Tunes to Lift Your Feet To

There are just 3 things I must have to ensure a good run: proper shoes, a sportsbra, and upbeat music on my iPod. Try not to picture me running with only these things on. You’ll go blind.

I have a friend who can run half-marathon distances while listening to audiobooks. I also know someone who finds lyrics distracting and use beats from Podrunner (free on iTunes under “podcasts”) – you choose your speed and get an hour of music at exactly that pace.

Me? I like catchy tunes. Not what the musical elite would call “good” songs, or songs that make you cry or think deep thoughts. Running is not the time to indulge in sentimentality or emotion; it’s a time to strip yourself down, turn off your brain and just be pure moving muscle.

Dance and pop music are great for motivation to move. They give you the all-important high beats-per-minute that you need to keep a steady, aggressive pace. I also believe that if you listen to some of the same songs every time you run, your body’s response becomes Pavlovian – your heart and lungs feel the rhythm and know what’s coming up, so they tune in and work harder to move oxygen around.

That said, with all the races and training coming up in 2010, here are some of the songs that help me warm up, stay fast and put an extra burst of speed on when I’m pushing towards the finish line:

Warm-Up

• Lebanese Blonde – Thievery Corporation/Garden State
• Porcelain – Moby/Play
• Wonderful – Adam Ant
• I Know I Know I Know – Tegan & Sara/So Jealous
• I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’ – Scissor Sisters/Ta-Dah
• Bug Powder Dust – Bomb the BASS/The Rebirth Of Cool Phive
• Faith – George Michael
• Clint Eastwood – Gorillaz/Gorillaz
• Lazy Eye – Silversun Pickups/Carnavas
• My Moon My Man – Feist/The Reminder

Hardcore Speed

• Fell In Love With A Girl – The White Stripes/White Blood
• Inner Universe – Yoko Kanno/Stand Alone Complex
• Intergalactic – Beastie Boys/The Sounds of Science
• X Project – Dj Fresh/Escape From Planet Monday
• Stronger – Kanye West/Graduation
• Ocean Drive (Tiga’s White Linen Vox) – FPU
• Destination: Overdrive – Chromeo
• Firestarter – The Prodigy/The Fat Of The Land
• My Elastic Eye – The Chemical Brothers/Come with Us
• Hollaback Girl – Gwen Stefani/Love. Angel. Music. Baby
• Fuck The Pain Away – Peaches/The Teaches of Peaches
• Holding Out For A Hero – Frou Frou/Shrek 2
• Sexyback – Justin Timberlake/’Futuresex/Lovesounds’
• Milkshake – Kelis/Tasty
• Womanizer – Britney Spears/Circus
• Toxic – Britney Spears/In the Zone
• The Distance – Cake/Fashion Nugget
• My Red Hot Car – Squarepusher/Go Plastic
• What You Waiting For? – Gwen Stefani/Love.Angel.Music.Baby
• Smack My Bitch Up – The Prodigy/The Fat Of The Land
• Hey Ya! – OutKast/’Speakerboxxx/The Love Below’
• No Sleep Tonight – The Faders/Veronica Mars
• Crazy In Love – Beyonce & Jay Z/Dangerously In Love
• Single Ladies – Beyonce
• Boom Boom Pow – Black Eyed Peas/E.N.D
• Don’t Stop The Music – Rihanna/Ultimate Collection

Sustained Speed

• Kids – MGMT/Oracular Spectacular
• Sex on Fire – Kings of Leon
• Unbelievable – E.M.F.
• Change – The Lightning Seeds/Clueless
• Number One – Chaz Jankel
• Yes – Merry Clayton/Dirty Dancing
• The World’s Made Up Of This And That – Fatboy Slim/Deeds Plus Thoughts
• Damn Girl – Justin Timberlake/’Futuresex/Lovesounds’
• Can’t Get You Out Of My Head – Kylie Minogue
• Let’s Dance – David Bowie/Let’s Dance
• Rehab – Amy Winehouse/Back To Black
• Black Betty – Ram Jam
• Billie Jean – Michael Jackson/Thriller
• Simply Irresistible – Robert Palmer
• Two Princes – Spin Doctor
• Just A Girl – No Doubt/Tragic Kingdom
• Zombie – The Cranberries /No Need To Argue
• Pain – Four Star Mary
• Shout – Tears for Fears
• Crabbucket – K-Os/Joyful Rebellion
• I Hear You Calling – Gob/The World According To Gob
• A Bad Dream – Keane/Under The Iron Sea

