Tom King 5K report: another PR

But far from satisfied...

I wanted very badly to break 20:00 in Saturday's Tom King 5K but I failed. Damn it. ... by 6 seconds: 20:06

Oh yea, I have plenty of excuses... running in the pouring rain, lack of sleep, only a week of real serious training, stress that I had to play a concert that night and play host to people coming into town to stay with me. The real reason is - I was just too damn eager, I went out too freakin' fast - 5:47 first mile split... then... I died. I just did't have the conditioning to maintain that pace. I whimped out, couldn't cut it, couldn't take the pain. I ran the whole first mile with the lead group of about 10 runners, then got passed by 15 people to finish 25th overall out of about 450 runners, 4th in my age group out of 25. I have a seriously competitive age group 45-49. Mark Carver won the Masters overall in 17:49 and he's 49! Any of us top 5 would have won the next younger age group (40-44).

On the bright side, it was my sixth consecutive Personal Best 5K time, but only an improvement of 6 seconds, but better than going the other way. I also played a decent opening concert later that same evening at the TN Guitar Fest.

Tennessee Guitar Festival at MTSU, March 15-20, 2008

It's that time again where I work my tail off to host a great concert series of guitarists, the biggest festival of it's kind in the state.

The Tennessee Guitar Festival presents 5 consecutive evenings of FREE concerts at 8:00 pm 3/15 - 3 /19 in Hinton Music Hall in the Wright Music Building on the MTSU campus.

Come on by ! This year's festival kicks off on Sat. night with a set my me playing both guitar and lute, then guitarist/composer Roger Hudson performs solo guitar and Arabic oud, and with percussionist, David Pruett. The duo called, Bella Musiqa performs Mediterranean music. Roger has established himself as one of Nashville's finest oud players. Great stuff. David will play Middle Eastern percussion instruments: darbuka, tar, rain stick, finger cymbals.

Sunday night, Randy Reed will play Sor and Barrios, Valerie Harzell will play Tarrega and Villa-Lobos. Monday, duo Firenze will perform Viennese duos for period instruments - fortepiano and terz guitar.

Tuesday will bring Christopher Berg who'll play Barrios, Albeniz and Bach. Wednesday night's finale will present the two finest classical guitarist born in TN. Vanderbilt's John Johns, and young virtuoso Matt Palmer. That is a concert not to be missed. Palmer will freak you out! He is amazing and guaranteed unlike anyone you've heard. He'll close the concert with his trademark piece, the Mongolian Sonata by Stepan Rak ... a piece that will shatter any preconceived notions you might have about classical guitar.

Complete schedule with masterclass times. All events including the masterclasses are free and open to the public.

We play well and party long. The traditional flavor is Spanish. I cook a huge seafood paella with lemon garlic asparagus, sangria, and lots of olive, fruit, cheese, and mushroom appetizers with various bruschetta and tapinades.

It's going to be awesome. Party hardy, every night. Here's a photo from last year's paella.




The Tennessee Guitar Festival is made possible by support from the MTSU School of Music and by grants from the MTSU Instructional Development Committee, the Office of Sponsored Programs, the D'Addario Music Foundation, and the Arts Builds Communities Program of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. The Arts Builds Communities program is funded by the Tennessee General Assembly and administered in cooperation with the Tennessee Arts Commission and The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

Coach Page, my trainer from afar

He talks about workout types in terms like: cp/power, anaerobic capacity, aerobic capacity, anaerobic threshold, lactate threshold, aerobic, etc... Joe Page is an experienced endurance athlete, cyclist, skater, etc... like me, into fitness, health, diet and athletic performance... but far more consistently over the years than I. (Pictured at left with his roller skis. He can keep a 6 min mile pace on those things no problem). We played football in Jr. High, he went on to be a football standout, I hurt my shoulders and went into sprinting and guitar playing. He's a successful chemical engineer and me, a music professor with doctorate. Not too bad for a couple of teens that were 'wasted' most days in high school.

