Mustn't Grumble

No running or cycling for me today. My oldest son Simon has a fever.

Add to that the fact that the family caught an intestinal parasite from the twins' school.

I will spare you the details.

We have all been dosed with medicine to rid us of the varmints. Apparently we have to do daily laundry for the next two weeks to combat the re-emergence.

Well, that explains why I have felt so awful the past week!

Add to that the heat and the three, yes three E3 busses that merrily drove past all of us waiting at the bus stop this morning (no explanation there) and I am a grumbly Guss.

I am taking to heart the phrase Mustn't Grumble.

Run Yank Run 007: Urban Cycling

Back recording in the Great Outdoors. In this episode I drop my oldest off at school and then hit the road with my recently modified Dahon foldy bike. I did some work on it - removed the heavy rear rack and reduced the height of the handlebar stem. Had a great ride into work on this lovely summer day!

This episode I try out recording while cycling to work and I think with mixed results, to be honest. There is a LOT of road noise.

I did my best to filter out the worst bits and tried some compression, etc, but it's pretty noisy.

If anyone has any suggestions on how best to minimize noise in the first place and how to minimize it during editing I'd love to hear from you!

Felt ill this weekend so took a break from running (my kids had all gotten a bug the week prior and I guess it was my turn). Will be nice to strap on the shoes again tomorrow.

Cheers!

Music from the Podsafe Music Network

Featured Song:

"Push The Pedal" by Steve McLoed

Intro/Outro:

"You Start It" by The Monikers

Download Episode 7

Run Yank Run 006: Try Again

So, good news and bad news: the good news is my injury has healed well and this morning I enjoyed my first run in over a week. The bad news is I recorded about 30 minutes of good material during the run - and it didn't record. Nothing. Nada.

So this episode got re-recorded after the fact. On the plus side there's no road noise or panting out-of-breath gasping speech, but recording without running is harder for me than I thought it would be. Sitting there talking along to a computer apparently doesn't come that naturally to me.

Anyway...

Last week we had a good visit with our last houseguests - Monique and Dan from the US spent the week seeing the sights and hanging out with us. It was nice to see them!

Next up will be us as houseguests when we go back to the States in about a month and a half.

Got my race packet for the London 10K yesterday - and it had the t-shirt in it! Usually they give you the shirt after race.

This podcast is now listed on runningpodcasts.org!

Click here for a list of all the running podcasts.

I have been subscribing to more and more fitness and running podcasts and here are three that I mention in my podcast:

Fifty Counting Down - Lybbe's podcast about Veganism, weight loss, and fitness

Kelownagurl Tris Podcast - triathlon and general fitness -- very well produced

Run Digger Run - runner, retired Marine helicopter pilot, boater

Also, I found a free ab workout video on YouTube as it appears I MUST do ab work. No doubt about it.

Music from the Podsafe Music Network

Featured Song:

"Safari- Travelling" by Mpemba Effect

Intro/Outro:

"You Start It" by The Monikers

Download Episode 6

No Running This Week

Well it's official, I injured myself by running too far with too much frequency.

So I am taking this week off of running, which is okay since I'm slammed at work and wouldn't have the motivation or time to really run anyway.

I wouldn't really call my injury a shin splint since I caught it pretty early, but the ligaments/what-have-you on the inside of my right lower leg are definitely inflamed to the point it hurts even when I'm not running. So running wouldn't be the smartest idea (if even possible).

I had planned to cycle home from work last night, but it turned into a late one and I just ran out of energy.

Run Yank Run 005: Tube Strike

There was a two day strike of the London Underground which shut down pretty much all the subway trains in the city, forcing people to drive, cycle, bus, or run their commute. I discuss what it was like to run and cycle in that (crowded!).

My wife's weekend in Paris was a success and she had a fantastic time with her friend and it was good for her to decompress and get a change or scenery.

I also talk about our upcoming trip back to the US for our annual family visit. It's already in the 90's Fahrenheit in Atlanta - that's gonna be a shock coming from 60's and 70's here in the UK.

At the end of this podcast I try to get some decent pace during a tempo run only to have my run cut short by sharp pains in my lower right leg. At first I thought it was from running on a slope too long, but now I'm sure I upped my mileage and frequency too fast and have the first stage of shin splints. I tried to run on Saturday and ended up limping. Argh. Getting old ain't what it used to be!

I'll be taking the week off from running to recover and heal, and I think it's back to the run/train hybrid commute with half the mileage.

Well, setbacks are part of the process, right? I just have to be patient and let time do it's thing.

Music from the Podsafe Music Network

Featured Song:

"Legend of 369" by Lords of the Highway

"Hot Foot" by Boo Boo Davis

Intro/Outro:

"You Start It" by The Monikers

Download Episode 5

Run Yank Run 004: The Bridges

This episode finds me running The Bridges in west London on a rainy, chilly Friday. I'm Mr Mom this weekend while my wife is away for a girls' weekend in Paris and today I'm working from home and grabbing a lunchtime run.

In this episode I discuss the possibility of us getting a car, taxes again (I know!), iPhones, the LoseIt app, and generally prattle on.

Music from the Podsafe Music Network

Featured Song:

"Black Galactic Taxicab" by Alex Brumel

Intro/Outro:

"You Start It" by The Monikers

Download Episode 4