Thursday, April 24, 2008

Runner's High

Hillsy finally convinced me to start running again... my weekly regimen used to consist of three days of spinning and two days of strength/weights/stretch. Recently I've replaced my early Saturday spin class with a running session. Running inside is ten times easier than running outdoors, but I'm taking it slowly and hopefully I'll be strong enough to start running outside in a couple of weeks.



When I first started, I was only able to run for about half an hour - about 3 miles. The runs used to wipe me out and left me with no choice but to spend the rest of day on the couch. Two weeks ago, something happened and I was finally able to double my time to a whopping one hour (about 6 miles covered). I finally felt the runner's high that I've been hearing about. My breathe was steady, steady enough to sing along to the tunes blasting in my ears. I felt like I could run forever.

In no means do I consider myself a runner. If it weren't for my playlist, I probably couldn't go further than a mile. So I thought I'd share my magical list, keep in mind that each song is hand-picked for its rhythm (not necessarily for its musical merits, so it's quite an eclectic mix). The order has also been meticulously arranged. I'm really mental when it comes to conditions - e.g., I can't have one strand of hair on my face while running (it irritates me to no end), my energy starts to drain out at the 20 minute mark so it's important to have a song that motivates me, I can't go too fast too quick or my entire run is screwed, etc.

1. Under Pressure - David Bowie & Queen
2. Goldigger - Kanye West
3. Who Knew? - Pink
4. Sexy Back - Justin Timberlake
5. Float On - Modest Mouse
6. Rehab - Amy Winehouse
7. What You Waiting For - Gwen Stefani
8. Are you Gonna be my Girl - Jet
9. Seven Nation Army - White Stripes
10. The Crowd Song - Louie DeVito
11. All These Things That I've Done - The Killers
12. Lose Yourself - Eminem
13. Foundations - Kate Nash
14. Please Don't Stop the Music - Rihanna
15. Trampled Underfoot - Led Zeppelin
16. The Rockafellar Skank - Fatboy Slim
17. Pump It - Black Eyed Peas
18. Young Folks - Peter, Bjorn and John
19. The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth - Clap your hands and say yeah
20. Baby Fratelli - The Fratellis
21.
Ceremony - New Order

What's on your running playlist? I'm gonna have to change my playlist soon (and buy new sneakers). Any recommendations? I'm a huge overpronator :)

5 comments:

Andrea Eames said...

I have a favourite exercise playlist too, largely consisting of cheesy songs :). Some of your songs are on it, but here are some you don't have at the moment:
Get Ready for This - 2 Unlimited
Take On Me - A-Ha
Hey-ya - Outkast
Baby Got Back - Sir Mix-a-Lot
Working for the Weekend - Loverboy
Any Way You Want It - Journey
Livin' On a Prayer - Bon Jovi
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
Jump (for my love) - Girls Aloud
Grace Kelly - Mika

I'm a bit of an eighties, fan, sorry :)

Marichelle said...

Thanks Andrea!! Love the 80s - Take on Me... love that song and can still remember the video :)

Have you heard Sara Bareilles' version?

http://www.musicremedy.com/s/Sara_Bareilles/videos/Take_on_Me-15245.html

Mj Reed said...

hey marichelle, when you're ready for a marathon or triathalon get ready to join one.... a friend of mine Liza from NYU Nsg. school recently joined the leukemia race and is doing the race this May in NYC. Training is gruesome but worth the price. His brother was diagnosed recently. Ck out her website at http://www.active.com/donate/tntnyc/LKChau ----later...MJ

Marichelle said...

MJ, hmmm I don't think I'll be training for marathons anytime soon. Honestly, I run/exercise so that... I can eat all the food you see here on Lifeflix without having to buy a whole new wardrobe :)

Andrea Eames said...

No, I hadn't heard that version - love it!