Music is a very important ingredient to my running work-outs. It keeps you focused on something other than the cold, dark and uncomfortable morning runs through the streets of LA. I do love running...the euphoria you feel half-way into a 40:00 run. But a soundtrack in the background heightens that feeling *and* gets me "home" safe and sound.
I seem to be on an endless hunt for an even better running mix and that leads me back to iTunes where my current iMix can be found. (Featuring Kanye West, Daft Punk, Crystal Method and The Little Ones.)
I'll do searches there for other people's iMix's and I've recently turned to Twitter for some ideas. (On the flip side of that, I also was given this recommendation from a friend.)
Which brings me to my latest musical discovery...Lance Armstrong: Run Longer, featuring songs by: Weezer, Audioslave, Beck and The All-American Rejects. Fourteen songs in total inter-cut with Lance taking you through a warm-up, four 4-minute speed intervals and cool-down's in between. I usually just cruise for 45:00 at approximately the same speed so this was a real challenge to my work-out. In addition to counting you down, Lance reminds you that, "Pain is temporary and quitting is permanent." This kind of high-school track-coach mantra-speak got me pushing harder than I would otherwise.
The songs seem to be repetitive (especially during the intense '80% of maximum effort' sessions which is when you really need to be thinking something other than, "Didn't I *just* hear this four minutes ago when I wanted to quit?" However, the final push made me think I was in a race and actually choked me up a bit..."30 seconds left...focus on a point in the distance and finish strong.......Congratulations. You've finished your work-out."
Thanks Lance... I couldn't have done it without you.
Who do you listen to during your morning runs?
