“A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter what the outcome, he will know he has been alive.” - Walt Disney

Friday, July 26, 2013

Deep Down I'm Still a 13-Yr Old Girl

This is it, the post where it finally becomes apparent that deep down inside I've never matured past being a 13 year old girl.  LOL.  Okay, okay, really that's only (mostly) true when it comes to my taste in music.

Before a long run I like to try to get myself into a happy frame of mind, and music is the best attitude adjuster that I know of.  The best things for me are upbeat songs with a great beat to get me bopping or with lyrics that have me singing along at the top of my lungs to help me get pumped for the journey ahead.  That just makes me happy.  Embarrassingly, the songs that "get me there" the fastest are the teenie-bopper pop hits popular with pre-teens and teens half my age!

Here's my dilemma.  We've started 5am (FIVE. A. M.) Saturday morning long runs to try to beat the heat here in Texas.  And since I've got about a 25 minute drive to where my group meets, that means leaving my house by 4:30.   I'm not super-picky in my music selections, so normally the local mix station more than meets my needs for the minimal amount of time I spend in my car during the week.  However, when the DJ decides to play a slow song that early in the morning - that just doesn't work for me.  Which means I need to create....you got it...a MIX TAPE!!!!  Ok, really it's a mix CD (yes, my car is so old it doesn't have an input jack for playing MP3's - don't judge).

I started wracking my brain for songs.  And I came up empty.  Part of the reason I'm perfectly happy listening to the radio is that I have no idea who sings what songs or what the song titles are...smh.  So what's a girl to do?  Enter Google.  Search for "most overplayed songs of 2013/2012/2011/2010/2009.  I played YouTube clips of songs to figure out what they were and if it was a song that fit the bill then it made the list.  I added a couple of random ones that I actually can identify without help and came up with this list.  Prepare to be amazed/amused/horrified:
  1. Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepson
  2. Party in the U.S.A. - Miley Cyrus
  3. Firework - Katy Perry
  4. Edge of Glory - Lady Gaga
  5. Single Ladies - Beyonce
  6. What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction
  7. Raise Your Glass - Pink
  8. Dynamite - Taio Cruz
  9. California Girls - Katy Perry
  10. Smile - Uncle Cracker
  11. All The Small Things - Blink 182
  12. Footloose - Kenny Loggins
  13. I Want You to Want Me - Cheap Trick
So there it is.  Lots of these are songs you'll hear at races - for the same reason that they made my list.  I know, I know. some people are reaaaaaaaalllly tired of these.  But they're exactly what I'm looking for at 4:30 on a Saturday morning - trust me.  Whether my group will appreciate me having me just heard some of these when we start out will be another story... ;-)


Q4U:  Does music help you get revved up for a run?  Do you have any songs that are "must-hear" for you pre-run?  Do you have any suggestions you think I should add to my list?

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Haven't Lost Anyone Yet!

This past Saturday was Week 10 of our Galloway Group training.  I can't believe it - seems like just last week I was writing this post, worrying about all the responsibilities of being a PGL, and most specifically worrying about losing someone while we were out on a run.

Of course, my fears were unfounded and we haven't lost anyone yet!  I am astounded by the size of our pace group - we are 14 members strong!  And though we are 14 very different people, we've bonded well.  There's always something interesting to talk about because of our diversity, and we're all very supportive of each other.  I couldn't be more pleased with our progress as an overall group.

So, while our group name may be "Lost In Pace," I'm very relieved we haven't lived up to that moniker!  ;-)