Sakura Breeze

Run - 6.1 miles

All roads lead to Venus,
I'll meet you there,
In your dream of progress,

TripleGoddessTwilightLauraNyr0

Run 6.1 miles

Also played an hour of solo tennis yesterday evening.

One thing I like about J-pop are the fun and fantasy lyrics. The lyrics in western pop/rock music seem tired and predictable by comparison.

Goodnight.

Run 6.1 miles (morning)
Run 5.0 miles (evening)

Two runs today. One in this morning, and another tonight.

On this mornings run I did more Interval Training. About 7 repititions, but at a higher pace than yesterdays intervals.

This evenings run was a relaxed pace. No intervals, but I did increase the pace and heart rate over a 1 mile stretch, and on the short sharp hill.

Should do a little cycling again.

Goodnight.

Run 6.1 miles

Did intervals for the first time this morning. That means running at normal pace, then fast pace, in repetition. I did this between one passing place to the next.

I did 10 or more fast intervals throughout the duration of the 6.1 mile run.

The first 2 miles is basically a warm up, and largely proceeds uphill. The course then flattens out for most of the next 4 miles, bar one sharp hill. This 4 mile section is the point from which I went into interval mode. Giving me 2 miles of running at speed.

It was a surprise to me that I was able and willing to keep it up.. I thought 3 or 4 intervals and I'd be out the game.

The 2nd last interval took place up the short sharp hill. Fastest i've ever ran up that hill. A year ago it was an effort for me to even get up that hill lol.

The final interval was double-length, into a headwind, and flat-out.

In some of my earlier blog entries I said that I felt there was more in the tank. Well this morning I began to use it. I needed this.

Goodnight.

Run 8.4 miles

Yes I missed another day, but got a decent run this morning.

I should do some interval stuff.

Anyways..

Do you ever browse your ipod to see what you havent played in a while? I did today.

Had to play this..

Sakura Drops by Utada Hikaru
http://www.youtube.com/?v=ixrTtK-tKtU

Some more Utada..

Sanctuary
http://www.youtube.com/?v=zz4_4gO7vWU

Be My Last
http://www.youtube.com/?v=hWmnIY4uUl0

You know the drill by now.

Goodnight.

Run - 5.5 miles

Got a little run this morning. It was sunny and cold. I wore a hat, gloves, and jacket.

Part of the reason I transgressed with a couple of chocolate bars last week was because I couldnt obtain any decent sweet fruit. All the bananas where green and no dates were available.

But I travelled to another town tonight and got lots of dried and partially dried dates. You can have one if you like.

I like pesto, cous cous, spicy chorizo, continental salami's, wholegrain rice, just simple things that are not available where I live. So a long distance trip to Tesco, or less long distance trip to Leedl is helpful.

Who knows why Lidl have came the to UK yet Carrefour havent.

Environmentalism and Vegetarianism arent things that I have strong feelings about really, but where these things correspond with the nutritional standards of food, then I do care. A Humanist position I suppose.

I'm not going to sweep yet. But..

Goodnight.

I didnt run today or yesterday. Bit unwell. But hopefully I will be ok tommorrow.

Just posting the following extract for the sake of it. Independent woman! And not a Beyonce or Kelly Rowland in sight!

[In act three of the Mother's Spiritual recording drama,Nyr0'sold friendT0ddRundgr3nhelped out for a few days.

"I came in and kick-started the project and made sure she got all the tracks done," He told Swedish journalist Dan Backman in 1999.

(Terry) Silverlight remembersRundgr3ndoing production only on the cut "To A Child." My take on it, from overhearing his conversations with her, is that he thought there should be a hit on the record, thought that was the best thing for her," says Silverlight.

"He said, 'Look, you're just writing songs about trees and the wind, and the record's just not going to go anywhere.' "

Nyr0herself quoted Rundgr3n, after he first heard the tracks, as asking her,

"Is this mom's rock or something?"

ElysaSunshine asserts that Rundgr3nhad about as much impact onNyr0as Wissert had had:

"Every suggestion he made was one hundred and eighty degrees from what she wanted. She wouldn't take any suggestions, really, except what she had already decided she wanted."

Columbia executives didnt fare much better witNyr0.Silverlight overheard her arguing with someone from the record label on the phone, saying "I want to do it the way I want to do it, and I dont necessarily care if there's a hit on it. I just have this material, written for this project, and that is the important thing, just the music."

"Obviously the person on the other end of the line was saying, 'We're not going to sell any records with this, you have to have a hit,' Silverlight imagines. "ButLAurastood up for what she believed in."

