Running ... and cooling down.

My "run lists" have been a "running" joke with my friends for as long as I can remember. I like 80's and 90's music, slow songs and a lot of Dave Matthews + Jack Johnson. I could run to those two ALL DAY LONG. I do enjoy a good "fast song" and my favorite motivational song is "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC. As soon as I hear that beat, I am somehow magically able to push through the next leg (no pun intended) of my work out.

I tend to create/revise play lists for each race that I do, ensuring that I have enough music to cover the whole race. I had exactly 2:30 on my list for my first half marathon. I guess maybe that's one way to push myself and make sure I'm done before the music stops ("Please don't stop the music!") So, as race season is beginning, I'm working on updating, revising and creating new play lists for my upcoming 5k & 10k in March.

This post is not coming from my creation of new lists but instead comes from some excellent cool down music that was played in my Spin Class on Sunday and Group Power (a.k.a. Body Pump) last night. So here we go with the (my) top 5 cool-down songs: 

5. I Will Always Love You  - Whitney Houston (should we have a moment of silence here?)
4. Fix You - Coldplay (told ya I like slow (somewhat sad/sappy) songs)
3. You are the Best Thing - Ray LaMontagne (this will be played at my wedding, I love it so much!)
2. Hold On - Wilson Phillips (Bridesmaids, anyone?? "If you just hoooold on...")
1. If You Like Pina Coladas - Jimmy Buffet (this makes me crave smoothies)

What are your Top 5? Have a favorite un-changing playlist that you ALWAYS run to? Share it here!

Running... my first Half Marathon

I signed up for the Charlotte RaceFest 1/2 Marathon in April. And I trained... really hard for this race. I was diligent with my mileage and made sure to stick to my schedule, even on days I really didn't want to. 9 miles was my longest pre-race run... and I'm pretty sure I was hallucinating on that run. All I could think about was a lemon-lime gatorade....

literally... if I could just have ONE SIP of that gatorade, I could have kept running... for miles even. It was terrible. I thought I was going to vomit when I got home. I remember laying down on the hardwood floors and thinking how I would never be able to do 13.1 miles. 

Fast forward a few weeks to race day... which was also the day that tornadoes ravaged the state of North Carolina and it rained and stormed through the race. I woke up at 5 am to thunderstorms and decided then that I wouldn't be participating. Kudos to the many runners that did... and finished but I didn't want my first half to be in the rain.. or to get struck by lightning. 

So along with my friend Liz and boyfriend's sister, I signed up for the Myrtle Beach Mini half marathon in October. I didn't train as much or often as I had previously ... as I was now in classes and it also happened to be football season (GO VT!) So Race day came and I was NERVOUS to say the least. We agreed to run together, the whole time, and to keep running. No walking allowed. I typically maintained a 8-9 minute mile during my training but in the race we ran between 12-12:30 the whole way. We didn't walk. We didn't stop. And honestly... it wasn't that bad. I felt relieved as I crossed the finish line, but it's a different feeling than a 5k. Your body is being pushed in a different way. 

Now... about 2 hours after the race, the real misery set in when my WHOLE BODY began to ache. But that's another story. 

The course is great for the Myrtle Beach Mini... totally flat. They could have used more bands and more fans to cheer the runners on but it was a good first half and now I'm thinking of where my next one will be.