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.<\/p>\n
![](\"http:\/\/lh3.ggpht.com\/_KOjj4nL_qnQ\/S09SMHZ_NvI\/AAAAAAAADIU\/P_Xijl9sUmE\/s288\/running_silhouette.jpg\")
\nI 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”) \u00e2\u20ac\u201c you choose your speed and get an hour of music at exactly that pace. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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:<\/p>\n
Warm-Up<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n Hardcore Speed<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n Sustained Speed<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n Laugh Through The Pain<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/br><\/p>\n <\/br> What do you like to listen to when you’re pounding the pavement? Suggestions welcome!<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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 […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1170,1167,1106,1168,1169],"class_list":["post-1895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-consciousness","tag-home-stretch","tag-music","tag-running","tag-speed","tag-warm-up"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pipesdreams.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1895"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pipesdreams.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pipesdreams.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pipesdreams.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pipesdreams.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1895"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/www.pipesdreams.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1895\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1930,"href":"https:\/\/www.pipesdreams.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1895\/revisions\/1930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pipesdreams.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pipesdreams.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pipesdreams.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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![](\"http:\/\/lh4.ggpht.com\/_KOjj4nL_qnQ\/S09WJjyC4aI\/AAAAAAAADJQ\/2f5JW2TD9NY\/s288\/run_finishline.jpg\")
\n<\/br>
\nHome Stretch<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n![](\"http:\/\/lh4.ggpht.com\/_KOjj4nL_qnQ\/S09SMRRnmbI\/AAAAAAAADIY\/nKEcn3MEruU\/s144\/running_headphones.jpg\")
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