I've been attending a mid-week interval session at Hemlington lake with a mixed group of runners and it's been great for building up a bit of stamina and speed. There are a fair few working up towards marathons too but seem to be a few miles ahead of me (heading out for 13/14 miles today). My long run was an 8 miler for which I headed out to my dad's house and my childhood home. I only ever ran the loop once while I lived there but knew it was 8 miles pretty much to the metre. I wasn't sure if I had it in me to be honest, psychologically speaking more than anything. i had originally intended to head out later in the day to coincide with a meeting in the village I had planned but I got the itch in the morning and, strangely, through a post on newsreader Susanna Reid's twitter feed (@susannareid100), got motivated to get out a bit earlier. She can motivate middle-aged men to do almost anything I bet. A bit of a grim day outside and a vague chance of snow but sometimes these are the best conditions to get out in for long runs as they keep you cool. A hearty breakfast of eggs and muffins, a glass of odd-tasting tap water (that might come back to haunt me) and a sports drink for the run and I was set.
The run takes the form of an essentially square route out along country roads. A few dips and troughs but nothing too taxing. I trundled along at a steady pace, unsure if it was right. Had a few moments when I thought I'd maybe pushed too hard but managed to correct myself and avoid the train crossing being closed too (last time I ran I had to wait about half an hour mid run for the barrier to raise). I finished with a sustained, strong half mile which surprised me as I thought I was probably spent. Maybe it was the soundtrack...
SOUNDTRACK
Genius mix.
Having tried the shuffle a few times with varying results I set a genius playlist off starting with Prefab Sprout's "When Love Breaks Down". I'd been listening to their Steve McQueen album during the parkrun yesterday and was struck by the spacious production, subtle detail and mid-tempo songs. Nothing too "motivating" in terms of speed. Good for a prolonged run. The mix that genius spat out was great today, give or take one or two. It reminded me very much of what used to get played at The Kirk (The Kirklevington Country Club) in the mid 1980s. I also thought a lot about how most of this stuff came about from the post-punk scene which is excellently documented in Simon Reynolds book "Rip It Up and Start Again"
WHEN LOVE BREAKS DOWN - PREFAB SPROUT
OBLIVIOUS - AZTEC CAMERA
WOOD BEEZ (12" GREEN VERSION) - SCRITTI POLITTI - Didn't really get these at the time but this is great.
LOST WEEKEND - LLOYD COLE AND THE COMMOTIONS
LOVE ACTION - THE HUMAN LEAGUE
E=MC2 - BIG AUDIO DYNAMITE - I always remember Gary Davies playing this twice, back-to-back on the radio. I forgive him all other sins for that alone.
THE CUTTER - ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN
PROMISED YOU A MIRACLE - SIMPLE MINDS
RIP IT UP - ORANGE JUICE
SAME OLD SCENE - ROXY MUSIC
GOODBYE LUCILLE #1 - PREFAB SPROUT
PRETTIEST EYES - THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH
KISS ME - STEPHEN TIN TIN DUFFY - This song tries everything to be liked. Contrived key changes, "up-to-date" production. Brilliantly cynical.
STEP ON - HAPPY MONDAYS - slight surprise this one but I suppose they have more in common, in terms of influences with a lot of these bands than say, The Stone Roses.
LOVE SONG - SIMPLE MINDS - This brought me home in great style. Much maligned in later times but their early stuff is great.
The thing that stands out with almost all of these is the faultless production and arrangements. Many of the post-punk bands (I'm not saying all of these are/were post-punk) were genuinely breaking new ground in terms of arrangements and embracing new technology. The emergence of the club scene through disco, electro, early house etc gives a lot of this stuff a groove based appeal.
Next week 10 miles. I'm catching up Susanna!
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