Tag: Workout music

Third Time’s the Charm

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Last weekend I ran the Richmond half marathon, which was my third half marathon ever. It was a lot of fun! I got to spend some time with great friends, and had a great run! Turns out I just keep getting faster! My first half marathon was the 2012 Richmond half and I finished in 2:04. Then in February of 2013 I finished the Colonial half marathon in Williamsburg, VA in 2:02. Last weekend my goal was to break the 2 hour barrier, but my expectations were low because I really only ran once, maybe twice a week this fall. I did a lot of cross training, but I didn’t think it was enough to improve my time.

My brother and I posing with the Governor pre race!
My brother and me posing with the Governor pre race!

On Saturday it only took me 1 hour and 57 minutes to run 13.1 miles! I was so excited!

I had a terrible night’s sleep the night before, and I wasn’t feeling particularly well. But I took a few tylenol and suited up with the expectation to try my best. Once I started running I actually felt great! I was running pretty fast (for me) and I just kept pushing because it felt good. Here’s how the race played out in terms of splits and some of the songs I remember that came up on my shuffle.

1: 9:20- Weaving through the crowd at the start. Lips are Movin by Meghan Trainor- I got this at the beginning and towards the last couple miles.

2: 9:01- Found my pace. Irreplaceable by Beyonce- This was a short uphill. Beyonce=motivation.

3: 8:58- Gold Digger by Kanye West feat. Jamie Foxx- This one got me through mile 3, and reminded me of senior year of college!

4: 8:55- So Emotional (David Morales mix) by Whitney Houston kept me moving.

5: 8:57- Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepson came on- It’s a classic.

6: 9:06- I think this was a little uphill. Stutter by Marianas Trench got me through.

7: 8:56- I’m surprised my splits were that consistent for 6 miles straight. If I Could Change Your Mind by HAIM.

8: 9:14- This is a rough mile (for me at least) because you’ve run 8 and you still have 5 more. You need to refresh that motivation! Rich Girls by Down With Webster definitely made me laugh on the inside at this point.

9: 8:50 This was when I really decided I could push it and make sure the tank was completely empty at 13. Amazing by Kanye West feat. Young Jeezy came on, I think I listened to this 3 times in a row in mile 9.

10: 8:37- Killing it. Shake it Off by Taylor Swift- Obvi.

11: 8:36- Killing it. Bailando by Enrique Iglesias feat. Sean Paul, Descemer Bueno & Gente de Zona, because Enrique is the pinnacle of inspiration.

12: 8:42- Killing it. Dancing On My Own by Robyn, because Robyn is awesome running music.

13: 8:23- full disclosure: the last half mile of the race is downhill. I have no idea what songs finished the race for me. I was just so happy to be finishing!

This unflattering look says I'm freezing, tired, and ready to take a shower asap.
This unflattering look says I’m freezing, tired, and ready to take a shower asap. My brother is just happy he’s still in one piece. My dad is clearly elated with our accomplishment.

Last Five

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The Last Five songs I downloaded.

1.  Kiss You by One Direction: So I was all ready to side with The Wanted (even though we all know I am an *NSYNC girl in my heart), because I saw The Wanted’s show on E!. But here’s the problem: One Direction is just so damn catchy sometimes. This is one of those times. It’s a great commuting song, a great workout song, a great playing in Excel at work song. I can’t get enough!One Direction

2. Live It Up by Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull: This right here is a formula that cannot fail. J-Lo + Pitbull= quality dance/workout/fun music. The only word that can describe this song is: Fierce!J Lo

3. They Don’t Know About Us by One Direction: Catchy boy band ballad? Yes please!

4. I’m Out by Ciara feat. Nicki Minaj: I live for this song and this duo! Ciara is a constant on my workout mix, and this song has been a great addition of late. Sometimes Ciara has been hit and miss in the past few years, but I think this is a little more reminiscent of her fabulous sophomore album.Ciara

5. Roar by Katy Perry: Download this song now and play it on repeat. The first time I heard it I was not sold, but I needed some new music so I downloaded it and put it on my workout mix. When it came on during my run on the treadmill (my least favorite cardio machine) I played it about five times in a row and upped by speed. It is super motivational!

Katy Perry

Monument 10K

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This past weekend was a fun one!  The last few weekends I’ve spent most of the weekend at my school working on various projects. But this weekend I finally got the chance to get outside a little and enjoy this late spring weather!  One of the highlights of the weekend was running the Monument 10K in Richmond, VA!

As you might remember I’ve run a couple half marathons in the last six months, but I haven’t done a 10K in a couple years.  I was worried about the distance because my training runs outside are usually longer than a 10K, and my treadmill runs are shorter than a 10k, so I just wasn’t sure how fast I would be.

But guess what.  I went much faster than I expected!  I’m not even sure why.  My official time was 53:57.  I was pretty happy with that because my average mile split was 8:38, about 40 seconds faster than my last half marathon mile split! I just started out pretty fast, and I felt good, so I just kept it up!

Even better than running fast, I met up with a bunch of friends at the race.  We had a few different paces among us, so we didn’t actually all run together, but it was great to have the company before and after the main event. My friends are much better at the Richmond scene so it was great to have some natives helping with the logistics of the crowded race. After the race we all headed to Station 2 for brunch. It was a perfect post race recovery meal recapping the race and relaxing.

Some of the tunes (both old and new) that kept me going during the 10K were:

The Way by Ariana Grande

More by Usher

Remix by The New Kids on the Block

Can’t Hold Us by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

Let it Roll by Flo’Rida