I was following his workout advice... more or less, and after running several hard interval workouts in Jan, he suggested I should run the Zoo Run 5K. He predicted I would smash my personal record... I decided at the last minute to do it and he was totally right, I did - by more than 2 minutes: 20:12, winning my age group and placing 3rd in the Masters overall.

After an injury plagued attempt to try and sprint race again, I thought I might try to run the Tom King 5K, (3/15/08) ... even though my distance training has been lacking. Joe prescribed a week's workout to prepare for Sat. (As if I have nothing better to do, right?) Friday and Sat I did two hard workouts back to back that left me sore for 2 days. After the prescribed 2 day rest, I did his prescribed workout today which I think he called "lactate threshold:"

8 miles in 58:08 ... 7:16 avg. per mile (6:59, 7:08, 7:18, 7:21, 7:21, 7:22, 7:37, 6:59)

None of it felt like 'race pace' ... about 80% effort except I pushed pretty hard on the last mile. It leads me to believe that if I did someday run a half marathon, my race pace would be in the 7:10 - 7:15 range. I doubt I'd ever put myself through that torture and physical wear n' tear, 5K is painful enough.

I feel a great deal of pressure to better my personal record if I run Sat. Being a total 5K newbie, I have never run a 5K race where I did not improve (my first was 12/1/07). I've had 5 consecutive personal records in 5 races. If I decide to go through with it, it looks to be a flat and fast 5K course, so, the competitive streak in me will be deeply disappointed if I don't run in the 19's for the first time. My weight is good, 139.6 after the workout. The lighter the better for these types of races. If I don't get a PR, I'll blame it on Joe.

What is really crazy is that I play the opening concert in the TN Guitar Festival that same night. Yikes! Time to break out some new guitar strings... and the world lightest racing flats :

Bill's excellent adventure that wasn't

This was it. After weeks of training I was finally ready to run my first indoor sprint race at the Mason Dixon Games in Louisville, KY at Broadbent Arena on Friday evening 3/7/08. Concerned that the meet would be cancelled due to weather, I went right to the top. I emailed Frank Miklavcic, the Executive Director of the KY Track and Cross Country Association and asked if there was any possibility at all that the meet would be cancelled due to weather. It had never before been cancelled in 47 years.



Here was my exact question and his exact response for posterity:


ME: Any chance the Friday evening events of Mason Dixon Games will be cancelled due to the weather? Thanks.

Frank Miklavcic: "no, we plan on holding the meet regardless."

So, I drove 200 miles to Louisville to be told at the gate the Mason-Dixon Games were CANCELLED. This meet was my last chance to run my specialty race, the indoor 55m and I also planned to run the 400m. Normally I wouldn't think of driving 200 miles each way to race, but this was my last chance to get a national indoor ranking. If I did really well, I would've entertained the thought of going to the Masters Nationals in Boston. Not now.

[UPDATE II: Check the comments, I wasn't the only one to get misinformed. The commenter claims he/she received information on the morning of the track meet that it was still on and would be held. They also drove 200 miles each way.

They could have submitted a cancellation notice on KY public radio, but no. I listened to it all the way up and heard nothing of any cancellation].

The Mason-Dixon Games were sold as an opportunity to "RUN ON THE SAME BOARDS THAT WILMA RUDOLPH, BILLY OLSON, RENALDO NEHEMIAH, RALPH BOSTON, STEVE SCOTT COMPETED ON."

A rare vintage indoor wooden track with banked curves. I saw it in pieces by the loading dock.

Being a shorter guy, 5'7", I could run those tight indoor curves like a maniac. I remember in HS, we had a championship 4x200 relay team. In the state meet, I ran lead off leg of the relay against the eventual 60m state champion. I'll never forget it, his name was Jerry Blow from Nyack, the fastest sprinter on an all black relay team, the fastest HS guy in the state of NY. To the utter surprise of everyone south of White Plains, I smoked him on those curves and handed my teammate the baton and the lead (... he then got us disqualified in the next handoff due to a lane violation).

