Long Run Playlist #2

Not sure if anyone noticed, but I added a link at the top of my blog that lists all of the music I've mentioned in posts. These are songs that I personally think are good for running to. It's always nice to browse the playlists of others, and I thought this was a lot easier than trying to find music posts in the archives. My taste is pretty random...so...maybe you'll see something that works for you :)

Before my first half marathon I made a playlist that I listened to on every training long run. I knew how far I was into the run based on the song, and could tell you what song would follow the one currently playing. Occasionally I'll still use this playlist. But, a lot of new music has been released since then.

What I tend to do is make playlists that have songs I like and play them on shuffle for any run 7 miles or less. I don't know what I'm going to get, but I like all of the songs that could end up playing and that's all that matters. When I start running more than 7 miles it's nice to have more predictability and I never put my iPod on shuffle. I've decided that I like slower/more "chill" music at first and songs that pump me up at the end. It took me 3 half marathons to figure that out...

Here's the playlist I used for every long run while training for the 2010 Yuengling Shamrock Half. (I didn't make a long run playlist for the OBX half...not sure why, I just didn't.) This takes you on a musical journey through Country Music, Rock, Running Songs, College Football Songs, and Pop Hits. This playlist was helpful to me because at the beginning of an 8-11 mile run, I just needed to take a deep breath and zone out; the songs at the beginning served as a constant reminder to pace myself.

1. Thunder Road-- Bruce Springsteen
The Boss+Running=Amazing. I like how the excitement builds in this song which is pretty symbolic of what happens on a long run.

2. Still-- Tim McGraw
Okay, I couldn't add this to my Playlist.com playlist, but it's definitely the second song on my iPod. This is a powerful song of Tim's. I especially like these lyrics:

"When the road gets crazy
And tries to break me
And I've had all I can stand
I can close my eyes no matter where I am
And just be still"

3. I Love Your Love the Most-- Eric Church
I LOVE THIS SONG!!!
Verse 1: "I love sleeping in on Saturdays, and I love College Football Games, and I love not acting my age, and good barbecue." YES PLEASE to all of those things. He's coming to DC in June...unfortunately, a lot of people here don't like country and I'm not sure I'll find someone who wants to go.

4. Already Gone-- Sugarland
I like this song because it's about growing up.

5. Fearless-- Taylor Swift
I'm a girl, what else do I need to say about this? The feeling that she's singing about is awesome. And I like that this song is about not being afraid to follow your gut/heart.

6. Hwy 20 Ride-- Zac Brown Band
A lot of people hadn't heard of Zac Brown Band before the Grammy's?! Not me. This is their current single and for me long car drives are very similar to long runs, so this is a perfect long run song.

7. Chicken Fried-- Zac Brown Band
"You know I like my chicken fried, cold beer on a Friday night, a pair of jeans that fit just right, and the radio up." Well said ZBB.

8. Toes-- Zac Brown Band
The radio edit of this song is: "Toes in the water, TOES in the sand" and LAME. The correct lyrics are "Got my toes in the water, ASS in the sand, not a worry in the world, cold beer in my hand. Life is good today."

(It's really a toss up for me about which song the radio killed more. This one or "Sexy Bitch.")

9. Today Was a Fairytale-- Taylor Swift
I think she really just released this one to "hold her fans over" until her 3rd album comes out. I liked Valentine's Day.

10. Snow ((Hey Oh))-- Red Hot Chili Peppers
This song is so amazing. It also was fun to run to when DC kept getting pounded with snow over the winter.

11. Red Dirt Road-- Brooks and Dunn
I know I've mentioned this before, but this is such a great song to run to!

12. Over My Head (Cable Car)-- The Fray
Sometimes I'd actually listen to this two or three times before going on to the next song. The weird thing is I actually don't like The Fray that much. I think all their songs sound alike. BUT, I like this one. Probably because the girl is on the guy's mind in overtime. And I've ridden on a cable car in SF. Or maybe because this is the first song I ever heard by The Fray...so everything else sounds like this one to me.

13. Breakeven-- The Script
Another really good song. I was usually kind of in pain when this one came up, so it helped to know I at least didn't feel as shitty as the singer of this song ;)

14. Don't Stop Believing-- gLee
I also would usually repeat this one. I love the Journey version of Don't Stop Believing, but I have to say the gLee version is even better. If this isn't on your running playlist, it should be!

15. I Run to You-- Lady Antebellum
Wooo. Running Song.

16. Need You Now-- Lady Antebellum
This song is the reason I love Lady Antebellum. It's now crossing over into pop... Who can't identify with this song?

17. 5k-- Matt and Kim
This is where things start to get more upbeat for me in terms of music.

18. Ready to Run-- Dixie Chicks
I put this song here because I'm getting to the point in the run where I'm ready to "do this."

19. Seven Nation Army-- The White Stripes
If this isn't a pump up song I don't know what is.

20. Hang on Sloopy-- The McCoys
Sorry if I got anyone's hopes up, Seven Nation Army wasn't in ANY WAY a shout out for PSU.

21. This is Our Moment-- Kenny Chesney
He finally released this as a single! I really liked this intro to College Gameday and now I can listen to the whole song whenever I want. I think it would be pretty hard to stop and walk while listening to this.

22. Bad Romance-- Lady Gaga
Until Bad Romance, BoysBoysBoys was my favorite Gaga song of all time. This one surpassed it, and will always be a workout song in my mind.

23. Tik Tok-- Ke$ha
One of my good friends is obsessed with this song. She's running a marathon in October; I decided she was onto something with her musical preferences!

24. Blah Blah Blah-- Ke$ha
Nowhere near as good as Tik Tok, but the other single of Ke$ha's that was out at the time.

25. If You're Going Through Hell-- Rodney Atkins
One of my top running songs. But you probably knew that.

26. Baby-- Justin Bieber ft. Ludacris
Another song I'm obviously obsessed with.

27. Break Your Heart-- Taio Cruz
Everything Luda touches is golden.

28. You Belong with Me-- Taylor Swift
The frustration in this song pushes me to run harder.

29. Stronger-- Kanye
I pretty much always listen to Kanye and Taylor in a row. This is my favorite song of his. Even if he says dumb things in real life, my workouts would not be the same without him.

30. Party in the USA-- Miley Cyrus
I really don't think I ever made it much past this song. I think a lot of times my run stopped around Bad Romance. If you've been following my blog...duh.

31. I Don't Want to Lose Your Love Tonight-- The Outfield
Besides a song that people get really excited about in bars, it's also great for running. Or maybe memories are what makes this song exciting to run to?

Anyway, I'll soon be posting more upbeat songs I like for shorter runs!

Oh--and yesterday I ran 2 miles on the treadmill in 19:38! My stomach felt pretty bad again, but hopefully it was because I had greasy food on Friday night and not a new theme of my runs longer than a mile.