Music to Run By

My longest training run is now behind me, leaving me looking forward to the day (where I promise to apply sunscreen liberally now that I know the sun is here). I am excited, nervous, anxious and just ready to get this thing going! I feel like I did when I was about 39 weeks pregnant. You're just done. You're ready for the big day to get here so you can put in the hard work you've been anticipating and preparing yourself for over the past several months. Even though it's so close, that baby feels so far away!

My goal has changed since I first started training. I first wanted to just finish, period. Then, I decided I wanted a sub-six marathon. Based on my first few long runs, that seems totally attainable. With the last few runs, I've adjusted my goal and now would be very happy to come in under 6.5 hours. I'm no longer going to beat myself up over the periods of time I walk, but I also want to put in the best effort I can so that when I look back on the day I don't think (well, as much, because I know I'll dissect it anyhow) I could have done x differently. I want to feel completely done at the end, spent, all effort exerted on the road.

For my twenty miler, I had just enough songs so that my Running Mix stopped playing mere steps from my house. Good tunes are going to be so important on race day, so I sat down with a list of recommendations from my friends in the Facebook community and my current playlist and created what I think will be a mix of fast and mellow (mostly upbeat) to get me through what will be the hardest physical test for my body to date. Yep, I'm including pushing out that 9.3 cherub and having my abdomen cut open for my first babe.

I still need to do some tweaking, but if you need some musical inspiration to get your Athena (or Bonnydale in the really cool races that really give us our own category :)) bod moving, here's my playlist -- 6.5 hours (101 songs) of race day inspiration.


Ready to Run 3:51 Dixie Chicks
Let It Rock 3:51 Kevin Rudolf & Lil Wayne
Circus 3:12 Britney Spears
I'm Shipping Up to Boston 2:34 Dropkick Murphys
Put You In a Song 3:40 Keith Urban
Party In the U.S.A. 3:23 Miley Cyrus
Just Dance 4:02 Lady GaGa & Colby O'Donis
California Gurls (feat. Snoop Dogg) 3:56 Katy Perry
You and Your Heart 3:16 Jack Johnson
On the Road Again 2:32 Willie Nelson
Girlfriend 3:37 Avril Lavigne
Viva la Vida 4:01 Coldplay
Rhythm of Love 3:22 Plain White T's
Hey, Soul Sister 3:37 Train
Breakeven (Falling to Pieces) 4:21 The Script
Say Hey (I Love You) [feat. Cherine Anderson] 3:56 Michael Franti & Spearhead
Empire State of Mind (feat. Alicia Keys) 4:37 Jay-Z
Gold Digger (feat. Jamie Foxx) 3:28 Kanye West
Lollipop (Squeak E. Clean & Desert Eagles Remix) 2:06 The Chordettes
Under Pressure 3:58 David Bowie & Queen
Born to Run 4:29 Bruce Springsteen
DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love (feat. Pitbull) 3:42 Usher
Fix You 4:55 Coldplay
Firework 3:48 Katy Perry
Stuck Like Glue 4:08 Sugarland
Iko Iko 2:51 The Belle Stars
Let's Get Rocked 4:56 Def Leppard
Teenage Dream 3:48 Katy Perry
SexyBack 4:03 Justin Timberlake
Uptown Girl 3:15 Billy Joel
Don't Trust Me 3:13 3OH!3
Thnks Fr Th Mmrs 3:24 Fall Out Boy
Need You Now 3:57 Lady Antebellum
Here Comes the Sun 3:06 The Beatles
Paralyzer 3:28 Finger Eleven
Sugar, We're Goin Down 3:49 Fall Out Boy
Dynamite 3:24 Taio Cruz
Breathe (2 AM) 4:40 Anna Nalick
Back to December 4:53 Taylor Swift
Please Don't Go 3:17 Mike Posner
All the Right Moves 3:58 OneRepublic
As She's Walking Away (feat. Alan Jackson) 3:44 Zac Brown Band
Tik Tok 3:20 Ke$ha
Raise Your Glass 3:23 P!nk
I'm from the Country (Single) 3:34 Tracy Byrd
Lose Yourself 5:20 Eminem
Love Shack 5:22 The B-52's
Pour Some Sugar On Me 4:53 Def Leppard
Old Alabama (feat. Alabama) 5:02 Brad Paisley
Bittersweet Symphony 5:58 The Verve
Move Along 3:59 The All-American Rejects
Cooler Than Me (Single Mix) 3:35 Mike Posner
Mine 3:51 Taylor Swift
The Time (Dirty Bit) 5:08 The Black Eyed Peas
Somewhere Only We Know 3:56 Keane
King of Anything 3:27 Sara Bareilles
Bad Romance 4:54 Lady GaGa
Secrets 3:45 OneRepublic Waking Up (Deluxe Version) Pop 7
Vivaldi The 4 Seasons (Summer) Iii. Presto 3:08 Antonio Vivaldi Vivaldi: The Four Seasons Classical
Uprising 5:05 Muse
Something More 3:37 Sugarland
Intergalactic 3:30 Beastie Boys
Mr. Brightside 3:43 The Killers
We Made You 4:30 Eminem
Just a Dream 3:58 Nelly
Armageddon It 5:22 Def Leppard
The Cave 3:36 Mumford & Sons
Magic Carpet Ride 4:28 Steppenwolff
Lover, Lover 3:14 Jerrod Niemann
California Love 6:26 Dr. Dre Feat. 2pac
Born This Way 4:20 Lady GaGa
S&M 4:03 Rihanna
Better Life 4:44 Keith Urban
Girls Just Want to Have Fun 3:08 Starf%#$er
Forget You (Glee Cast Version) [feat. Gwyneth Paltrow] 3:41
Rolling In the Deep 3:48 ADELE
If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows) 3:38 Rodney Atkins
Changes 4:29 2Pac & Talent
Kids 5:03 MGMT
All I Want to Do 3:33 Sugarland
Without Me 4:51 Eminem
Accidentally In Love 3:09 Counting Crows
No Rain 3:37 Blind Melon
Cecilia 2:55 Simon & Garfunkel
She 2:14 Green Day
Days Go By 3:45 Keith Urban
Seven Nation Army 3:52 The White Stripes
Blister In the Sun 2:25 Violent Femmes
This 3:39 Darius Rucker
Vivaldi The 4 Seasons (Spring) I. Allegro 3:33
Numb / Encore 3:25 Jay-Z & Linkin Park
Who Knew 3:28 P!nk
Give Me Everything (feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer) 4:16 Pitbull
Tonight Tonight 3:20 Hot Chelle Rae
Lust for Life 5:14 Iggy Pop
I Wanna Be Sedated 2:29 The Ramones
The Distance 3:00 Cake
Dream On 4:51 Aerosmith
I Will Survive 5:11 Cake
Ring of Fire 3:51 Social Distortion
Fat Bottomed Girls (Glee Cast Version) 4:12 Glee Cast

Happy Running!