Anyway, I had put my distance (5k) training on hold and was taking significant time off to recover from the aches and pains of sprinting and sprint training. Naturally, I was really really upset by this misadventure, so when I came home, I punished myself. I went out into the dark freezing rain and wind and ran my ass off. It was the first hard distance I've done in a while. I felt a slight wheezing in the maximum part of my lung space. I'm not in top aerobic shape.

These times, although not very impressive, were hard fought and painful.
This was my "painful freezing punishment work out" (which, as you can see, I started over zealously) :

3 mile run
20:49 - (6:08, 7:28, 7:12)

10 min rest

2 mile run
13:49 - (6:43, 7:05)

Next time I do this workout, it will be faster. Especially the 2nd and 3rd miles.

I sit here looking at my new sprint shoes, the new sharp pyramid spikes gleaming in the light, specifically purchased to run on that wood track but never used. The feeling of blasting out of the blocks and tearing up those corners will have to wait til next season. Who knows, the 100m is not a great race for me but maybe I could do the gut wrenching 400m? Meanwhile, I will continue to punish myself with painful speed work and fast distance. I'm so much more built for power and quickness. I'm really not a distance runner. I can't compete with those long legged tall big chested guys who seem to be made for the sport. But I'll keep trying.

Sprinting is so much fun. It's such a rush. I fucking hate distance running ... it's so painful... I hate it, I hate it, I hate it... But I hope I never quit.

UPDATE:
I emailed both Frank Miklavcic and the Mason-Dixon Athletic Club President, Kenny Morton ... as of yet - no response.

Today was better. 3 mile run in 20:14 - 6 min rest - then a 6:41 mile. The last mile felt easy.

MTSU Guitar students perform live on Nashville Public Radio - Tequila Flamenco

Silviu Ciulei, B.J. Golden and the Flamenco band Tequila performed the second half of an all MTSU "Live in Studio C" Tuesday morning 3/4/08 on Nashville Public Radio, WPLN FM 90.3.

MTSU Faculty string trio played the first half: Xiao Fan Zhang - cello, Sara Cote - viola, and Andrea Dawson - violin.

Have a listen to Silviu Ciulei - Nashville area's only 'real deal' Flamenco guitarist and singer perform with his band. Sound files will be available for listening to this specific live performance through 3/10/08 at the WPLN web site. Tequila starts at around 29:00 into the recording.

In case you miss it, here's some YouTube clips of the band, and of Silviu playing solo. Also, check out the clips on Tequila's myspace page. The rhythm is in their blood.

Groovin' on a Sunday afternoon

Sometimes, when I get to a relaxing spot with a view, I put my feet up on the handlebars, lay back down on the seat and just listen to sounds of nature. Often I fall asleep. I need to do this every now and then.

The grass looks so green for late winter.

It was 70+ degrees today in Middle TN this Sunday, March 2, '08. Since it's actually still winter, when it gets this warm, we know storms are coming tomorrow. That's OK. Storms are cool. I have to practice guitar and it's great to do on a rainy day.

Sprint training: practicing starts with resistance

Practicing starts with resistance.
Here, I'm blasting out of the blocks wearing a harness attached to a 30 lb weight. Practicing starts dragging weight is good to promote forward lean and high knee action.

Work outs and racing

It's been a good week for workouts and I'm looking forward to finally racing next Friday in the 48th Annual Mason-Dixon Games Masters and Open Indoor Championships in Louisville, KY at Broadbent Arena.

A variety of workouts this week: weights, plyometrics, some fast distance (20:18 three mile - 85% effort). Five - half mile intervals at between 2:44 and 3:11 with 3 min rest in between finishing with a 65 sec quarter after 7 min rest, and some wicked hill sprint repeats. These hills were a steep 300 meter uphill sprint that I ran on my toes at 400m sprint pace. After 10 repeats, I was wiped, and my ass hurt for the next 2 days.

