Marathon Training

The last couple of days have been geared towards the marathon I'm running in September. I rode my bicycle 34 miles yesterday and ran 13 miles today. I feel like I'm building up my body & mind for the lond distance. I have an 8-Mile race this Wednesday so I'm not sure if I'll do my usual Sunday run tomorrow. I'll start setting up for the race. These training exercises have been good for this upcoming race. Stretching & weights later.

Oven Hot

It's going to be hot out there this weekend. It's the Summertime!

Today's Cliche

Some days are better than others.

Blog Colors

                                                  

Primary Day

The polls are open and I'll go and vote today. In New York State, you have to belong to a party in order to vote for their candidates. Independents can't vote for a Democrat or a Republican. As the song lyric goes, "The Election Day is coming and I think we'll all be running."

Today's Question

What difference does it make?

No Rest

I ended up going out for a 7-Mile run this morning. The weather was great, I woke up early and there was so adrenaline from the race yesterday. I think it's safe to say I won't be running tomorrow. At the most I might ride my bicycle. That will all depend on the weather and how I feel. Plus I'm busy with work too. Monday has been my marathon training rest day. We'll see tomorrow.

Give It A Rest

I've run the past 5 days and I will most likely take today off. I enjoy my Sunday run though. It's good to get some rest because my body & mind need it. I don't want to overdue it. The weather for my 5-Mile race yesterday was really good. The one thing I need to work on is trying to finish as strong as possible. It seems I can always get off to a fast start. The idea is to maintain that pace. It looks like another nice day in New York.

5-Mile Race

I ran a 5-Mile race in Central Park, New York City this morning and my finishing time was 36:40. I had predicted my over/under finishing time to be 36 minutes. It was my hope I would finish in the 35 minute range. The race started at the 102nd Transverse in Central Park with the first mile having a steep hill in the Harlem section. I felt strong out there and I knew I was running with some of the really good club runners. I like to call them, "The Usual Suspects." I did feel myself hit the wall near the end but I kept my pace. It was a Summer run and they are my favorite. After the race I walked all over Manhattan. Quite a day for me in The Big Apple.

Jog

I went for a 3-Mile jog this morning. It is my ritual the day before a race. It's like tuning the strings to my guitar. Now it's time to gig 5 miles tomorrow. The weather is looking good. Not all the heat & humidity of the past few days. My over/under finishing time is 36 minutes. I'll try and keep it a few seconds under.

LeRoy Neiman

Artist LeRoy Neiman passed away yesterday at the age of 91. He was one of most influential artists on me. When I was a kid back in the 1970's I would be watching a sporting event and he would be painting an image of the moment. They were a wild collection of colors and movement. One of the things I like to do is draw musicians when they are performing live. I based my whole approach to the way LeRoy Neiman would create. I would always tell people he was my biggest influence in that kind of drawing. My artist alias was "LeRoy Neiman Marcus" To me his style was a combination of impressionism and action painting. Thank you for the great art LeRoy.

Summer

Today is officially the first day of Summer and it's going to be real hot in New York. The temperature is going to go up into the 90's and that's a huge jump from yesterday. I do want to get out this morning and run before it gets too hot. I love the Summer! It's my favorite season of the year and I never get tired of the hot weather.

Hot Week

It's supposed to get very hot this week in New York and the first day of Summer is only a couple of days away. I have a 5-Mile race this Saturday and I'm not sure if the heatwave will still be on. I don't mind the hot weather and I seem to wait all Winter for the warm temperatures to return. This year has been different because it was a mild Winter. One of the most comfortable I can remember. I will get out there this morning and run 7 miles. It isn't hot yet.

6/18/12 Set List

Here are the songs I practiced today:

Set 1
THE FRONT DESK (Entire Rock Opera)

Set 2
Let Em In
Welcome To The Club
Kissing Christine
Vegan Deli
Action Painting
It's True
The Witchery
Staged Reading
Your Words Are Heard
I Want To Know

Happy Birthday Sir Paul

Today is Sir Paul McCartney's 70th birthday. He has been such a great influence my entire life. As far back as I can remember his music was always there. When I was 5-years-old I had a phonograph and a 45 rpm record of the song YESTERDAY by The Beatles. I would play it over and over. That was back in the late 1960's. His first solo song I remember was Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey and it was amazing. These were songs that made me want to become a musician and with my primary instrument be a bass guitar, Sir Paul was a role model. Plus I'm left-handed like him so there are the obvious comments from people when I've played live. I would love to play on of his basses. Especially The Hoffner. Will you still need me, will you feed me, when I'm 70? Happy Birthday Sir Paul!

