Billy's Boots...

Albert Park 5km - 25.20mins

I half-remember there being a comic strip in The Beano or Dandy called Billy's Boots about a footballer who had some magic boots but they didn't work very well in the rain (high concept stuff). Felt a bit like this might happen today. An early, frosty downpour threatened to scupper my plans for getting out every other day but passed and I headed over to the park. Sometimes a bit of fresh drizzle can boost you by cooling you down mid run and other times, if heavy enough it makes you feel like Billy's Boots.
I felt pretty strong coming off the back of a PB (this year anyway) from the Riverside 5k and started well. A little too well it turns out. The second full lap was a struggle and even though I managed to prolong my sprint at the end a touch I was disappointed not to get closer to the previous time. It felt faster overall. I refuse to blame the music...

Soundtrack - Cherry Head, Cherry Heart Demos

With an impending gig this Sunday and our last one being a couple of months ago I needed to do some swotting up on my own songs. Over the past ten years or so years I've written hundreds, to the point where they don't really commit to my memory (well, lyrically anyway). Of all the stuff I've written these are some that I am most pleased with in terms of them sounding well structured and work well live. The majority of them were written for and are sung by Naomi from The Southmartins so it's not entirely egotistical to listen back. There's a heavy Paul Heaton influence in the writing but we've started moving away from that a touch and into something I describe as Teesside Tijuana. Mariachi style trumpets (well, synthesised ones for now - there is a paucity of real trumpets on Teesside so maybe this was not such a good idea), jazzy chords (but not flashy - I struggle to play most of them) and Bacharach-esque melodies are the order of the day. This is not "Rock 'n' Roll" although the lyrics are quite cutting I like to think. My favourite song - The Illusionist - is pretty laid back and started just as I began my sprint, which was odd but I feel a little more prepared for the gig if not the Great North Run.