Running in sprint stride on the balls of the feet is a completely different thing from running distance pace. Different muscles are working and the stride length is way longer while the foot contact with the ground is way shorter, more like jumping or bounding. A lot of technique study and refinement is necessary. Running a 400m completely on the balls of the feet in sprint stride is hard work. My goal for my first indoor 400m race is to break 58. It'll be easier to go faster outdoors. In the 55m, I'd love to break 7. That is, if I'm healthy enough.

I've been doing starts from the blocks with a resistance harness, dragging a weight along the ground behind. It's a great for developing power and high knee action at the start. I can't wait to take it to the track and do it with spikes. I'm almost ready, but not quite. I did several speed ups to full out sprint speed tonight but didn't want to go more than about 30 or 40 meters full blast. Still a little tentative that I'll reinjure myself so I'm taking it very cautious. I'll probably do a very light week, take a day or 2 off to make sure I'm healed, and hopefully be ready for some time trials full out on the track on Wed.

They'll probably do the Masters events in intervals of 10 years, so I'll probably be competing against last years winner who is 41 and was ranked 4th in the nation last year in the 100m 40-44. Some of these guys travel to meets all year, even to Europe. Willie Gault is my exact age (47) and he set the 100m world record for my age group in 2006: 10.88. Amazing.

On the Masters Track site, I was reading workout advice from a successful sprinter, Courtland Gray, World Gold Medalist in the 100m (55-59). He said:

You have to practice running fast. It is impossible to achieve your meet potential practicing mostly intervals and slow runs.

Also, a key to workout efficiency is less recovery time between reps and sets -- just like in the gym. ... Practicing at "50-75% speed" with periodic tests at 90% won’t get it for me. I tried that. Then again, he [the person suggesting this approach] runs track events from 100m to 5Ks. Not something many of us do seriously. A serious runner should decide if he/she is a sprinter or distance runner. A serious sprinter should know he/she needs to work much harder.

I have to disagree in part. If one wants to compete as a sprinter and still do 5Ks, why not? However, I do think it's easier to be a "sprinter/runner" than a "runner/sprinter" ... if you know what I mean. I think it would be dangerous for me to try and run a 100% all out 100m every workout. I look forward to the day I can sprint everyday 100% with confidence, like I did as a kid. I'm not there quite yet. Maybe by the outdoor season. It feels really good to sprint when everything is working right, it's like flying along and barely touching the ground.

The car I've been waiting for: 150 MPG

I've been keeping the old Honda Civic until the next level of affordable technology comes along. And here it is:

The German made Loremo.


I knew a car like this would be possible. Leave it to German engineering to make it a reality. It is scheduled for production next year.

It looks better and is even more efficient than the Smart Car, already common in Europe and now available in the US.

There are 2 Loremo models: the LS and the more powerful GT. They look exactly alike. Both have A/C, airbags, on board navigation system, radio, and mp3 player. The GT gets around 95 mpg with a top speed of 124 mph out of it's 50 hp, 3 cylinder turbo diesel. These cars are also designed to perform well in crash tests. The LS model has significantly less horse power (20 hp) from it's 2 cylinder turbo diesel but still manages a top speed of 100 mph and gets an astonishing 150 mpg. The LS model is at $15000 Euro ($22,228) and the GT at $20,000 Euro ($29, 600). [The dollar sure is taking a beating these days!].

The Loremo is expected to compete for the Automotive X-Prize. The competition requires significant energy and emissions goals most importantly, fuel economy with at least 100 mpg or its equivalent. (The guidelines are replacing the outdated MPG with this new standard, MPGe, which takes into account energy equivalents, no matter what the energy source).

US car makers are reportedly ignoring the X-Prize competition.

