and pubs but I've made a life for myself here in America in the last 23 years so I doubt I'll be considering a move back,but I would like to go home and visit it's been 6 years but my running has meant I've travelled alot this side of the Atlantic but either next Xmas or the following summer for the 2010 London Olympics I'd like to get my passport stamped one more time at Heathrow.

On a day the England cricket team flew out to Australia to take on the Aussies for the Ashes I notched a half century of my own,my 5th 10 miler in 5 days and now I'm off to The Electric Factory to see Social Distortion for the 5th time in 9 years,not exactly the American dream but a long way from the skinny kid from South East London who had to look up on a map where Philadelphia was b4 I met my ex wife Erica the first time when she came to visit London almost 26 years ago.

Another Glorious Evening To Run

It's almost hard to fathom that it's October 28th from the current weather and trust me yours truly is trying to make the most of it.
Another evening of shorts and short sleeves,given the sun I could've gone w/ shades but cognisant of the fact we're 10 days away from the clocks going back I felt it prudent to stick to regular eye ware,we'll see what the weekend holds.
I've maintained an even 64 minute average thus far this week which tells me my almost three weeks off did little to throw me off,it'll be interesting to see what the scales say Monday when I weigh myself.

Four 10 milers down,one to go tomorrow b4 an easy day on Saturday 9 miles,it feels churlish to be looking at winter clothing right now but sooner or later it'll be time to start adding layers,it was interesting to read one of my running friends in Oregon already bringing out the running tights and gloves....ber!!

Tall Ships Go

"I hear your voice and it keeps me from sleeping,why must it always be dreams when your voice come to me"

Tall Ships Go-Big Country

October 27th is one of my least favourite days on the calender,it's the anniversary of my father's death,this year marks 26 years since I came home from work and found he'd died in his sleep from a heart attack.

There's seldom a day goes by I don't think about him the expression"the apple don't fall far from the tree"is very very apt where Kevin and I are concerned,both the good and the bad of my father can be found in me.

By no means a Rhodes scholar Kevin taught me some of the greatest life lessons I'll ever get:

"Don't be a punk and cause trouble,but always be a man and stand up for yourself"

"If you can't be yourself,don't be anybody"and perhaps the most telling given his early death

"Life's too short and we're only passing through and we're never coming back so we better make the most of it"

The Big Country lyrics are on his headstone,a week b4 he died Big Country released their second album "Steel Town" and in an interview in the NME{New Musical Express} Stuart Adamson went through the album track by track,"Tall Ships Go" was Stuart Adamson's ode to his father, a merchant seaman who was swept off the deck of his ship and drowned at sea,Stuart Adamson said after that the only time he ever heard his father was in his dreams and it seemed the ideal sentiment for my own father's headstone.

As ever I visited St John's church a lit a candle for him and in a sign of divine intervention I exited St John's to find the rain had stopped and the sun was coming out allowing me to get my 10 miler in for the evening,even from beyond the grave my father is still having an effect on my running,thanks Pop gone but NOT forgotten

Good To Be Back W/ A Back To Back

Thankfully no reaction to yesterdays run and my first back to back 10 milers since mid September.
While the tail end of last week felt like an Indian summer today was a reminder that we're only a few days removed from November as the grey skies mirrored the brown leaves that lay underfoot on my out and back along Cobbs Creek Parkway.

B4 my calf injury kyboshed training last week I will confess my return to 10 milers had been a mild rude awakening as my legs felt every bit of that first 10 miler in weeks{Sept 10th-October 19th} but thankfully thus far my two 10 milers this week have felt fine,the real trick will be not only getting through till Friday and 50 miles but then adding a 9 miler Saturday and a 16 miler Sunday to round out a 75 mile week.....and then doing it all again next week.
But for now one 10 miler at a time w/ tomorrow's being the only one that matters....for now.

Starting Over Again!

My five day stint on the DL{c'mon the World Series begins in two days!!}is up and I was back out on the sidewalk this evening hoping to put the frustration of last weeks calf injury behind me.
As I sit here now w an/ ice pack on my calf I hope there'll be no repeat of last week when I clocked a comfortable 10 miler on Tuesday only to be sidelined Wednesday w/ a knot in my calf muscle that hurt when I tried to push off on my left foot.

