Inside the Mind of Suz

Since I’ve been pimpin’ her on here for quite a few months, I figured it was time for another Duffy update!

I just found out that she’s been certified ‘Gold’ in the US for shipment of 500,000 copies of her debut album Rockferry. You should cop that as well, if you haven’t already.

And to celebrate, here’s the video of her performance of “Warwick Avenue” on Jay Leno last month. “Warwick Avenue” is her new US single. Enjoy!

I haven’t been to a concert since February. It’s been a pretty lean year by my standards that’s included little shopping, travelling, and concert-going. Those things are my life force, so it’s been rough.

The last concert I went to featured the wonderful Josh Kelley when he rolled through town this winter. He always puts on a great show. I also smuggled in my DSLR and got some decent shots. I love that!

So who am I going to see? Drumroll, please!

I haven’t seen Nessa in quite some time, so I welcomed the opportunity and I only have to travel 90 minutes south for it next week. I’ve been a VC fan since “A Thousand Miles”. Her upbringing mirrored mine with the piano and ballet lessons, so I always felt a connection. I love her new album Heroes & Thieves, and if you haven’t bought it, SHAME ON YOU!

I wonder if I’ll be able to sneak in my new lens, Bessie…

As I type this, my Week 7 podcast is uploading. Therefore, it should be appearing on my Feedburner page very very soon!

I was originally going to do a Janet Jackson playlist this week, but at the 11th hour I wanted to hear a mix of 90s Hip Hop and R&B. So you’ll be running to a selection of Blackstreet, Janet, Salt n’ Pepa, and Tony Toni Tone. Enjoy!

I’m about to head out the door to do this workout. Long 25 minute run today! But last week’s 20 minute episode really wasn’t that bad. And now that I have these great new shoes that feel awesome, I’m not at all worried. The 80s will carry me through!

Head to the Feedburner account to download. Although, for some reason that I can’t explain, my iTunes is downloading these now. So maybe something got fixed? I have no idea, really!

As I mentioned, I’m going to hard code the download links onto the podcasts page. I installed PodPress, thinking it would make life easier, but it hasn’t. So I’ve got to do it by hand. Thanks a lot, MightySeek!

The second of the Week 6 Couch to 5k podcasts is ready for download. Thie workout features two 10 minute runs with a 3 minute recovery in between. No sweat, right?

Download it from Feedburner.

Don’t forget you can use a service like SendMeRSS.com or FeedBlitz to get emails whenever I upload another workout.

I realize that I’ve kept this theme probably longer than I would have liked. It gave me a nice spring/summer feel for the blog, but now it is plain tired.

I’ll see what I can find. I’m about to turn full blown Olympics Whore, so maybe an Olympic or Team USA theme?

Perhaps!

I just added the first workout from the Week 6 set to my feed. Click here to head to my Feedburner page and download the workout.

This week’s playlist features some of my favorite 80s tunes because they just don’t make ‘em like that anymore.

Enjoy!

Candace Parker had a great week! She won 2 ESPY Awards and got a ton of face time during the telecast. That’s more like it, ESPN!

But the sentiment went from celebratory to “WTF” real quick up in Detroit. Apparently there was a chick fight in the closing seconds of the LA Sparks’ win over the Detroit Shock tonight.

Behold a snippet from an AP wire report:

Parker was one of three players ejected along with Detroit assistant coach Rick Mahorn after an ugly scuffle with 4.6 seconds left in Los Angeles’ 84-81 victory…

The skirmish started moments after Parker and Detroit’s Cheryl Ford had to be separated after Ford fouled Parker.

On the next possession, Parker got tangled up with Detroit’s Plenette Pierson and fell to the ground. As she was getting up, Pierson intentionally ran into her, setting off the melee.

Parker threw a punch at Pierson before being tackled by Detroit’s Deanna Nolan. Players and coaches from both teams joined in, and Mahorn knocked Lisa Leslie to the court at one point.

Apparently Candace was fouled hard once, then a second time, and had had enough and decided to fight back, throwing the 1st punch. Cue the music to Brooke Valentine’s “Girlfight”.

< sarcasm >And who says women’s sports aren’t exciting? < / sarcasm >

This does not diminish my girl crush on Candace. Just because she’s a rookie and “the face’ of the league doesn’t mean she should act like a doormat. I’m glad she stood up for herself. She’ll be tearin’ it up again — scoring baskets and playing killer defense — soon enough. With the Olympic break coming up, plus whatever suspension she receives, it’ll probably be a minute before we see her on court with the Sparks again. Thanks goodness she’s on the Olympic roster. Hopefully none of those haters are on the team too. Can you say “awkward”?

Go on brush your shoulders off, CP3!

Watch video of the incidents, plus commentary, below the cut.
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I realized that I had been doing a no-no with my Couch to 5k training. I had been running in relatively old shoes that I also used for aerobic activity like kickboxing and step workouts. I know, bad Suz!

So, today I went to a store that specializes in running and ended up with a fantastic new pair of shoes that I shall use only for running: Nike Women’s Air Max Moto + 6. They are so comfy and cushiony. I can’t wait to run with these tomorrow!

The best part of the experience was going into a store with a sales person that really knows what they’re doing! At running stores, the sales people will look at you old shoes (I wore mine in), have you walk, and ask you what your goals and training habits are. From there they will use their expertise to pick out a few pairs of shoes for you to try on. But it doesn’t end there!

They even encourage you go outside and run a little in them. Can’t do that at Finish Line! So, if you’re in the Greater Columbus area, I highly recommend FrontRunner for all your fitness needs! They’ve got a lot of other items besides shoes. I went there for my running shoes and racing spikes when I was in high school as well.

So, even though the price tag was steep, making sure to have the proper footwear for my training will make me feel better and avoid injury. It’s a worthwhile investment!

Now, I need to find a 5k to sign up for. In my searches so far, nothing has jumped out. Here’s to hoping some better events pop up in Central Ohio!

I understand that professional athletes don’t get to choose what team drafts them.

I also understand that their allegiance is their alma mater and current employer. That’s how it should be.

But what I don’t understand, is why Cincinnati Bengals QB Carson Palmer thought it a was a great idea — in this digital age where word travels at the speed of light — to rail on Ohio State to an LA radio station.

So he’s tired of hearing about the Buckeyes? He’s not alone. A lot of people are. But since a large contingent of Buckeye fans are also Bengals fans and pay his damn salary, he ought to be a little more diplomatic. He can speak on his extreme support for USC without slamming the state that pays his bills. Way to alienate a great portion of your fanbase, bruh. Now granted, the Cincinnati area isn’t as pro-OSU as other parts of the state, but there’s still a significant portion of fans there.

Take Cleveland Browns Pro-Bowl WR Braylon Edwards, for instance. If there’s any school who hates Ohio State the most, it’s Michigan. As far as “Michigan Men” go, Braylon is pretty high up there. However, unlike Carson Palmer, Braylon is all class. He realizes that the great people of Ohio love what he brings to their team and wishes not to anger them. He has even been known to participate in the well-known “O-H-I-O” cheer at Browns home games. Braylon bleeds Maize & Blue, but respects Ohio. Class act.

Bottom line is this: maybe if the Bengals actually started winning some games and were relevant, people in Ohio would actually have other things to talk about other than Ohio State Football. I think he’s secretly bitter that the Bengals aren’t even in the Top 3 of most popular football teams in the state…

In any case, I’m glad I’m a Browns fan.