The old Honda I've had for 14 yrs has served me well with nearly 200,000 miles and rarely any mechanical issues. I bought it used for $4800 in 1994 and it runs perfectly, everything works. I've never bought a new car, and likely never will .... unless a Loremo dealer comes anywhere close. I would hope to see American research and development going toward similar vehicles (but it seems America has other expensive priorities at this time).

Anyone who has spent time in Europe knows how small their cars are in comparison. In Paris, I noted how many people commuted in the city on foot and by scooter. Even the finely dressed women would drive their BMW C-1 scooters that have a roof, windshield wipers and a rain curtain.

For simple commuting, it would be great to see this culture in America, it would help the economy, the environment, the cost of living and our dependence on foreign oil.

However, for specialized tasks, like towing and off roading, there is "no replacement for displacement".. as they say. Hopefully, American engineering can make more efficient heavy duty trucks, cause I need one. My Ford Expedition sure is an improvement over the old Bronco.

Actually, I already have a 90 MPG vehicle I often drive to work. Parking is no problem and it can go just about anywhere. It's one of a kind!

H/T: Glenn, Hobbs

A study in tornado damage at Wynnewood, TN

Since I live in a log home, I've often wondered how it would fare in a direct hit by a tornado.

Here is a good study of what might happen. Wynnewood is the same style log house as mine - squared cedar logs with dovetail joints from the same era. The caretakers were in the house during the storm and survived without injury.

This was a direct hit that occured during the Feb 5, '08 tornado outbreak. Notice the mature cedar tree that was ripped away. As you can see, the roof and half of the second story were taken, but all of the first story walls remained intact. (the lower pic shows more of the house. Use the breezeway and stairs as a reference for comparison. The second story from the breezeway and left is gone)

This great loss of a piece of TN history I hope will eventually be restored. Wynnewood is in Castalian Springs and is on the register of National Historic Landmarks. It was built in 1828 and is the largest log structure in Tennessee. It stretches 142 feet in length. It was a stage coach inn on the Nashville-Knoxville Road. It is owned by the state of Tennessee and operated as a museum.

I think the old log house did ok considering neighboring houses were flattened and 8 people were killed in Castalian Springs. It kept the inhabitants safe and wasn't flattened. I assume this old cabin is like mine with concrete chinking. Not as tight as the modern synthetic permachink, but probably more structurally stout. That is what may have saved some of those walls. Of course my log house is only 3500' sq ft - not nearly as large as Wynnewood.

This tornado was the single deadliest tornado to strike Middle Tennessee in over 75 years. The National Weather Service confirmed that the 22 deaths were caused by this tornado, which was rated as an EF3. The tornado path was 51 miles long and up to 0.75 mile wide. It passed about 40 miles north of where I live.

Story here.

Eclipse

All you create
All you destroy
All that you do
All that you say.

All that you eat
And everyone you meet
All that you slight
And everyone you fight.

All that is now
All that is gone
All thats to come
And everything under the sun is in tune
But the sun is eclipsed by the moon.

-- Pink Floyd, Eclipse
from the epic album,
Dark Side of the Moon

This photo, although not exceptionally sharp, was the best I could do with a pocket camera, a Canon SD 900. It was really great to watch this eclipse from my room with a glass ceiling, sitting by a warm fire.

World class 400 meter runner with no legs barred from Olympics

A new runner burst on the scene a few years ago. Oscar Pistorius was born without legs but was fitted with prosthetic legs to run. And holy shit, can he run ... like 46.56 in the 400 meters. Not bad for a beginning runner... with no legs.

Oscar is 22, and known as "the Blade Runner." He ran his first major race in 2004. Maybe he has been too successful. After monitoring his track performances using high-definition cameras and analyzing the information, scientists determined that Pistorius enjoyed considerable advantages over athletes without prosthetic limbs. On the strength of these findings, on 1/14/08 the IAAF ruled him ineligible for competitions conducted under its rules, including the 2008 Summer Olympics.

