Posts Tagged with: "music"

I need my music when I run alone.  Occasionally, I enjoy slow solo runs as a “purist” (no iPod, no watch, nuthin!) but, for the most part, if I don’t have company or if  I’m on the treader at the gym, my iPod Nano and yurbuds Inspire for Women are my best run buddies. For workouts and even races, part of the preparation includes preparing my playlist.

What’s on my playlist?  I need music that makes me feel alive and happy.  Nothing too heavy so I feel light on my feet when I run.  Call me weird but what I listen to when I’m at rest and when I’m working out is pretty much the same. Some of you may fall asleep with my Acid Jazz playlist, but, hey, it gets me going!

MY PLAYLIST FOR RUNNING

Brand New Heavies, Midnight at the Oasis
Incognito, Everyday
Brand New Heavies, Feels Like Right
Galliano, Prince of Peace
Incognito, Deep Waters
M People, Just for You
Des’ree, Feel So High
Incognito, Beneath the Surface
Michael Franti, People in the Middle
Freak Power, Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out
Brand New Heavies, Never Stop
Urban Species, Spiritual Love

Now I asked my Coach, Andy Leuterio, what gets him race ready and he sent me some his favorite songs for a killer race simulation workout. (So different from mine! Hah!):

ANDY LEUTERIO’S PLAYLIST FOR A BRICK WORKOUT
2.5 Hour Ride, Main Set 4 x 30” Tempo building to Threshold Effort/Power, 5” easy spin Rest Interval.
10k Run off the bike, negative split

Sarah McLachlan, World on Fire
Isaac Hayes, Theme from SHAFT
Black Strobe, I’m a Man
The Doors, L.A. Woman
Rolling Stones, Sympathy for the Devil
AC-DC, Highway to Hell
AC-DC, War Machine
AC-DC, Thunderstruck
Rage Against The Machine, Bulls on Parade
Rage Against the Machine, Guerilla Radio
Rage Against The Machine, Vietnow

MY WORKOUT, MY MUSIC YURBUDS SELFIE CONTEST

Yurbuds wants to know what gets you pumped up! Post a picture of yourself on Facebook and Instagram with your yurbuds during, before, or after a workout and you could win an exclusive yurbuds shirt, a pair of yurbuds Duro, Ladies line, or the Grand Prize of the yurbuds Limited Edition! From June 3 to 15, 2013, Cascos Inc, the exclusive Philippine distributor of yurbuds, will be looking for the most interesting photos of yurbuds athletes.

To qualify:

1. “LIKE” the Facebook Page of Cascos Inc.
2. Use the hashtags #BEYONDTHEWALL and #YURBUDS
3. Put a caption of your workout and music to qualify for the contest!
4. Users may post as many entries as they want for the duration of the contest.

SAMPLE ENTRY:

CAPTION:
10km Tempo Run, Freak Power, “Turn On, Tune In, Cop Out”
#BEYONDTHEWALL
#YURBUDS

When the running gets tough, the tough listen to power music. The tunes you put into your ipod or mp3 player play a vital part in motivating you to run longer in training run, faster in a race, or simply keep you from hanging in the towel before you even break a sweat. Conversely, choosing the wrong songs (think “How Deep Is Your Love”) may make you fall in love with your fellow runner (make sure you’re running alongside one of the opposite sex then) but it may slow you down to a screeching halt long before you reach the 1km mark. So, people, take the time out to plan, prepare, edit, and re-edit your playlist before going on a run, moreso if it’s a serious race.

During my early days as a runner, all I had to carry my tunes was my hubby’s ipod video. Oh, I pity myself for what I used to put myself through. There were three tedious steps before a run: First, make sure ipod is firmly in place in its case. Second, grip ipod tightly with one hand (my husband’s parting words: “Care for it as you would my heart.”) Third, wrap it’s long cords thrice around my wrist. Now, if I needed to adjust the volume (which was almost every other song), I would have to go back to step one through three again, which would only be easy if I was doing all this with my feet up on a lazyboy at home—not running on a busy street! There was a time when I literally bumped a parked car while making the music louder! I repeat, I was the one who bumped a non-moving car, not the other way around.

So, on my birthday almost two months ago, I received a scintillating new blue ipod Shuffle with matching Marware arm/wristband from the hubby.

– Meet my best friend during solo runs –

Had I received this during my pre-running days, I would’ve bartered the ipod for a small wacom tablet, but as you’ve seen how running has changed me, I accepted the gift with open arms—err ears. The ipod became my new best friend on solo runs egging me to run just a bit longer for the most frivolous reasons like “So you can hear the end of this song” or “So you can hear the next song” or “So you can hear even more songs.” Well, who cares if I was fooled by my ipod, at least I got the miles in.

Since I only use my ipod for running, I only loaded workout songs. For others, that would mean ear-piercing, sweat-inducing, heart-pumping beats that keep your blood pressure way above normal during the entire run. My definition of workout songs are those that keep me happy and energetic throughout the entire session. You can listen to a preview of my top favorites over here.

I’m all for little surprises during my runs, so instead of listening to a particular playlist, I keep the shuffle button on and enjoy bits of hed kandi music that pops up every so often to speed up my tempo. I also loaded a few tunes from Fitpod, which is great because it provides the beats per minute of the song to match your workout intensity. My entire shuffle is filled with power music except for two cool down songs: “Fix You” by Cold Play and “Indigo Daisies” by Desiree. Aaah, I’m feeling relaxed already.

So, what are you waiting for? Load up on workout music and get running. Oh, one last thing, please resist the urge to do a karaoke run (TBR definition: singing out loud while running). While it may be good for the lungs, it will definitely kill your social life in the running world.