Laugh Through The Pain

• I’m Too Sexy – Right Said Fred/Up
• Girls – Beastie Boys
• Money – The Flying Lizards/Sedated in the Eighties
• I Touch Myself – The Divinyls/Divinyls
• The Humpty Dance – Digital Underground/Sex Packets
• Baby Got Back – Sir Mix-a-Lot/Mack Daddy
• Bust a Move – Young MC
• I Want Candy – Go Gos/The Best of Bow Wow Wow
• Istanbul (not Constantinople) – They Might Be Giants
• Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen/Greatest Hits
• Mashin’ On The Motorway – DJ Shadow/The Private Press
• U Can’t Touch This – MC Hammer
• Me So Horny – 2 Live Crew
• Tubthumping – Chumbawumba
• Smile – Lily Allen/Alright, Still
• Supermodel – Jill Sobule/Clueless
• Watch Out Now – The Beatnuts/Classic Nuts, Vol. 1

Home Stretch

• Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey
• Danger Zone – Kenny Loggins/Top Gun Soundtrack
• Mission: Impossible Theme – Lalo Schifrin/U2
• The Imperial March – John Williams/Star Wars Trilogy
• Eye Of The Tiger – Survivor
• You’re the Best – Joe Esposito/Karate Kid Soundtrack
• Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky) – Bill Conti/Rocky Balboa

What do you like to listen to when you’re pounding the pavement? Suggestions welcome!

Tags: home stretch, music, running, speed, warm up

The Great Bikini Race of 2010

My feelings about spandex are that it is a privilege, not a right. Bikinis, which are just very small pieces of spandex that expose a large amount of flesh, should in my personal opinion be the exclusive purview of people who are very young and very fit, or professionally really, really, ridiculously good looking. In short, bikinis are not for me.

However. That being said, I also have some very clear images in my mind about what a vacation in the sun in Mexico should look like. It should involve cold beverages with tiny umbrellas. Sombreros. Massive, gaudy beach towels. Coconut-scented SPF. And of course, bikinis. During my ongoing family photo project, I unearthed some pics of my Mum & Dad vacationing in Mexico in the early 70s. My Mum, clocking in at a lithe 110lbs soaking wet, was sporting a very small swimsuit. My Dad looked very pleased about this fact.

Thus, I have decided to kick my running training up a notch and try to squeeze my blindingly white bottom into a pair of rather petite string bikinis while I still can, before the ravages of advancing age and the unspeakable nightmare that is cellulite spoil the dream forever. After all, it’s not like the prospect of wearing a bikini is going to get any more appealing (for myself or my pitiable onlookers) as I get older.

Observe my own personal crucible:

Achtung! These are not clothes meant for actual submersion in water! These are exclusively for posing by the swim-up pool bar, trying to look nonchalant while actually frantically sucking in one’s abdomen and wondering if you can casually sneak a peek down to check if all your strings are still tied.

To achieve this end, I’m hoping to run 5k on five out of every seven days in January, and to eat as healthily as possible until my departure on Jan 28. And maybe do some situps. And possibly investigate liposuction.

Another helpful motivator to keep me training is that I’ve signed up for a full roster of races for 2010 already, including my first full marathon in September (no guarantees; I might chicken out of that one).

This is partly because due to an accident in overbooking, I’ll be spending the last weekend of March in Boston attending PAX East, instead of running in Hamilton where I had agreed to do the oldest race in North America, the “Around the Bay Road Race” 30k in Hamilton, as a relay with Indigirl and Twiggy. Many thanks to my Top Gear-loving partner in crime CarbonMan for taking my place for the last leg of the run!

Here’s the running roster for 2010 so far:

1. Sunday, Mar 14, 2010 – Steam Whistle Brewery, TO – Achilles St. Patrick’s Day 5K Run
2. Saturday, Apr 3, 2010 – High Park, Toronto – Harry’s Spring Run Off 8km
3. Sunday, May 2, 2010 – Yonge Street, Toronto – Sporting Life 10k Run
   
4. Sunday, May 16, 2010 – Mississauga – Mississauga Marathon (half)
5. (Saturday June 12 2010 – Jordan – Niagara Wine Country Run half marathon relay – tentative)
6. (Saturday, June 26, 2010 – Queen’s Park, Toronto – Pride & Remembrance Run 5km – tentative)
7. Sunday, July 11, 2010 – Distillery District, TO Acura Toronto 5km
8. Saturday, Aug 21, 2010 – Leslie Spit, Toronto Midsummer Night’s Run 15km
9. Sunday, Sept 26, 2010 – Waterfront, TO – Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon (full)

Tags: bikinis, cellulite nightmare, Mexico, races, running, sombreros