The IAAF amended its competition rules to ban the use of "any technical device that incorporates springs, wheels or any other element that provides a user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device". It claimed that the amendment was not specifically aimed at Pistorius. (right)

Watch this video of his 400 meter race in Rome. He is in the outside lane and crosses the finish in second place. Watch his acceleration in last 100 meters. It is quite remarkable. I don't know what to think. He goes from last place to second place in the last 70 meters in a tremendous burst of speed.

I seem to remember the NFL record for longest field goal (63 yds) was held soley for 28 years by Tom Dempsey who was born without toes and used an unusual prosthetic shoe on his kicking foot. (The record was tied in 1998 by Jason Elam). As a reaction, the NFL imposed a new rule: "any shoe that is worn by a player with an artificial limb on his kicking leg must have a kicking surface that conforms to that of a normal kicking shoe."

Oscar Pistorius claims new evidence in his case and is fighting the ban. His claim is based on a fellow sprinters performance. SA sprinter, Joseph van der Linde, is more than a second slower over 100m with an artificial leg than he had been before he lost a leg in an accident.

Pistorius has launched an appeal and is setting his sights for the 2012 London Olympics. I say let him compete. He's fast, but there are many faster guys. It's not like he's threatening Michael Johnson's world record of 43.18. But what if he does someday? If he runs any faster, it's not going to help his case!

With news like this, I'm proud I've not eaten beef in 18 yrs

America's largest beef recall in history.

NYT:
"A California meat company on Sunday issued the largest beef recall in history, 143 million pounds, some of which was used in school lunch programs, Department of Agriculture officials announced."

Reasons not to eat beef:

1. Beef products, which are loaded with artery-clogging cholesterol and saturated fat. Some fats are good, but NOT beef fat. Fat from any land animal is the wrong kind of fat. By contrast, fat from fish is high in Omega-3 fatty acids, recognized as good for vascular health and is recommended by the American Heart Assoc.
   
2. Virtually all commercial beef has bovine growth hormone in it. Reports have found extremely high levels of estradiol, “a potent cancer-causing and gene-damaging estrogen,” in US meat products (i.e. milk, burgers). For this reason, American milk and beef are banned in Europe.
3. Genetically engineered meat will become more prevalent now that the FDA has lifted the ban on cloned meat. Long term consequences of consuming genetically engineered meat is uncertain and may pose health risks.
4. Factory farms are huge polluters. They produce a staggering amount of feces that pollutes both the water and the air. Numerous studies and governmental reports have shown higher rates of health problems among people who live near factory farms. Farmed animals produce about 130 times as much excrement as the entire human population of the United States.
   
5. Mad cow disease is already in the United States, and the U.S. government is not following World Health Organization recommendations for ensuring that it doesn’t spread. Because it takes 10 years for the disease to show up in humans, there’s no way of knowing how many Americans have already been infected.
   
6. Beef production is inefficient. It takes up to 16 pounds of grain to produce just 1 pound of edible animal flesh. Growing all the crops to feed farmed animals requires massive amounts of water and land—in fact, nearly half of the water and 80 percent of the agricultural land in the United States are used to raise animals for food.
   
7. The environmental impacts include: rainforest destruction in Central and South America caused by the felling of forests in order to rear cattle for the hamburger trade or to grow soya for animal feed, and desertification from overgrazing in parts of Africa. Also, 10% of greenhouse gases come from livestock.

Personally, I don't drink cow's milk or eat cheese, but on the rare occasion I use butter, it's organic and hormone free. That's the way to go. I'm sure eating yogurt or ice cream once a month isn't going to kill me, but there are excellent substitutes. Organic soy milk, ice cream and yogurt are awesome!

Painful speed work begins again

My neighborhhood is perfect for doing speed work. No traffic, and my block is exactly 1/2 mile.

So, after a week off, I've been doing resistance work, quads, abs, hams, etc... and distance. Today, since I don't work, I got back to speed work, running half mile repeats. My times were slower than usual. I gained a pound or 2 during the week off.