I'm not big on blowing off training runs but I'm astute enough to know when to say when,there was nothing to gain and everything to lose by trying to fight through the pain barrier last week and making things worse so I sat out five days and was able to cruise through this evenings run w/out any problems.....however last week I cruised through my 10 miler w/out any worries only to be felled the following day so tonite I'll do all the precautionary things I need to do to make sure I can go again tomorrow,fingers crossed

Down In The Park W/ A Friend Called Five

''If you are my shepherd then I'm lost and no one can find me.

If you are my saviour then I'm dead and no one can help me.

If you are my glory then I'm sick and no one can cure me.

If you light my darkness then I'm blind and no one can see me.

If you are my father then love lies abandoned and bleeding.

If you are my comfort then nightmares are real and deceiving.

If you are my answer then I must have asked the wrong question.

I'd spit on your heaven if I could find one to believe in."

A Prayer For The Unborn-Gary Numan

Seeing Gary Numan at The Troc on Thursday nite was a trip down memory lane,like several artists these days performing old cds....or albums as they were called back then in their entirety is not only a chance to revist those songs but also remind the old fans like me what we loved about them back in the day{1979 in this case}but also to show the new fans you've picked up along the way where you came from.

I fell in love w/ Gary Numan in 79 when he arrived on the music scene,punk was still hanging around,disco was almost dead{yea!!}and the likes of grunge,hip hop,house and electronica were just about to emerge,Gary Numan was at the forefront of the latter.

If I had a dollar for every Saturday nite I sat alone in the dark in my old living room playing Gary Numan records between 79-87 I'm confident I'd have enough money now to update all my Gary Numan vinyl to cd.

His image as the lonely Android struck a cord w/ me,his dark lyrics and often somber keyboard laden music about alienation were something I could relate to,while I should've been out on those Saturdays as a teenager/twenty something doing what teenagers/twenty somethings did I secluded myself at home in the dark,"Remind Me To Smile" could well've been my theme tune,"I Die You Die" Gary's dig at the music press who so despised him for having the audacity to reach the top w/out their help became my dig at those who slagged me off behind my back.

I never managed to get my act together to see him live, his 79 and 80 tours were the stuff legends were made of,at least thanks to wonder of modern technology these days there are dvds of those shows as well as cds,I still tear up listening to "Living Ornaments 81"cds,his at the time swan song to performing live, a rash decision that Gary quickly reversed come 83 and afforded me the chance to catch him live on the "Warriors" tour.

Fast forwarding several years Gary's star shone not so brightly,granted the loyal and rabid "Numanoids"still bought his records/cds but chart success had become a thing of the past.

Thanks to a new generation of music fans as happens w/ all genres of music and the timely endorsements of such luminaries as Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters,Marilyn Manson and Trent Reznor Gary Numan returned to the fore,a new less keyboard more guitar industrial sound once again put our favourite Android back in the spotlite.

A lot has changed since "Are Friends Electric" back in 79,Gary smiles alot more and talks to the audience something he seemed adverse to back then,I don't spend every Saturday night alone in my darkened room listening to his albums but I do still listen to him,his old songs that remind me of all those years ago and the new songs he's given us in recent years.

Do I still get misty eyed when I hear "Joy Circuit" from the 81 farewell concert?hell yeah, I can still picture the white tuxedoed and bandaged Nash The Slash playing the violin while Gary riffs on guitar dressed in his orange leather jumpsuit,there they stand back to back center stage transforming an ok album track off of "Telekon" his 81 album into a classic,like an old Gary Numan song says"It Must Have Been Years"

As I stood there Thursday nite at The Troc and relived those old days as Gary performed his 79 classic "The Pleasure Principle" and some other old classics"Down In The Park"''Are Friends Electric" along w/ newer gems "Pure"and"A Prayer For The Unborn" I remembered what it was about Gary and his music back then thirty one years ago and what he creates theses days and knew why I am still a fan,artists come and go,genres change but I'm still looking out for a man w/"a long coat, grey hat smoking a cigarette"