Tuesday, June 15, 2010

What Makes Me High! (part 5 of 5)


When I first started running (inside, around the track, over and over; round and round), I ran to local radio station music. I noticed that some of the songs matched the rhythm of my foot placement. I wondered if running would be more fun if all the music matched my pace, so, I created a pace-matching music mix. Some music was at a slower pace; some medium; some faster.

My distance increased, my enjoyment increased and my speed increased. Try it - you'll like it!



How to do it

  • Make a play list of your favorite songs
  • Run a short distance to each song
  • Note which songs best fit your pace
  • Note your perceived pace speed (slow, med or fast)
Find Your Beats
  • Count the downbeats for 10 or 15 seconds
  • Use a free internet app or purchase a smart phone app for counting down beats
  • Once you find the downbeat count for your paces you can discover appropriate running songs by counting their downbeats rather than test-running them
  • Create play lists to match your running paces
  • To build up your speed, order your songs so that the first couple are slow; then a medium; then a slow; then a fast; then a slow. It works!
  • When you first start running to your pace music do it in this order: slow; slow; medium;slow; slow; medium;slow;slow.
  • Start with your slowest perfect pace! Be careful on your first run - running to your perfect pace-tunes can make you run too fast which can cause injury.

Cherry On Top

For optimal enjoyment: Quietly sing along or lip sync with your songs. Although, I sing along under my breath quietly, it feels like I'm singing out loud. You can't help but feel great when you run and sing-a-long. Really!

Never has anyone stared or even noticed my singing.


Partial List of My Running Pace Music

  • A Thousand Miles / Vanessa Carlton
  • Big Yellow Taxi / Counting Crows
  • Californication /Red Hot Chili Peppers
  • Come Back to Me / David Cook
  • Dance, Dance /Fall Out Boy
  • Dilemma / Nelly
  • Everything You Want / Vertical Horizon
  • Fireflies /Owl City
  • From Where You Are/ Lifehouse
  • Gives You Hell / The All-American Rejects
  • Hanging by a Moment / Lifehouse
  • Heres to tonight 4:11 Eve six
  • I Gotta Feeling / Black Eyed Peas
  • I'm with You /Avril Lavigne
  • It's Been Awhile / Staind
  • Just Dance / Lady GaGa & Colby O'Donis
  • Kryptonite / Three Doors Down
  • Lullaby 5:32 Soul's Core Shawn Mullins
  • Major Tom /Shiny Toy Guns
  • My Life Would Suck Without You / Kelly Clarkson
  • Pinch Me / Barenaked Ladies
  • Right Here / Staind
  • Save Tonight / Eagle-Eye Cherry
  • Say It Right / Nelly Furtado
  • Scar Tissue /Red Hot Chili Peppers
  • Shadow of the Day/Linkin Park
  • Speed of Sound / Coldplay
  • Stop and Stare /OneRepublic
  • Such Great Heights / The Postal Service
  • The Heart Remains A Child /Everything But The Girl
  • The Last Resort /The Eagles
  • The Reason / Hoobastank
  • Today Was a Fairytale / Taylor Swift
  • Unwritten / Natasha Bedingfield
  • What Goes Around Comes Around /Justin Timberlake
  • What I've Done / Linkin Park
  • You Belong With Me / Taylor Swift

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