What a nice crappy day we had!

Gotta love the rain; especially when it's 40 degrees at the same time. I had planned a 5-mile tempo, and the rain sure as hell wasn't gonna stop me. Unfortunately, mixed with the wind, it was able to slow me down. I ran the Winfield course I just mapped out which is exact. My finishing time of 32:09 equated to a sub-par 6:25-6 per mile pace. But, it will suffice for now since my legs were still kinda dead from the 300's the other day. Mr. A asked me the other day if I was putting in too much mileage each week. I didn't laugh, but I felt like it. Afterall, I put in over 450 miles in the summer and my current mileage per week is a little over half of what I was doing base-training for cross.

As for life: it's good. After I got home I just kinda layed around because I was really tired. I still am tired. Although I've kinda forced myself to stay up. There were a few licks on bass I wanted to figure out (John Frusciante's new stuff), it was pretty easy to figure and fun to play. In my opinion, it's kinda sad that people know who Chad Kroeger of Nickelback is, but don't know John Frusciante. Kroeger has been on the cookie-cutter rock scene for what, 4-5 years? Whereas Frusciante started playing for the Chili's at age 19 and has accomplished a load in terms of helping the band. For example, Blood Sex Sugar Magik was the album which made RHCP what they are today. Throw in Californication and By the Way to get the complete Frusciante experience. What is truly magical about Frusciante is that he is a very unique guitarist. Instead of trying to imitate Page, Hendrix, or Cobain, like countless others try these days, he combines a little of everything to make a different sound. No complex riffs during the verse usually, just three simple chords that he knows will bring out the emotion he wants the listener to feel in the song. The guitar solos are absolutely breathtaking too, and no shredding (for the most part) is involved. I'd highly recommend watching Throw Away Your Television on the Chili Pepper's "Live at Slane Castle" DVD to get a lesson in Frusciante Guitar 101. On top of guitar, he has also turned into a very, very good vocalist. He does backup vocals for the Chili's, but you can hear him do lead on his solo albums (the new one is probably the best example of his talent). Frusciante credits his ability to create a number of layers in his music to his love for 50's and 60's doo-wop music. Many people have compared his new album to Brian Wilson's Pet Sounds. So maybe someday, just maybe, people will really listen to Frusciante, put down that Nickelback CD, and listen to something truly creative.