I promise not to be a "runner nerd blogger" and post my daily workouts, but here was my first in a while:

• dynamic stretching, half mile warmup

• half mile in 2:44 (90% effort)
  
• 3 min rest
  

• half mile in 3:06 (5 k race speed+)
• 3 min rest
  

• half mile in 3:07 (5 k race speed+)
  
• 3 min rest
  

• half mile in 3:10 (5 k race speed+)
  
• 6 min rest
  

• quarter mile in 1:04 (90% effort)

I'll probably do some stretching and plyometrics later. I really like Tom Green's regime. I'm focused on racing in the 55m and 400m dash at the Mason Dixon Games in Louisville on 3/7 and possibly running the Tom King 5K on Sat 3/15, even though I play the opening concert in the Tennessee Guitar Festival that same night. The Tom King 5k looks like a fast course. If so, I hope to get into the teens.

I don't want to get too greedy and try 100% sprinting for at least 12-14 days. I hope to do some timed sprints with blocks and spikes after 3/1 for reference. I just need to find someone to operate the stop watch.

TN snow on the homestead

Rain changed to snow last night and gave the homestead a little dusting. Snow showers continue today 2/13/08 in Murfreesboro. Nice to see once in a while.

True to southern tradition, all area schools were closed due to this half inch snow.

Nashville Symphony recording wins three Grammys

Hey friends in LA, NY, Boston.... you think you got a market on culture? Well, the Nashville Symphony just beat out the Boston Symphony, the LA Phil, and Atlanta Symphony to win the Grammys for Best Classical Album, and Best Orchestral Performance. (The NY Phil wasn't even nominated, heh).

The Album -Tower: Made in America also won Joan Tower a third Grammy for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. story

It was also gratifying to see the great jazz pianist Herbie Hancock win Album of the Year amid all the rap crap and country you usually see winning such awards. Refreshing indeed!

Also, friend and former MTSU staffer, Bruce Nemerov from Murfreesboro won a Grammy for Best Album Notes category for the album: John Work III: Recording Black Culture.

Also of note, Barack Obama won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album: The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream - it is his second Grammy.

Grammys... no big deal. My neighbor down the street has a cut on a Grammy winning album and my office neighbor at MTSU has 10 of 'em.

On official State business - playing guitar concerts

It sure is great to have a state car and credit card when having to drive 700+ miles to play concerts. Another perk of being under the 'state umbrella'.

My guitar and lute concerts at MTSU, Austin Peay State, and Mississippi State went well. It was great to teach Dr. Michael Patilla's students in a masterclass last Friday at Mississippi State. I'm looking forward to my last concert of this stint on Tuesday night 2/12 at Martin Methodist College, deep in the heart of TN ... Pulaski.

I'm also looking forward to getting my slight leg strains healed so I can start training again and maybe run in at least 1 track meet before the indoor season is over. It feels so weird to go more than a few days without running. It was devastating to have to withdraw from 2 track meets with injuries. I was so looking forward to sprinting last Sat but had to scratch because of a right hip strain. I went to the meet anyway and watched the 55 meter dash. It would have been great fun if I was healthy, I would have stuck out like a sore thumb. I would have been the only sprinter in the entire event of 4 heats that wasn't "a brotha" ... if ya get what I mean. My last opportunity may be to run in the Mason-Dixon games in Louisville, on 3/7. I just can't wait to get 100% and get in the weight room. I'm convinced my salvation will be high rep resistance work, especially with my quads, and a lot of stretching. But first, I must force myself to rest a minimum of one week. That could be the hardest task of all.

Hook echo - Tornado Vortex Signature (TVS)

UPDATE II:
Conditions are changing rapidly, info below is no longer current!
Stay tuned to NOAA weather radio for warnings.


Hook echo of confirmed tornado near Jackson, TN. 6:50 PM, 2/5/08
(click to enlarge)



Source:
Memphis Radar
Storm Relative Velocity 1

Viewed on my GrLevel3 Weather Software program.