Coyote Run

So I went out for my 7-Mile run this morning I encountered what I thought was a coyote. It was standing in the road I was running on and it stopped me right in my tracks. At first I thought it was just a dog but it didn't bark at me and didn't move. I didn't make a move either and we just stood there looking at each other for a couple of minutes. I was afraid to provoke it by doing anything. I know that if you are in contact with one the best thing to do is to yell and try to scare it away. I just wanted to see what it would do. Finally it snarraled at me and ran down the road into a driveway. If I saw it again, I wanted to see if it had a coller on. I slowly walked down the road and picked up a stick for protection. When I got to the driveway, the animal was there just looking at me. It didn't have a coller or tags on. Never once did it bark at me. I just walked by and that was the end of it. I started to pick up the pace and ran home. That was my coyote run.

Sunday Sleep

I didn't sleep well last night so now I feel tired. At some point I would like to run 7 miles and put a cap to my exercise training for the week. I have work to do and if I don't it then nothing get done. I'm sure that goes for everyone. Have fun this Sunday.

6/16/12 Set List

Here are the songs I practiced today:

Set 1
THE FRONT DESK (Entire Rock Opera)

Set 2
Gazebo
Montezuma's Revenge
Pacific Run
Neanderthal Tool
Astronauts Cosmonauts
The Ballad Of John & Yoko
Your Words Are Heard
Generic Protest Song
Beyond Baghdad
Action Painting

13 Miles

I ran about 13 miles this morning and that's pretty much a half marathon distance. These are the kind of training sessions I will need if there is any chance of me finishing under 4 hours at the Yonkers Marathon in 3 months. In 2010 I ran 2 marathons under 4 hours. One was Yonkers and the other was New York City. It can only happen if I train correctly. I felt good out there today and finished strong. I have a 10K race next weekend so I'll start to focus in this upcoming week on being prepared for that. It's all about staying in shape.

6/15/12 Set List

Here are the songs I practiced today:

Set 1
THE FRONT DESK (Entire Rock Opera)

Set 2
In The Flesh
On A Death Tour
What Would Thurston Do
Automatic Talking Toaster
White Rabbit
Construction 426
Seeing My Love
Foxholes Of Hollywood
Modern Weaponry
Molly

Fried On Friday

I received beautiful birthday wishes from my friends. They are the best! It is shaping up to be another warm & sunny day. I'll make sure to use sunscreen if I'm outside for a long period of time. I have very pale skin and burn easily. Everyone needs to protect themselves.

6/14/12 Set List

Here are the songs I practiced today:

Set 1
THE FRONT DESK (Entire Rock Opera)

Set 2
The Blue Spruce
Judd
Lunchtime Surprise
The Witchery
Statue Punks
Haby Baby Girl
Staged Reading
Quackery
Chinese Rocks
Jacques La Rock

Born On Flag Day

Today is my birthday so I'm going to do birthday things!

6/13/12 Set List

Here are the songs I practiced today:

Set 1
THE FRONT DESK (Entire Rock Opera)

Set 2
That I know
Elements Of Evil
Mary Carroll
Good Semester
Vegan Deli
Woe Of Man
Love In Las Vegas
It's True
Glossy Black
Don't Do The Elephant Man

Job

You're on your feet for 8 hours and having to cover for everyone else you work with. You love your job yet you wouldn't do it for free. What's your value to others? What's your value to yourself? Who do you answer to? Anyone? All part of the job.

Overcast Tuesday

Yesterday I took the day off from running and bicycle riding. I needed a rest. Today I'll go out and run this morning before the rain shows up. It's supposed to get wet later this afternoon. Sometimes the toughest part of exercise training is when you take a day off and try to go at it the following day. It's easy not to do anything if you don't want to. I want to get out there this morning and get my training week going so I'm on my way.

New Week

I feel sore today. I did serious marathon training over the past week. There will no running today and if I do take the bicycle out then it will be an easy ride. The weather is perfect for such an occasion. I'm busy with work this morning. Happy Birthday Mom!

Good Training Weeks

I did more running than bicycle riding this week. It was the opposite last week. It's best for me to mix it up and keep it fresh. I ran 39 miles over the pass 7 days. I feel the training working for me. I probably won't run tomorrow. It's best I give it a rest. My plan is to get a bicycle ride in this Monday. The weather is suppose to be nice tomorrow.

6/9/12 Set List

Here are the songs I practiced yesterday:

Set 1
THE FRONT DESK (Entire Rock Opera)

Set 2
Beyond Baghdad
Neanderthal Tool
Chicken Pickin
Jacques La Rock
Daycrawler
Your Words Are Heard
Shattered
Sad Sight To See
Staged Reading
I Want To Know

11 Miles

I went out this morning and ran 11 miles. It was overcast and warm with a light rain falling at the end of my run. This was a marathon training run and I'm glad I didn't plan on a bicycle ride with the weather. I want to run 7 miles tomorrow.

