May 9, 2012
Posted by Mel
Last night Dave and I went to see Nick Lowe at La Zona Rosa here in Austin. I was mostly excited to see him because I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love the song Cruel To Be Kind. It was released in 1979, when I was 11. Those were my roller skating glory days when I spend every Saturday and Sunday afternoon at Willow Lake Skating Rink. I can only imagine that I took many laps around the...
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Apr 20, 2012
Posted by Mel
If you haven’t treated yourself to the app Zombies, Run! yet, don’t wait! Get it now; so much fun. And if you are running from zombs, I gotta tell you: Mission 9 is so so so good. The story takes an unexpected, poignant turn, and it’s brilliant. I felt sheer elation at the end of the mission when I finally ran through the gates to Abel. Naomi Alderman, the author of the story (and some...
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Mar 29, 2012
Posted by Mel
Focus one point and breathe.
This is a real conversation from Wednesday morning while I laced up my shoes to go run from zombies.
Me: I figured if nothing’s going to work to help me lose weight right now, I may as well do what’s fun.
Dave: That sentence works even better if you take off the first part.
Me: … [unable to think of a smartass reply because to some degree, he was right]
The...
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Mar 30, 2011
Posted by Mel
I’ve previously written about some of my favorite running songs, and I can still vividly remember what was playing on my iPod when I ran up the stairs (twice!) at Letna Park in Prague (“All These Things That I Have Done” by The Killers).
Gratuitous shot of Letna Park stairs leading to the Metronome.
Gratuitous shot of me, triumphant, under the Metronome.
There’s...
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Apr 25, 2009
Posted by Mel
When Weight Watchers rolled out their new Momentum plan, they did it with the help of a fuzzy orange monster named “Hungry.” He looks remarkably like Gossamer, Bugs Bunny’s nemesis in some of the Looney Tunes cartoons. See?
The timing is appropriate for me because in my imagination, my Monster looks like Gossamer — and he’s been following me around lately, whispering lies in...
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Mar 10, 2009
Posted by Mel
I tend to be pretty black-and-white, all-or-nothing… big surprise to all of you, right?!
But when I started accepting the gray — the idea that I wouldn’t always be perfect and that sometimes, a little can be just as good as a lot — a funny thing happened: I was more successful.
I still have a tendency to want to be perfect, bu I try to temper it with some TLC and reasonable...
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Mar 4, 2009
Posted by Mel
I like Matchbox 20 a reasonable amount, and I thought that Rob Thomas was really cute and sexy — and sounded great — when he collaborated with Santana on “Smooth.” When R. Thomas decided to take a break from his band for a solo stint, I was skeptical. His first single “Lonely No More” made me feel kinda… meh.
But this! This is a kickass running song. Dare you to...
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Dec 29, 2008
Posted by Mel
… although I’ve yet to run to it — I’ve just been wiggling around in my desk chair as I write.
I’ll be adding this to my running playlist before our 11-mile training run on New Year’s...
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Oct 24, 2008
Posted by Mel
I know my running playlist is probably creating the impression that I have terrible taste in music.
Maybe I do.
But I dare you to not enjoy the piano parts in this one.
Dave and I ran the 4.17 mile loop around the lake last night. The weather was perfect, the dogs were cute, and I was faster than usual. Faster than ever, really.
4.17 miles – 37:41 total – 9:02 per mile
Tomorrow morning is the...
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Sep 24, 2008
Posted by Mel
This is a pretty whack video — it’s actually scenes from Xanadu — but it combines some of my favorite things:
Gene Kelly (was anyone lighter on their feet than Mr. G. Kelly?!)
roller skating
ELO (over-the-top in just the right way)
This song is a lifesaver when my legs start feeling like lead… makes me think of dancing at the foot of the Eiffel Tower or skipping around Trafalgar...
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Sep 23, 2008
Posted by Mel
In three hours, I will be away from this desk and out of the air conditioning. I’ll have traded the concrete-and-carpet floors of my corporate overlords’ 12th floor corner for the gravel of the hike and bike trail. And the furrow on my brow will be smoothed out under my white running hat.
Looking forward to...
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