Monday, March 8, 2010

Running iTunes: Running Songs

Lately I've done a lot of posts documenting my training, which is all fine, well, and dandy.

[Last night I did a 5k in 29:19! I'm pretty stoked because that was more of a brisk jog than me truly pushing myself for 3 miles. And unless I ran a tenth of a mile in 19 seconds...last I checked I'm not Kenyan...I did 3 miles in under 29 minutes!]


But, I really want this blog to be more than just a documentation of my training. So without further ado, have you ever tried to Google running songs?

I HAVE. And it's just not that easy to find a complete list of songs ABOUT running. Or even a LONG list. Results usually lead to some message board or Yahoo answers with responses like:
"Born to Run, Ready to Run, Running Down a Dream"

and that's it. Yes those are good songs, but I wish someone would take some time to sit down and make a legit playlist. I can't be alone in this, so here is my stab at it ;) You can listen to this playlist at the bottom of the post! (I wish I could have put it at the beginning, but it was creating too many blogger errors that way.)

Side Note: I don't think I could actually run to an hour of songs about running. But I REALLY like adding a FEW to my running playlists because they pump me up. The nice thing is the more running related songs I compile, the more songs I have to pick and choose from!

I even grouped these songs!

Slower/(Good for Easing into a Run)
-Ready to Run
-Take Me Home Country Roads
-Thunder Road I'm currently obsessed with this one. Probably because I've already listened to the first two more times than I can count!
-When the Sand Runs Out
-So Moved On This is my pre-run "pump up song!" I frequently blast it on my drives to the gym. I love OAR. And at 3:21 they actually sing "It Felt Good to Be on the Run!" Kind of weird that a song about getting over someone is my jam. It's the only OAR song about running, though..I think.
-Down the Road I just love Kenny Chesney.
-Speed I already posted this song on my blog. Not a bad thing to listen to if you need to get in the mindset of a speed workout!

Songs I'm a Huge Fan of Running To
-Born to Run If anyone ever runs a long race where this song ISN'T playing, I'd like to hear about it! At the OBX Half this song was played on repeat for like 15 minutes before we started. Good thing I love The Boss...but, hey, I also love variety. It's like the party my friend went to in college where everyone got excited the first time Jesse's Girl came on. Then the guy DJ-ing thought it would be funny to play it 15 times in a row....actually I probably would have thought that was funny if I had been there.
-I Run to You I'm obsessed with Lady Antebellum. Need You Now is my favorite song of theirs. I Run to You is a close second.
-Red Dirt Road Oh Brooks & Dunn. WHY is this your last year on tour?! The fact that this song is upbeat and is decently fast makes it great to run to!
-5k One of the few "Indie Songs" I'm aware of and listen to frequently. Pretty awesome!
-Long Road to Ruin Proof that my musical tastes are all over the place. I get just as excited by this song as I Run to You. Lyrics include: "Runnin' through hell"
-Wild at Heart "You got me running baby..." This song basically compares falling in lurve to running!
-Check Yes Juliet Is it bad that I only recently discovered this song through a Google search? I probably should have had it on my iTunes long ago! "Run baby runnnn!"
-Here It Goes Again Treadmill music vid!
-Rocky "Gonna Fly Now" I've decided I have to do a race in Philly at some point. I've never even been to Philly!
-If You're Going Through Hell If you've followed my blog at all you know I love running to this song.
-Run It C-Brown. The role model from VA. NOT. Still a good song (Just don't tell Rhianna).
-Runaway (Love and Theft)
-Run this Town A good running song by Jay-Z, however, my absolute favorite of his is:
-8 Miles and Runnin' I couldn't find it on Playlist.com, but if you go on runs of at least 8 miles this is worth getting off of iTunes!!!
-Hit the Ground Running Keith. Enough said.

Maybe a Little Bit of a Stretchh
-There She Goes Girl Power Song? Just try to block out the ballerina on the birth control commercial (if you've seen that one) and picture a girl running fast.
-No Reins For some reason this song really paints a running image for me. No reins, a wild mustang running through a field. Either it will do the same for you, or I'm just weird.


-More Running Songs

If I'm being honest these are songs I'm a little less excited to run to. I've arranged them in descending order of my excitement. I realize everyone has different tastes though....

-We Run LA
-Who Run it
-Tennessee
River
Run
Actually this is only here because I discovered this song when writing this post. It's silly enough that I'll probably run to it to mix things up! I love songs that "the person on the treadmill next to me would never guess I'm listening to." They make me laugh.
-She's a Runner
-Running Down a Dream
-Keep on Runnin'
-Runaway (Bon Jovi)


I Personally Couldn't Run to These...

But maybe you could? They aren't peppy enough for me. I'd rather listen to Lady Gaga or Miley...even if the songs aren't specifically about running.

-Runaway (Linkin Park)
-Easier to Run
-Running Away
-Run to You (Bryan Adams)
-The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner Great song! Not workout material, IMO.





Okay...so if there is anything you think needs to be added to this list, tell me! Finally a Google search of running songs with more than 3 listed!

2 comments:

The Boring Runner said...

OH wow. You were able to find a LOT. My brother in law has this strange ability to be able to pick out songs where they even MENTION something about a topic. (For example, he has an entire CD where part of the chorus has "oh" in it - think The Cars, Magic).

This is a great list!! I can't even begin to think how long it took you to come up with.

Honestly I like to run with songs that have a great beat. So, *hangs head in shame* that usually means lady gaga or kanye or something. Unforunately my fav music (BNL, DMB, Jack Johnson, OAR is actually in there too somewhere) is NOT good for running.

inspiREDtorun13 said...

@Adam-- That's hilarious about your BIL! This is actually a post I've had in the works ever since I started the blog. HA! Finally got around to it.

So, I guess the list took months and months of very unfocused time. I realize I did slant it toward my musical preferences. Oh well. I wrote the list :)

Lately I've been running to more chill music and stuff I really like on long runs. The upbeat stuff I save for the end. But for non-long runs I'm totally with you. It has to be upbeat or I'm bored.

My current FAVES:
Bad Romance and Tik Tok!!!