Harbour City Ramblings

When I initially started hitting the streets to train for my very first TC 10k I went out and bought an armband for my iPhone, and proceeded to put together a playlist of songs I figured would get me pumped.

I sifted through all 3900 songs in my iTunes collection and managed to muster up 30 tracks of what I surmised to be my definitive running soundtrack.

Since I am not the world’s largest fan of hip-hop, rap or dance, I opted to leave such genres out. Plus, they really only make up around 8% of my iTunes ensemble. Instead I piled on my favourites- Propagandhi, Metallica, NOFX and Pennywise, to name a few.

My first attempt at a run was short, and as I quickly discovered so was my level of tolerance for that crappy, demotivating playlist of punk and metal.

What I discovered was horrifying…

I am motivated to run by rap music.

I never thought I would admit that. But I scrapped everything except the 1 song that got me running faster, harder, and for a far greater distance than I expected: Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” Sure I kept a large amount of other genres, but otherwise I did a complete overhaul to accommodate my previously unknown proclivity to hear bass pumping through my earphones.

My new playlist has grown on me. I am now 8 runs into my training, and with yesterday’s haul of just under 5 km I am working my way slowly up to 10k without the help of any guitar solos.

Here are the songs that- though some tough to digest at first- keep me pushing toward my goal of completing the TC 10k:

• Saul Williams (cover of U2’s) “Sunday Bloody Sunday”
• Jay-Z “Run This Town”
• Beastie Boys “Sabotage”
• Queens of the Stone Age “No One Knows”
• Iron Maiden “the Trooper”
• Eminem “White America”
• Kanye West “Stronger”
• Lamb of God “Again We Rise”
• Incubus “Vitamin”
• Westside Connection “Bow Down”
• Rise Against “Behind Close Doors”
• Children of Bodom “Needled 24/7″
• Daft Punk “Da Funk”
• Ol’ Dirty Bastard “Shimmy Shimmy Ya”

And the 3 that never fail to make me literally go that extra mile:

• Green Day “Jesus of Suburbia”
• the Offspring “All I Want”
• Eminem “Till I Collapse”

Those are what do it for me, as much as I previously denied it.

It all boils down to matching a song’s rhythm to your pace, and hearing the right song at the right point of your run.

A few times this week I have been about ready to quite and give my legs a half minute of walking- until one of my key 3 songs came on and I couldn’t help but push on. What songs, bands, or specific genres keep you motivated and moving?