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Songs of Summers Past (& a Playlist)

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As much as it pains me to say it, summer is coming to a close. While the weather isn’t quite with the program yet (as it’s still high 90′s), the start of school is just around the corner. I love all four seasons for different reasons, but I’ll miss the freedom and lazy days that come with summer. But even though the in-season produce is changing and Michael’s is already celebrating Thanksgiving, I still have one thing that can keep the feeling of summer alive…music.

I’m sure you’re just as sick of “Fancy” and “Rude” as I am, but wait a few years and hearing that song might remind you of summer 2014. Maybe you’ll equate a certain song with that one time you drove to the beach with friends in a convertible. Or the weekend when you drove 4.5-hours to visit friends and ended up staying out way past your bedtime. Or when you ran your fastest mile and felt like an Olympian. Or when you made a big personal/professional/life leap. (<– All those happened to me this summer)

sunset

Just listening to a song can transport us back to a certain memory or time in our lives, and that is a pretty special thing. Yes, we also associate songs with negative events that we don’t always want to remember, but for every sad song there are 5 more that jog good memories.

Enough rambling, my point of this post is to share songs of summer’s past…via a spin playlist. These songs were all in Billboard’s Top 10 Songs of Summer, in their respective years of release. I picked the ones that would be best for a workout class (upbeat), but you can check out the full list here. I also included songs from before I was born so while some songs don’t have any meaning to me, I know they will for others. (I think I started really paying attention to music around 2000 aka the Britney era).

Savor the last few days of summer and remember that one day, “Happy” will actually make you happy.

songs of summers past

 

Suggested Ride
1. Semi-Charmed Life- Warm-Up
2. Pon De Replay- Jumps
3. Absolutely (Story of A Girl)- Rolling Hills
4. Crazy in Love- Moderate hill (7/10) seated during the verses, standing pick-ups (in 2) during the chorus
5. Pour Some Sugar On Me- Heavy Hill, pick-up on chorus
6. Super Bass- Sprints on the chorus
7. California Gurls- Jumps
8. Don’t Phunk With My Heart- Sprints; Flat road on verses, increase resistance for chorus and sprint
9. Viva La Vida- 1-2 minute recovery, slowly build back on a moderate hill
10. The Middle- Sprints on a moderate (7/10) hill
11. Umbrella- Hill in position 3, pick-up on chorus
12. She Looks So Perfect- Sprints
13. Hey There Delilah- Cooldown

Do you have a song of summer?

Tell me your favorite song of the moment…

 

Marathon Training Update

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I just finished my 5th week of marathon training and I wanted to evaluate what’s been going well and what I need to work on. I’ve mentioned it before but other than a longer run on Saturday, my training plan isn’t too much different from what I would normally do. Additionally, it’s pretty low in mileage compared to what many people training for marathon would cover. However, I’m still young and want to have many years of running ahead of me, so running conservatively works for me now.

What’s Been Working:

Yoga- I discovered yoga half way through my last marathon training and have made sure to incorporate it into my routine this time around. Yoga has done wonders for not only my leg strength and flexibility, but my mental sanity. I think it’s a great complement to running and I hope to keep it up 2x a week.

Running Gear- Particularly my headphones, sneakers, hats, clothes and fuel pouch. I’ve experimented with different brands of gear in the past and have settled on my favorites. Nothing bothers me during a run…no falling headphones, itchy shirts or uncomfortable sneakers. I just got a pair of running sunglasses as a gift so I’m excited to try those out too!

Compression-ing- I love wearing compression gear. I have ProCompression socks and compression shorts (from a brand I can’t remember the name of), which I wear all the time. I used to wear compression socks under boots on casual day at work. Now that I’m not working, I just wear them out with shorts and look super cool ;)

Sticking To My Schedule- This could be a good thing and a bad thing. Good in the sense that I’m only running 4 days a week and being cautious of the mileage, bad in the sense that it’s a schedule and I know how dependent I can be on schedules. But I’m pretty flexible in the timing of runs (except for Saturday when I want to run early) so I think I’m doing pretty well with balancing this routine.

lifetimesport

What I Can Improve:

Hydration- I felt the effects of poor hydration after my run on Saturday with an episode of leg-twitching/restless leg. I’ve also had unquenchable thirst throughout the week. I need to incorporate more coconut water into my life, especially after runs in the heat. My stomach (and taste buds) don’t love typical sports drinks so coconut water is my go-to for electrolytes.