Soul Picnic - The Music And Passion Of L3uraNyr0, by MichelEK0rt]

Mother'sSpiritual was recorded in 1983

Goodnight.

Run - 6.5 miles

Didnt run yesterday. But maybe the unintended rest from running was beneficial to me. Because I felt I had a bit more pop tonight.

I restrained my pace, even though I wanted to go faster. I did this on account of a muscle at the top of my left leg which felt a little tight.

Probably no problem. But I'd rather ensure I can continue running everyday, than push harder and risk injury. Because if I got injured then I wont be able to run at all.

A panda made of potato.

Potato Panda

Fwuffy Mash!

Hmmmm, Random. I must be sleepy....

But bath first, then it's Goodnight

Run - 5.1 miles

Not a lot today. Just right I guess after yesterday's long run.

What me listening to? The First Songs byLauraNyr0(1966).

Cant help but wonder how outstanding an debut album it would've been if Laura had held full executive power over the production. It is a great album nonetheless.

She didnt want the cheesy Spectoresque embellishments. The stock musical idioms imposed upon her songs by Bones Howe and co. But in those days, on the cusp of the 2nd wavers, female singer-songwriters didnt exactly have much contractual equality with big record companies like Columbia.

Still, the stripped down slow jazz songs Billy's Blues, Lazy Susan, and I Never Meant To Hurt You, stand out and stand the test of time. They have simple musical integrity.

Laura insisted on doing things her way for her future projects, her vision. She was able to do that with her 2nd album El1AndThirteenthC0nfession, and most accurately on her 3rd album NYT. My favorite album of all time.

Why am I writing this to nobody? Virtual nobody's. Oh well, why not. Cos its beautiful I guess. And we all need some beautiful in our lifes or we souldie do we not.

Nice sad bossa nova on radio by someone called Cassandra Wilson (no not that one!) doing Black Orpheus.

goodnight.

*big squeak*

Run - 15.0 miles
Ride - none

Couldnt post this lastnight. Internet connection was down.

No cycling yesterday, just a long run in the evening.

Run - 7 miles

No ride this evening, just a slightly longer run of around 7 miles. I'll measure it properly on Google Earth tommorrow.

Maurice Ravel, Le Tombeau De Couperin, tonight. Let's just say it fits the emotional and visual ambience.

Goodnight.

Ride 17 miles
Run 5.3 miles

Anyways, why "piano"?

Do you want the long explanation or the short? The long explanation is more accurate; romantic correlates of black and white piano keys and black branches fanning out against an occluded white sky.

Short explanation is kind of on the same wavelength; I was listening to the musoetry (I just made that word up there!) of pianist singer-songwriterLaAuraNyr0yesterday. Havent did so in a while. But she is my favorite choice of listening.

I was listening to two of her less well known albums, Smile, and Christmas & The B3adsOfSw3at.

No beads of sweat today. Just cold. 10c and strong wind.

Only last week I cycled in the warmth. Sunlit crystaline beads of sweat falling from my face, trickling down the inside of my leg. A rare reaction of nature upon lilywhite skin.

But this week, all gone. Back to Tights, baselayers, long sleeves, hat and gloves.

Goodnight.

Ride 21 miles
Run 4.5 miles

A low key affair today. Gentle gears. Gentle run. Just wasnt fully engaged.

However I did take in the steep hills when running.

It was cool today, but dry. 10c 50f. A day for long sleeves and tights.

Trees are beginning to show leaves. But many tree varieties remain bare.

goodnight

due to other matters i was unable to do any running or cycling today.

goodnight

Ride 33.3 miles
Run 5.3 miles

Today I cycled along the quieter unclassified road. Hence the longer distance.

However, my body needs at least a few miles of pounding the big gear. A thorough workout. I am only able to do that on the busy road.

Sunshine again today. But rain is forecast.

There is a derth of stylish female sportswear. Especially for runners.

Here's some things I am wearing now that the weather is pleasant.

After much googling I have found a few places that stock a decent selection of female attire. These stores and manufacturers tend to be based in the USA. (import duty!) But when needs must lol.

After many months wearing winter clothing, I am enjoying this opportunity to now wear nice things for running and cycling.

The purple paisley top is by Sheila Moon. It is a mesh top that renders the colors more subtle when worn.

I also have the matching deep purple arm warmers and socks.

The red floral jersey is by Pearl Izumi. I like the Chinese look of it, with the high colar, vibrant red, and floral print.

