Is Your Running Playlist Slowing You Down?

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This isn’t a rhetorical question, I’d really like to know. Because I think mine is!

I have several running playlists, actually, for different distances (5K, 10K, half marathon, full). But because my 26.2 playlist is longest – read: offers the most variety on shuffle – I tend to maintain that one best and ignore the others.

But here is the problem: my 26.2 playlist is tailored to my

  1. refined taste in music (ha, hello Eminem, you old angry friend), and
  2. marathon pace of 9:00. (BIG HA! I wish!)

I had it on during this weekend’s 10K, which I ran at an average 8:04 minute-mile. Not that I don’t love my music – I do – but I actually felt like I had to work harder the whole time to outrun it. Settle down into the groove for just a minute, and Bam! — I’m running slower than I should be.

So yes, I do think my music is slowing me down. Must find new tunes.

Any suggestions? My current playlist is embedded below (for those of you using Spotify… and if you’re not using it yet – what are you waiting for? Best $9.99 I spend a month, all the music in the world at my fingertips… er, in my eardrums? Here’s a referral link, if you sign up with it you get some sort of perk — and if many of you sign up with it, I’ll get a free month of Premium membership, thank you!):

And please, don’t tell me I must part with my current favorites:

Listen to this one on a long run, preferably while running through a tunnel. I guarantee you’ll feel like you’re in one of those Nike ads.

Throwback to the 90s yeah baby!

And not least:

LOVE me some John Mayer, but he can’t be that good for my hopefully many PRs to come?

Oh, and – and! – we’re going to see him LIVE tomorrow!

HusbandRuns is SO excited it’s ridiculous. He can’t wait. He’s been talking about it all week and says this will be better than the Breaking Dawn 2 premiere he enjoyed so much.

I hope you realize by now I’m joking?

What’s your favorite music to run to? To dance to? To see live?

Today’s run:
A quickie runch (it was HOT!) – I tried to keep as close to an 8-minute mile as possible… Well, let me tell you: NOT possible! I don’t know how I did it in that 10K, was the course short? The adrenaline of racing? A flatter course? Cooler early-morning temperatures? Or maybe I’m not recovered fully (though I have had no soreness whatsoever, come on, it was just a 10K…). Anyway, here:

3 thoughts on “Is Your Running Playlist Slowing You Down?

  • August 5, 2013 at 8:46 pm
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    Sorry for all the comments this evening… the Husband is out and I’m loose on the Mac Air! My current fave running song is ‘Castle of Glass’ by Linkin Park. Fab beat! I also love the very old ‘Encore une fois’ by Sash! It’s awesome!!

    Reply
  • July 28, 2013 at 7:04 am
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    Here’s a link to a cool web site I use. You can choose your pace (or bpm) and it will give you songs that match your request. I then purchase the songs from iTunes. