Tune The Strings

I didn't get the chance to post anything on my blog yesterday. I ran 7 miles yesterday and today. I'll jog 3 miles tomorrow. My 15K race is on Sunday. I'm tuning up.

15K

The 15K race is this Sunday and I went out and ran 7 miles this morning after not doing any exercising yesterday. My body & mind felt fatigued so it was good to rest so I was ready to go today. It was chilly out there. The sun is out so i wasn't overcast. It was a nice easy pace out there. Now I start gearing up for the 15K. I'll keep the training going.

9 To 5

The working hours of 9 o'clock in the morning until 5 o'clock in the afternoon are perfect for me. I can get up early enough to exercise. It also allows me the the evenings free. And I can have the weekends off. O.K. off to work.

Monday Run

I ran 7 miles today and it was slow bones for me. I'm gearing up for my 15K race this Sunday. I want to run under 70 minutes for the first time at that distance. I will have to be at my best to do so. I've come close before yet I have fallen short in the past. The race doesn't start untill 10:15 AM that day. A late time for a New York Road Runners race. This is a big week of training.

Weekend Gigs Part 3

I'm so glad I made it out to The Black Swan Pub in Tivoli, NY to see Otto & Raissa perform last night. I had a great time! Ran into friends and former band mates. I did a drawing of Otto & Raissa while they were playing music and then I gave it Raissa after the gig. She was so kind to me and she played so good! I love seeing my friends perform.

Weekend Gigs Part 2

I go out to Whistling Willie's in Cold Spring, New York last night and see Greg Phillips perform. Tonight I hope to see Otto & Raissa in concert at the Black Swan in Tivoli, New York. There is a performance of friends of mine who are doing a Richard Thompson tribute show in Garrison, New York tomorrow. I won't be able to make it. I did see a preview of the gig Wednesday night at the open mike at Whistling Willie's. Let's see if I can make it to Tivoli tonight.

Weekend Gigs

I"m thinking about going out and seeing a local band perform tonight. They are childhood friends of mine and the place is usually packed. I might go to another concert of friends who are performing at another bar. My peers like to gig and I've always have been fortunate to have very creative friends. They keep me going.

Sleep

I've been getting some sleep the last couple of days. Sometimes I get so tired that I feel like I need to just shut it down. I might not have a choice since my body & mind don't need to count sheep.           

Out & About

So last night I went to the Open Mic at Whistling Willie's in Cold Spring, New York and the place was packed. I did bring my bass and intended to perform but there were so many people who signed up. I didn't bother to play and just hung out with friends. Today I went out for a bike ride. It feels like Summer outside. Very nice!

Wednesday

I went out for a 15-Mile bike ride yesterday. I plan on going out and running 7 miles this morning. I'm thinking about going to Open Mic tonight and performing a few songs. I haven't done that in several weeks. If I do then I plan on performing Elton John's ROCKET MAN. I've never played that live before. There are shows happening I'm interested in checking out. I'm also setting up for some Spring gigs. I'll keep you posted.

Happy Spring

Today is the first day of Spring and it feels like it. The temperatures are going to be in the 70 degree range in New York for most of the week. I'll be able to get out there and ride my dicycle more. I went out yesterday and it was fun. A good workout. I want to run this morning yet I had a migraine headache last night and it has a way of wearing me out. I hope to go out later.

Winter's Last Stand

It has bee such a mild Winter in New York that there is a good chance I'll be riding my bicycle again this week. The temperatures could hit the 70 degree mark. I might take the bike out later today if I feel like it and the weather is warm. So many things to complete this week. That's why they call Monday, "The start to the workweek."

Sunday Runday

I was watching the New York City Half Marathon on TV this morning. They've had that race now for about 5 years. I've never run it. Half of the race is in Central Park. I'll be running a 15K race there 2 weeks from today. I went out after watching the race and did a 7-Mile practice run. It's been a good week of training for me.

Happy St. Paddy's Day

With my name, this is usually a day I like to keep a low profile on. I rarely ever drink, so I'm not out on the bars today. It's a nice day for a parade. You never know what kind of weather you can get this time of year in New York. There's an old Irish saying that goes. "He'll never make it over the March Hill." It refers to the fact that people would die due to to cold Winters. St. Patrick's Day is my unofficial start to Spring. It has been a mild Winter and I like that so much. The first day of Spring is this Tuesday and the weather forecast is calling for more warmth. The wearin' O the green t-shirt.
                                                                              

St. Paddy's Day Eve

                                           

At Rest

After riding 15 miles on my bicycle yesterday and running 7 miles today, I think I'll not do any of those things tomorrow. It will be good to give it a rest. I plan on a longer distance run this Saturday. If I do any training tomorrow it will be stretching & weights. Sometimes rest is the best workout.

My First Bicycle Ride

For the first time this year, I went out and took a spin on my bicycle. This might be the earliest I've actually gone out and rode my bicycle. This has been a mild Winter in New York and it was too nice not got out and ride. I put air in the tires and added oil to the bike chain. I've had this bicycle for 22 years now and it rides better than ever. I rode about 15 miles today. I hope to do plenty of riding this year. It makes for great cross training and sight seeing.

The Blues

                                                    

My Music Amnesia

So I'm going through my cassette tapes of jam session that I played on in order to figure out how to play songs I've written. Without these tapes I would have completely forgotten how some of them went. I even found a couple of songs I didn't remember writing. Most are from the 1990's. I remember wanting to write songs in those days that didn't sound like anyone else. In some cases I succeeded quite well. I was surprised at all the lyrics I used. Very wordy. I don't usually write like that anymore. I will learn then again and add them to my repertoire.

Tuesday Afternoon

That is the title to one of favorite songs. I love The Moody Blues. Their album DAY OF FUTURE PASSED is great. I took the concept of the day to structure my rock opera THE FRONT DESK. In other life news, I went out and ran 7 miles today and I plan on drawing a landscape later. Great weather in my area.

Winter Trees

I just returned from an impressionist drawing of weathered tree outside in the yard. I drew all of the trees silver & gray. The background was gold & brown. The grass was a variety of greens. I like to call this approach to drawing a picture diary.

Ruthless

It feels so cruel to let go of things that were important to you. Whether it was someone you loved who now isn't in your life. Or a job you once had and the people you worked with. No more do I share my life with you. Ruthless.

Short Story Songs

I've been writing songs for over 30 years. I wrote my first song at the age of 17 and was called THAT I KNOW. It's a song I still perform. I've never published and of my songs and I never had a record contract. I did however have most of the songs I've written recorded at jam sessions or live gigs that I played at. This has turned out to be a great thing because there have been songs I had forgotten how to play and I can learn again. I've been listening to recordings these songs and they hold up for me. Each song is a snapshot to my past. I always approached songwriting like that of a storyteller. The thoughts & memories of those times always come back to me. I feel the integrity of those words.

Picture Diary

I've been in the habit of drawing something everyday. It works like my blog. I don't care if it is just a straight line. A horizon for the day then so be it. The drawing could be abstract or a landscape. It all depends on how I'm feeling. I'm not going to go through the process of framing these drawings. I'll put them in a folder. I plan on taking photos of them so I show the drawings online. I just want to keep creating.

Spring Ahead

I went out and ran 9 miles today. I've managed to get 30 miles under my feet for the week. It wasn't even dark outside at 6 o'clock this morning. That will change tomorrow since the clocks move an hour ahead tonight. I do plan on running tomorrow morning and I know the sun will rise later. The good thing is that it stays lighter in the afternoon. It was cold out there this morning. Winter is still around.

Draw With The Pencil You Sharpened

                                                                         
                                                                         
                                                                         
                                                                         
                                                                         
                                                                         
                                                                         
                                                                         

Spring Preview

There are 10 days before Winter ends. It has been a mild & dry Winter season this year around here. I'm happy about that. I like the warm weather and plan on going for a run this morning. This weekend I will turn the clock ahead an hour for daylight savings time. The problem is that it will be dark again early in the morning. Put those headlights back on in the morning.

Wednesday Morning

I did run 7 miles today. I would describe myself as slow bones. It was good to get the miles under my feet though. I also practiced my rock opera THE FRONT DESK this morning too. This is the kind of weather that makes me want to draw a landscape. I think I will.

Blogspotting

I'm glad to be blogging again. I don't know what happened to my old blog setup. I finally took the time to check things out yesterday and now I'm back at it. I plan on a run this morning. Lots of work for me to do. The weather around here is supposed to get seasonably warn again. I like that.

Back At It

I'm happy to be blogging again. I had some tech issues so now I hope all is well. I ran a 5K race on Sunday and finished in a time of 21:51. I have a 15K race in a few weeks. I'll keep you posted as long as everything works.

Testing 1 - 2 - 3

Let's see if this works.