The ivory floral racerback is by Louis Garneau.. I think. I dunno. I purchased it at www.teamestrogen.com

The dark long sleeve jersey, Sakura, (of course!), which is Japanese for Cherry Blossom.

Sakura is also the name of a character in the Japanese anime franchise, Naruto.

The jersey is by Primal Wear. It's got that carefree anime and zen-like thing going on.

I guess we are drawn to things in life that express our personality. Whether it's clothing or whatever. In my case, if you put all these things of my personality together it would be an eclectic patchwork. Ok. Bizarre!

There are one or two other manufacturers who do nice female stuff such as, Terry, and, Shebeest.

When it comes to footwear, I wear New Balance W857 for running, and Sidi Genius 5.5 for cycling.

Someone recommended New Balance to me. I have been pleased with them. Still going strong 8 months and 1500 miles later. Spacious toe box. No slippage. Stable.

In 1991 I bought a pair of the original Sidi Genius, Mk 1. The first ever cycling shoe to have the now ubiquitous ratchet-click system.

When it comes to cycling shoes, Sidi are the alpha and the omega. Elegance, performance, durability. No garish patterns or velcro gimmickry. Just good solid understated black leather shoes. Well-made. Moulding snug to your foot.

But then Italians are known for their excellence in shoemaking and style.

Oh well. Goodnight.

12:52

Ride 23 miles
Run 5.3 miles

Hooray.. Warm enough today to wear a short sleeve jersey on my cycle ride.

Following this, I came home, and changed into a racerback thingy similar to what tennis players wear. But no skort, just tri-shorts.

It must seem like boring detail to blog the things I wear, however it is so rare to be able to wear so little clothing outside that I want to have record of it.

It's quite a liberation, just to cycle or run and feel the warmth of the sun. Not hot, just, nice. Free.... This is getting like a nudist-awareness pamphlet....

Anyways, I ran a little further today, taking in the two steepest hills in the area.

My usual daily route for running is hilly. But today's route was extra-hilly. I think we can say now that I have recovered 100% from that muscle injury.

Goodnight.

edit 1:04 11 may 2008

edit 12:36 051008

Ride 23 miles
Run 5.1 miles

I wore a short sleeved jersey for the first time this year when out running this evening.

On my late afternoon cycle ride I wore a long sleeve skin on underneath a short sleeve cycle jersey. One needs an extra layer for those easterly winds and fast descents.

Minimal interval between ride and run. Simply had a cup of tea, and a honey sandwich, then out running. I prefer condensing it like this.

Goodnight.

PS. I should get a profile pic.

Ride - 23 miles
Run - 5.1 miles

Warm enough for shorts today... Just!

I feel priveliged that i'm able to do all this. My motives and source of inspiration give me a positive spirit. Or at least help me rediscover my own.

Goodnight.

Ride - 23 miles
Run - 5.1 miles

Unusually nice day. Sunny 17c. But cold easterly wind persists.

No adverse effects from lastnights run, or from my overall increase in exercise.

Would prefer to run immediately after a ride rather than after an evening meal, for two reasons. a). To ensure maximum available lung capacity. b). To allow me the rest of the evening to do other things or just relax.

And I have been talking about a 3rd session.. ok.

Can I permit myself chocolate tonight? Suppertime! :cool:

Run - 9.5m

Inclement weather prevented me from cycling today. So I went running for longer instead.

Today's run is the longest distance i've did since recieving my muscle injury. Hopefully there will be no adverse effects. I feel fine at the moment.

I have taken to wearing compression clothing, such as tights by 2XU and Linebreak. They seem to aid recovery following exercise, and assist performance during it.

Of course, in the armoury of athletic preparation and the trusty first-aid box, this kinda gear isnt a panacea for all ills. Nevertheless, these garments seem to live up to the hype pretty well. Recommended.

edit 1:06 050508

Ride - 31.7m, R circ.
Run - 5.2m circ via v rd.

It's kinda funny, my return to cycling has been by accident. In fact, quite literally by accident.

You see, around the 20th of March I slipped on an icy road while out running. This caused some kind of muscular injury that really put paid to running for about a month, until late April.

I decided to put my old bike together and see if I was able to ride with the injury. I did so, and found that I could ride ok.

So, throughout April I cycled, as a substitute for running until my injury healed.

Gradually over the past week or two I have built up to my normal running distances and output level. Everything as normal.

As a result of the cycling going so well, I have decided to continue with it for the time being. Indeed I even invested in a pair of quality road shoes, and bog standard clipless pedals.

