Powersongs and other Motivational Music

"One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain." - Bob Marley

Happiness is running with music!

I am getting my playlist together for the upcoming International Detroit Half Marathon on October 21st.  I have been 'kind of' training for this 1/2 marathon, but not a serious training for a 1/2 marathon.  This is going to be a fun 1/2 marathon, not a record-breaking 1/2 marathon.  Because of my low-key training schedule, music will be playing a big part in running this race.

I always have a 'theme song' for a big event.  Here are some examples of theme songs:

2012 Racine Half Ironman-Theme from Mission Impossible- Sound-A-Like As Made Famous By: Adam Clayton/Larry Mullen

2012 Carmel Marathon- "This Head I Hold"- Electric Guest

2011 Steelhead Half Ironman- "Ladies and Gentlemen"- Saliva

2011 New Orleans Marathon- "No More Tears"- Ozzy Osborne

My theme song for Detroit is going to be: "Too Close"- Alex Clare

So, let me share my first 10 songs of the Detroit Playlist:

1) "Losers"- The Belle Brigade- This song reminds me to run my own race.  It starts out nice and slow. This is good to navigate through the crowd at the beginning of the race.

2) "Paradise"- Coldplay- The tempo is a little bit faster, but controlled- this reminds me that I am still warming up.

3) Theme from Mission: Impossible- Now that I am warmed up, it is time to get funky and get in the groove.

4) "Moves Like Jagger"- Maroon 5- Established pace and away we go!  This song lets me figure out how my body is feeling for the day.  Is it going to be a good day or a challenging day?

5) "Tongue Tied"- Grouplove- My new favorite song!

6) "This Head I Hold"- Electric Guest- another reminder to run my own race.

7) "Eminence Front"- The Who- this song is always playing on Saturday mornings in the winter on the Weather Channel at 5AM when I am figuring out what to wear for my run.  A reminder that this race could be colder...

8) "Vogue"- Madonna- I just saw her in concert.  My favorite Madonna song.

9) "Rain in the Summertime"- The Alarm- This song was my 'powersong' for my very first marathon- 2001 Chicago Marathon.  I ran a lot that summer in the rain- brings back good rookie marathon memories of chafing.

10) "Dead Man's Party"-Oingo Boingo- Come on!  It's October!  You gotta play "Dead Man's Party"!  Also brings back good, hazy memories of college parties...

BONUS!  Here are the last 3 songs on every playlist.

"Amazing"- One eskimO- this plays on the last mile. So inspirational- makes me cry every time.

"#9 Dream"- John Lennon- This plays as I cross the finish line.  It is so surreal to hear this song as you get your medal.

The final song is "Claire de Lune" by Claude Debussy.  Such a beautiful song- a good song to collect yourself, stretch out and take stock in all of the hard work and training that you dedicated to the race and to yourself.

What are your powersongs?

Now What?!

"First you write down your goal; your second job is to break down your goal into a series of steps, beginning with the steps that are absurdly easy." Fizhugh Dodson

Arc De Triomphe photo taken in May in honor of the Tour De France finish!

Now that the 1/2 Ironman is over, it is time for some deserved rest and fun workouts.  I have filled my fall schedule with fun bike rides and some 1/2 marathons to maintain this level of fitness that I worked so hard to attain.  

Fun things that are planned in the next couple of months are:

Venus De Miles Bike Ride this coming Sunday in Lake Forest.  It is my first 61 mile bike ride and I am looking forward to the route.  I will report on the ride in next Monday's Blog.

The next adventure is the Dairyland Dare- Grand Fondo Wisconsin on Saturday, August 11th.  I am only going to do the 30-mile route.  It is a very hilly course!

In September, I switch back over to running and am signed up to run the inaugural Brewers Mini Marathon on Saturday, September 22nd.  

The next day, Sunday, September 23rd, I am planning on riding the North Shore Century. I don't know what mileage I will be doing- it depends on the weather.

I am rounding out the season with a final 1/2 marathon on October 21st with the Detroit Half Marathon.   

One thing I learned about triathlon season this year- do more than one triathlon!  I really wished I could have done a sprint or another Olympic.  Next year, I will do a variety of distances for the triathlon instead of pinning everything on one race.  I love triathlons!

I am already starting to think about next year's races.  I would love doing a marathon in the spring and am planning on running my 13th consecutive Indy Mini Marathon.  I will start plotting and planning this fall for next year's adventures.

3 Questions:

Do you plan your races far in advance, or do you spontaneously sign up for races on what sounds good?

A: I plan out my race season.

Do you like to do local or destination races?

A: I love destination races if the budget allows for it.  Otherwise, I am lucky to live in an area that has a vibrant race scene all year around, so I can race local and save some $$.

What was your funnest race?

I loved running the Goofy challenge at Walt Disney World.  It was a blast and I ran it for fun rather than time.