Music is My Life!

Sorry I skipped a posting last week - the week/weekend got away from me! To make up for it, this week, every day leading into the big race on 8.10.08 you can stop here for a snapshot posting/quick hits re: running, the Olympics and most importantly awareness of CF and importance of organ donation.

Also, THANK YOU to all of you that have been generous and made donations...I'm only $25 away from my goal! Click here for more information on the race and instructions on how to support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Now...here goes...Music is My Life!

I was born into a family that wove music into its every day life. My brother Tommy began drumming as soon as he cold hold anything to bang against a hard surface and then parlayed this once noisy habit a into a part-time career. (Visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Too_Much_Joy) Tommy is 5 years my senior and with this heirarchy, he passed down many a musical influences to me, with a small spattering that includes, in the hard rock category: Van Halen, Kiss, The Who, Jimmy Hendrix (Pause for inside joke to my sisters: "Jimmy Hendrix is alive and living in my lampshade!") and the not- so-hard rockers (Tommy, don't deny this, please) The Jackson Five and The Bay City Rollers (S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night!)


My mom and dad also influenced the music in my life. My mom loved Sir Paul (AKA member of The Beatles) and all the usual suspects of the 50's/60's, but I have vivid memories of her obsession with Billy Joel (VERY pre-Christie Brinkley.) I'm quite certain she wore out the vinyl on his 52nd Street album. I also remember when one of her BFFs from High School, Helen B. stopped by the house. They'd sit at the piano together banging on the keys belting out My Life with no shame whatsoever, knowing the neighbors could clearly hear them! And, then I couldn't help but choreograph a floor routine at gymnastics camp to Billy's Stiletto, " She cuts me once, she cuts me twice, still I believe..." My mom must've been so proud watching me flip out to one of her heros at the show! (And no doubt gave the other moms fodder for gossip! LOL!)

My dad's musical tastes weren't very popular in the family with him coveting country music. He had sole custody of the family's one and only stereo system in the living room on Sunday so we couldn't escape the fiddles and the very sad stories of booze and cheating ways by the likes of Alabama, Oakridge Boys and all the others from the Deep South.

Like the color of one's hair and skin, the musical gene's been passed to the next gen in our family. As a proud aunt of my only nephew (so far...cross fingers for the newest addition October 5th!) Little Tommy Vinton, I can say he's a great drummer. I know I sound like a biased aunt...so listen and judge for yourself below. (My nephew's on the right.)

So how does this all tie into running? Well, without music, my footsteps would barely drag along the pavement. Hell, I don't even know if I could run as much as I do! I, like many runners have embraced the tradition of popping in earphones and syncing my steps in rhythm with the beats of music. Or, it doesn't even have to be music...maybe you're more like fellow runner Mark M. who spoke to The Boston Globe after finishing 17th fastest in a race and mentioned to the reporter that it was the Red Sox game that kept his feet going: http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2007/08/20/a_running_debate/

If you're at all involved in running, you've probably heard some of the debate that's been escalating over the last few years with USA Track & Field (USAT&F) and the use of headphones during its races. In fact, I recently read that USAT&F has banned the use of headphones and portable audio players like iPods at all of its official races and is doing so as a safety measure and to prevent runners from having a competitive edge! (I don't think there's any real way to govern this though - - I'll admit, I've broken the rule!) Ok, here's what I think is really interesting - there seems to be a conflict of interest of some sort as Nike, one of USAT&F's biggest supporters has partnered with iPod and developed, arguably one of the biggest and in my opinion best running campaigns, promoting unity amongst runners worldwide through headphone use. I gotta wonder if USAT&F cares about this or not. In this debate, I'm all for the right for all runners to choose and am in full support of Nike's + program. I ran (pun intended) out immediately when it hit the stores awhile back and have committed to running the Human Race on 8.31.08 in DC with running bud Kerry on her b-day! Nike hit it out of the ballpark with this one...if you haven't seen anything about the human race, see below, lace up your sneaks and give it a go!

Yes, yes I'll have my Nike+ system going full force next weekend and am working on my Falmouth Road Race song list! I need 7 miles of music! S0, a BIG thank you to all of the musicians who continue to inspire me and keep my feet moving! And, it'd be a miss if I didn't give a shout out to my friends and family that are a part of this elite group - I admire you for following your passions and dreams to entertain and isnpire us all! Tommy Vinton (includes TMJ, Lucky Bastards and Surface Wound) and his spawn, Little Tommy Vinton, Cooper Boone, Scott Milch, Felix G. , Kip Conner and to any and all I've forgotten! THANK YOU!!!

Be sure to take a minute to come back and visit each day this week...I'll have some quick shots for you to read!