The bike isnt up to much. It's a mischmash that will do for now. Part mountain bike part road bike! I can make do with it for now until I see how things go. But good shoes and pedals I consider essential for effective cycling.

How so? Well instead of forcing the cranks by sheer brute force (as I did for a few weeks, and am still doing a bit), the shoes and pedals help me to work on improving my cadence.

Cadence is about pedaling revolution and stroke pattern. The speed you pedal, the size of the gear generated, and the way you angle shoes and pedals as you turn the cranks 360 degrees. Do you heel? Do you feather? How do you push and pull? Do you keep your knees in towards the bike frame? etc.

CHIVES AND CHOCOLATE!
Chives seem to give me an unpleasant burning sensation if I eat them prior to running. Onions seem to do this to me too.

I enjoy chives in meals, and in cheese sandwiches. But I think I will need to careful from now on of eating them.

Lastnight I ate chocolate for the first time since November. Only the 2nd time in a year. It was a bar of Cadburys Dairy Milk from a 5-pack.

Why? I was wasted yesterday after cycling and running. So I felt the need for this little indulgence.

Since adding a cycle ride my appetite has increased. I have begun to eat cereal, and notice an extra slice of toast is being consumed sometimes.

I dont eat chocolate, biscuits, cakes, or stuff like that. I am reluctant of acquiring the habit again, but I guess the increase in appetite is simply indicative of the increasing amount of exercise I am doing.

Bananas and honey have quite adequately satisfied my sweet tooth for the past year.

TODAY
Todays bicycle ride went well. The localised winds were a nuisance though. On the coast the wind is in the east. But travel inland and the switch to the south west. So it meant that for much of a circular route I was facing the wind.

It is always windy here. But at least it didnt rain today.

This evenings run was a bit weird. The last two miles I was in some kind of zone, stretching the strides and moving well. Yesterday I felt dead during my run. But today I felt strong, even into the wind.

Ok, suppertime.

Just thought I would open a public blog aimed at generating some shameless self-publicity! As if. lol.

Actually, the object of this blog is just to keep an account of my fitness, and perhaps offer a casual insight into who I am as a person and what I am about to those who may be interested to know.

However, many a victim have learned from painful experience the risks of entering detailed disclosure on the web concerning ones own life. Therefore, despite being an open person really, I inteed to avoid the pitfalls of divulging too much personal info to strangers.

I will alert some friends to the presence of this blog so they can follow it if they wish. However, this being a public blog means it can also be read by anonymous souls like you.. Whoever you are!

Anyways, as i've already said, Sakura blog is really just for my own reference.

Now to the fun stuff... My sporting interests consists of running and cycling. I also enjoy following tennis and have an interest in parkour (that's the jumping thing).

Although not from a sporting background, fitness and outdoor activities have played a significant part of my life, cycling especially.

However, without specifying why, I can say that over a 7 year period I experienced a loss of interest in cycling any any other physical exercise. This resulted in weight gain.

I am glad to say that I have made an effort to lose that weight and regain fitness over the past year. These efforts have been successful.

5 miles of running every day has been my fitness staple over the winter period. Combined with better eating habits. Indeed, an intelligent and disciplined regime has made me thinner than I ever have been in my adult life.

Although I used to cycle in the early 90's sometimes up to 1,400 miles a month, I would nevertheless ate an unhealthy diet, too high in fat and sugar. I dont eat that way anymore.

In addition to my daily running, I have reintroduced cycling over the past month. Typically i'm now riding 30 miles everyday.

This combination of running and cycling is a tough fitness regime, especially at first. Yet even so, I still intend to try increase my efforts even further, by adding a third session several days a week.

So, by mid May, I would like my daily itinery to look like this;

1). 3-5 mile running
2). 30 mile cycle ride

An interval of 2 or 3 hours for my evening meal and digestion.

3). Evening running session comprised of a few 50 metre sprint repetitions, and dashing 20 metres between trees. (3 days a week initially)

So then, these are my plans, this is my blog. Have a nice day!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Today.

Ride - 30 mile, H via Fbridge, localised & variable mostly N mod, showery H, 11c-13c,

Regular cadence upper 90's. Stroke leverage +2mm. Fore/Aft RH lean. Excess float LH plate. Headset locknut too tight. Washer or Spacer for hub Spindle or R Mech Hanger to use 11T.

RUN - 4.2 mile, circuit turn. Mod E 14c. No split.

edit 1252 050308