6/8/12 Set List

Here are the songs I practiced yesterday:

Set 1
THE FRONT DESK (Entire Rock Opera)

Set 2
My Boston Girl
Statue Punks
He's My Thing
Seeing My Love
Woe Of Man
Gazebo
In The Flesh
Vegan Deli
Foxholes Of Hollywood
Molly

Made It Back

I just got back from a 15-Mile bicycle ride and if I had been out there another 15 minutes then I would have been drenched. It's pouring down with thunder & lightning. This storm is just passing through. I can see blue skies and white clouds in the distance. The only shower I had was in the bathroom. Now I'm clean and dry.

Close To The Weekend

It is shaping up to be a nice weekend weather wise. Euro 2012 starts today and I'm rooting for Ireland. They are in a brutal division with Spain, Italy and Croatia. We'll see how they do. I have plenty of unfinished things to take care of. Now I'm on my way

More Like Twitter

The amount of words I've used on my last few blog entries could have fit on my twitter page. I did get out there and run 7 miles today. That's 3 days in a row. I might not run tomorrow and ride my bicycle instead. The marathon training is going good. I do have a 5-Mile race in a couple of weeks so I'm getting ready for that. It turned out to be a sunny day today.

Recluse

I've been feeling rather reclusive these days. If I don't have to go anywhere or do anything with other people I'm not close to than that's how it is. A virtual recluse.

National Running Day

Today is National Running Day in the United States and I happen to run 7 miles today. I don't think I ran on it last year because my training schedule had me off. It was nice outside for a run. The marathon training continues.

Statue Punks

Here are the lyrics to my latest song:

STATUE PUNKS

They do not pogo anymore
The Punks they do The Statue

They do not slam dance anymore
The Punks they do The Statue.

Action Blogging

Here's my take on blogging with colors:

                            

Spring Up

The Summer type weather has disappeared from my area. It feels pretty cool outside. At least it's not raining though. I can go out and get a run in. I feel so tired today. I did get a good night's sleep. Sometimes I feel like I could have slept another several hours. Slow motivation it seems. Time to get going.

Staged Reading

Here are the lyrics to my latest song:

STAGED READING

I wrote a One Act Play
About a love that goes away
Performing here is a theatre troupe
Actors from a Summer Stock group

Going on this theatrical trip
Al Pacino here's my script
Method Actors on the stage
On display with joy and rage

Staged Reading
They read my play.

The Magician

And now for my disappearing act...

Monday Rain

This week is starting off cloudy and wet outside. The temperatures for the next few days are supposed to be cooler than over the weekend. I have plenty of indoor work to do so I don't feel like I'm missing out. It's a good day for me to do stretching and weights. No running on the agenda today. I'll go back at it tomorrow. Other things to do right now.

Ride & Run Part 2

I did go out there this morning and run 7 miles. It was perfect weather for a run. It's been a good week of exercise for me. I plan on running 7 more miles tomorrow.

Ride & Run

I took the bicycle out yesterday and put 34 miles under the wheels. I'm building up my body and mind for the long distance. I want to go out this morning and do my Sunday 7-Mile run. The weather in New York looks nice from my window. A good day to go outside.

6/2/12 Set List

Here are the songs I practiced today:

Set 1
THE FRONT DESK (Entire Rock Opera)

Set 2
The Blue Spruce
Glossy Black
Astronauts Cosmonauts
Woe Of Man
Seeing My Love
Your Words Are Heard
Montezuma's Revenge
It's True
Quackery
Molly

Party Dream

It's raining out this morning so I'll hold off on a run right now. The weather forecast calls for the rain to stop this afternoon so I'll go out later. I had a dream last night I was at a house party. There were a lot of people there. The house was dark and it went from being a few people I know to house being filled with party goers. Then I woke up. It seemed quite real. I usually don't remember my dreams and I don't seem to dream that much. It's like I'm not sleeping.

Give It A Rest

Good thing I didn't take the bicycle out this afternoon. It's starting to rain. The weather for tomorrow is calling for showers in the morning. I would like to get a run in. It's best I give it a rest today with exercise. I feel tired.

6/1/12 Set List

Here are the songs I practiced today:

Set 1
THE FRONT DESK (Entire Rock Opera)

Set 2
That I Know
Automatic Talking Toaster
What Would Thurston Do
Jacques La Rock
Chinese Rocks
Generic Protest Song
Boris The Spider
Good Semester
Badges
Action Painting

The Plan

The usual routine with unusual circumstances
That's what happens when I deal with people
They change everything I plan.