Running to the Music

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if there was a background score of music playing, like in the movies?

This blog is alive, with the sound of music

Just as something bad is about to happen–you would know it!  The music would get low and foreboding.  People would just break out into song, instead of honking their horns or trying to hit you with a shopping cart.

(To the music of Memory from Cats)

Left lane,

Is for cars that are passing,

And for making a left turn,

Not for ambling along.

I remember

A time driver’s knew what etiquette was

Leave the left lane, flow again.

But alas, our lives are not scored musically.  Except when I run.

I almost always run with music; the exceptions being when I am running with someone else and it would be just rude to shut them out and ignore them, and when my iPod battery dies.  Don’t you just hate that!

This past week, the temperatures here in central Pennsylvania (which stands for Penn’s frozen woods) have been in the single digits in the morning when I usually run, with wind chills often below zero.

And there I am, running across snow and ice as Glenn Frey’s The Heat is On plays in my ear.  The director of this score has a sense of humor.

Today, though, Queen Elsa sang Let It Go . . . . and I ran on because the cold never really bothered me anyway.

Yes, I have an eclectic mix of music for running.  A lot of the music is from the 80’s, but includes TV Themes songs such as The Odd Couple, Friends, Lost in Space, and Gilligan’s Island (you never know when a run might end up being a three hour tour!), show tunes (such as Phantom of the Opera descending into the labyrinth), and more recent music such as my lady Katy Perry.

Also on my run this morning, Star Wars by Meco came on, and all of a sudden, I was no longer running in Pennsylvania, but on the Ice Planet of Hoth, on the muscular legs of a tauntaun.  (Hey!  the only muscles I have are in my legs, my mouth and the fingers that type.  The rest of me is more like C3PO or a poorly drawn stick figure.)

I like music with a beat–it keeps you going when you are are putting one foot in front of the other.  But the beat and the bass (it’s NOT all about that bass and I do not have that song in the playlist!) should not be overpowering (think heavy metal and head banging music.)  The beat should complement the melody; not try to kill it in a bloody battle.

Some of the tunes remind me of my childhood, such as the TV themes.  They may not make me run faster, but somehow they make me feel younger.  And yes, I have We are Young by Fun.  Sometimes, I pick songs just because I like them, not necessarily because they have a strong beat or make me feel younger.  Some of the songs on my iPod were sung by girls I had crushes on back in the day–Debbie Gibson, Susanna Hoffs, Debbie Harry, and Belinda Carlisle.  Yeah, who am I kidding–I still have those crushes and that’s why Katy Perry is on the playlist now.

My favorite songs to run to:  Major Tom , Believe, I Will Survive, Lawyers in Love, Bad Romance, The Theme from Gremlins, the original Hawaii 5-0 theme, and Wizards in Winter (by the Trans Siberian Orchestra.)

I know there are some other runners out there.  What’s on your playlist?????

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Run, My Angel of Music

It was Man Vs. Nature.  The runner versus the elements.

The thermometer declared a temperature of 11.5.  The wind chill was near zero.  The “real feel” temp was “pretty damned cold.”

Only a fool would go out running in this weather.  Fortunately, I fit into that category all too easily.

So I bundled up.  I wore heavy under armour sweatpants over compression shorts.  A warm tech shirt underneath a fleece jacket.  A balaclava to protect my face and a hat over top of that to keep my ears warm.  Two pairs of gloves.

I could barely move.  I felt like the Michelin Tire Man.

My family (friends, neighbors, acquaintances, strangers on the street, dogs, cats and squirrels among others) make fun of my spandex running equipment.  But for comfort and speed, you can’t beat Lycra.

Seriously, can you picture Spiderman webbing his way through the city wearing a hooded parka, baggy sweatpants and ski boots on his feet?  It just ain’t right.

But off I went, or rather rolled, depending on how you look at it.

My Ipod started playing the Phantom of the Opera theme, which seemed oddly appropriate with the mask covering my face.  I was the Phantom of the Running Trail.  I felt like one of those people wearing the padded costumes that look like sumo wrestlers between innings at the ball park.

But Phantom of the Opera finished and The Heat is On started playing.  How ironic.  This was followed by Walking on Sunshine.  The Music Gods were having a grand old time today!

Not very aerodynamic!

I was able to manage six miles, but I can’t say it was a pleasant experience.  Better than the Dreadmill!  But far from being one of my favorite runs.  My glasses kept fogging up.  I think I should go out and buy some anti-fog product for future use, but this is only like the second time in five years that I’ve had any fogging issues, so it’s probably not a cost effective use of my money.  I’m also glad I didn’t have LASIK–my corneal flaps would have surely frozen and fallen off my eyes!  And yes, before you laugh, it is possible, though highly unlikely, to freeze your cornea!

I actually wasn’t cold at all, and in fact, I think I over dressed.  The fogging was an annoyance, but nothing I couldn’t live with.  Barring a heat wave, I’ll probably go back out this weekend.  Nature won’t defeat me!

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