I like running and singing, but not at the same time…
My Apple Music year end statistics came back recently and apparently Joy Oladokun is my number one listened to artist. That was not surprising really.
I was very happy to see Joy in concert a couple of months back in Chapel Hill, NC – at Cat’s Cradle. That was an amazing night. She is a top-class human in every way.
Here’s a cover of “Look Up” that I had a lot of fun making.
Spring is such a nice time of the year to be outdoors.
I’ve been trying to get some time on the trails recently as I have an in-person trail race coming up on April 10th — the Mountains-To-Sea Trail 12M Challenge. The race will take place on a 12 mile stretch of the Mountains To Sea (MST) trail in North Carolina.
This week I spent a hour or so down at Eno River state park and ran a short section of MST – not the same section the race will use, but it should be very similar terrain. I enjoyed throwing a little video together as well, to highlight this wonderful trail.
This one came together better than I expected. It’s a cover of an old Irish (with even older Scottish origins) folk song called “Wild Mountain Thyme”.
My guitar part was already tracked when I thought about trying to add something else. Then I found a D whistle hiding in a drawer. I can’t even remember why I have it, or where it came from, but I’ve held on to it for years. Maybe for this very moment. 😉
One problem though — I’d recorded the guitars in Eb.
Fortunately, D is only a half-step down, so no major impact vocally. I recorded the guitar parts again in D, one with capo and one without.
It took quite a few takes to get the whistle sounding how I liked it, but I love how it turned out, especially when I added a little bit of reverb.
I have a few more Irish songs planned now, and I hope they are all in D.
Disclaimer: I received free entry to Allscripts Tobacco Road Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!
My friends and I are training for the Tobacco Road Marathon on 17th March 2019. For many of us, it’s our first full marathon. This post will bring you up to date on events since my last update.
Well, things have not gone as planned. Let me start way back where I believe my problems began…
I predominately run in the same brand of shoes — for the last 2 years or so. I’ve never had an issue until recently, when a new order of two pairs arrived at my house. I opened one of the boxes, tied up the laces and away I went.
I know how these shoes feel when they’re new and these seemed to be lacking that cushion I was accustomed to. My feet were making slapping noises on the pavement.
They were the same shoes as I always wear. It must be all in my head, right?
I kept on running in them, thinking I would break them in soon. After one of my recent long runs my right ankle felt a little sore, like I’d rolled it a couple of times.
I ignored the pain and continued to run through another week. At that week’s end I had 18 miles planned, with the potential of a couple more if I felt good. I was a little nervous going into it because the twinge in my ankle kept nagging at me.
I should have listened to my body. It was one of my worst runs on this training cycle. By mile 9 I had all sorts of new pains in that leg and by mile 14 buzzards (I may have been hallucinating) were circling above, waiting for me to collapse. I deviated from the planned route and arrived home with 17 miles.
The next couple of days my calf muscle was tight and sore, and the more I thought how unusual this was, the more I started to link my shoes to it. I decided to write to the shoe company and tell them of my experience. They immediately agreed to allow me to exchange them — even with 100+ miles logged.
Before I decided whether to return one or both pairs. I opened the second pair from the same order to try them out. I managed a short 3 mile run mid-week, and in my head, this pair felt more like they should have.
So good news — I don’t have to change shoe brands so late in my training! But I wish I hadn’t waited so long to sort it out.
3 miles to try out the shoes was all I managed to run this week. I made the hard decision to not run this weekend and instead cross train on my bike. While it was fun to be still out there with my running buddies, I was wishing the whole time that I was running.
I cycled 6 miles on Friday and then 14 on Saturday. As well as trying to support the guys putting in the real work, I took the opportunity to record some video of everyone running on the Tobacco Trail.
Even in mid February, the Tobacco Trail is a lovely place to run. I keep looking at the new housing developments going up near the trail and thinking how nice and convenient it would be to live so close to it.
It’s not too late to sign up for the marathon!
Use code TRMRAVE19 to get $20 off.
I am hoping to get back out on my feet tomorrow for a short run and see how it goes from there. I am supposed to run 22 miles this coming weekend, but I’m not sure whether I just need to push that out a week and aim for the 14 I skipped this weekend.
The only (big) drawback with pushing out the 22 miler, is that weekend I’ll be in Ireland without my running crew to support me.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas weekend and enjoys some quality time with friends and family. Rest, rest and more rest. That’s my plan for the next week. Of course, a little running will be woven in here and there!
Here’s a wee video I recorded over six years ago now! How time flies! Enjoy!
Alastair Vance 