Mapping My Run- I’ve stuck to the same route for my longer runs and not only am I getting bored with it, but it has some definite drawbacks that I have to work around. For example, there is only one water fountain (with warm water) and one bathroom within about 4 miles. Sometimes I unnecessarily stop to use the bathroom because I’m afraid I’ll have an accident when I’m not near it (#runnerprobz…sorry not sorry). I also think that not taking in enough liquids during my run contributes to the dehydration after. I do love this route because a) it’s right out my door and b) it’s along the water. I think this week I will get my ass up earlier and drive to a different area of town to run.

Foam Rolling- I need MAJOR improvement in this area. I get so lazy after running that I hop in the shower and forget to stretch and foam roll. This will come back to haunt me when my hip/hamstring/calf/butt/etc. starts hurting. I’m making a promise to myself that I will foam roll for at least 10 minutes 3 times a week.

So, like everything in life, my running is a work in progress. I’m going to focus on making the above changes and will address anything else that comes my way.

Foam rolling pros, tell me…is 10 minutes 3x a week enough?

Gatorade…love or hate?

Workouts + Weekly Reads: Hot, Hot, Hot

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Another week of hot and humid weather down here in Florida. It makes running pretty miserable but I’m telling myself that training in the heat will make the marathon in November (in NY) feel a little easier. Just tell me I’m right.

After my longer run yesterday I had a bit of a leg-twitching episode. During my usual post-run nap on the couch, my mom noticed that my legs were pretty restless and as soon as I woke up I noticed it too (I’m surprised I was able to fall asleep). We chalked it up to dehydration, which admittedly, I’m not the best at managing. I drink so much water normally, but I didn’t hydrate with electrolytes after. My water intake was pretty low too, considering the heat. My favorite electrolyte/sports drink is coconut water so naturally I made my sister drive to Target to buy me some. Technically she was going there anyway, but I liked the special treatment.

Monday: 3.75 miles + yoga

Tuesday: Body Pump

Wednesday: 6 mile run on the treadmill. I had planned to run outside on the beach but the streets were flooded from an overnight storm. This was the view from the gym.

IMG_0110

 

Thursday: Orange Theory (3.5 miles + weights)

Friday: Body Pump

Saturday: 11 miles. Despite the heat and then later the dehydration, my body felt pretty good. Legs felt strong and could have kept going…if there was a slight breeze.

Sunday: Rest or yoga

Favorite posts from this week:

Learning to Be More Open (Never Say Never)- Picky Runner

Why We Need to Change How We Talk About Working Out- Hello Giggles (found via Clare’s Weekly Reads)

#IAmMarvelous: Why We Need to Commit to Loving Ourselves Each and Every Day- Breeana Ashkar via Elite Daily

15 Simple, Great Feelings Money Can’t Buy- Alanna Murphy via Thought Catalog

 

Happy Sunday! xo

Overthinking

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The freedom that comes with vacation means ample time for thinking. In my case, overthinking. One minute I can be happy-go-lucky just surfing the internet and the next I’m worrying about my schedule this semester. Worrying so much that I stop what I’m doing and search for different classes on my school’s website.

Additionally, I tend to dwell upon past experiences and wonder what life would be like if I did things differently. For example, I often wonder what life would be like if I went to a different college. If I hadn’t moved so many times. If I joined a certain school organization over the ones I’m in. If I didn’t cut my hair yesterday…OK not really dwelling over that, just wanted to share a picture ;)

Haircut

Short hair, don’t care ;)

I have no doubt that overthinking is not healthy. In fact, I feel like it’s the source of a lot of my “problems.” Looking back at past worries, I see that 95% of the time, the reality was not as bad as I imagined. Even in the 5% case where the situation was actually bad, why did I have to put myself through the “suffering” beforehand? Why did I want to make myself miserable before the situation? Sometimes I think it’s a coping mechanism so I can prepare for the situation, but being unhappy now won’t make the future any easier. I think it might make it feel worse than it really is.

stop overthinking

Not sure if any of my rambling makes sense, but I guess what I’m getting to is the importance of concentrating on today. I need to live with past decisions and just make the most of them from here on out. I want to redirect my attention to the present moment and occupy my mind with something other than the past. As for future (non-life changing) decisions, for a Type-A planner like me, it might be best to just calm down and go with the flow (<– Which is way easier said than done).

That, or I could just go for a run. Somehow, running solves all. 

How do you ease your worries?

Any plans this weekend?