Running Therapy

Tuesdays I run "Quality" runs. These can be any kind of hill or speedwork. I overslept Tuesday morning, and I planned on a nighttime hill run. I did not plan on a stressful, emotionally-challenging phone conversation right before the run. Well, my Tuesday night hill run was the best therapy I could get at that time (and the cheapest and least destructive).* I ran what most Spokanites would know as part of the Bloomsday Run (heading west on Riverside to SFCC), but instead of heading up Doomsday to enjoy a mostly downhill finish, I turned around at SFCC to rerun the hills by the cemeteries,** and to run back up the large hill on Riverside that leads from the M.A.C. to Peaceful Valley. This is a challenging run, but I was a runner with a mission, and I easily ran up and down those hills as if I were running on a flat trail. I barely noticed my hard breathing, focusing instead on my playlist (including a heavy does of Motley Crue) and getting out of my head.***

I came home and barely got out of my sweaty running gear before passing out for the night, and this morning--no more stress. All I could think about was my morning "easy" run.****

*I'll admit that retail therapy is my favorite form of "R" therapy, but I have been discovering the benefits of running therapy. I also considered sweets therapy, carb therapy, and wine therapy. I'm glad I decided against these options.

**I don't know if these are actually separate cemeteries, or one big cemetery split by the road.

***Primal Scream is a fantastic running song.

****This morning's easy run was less than easy. My amazing and hard hill run + less recovery time than normal made it challenging, but since I finished, it was still a great run.

Motivation

I am decidedly not a morning person. Sure, I am not one to sleep in, even after a late night, but I am not pleasant first thing in the morning. Training for a marathon forces you to become a morning person, or, at the least, it forces you to be up early in the morning.

I recently read a small column by legendary running coach Burt Yasso in the most recent issue of Runners' World. It was about excuses and motivation. It is certainly easier to make excuses to skip a run: tired, my bed is so cozy, my high thread count sheets are so soft, feel a little sluggish, etc. It's harder to find sources of motivation.

This morning's run (4.5+ miles of "Kenyan Outbacks"*) was motivated by: shame,** a comment from someone dear to me about the positive effects of running on my...bottom line, slowly (but steadily) firming thighs, bragging rights, the other morning runners waving as they passed by in the opposite direction, the blueberry-oatmeal pancakes I would have after my run (and ice bath),*** and Billy Idol.****

*In truth it was more of a Kenyan "Outback," as I didn't do any repeats. According to Runners' World, a Kenyan Outback is a run that is quicker in the second half than the first half. This can be done by a difficult series of intervals, but it can also be achieved by running for point A to point B in the first half of your run at a steady pace and running from point B back to point A at a steady, but faster, pace. I ran from point A to point B in 24 minutes and from point B to Point A in 21:50. The purpose of the Kenyan Outback is to allow you to finish strong. I'll write more on these later.

**See my post of July 5, 2009 regarding the motivating power of shame.

***Ice baths are unpleasant, to say the least. I have not yet gone all out to put actual ice cubes in my cold tub, but I do fill the tub as high as possible with only cold water and sit in it for at least 10 minutes. Ice baths are supposed to be a great way to help your muscles recover post-hard workout. Again, as with Kenyan Outbacks, I'll write more on ice baths later.

****Several Billy Idol tracks, including "Rebel Yell" and "Dancing With Myself," are great running tracks. I consider the Billy Idol songs a little mini-shout out to my dad, who loves Billy Idol. Please note, my father is a man in his mid-60's who grew up in the Midwest and is very conservative. If you know my dad, try to picture him rocking out (or, as he would say, "shucking and jiving") to "White Wedding" during a family car trip.

6 to 7 Miles of Music

Saturday's training run was "six to seven miles" at a long, slow run pace (1-2 minutes slower than your desired race pace). I almost always run with my iPod, and I take great pleasure in making running mixes. I am always asking friends for running music suggestions; it's interesting to see what motivates different runners. Saturday morning's playlist was a massive playlist called "IRunThis" (original, I know). It's an ever-growing, ever-changing list to which I always add, generally while I'm listening to a shuffle of my master iTunes library at work. Once I listen to a song from the IRunThis playlist, it gets transferred into the Used-Run playlist and deleted from the IRunThis playlist (I am really not that anal retentive, I swear). If I really love a song these days, it gets added to my slowly growing Portland Marathon Official playlist. Portland, unlike many other big marathons, actually allows and even encourages runners to use headphones, MP3 players, etc.