The tornado vortex signature is showing up beautifully on this image.

UPDATE 7:08 PM - 2/05/08:
AT 704 PM CST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR AND STORM
SPOTTERS WERE TRACKING A LARGE AND EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TORNADO.

Oh baby!

FINAL UPDATE: This was the storm that devastated Jackson, TN and Union University

UPDATED: SPC - good chance of severe weather in Mid TN: 2/5/08

UPDATED:
The Storm Prediction Center is forecasting a major severe weather outbreak today and/or tonight.

The convective outlook from the Storm Prediction Center has issued this map showing a moderate/high risk for severe weather in TN on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008. It appears the greatest threat for Mid TN will be after dark.

Rarely does the SPC issue a "High Risk" categorization as they have done today. AR and West TN are particularly at risk.

From the SPC, this ominous commentary:

OVERALL SYNOPTIC SETUP WILL BECOME QUITE FAVORABLE FOR AN OUTBREAK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND TORNADOES...INCLUDING LONG-LIVED TORNADIC SUPERCELLS

TORNADIC SUPERCELLS ARE LIKELY BOTH WITH THE SEVERE STORMS AHEAD OF SURFACE LOW/NEAR FRONTAL ZONE AND WITH ANY WARM SECTOR DEVELOPMENT. LONG LIVED SUPERCELLS WILL HAVE POTENTIAL FOR STRONG TORNADOES OVER MUCH OF THE MDT RISK AREA THRU THE EVENING HOURS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THRU TUE NIGHT AND EVOLVE MORE INTO A SQUALL LINE WITH ENHANCED WIND DAMAGE POTENTIAL. HOWEVER TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE WELL AFTER DARK PARTICULARLY IN AREA WHERE HIGHER CAPES ARE AVAILABLE FROM TN SWD.

I sent this to my brother, also a lover of extreme weather. He responded, "Must be nice."

Blasting out of the blocks

Update: 2/9/08 -
Unfortunately, after last night's workout, it's my right hip this time that will keep me from racing today. Since there are other opportunities to run this season, I'd better not race today since it is slightly painful to walk. Damn, I thought I was ready. Anyway, played a few concerts on the road and they went well: Austin Peay and Mississippi State.
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Today was a milestone. Yeah, I played a decent concert last night, but what has really got me enthused is that today, I tried out my new sprint shoes on the MTSU track. Wow. What an awesome feeling. These Adidas Demolisher 2's felt great. I did a dozen or so full speed starts. I am 100%, no pain, no muscle strain whatsoever! Today was the first day I've been 100% healthy and able to sprint full blast. The quad resistance work I had been doing has paid off. I'm really pleased with these new shoes (see below). I wear a size 7.5 training shoe (Saucony Pro Grids), size 7 racing flat (Adidas Adizero PR), but with these Demolisher 2's, I wear in a size 6.5. They are worn without socks and fit like a second skin. Very snug.

As a sprinter, I feel I may have a muscle imbalance as my hams are much stronger than my quads. I think doing speed work for distance running - running fast quarters and halves doesn't develop the quad strength and power required for sprinting. Running steep hills, resistance work and plyometrics are essential for sprinting - the 'drag racing' of competitive running. It'll be interesting to see if sprint and distance training will compliment each other. I'm inclined to think so.

I just love sprinting, it is so much less painful than those 5K races I've been running. I'm also extremely light, the past few days I've weighed under 140 lbs for the first time in possibly 30 yrs, and I feel great. Fast. A 47 yr old sprinter, how weird is that? No wait, a classical concert soloist who is also a 47 yr old sprinter ... now that's truly weird.

Looking forward to getting a few concerts out of the way and seeing what I can do in the 55 meter dash next weekend in the MT Valentine Invitational. It'll be a new beginning for me, a starting and reference point as a new masters sprinter.