Saturday's run included the following:

(1) "Tick Tick Boom" by The Hives. This was formerly my previous Nike+ "PowerSong," my go to song when a run got hard, and I wanted to quit. The Hives are a Swedish band that tend to dress all the same (in black and white suits), and their front man, Howlin' Pelle Almquist, is full of showmanship, bravado, and a huge dose of (feigned?) ego. They put on an amazing live show, and "Tick Tick Boom" is a high-energy song with a chorus that includes the lines: "I've done it before/And I can do it some more." That's a long run mantra if I have ever heard one.

(2) "The Rockafeller Skank" by Fatboy Slim. I have no idea why this song has this title. I don't think any of those 3 words appear anywhere in the song. Most people would recognize this song as the "Funk Soul Brother" song or the "Right About Now" song. Again, high energy, this song is "electronic" or "techno" or "dance"--it was not my favorite running song, but probably the fact that the Ross character from "Friends" talked about this song (and maybe sang it?) in an episode has killed it for me.

(3) "You and Dat" by E-40. As this is a family, friendly blog, I'll leave comments about this song to myself. I will, however, mention that the "Dat" modifies a body part that benefits greatly from lots of running--definitely motivating.

(4) "Swagga Like Us" by T.I. feat. Jay-Z, Kanye, and Lil Wayne. This song is a bit too slow for running, but the song that T.I. and company raps over/samples--"Paper Planes" by M.I.A.--is a great running song.

(5) "Whoo! Alright, Yeah...Uh Huh" by The Rapture. I think the title speaks for itself. This is a running song.

(6) "U.R.A.Q.T." by M.I.A. This song is crazy, but a fun song for running. Actually, a fun song, period. The title is pronounced by reading each letter individually. I downloaded this song after reading about it on the brilliant blog "Things I Bought That I Love" created by Mindy Kaling from "The Office." Incidentally, if you like things and buying things and well, laughing, read this blog (http://thingsiboughtthatilove.com/).

(7) "You Dropped a Bomb on Me" by The Gap Band. A great 80's song. Not a great 80's running song.

(8) "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive. A great 80's song. A great 80's running song. A song that has been sampled greatly by Flo Rida to create a completely different song.

(9) "4 Minutes" by Madonna featuring Justin Timberlake and Timbaland. I love Madonna. I love Timberlake. I love Timbaland. That's all that needs to be said.

(10) "Straight Outta Compton" by NWA. Why is this on my playlist? Why isn't it on your playlist?

(11) "With Love" by Hilary Duff. I may be ashamed of walking; I may be ashamed of failure and quitting; I am not ashamed to admit I love this song by Hilary Duff.

(12) "Can't Stop, Won't Stop (Remixed Vers.)" by Young Gunz feat. Chingy. Again, it's all in the title.

(13) "Whoomp! (There It Is)" by Tag Team. Embarrassing? Yes. Motivating? Hell yes. This song was a total pick me up on the last part of my long run.

(14) "Vans (Remix)" by The Pack. "Yeah, yeah I'm in my zone." Lyrics to motivate.

(15) "Wait a Minute (Just a Touch)" by Estelle. Estelle's entire album, Shine, is great for running, save a couple of slow tracks.

(16) "Too Shy" by Kajagoogoo. See number (8), above (exclude references to Flo Rida).

(17) "This is How I Disappear" by My Chemical Romance. Loud, aggressive. Just what you need those last few hundred yards.

(18) "Whatever U Like" by Nicole Sherzinger feat. T.I. This song always gets me going, always.

Running Soundtrack

I have been trying to make a new playlist each run. I take my old playlist and add it to my "Used Running Tracks" playlist. I have listened to over 200 songs while running (some repeated, and of course, some runs I am chatting with my running partner and not listening to music). Here are some of the artists that have kept me motivated over the miles:

AC/DC, Alicia Keys, Alkaline Trio, All-American Rejects, American Hi-Fi, Amy Winehouse, Audioslave, The Bangles, Bayside, Beastie Boys, Beck, Beyonce, Billy Idol, Black Eyed Peas, The Blakes, Blink-182, Blondie, Boysetsfire, Brand New, The Bravery, Buffalo Tom, Chemical Brother, Chevelle, Chingy, Chris Isaak, Christina Aguilera, Common, Consequence, Counting Crows, Crystal Method, Daft Punk, Deee-Lite, DMX, Does It Offend You Yeah?, The Donnas, Duran Duran, Eminem, Fall Out Boy, Fat Joe, Fatboy Slim, Fergie, Filter, Flyleaf, Foo Fighters, Franz Ferdinand, The Fratellis, George Michael, Ginuwine, Gorillaz, Green Day, Guns N' Roses, Halifax, Hilary Duff, The Hives, Hole, Jamiroquai, Jane's Addiction, Janet Jackson, Jay-Z, Jedi Mind Tricks, Jet, Jill Sobule, Jimmy Eat World, Justin Timberlake, Kanye, Kelis, Kelly Clarkson, Korn, Lily Allen, Linkin Park, LL Cool J, Ludacris, Lupe Fiasco, Lucious Jackson, Lyrics Born, Madonna, Marilyn Manson, Marky Mark, Mary J. Blige, Michael Jackson, Mims, Missy Elliott, Moby, Modest Mouse, Morningwood, Motley Crue, Muse, My Chemical Romance, NAS, Nelly, NWA, Outkast, Phantom Planet, Poison, Prince, The Prodigy, The Rapture, Rev Run, Rihanna, Rise Against, Rob Base, The Roots, Run DMC, Saul Williams, Sean Paul, Sheryl Crow, The Strokes, Sugarhill Gang, Switches, Tha Liks, The Used, Young Gunz, 10 Years, and 50 Cent.

I am clearly all over the map, and I always love recommendations!

Some Like It Hot* (Run 43)

Last night I did my 30 minute run in 90 degree weather with a warm, fairly strong wind. Not my best run, but it felt great to really sweat. For me, running in high temperatures is comparable to running through sand. Not in sand--as in a run on the beach--but through sand, as if I were running through a swimming pool filled waist-high with sand. My muscles are looser while running in the heat, but each stride requires more effort than it does in cooler weather.

Last night's hot run was fueled by the following playlist: "Good Girls, Bad Guys," DMX feat. Dyme; "Drama Queen," Switches; "Longview," Green Day; "4 Minutes," Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake & Timbaland; "So What'cha Want," Beastie Boys; "11h30," Danger; "We Thuggin' (Remix)," Fat Joe; and "Control Myself," LL Cool J feat. J-Lo.

*The title references the Robert Palmer song, not the film.

The Hills is not just a bad "reality" show (Run 32)

This morning I entered the "strength phase" of my training. For the last six weeks, I have run five days per week, with long runs on Saturday mornings. The strength phase differs from the "base phase" with its addition of hill and tempo workouts. This morning was my first "hill workout."

My training materials tell me that I am to warm up, and either run an overall hilly course or add 4-8 hill repeats in the middle of my workout, and then cool down (for a total of 40 minutes). I created a "modified" version of this plan, running on a flat route for 10ish minutes, and then doing 10 short hills (running hard up and walking/jogging down). I ran short stretches of road/sidewalk between the hills, and then I ran about 8 minutes at a normal pace to finish the workout. I was moderately impressed with my own running abilities this morning, at six a.m.

I had created a specific playlist for this morning's run, which I neglected to load onto my iPod. So, I played some random tunes from my "RunnerGrrl" general playlist. This morning's hill workout was fueled by: "Put Your Hands Up," Black and White Brothers; "Battle Without Honor or Humanity," (from the Kill Bill soundtrack); "Faint," Linkin Park; "Under the Knife," Rise Against; "Knock 'Em Out," Lily Allen; "Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing," Chris Isaak; "Liar Liar (Burn in Hell)," The Used; "Sabotage," The Beastie Boys; "Hospital," The Used; "Drama Queen," Switches; "Dance, Dance," Fall Out Boy; "Supermodel," Jill Sobule; "Since U Been Gone," Kelly Clarkson; "Ch-Check It Out," The Beastie Boys; and "In Da Club," 50 Cent.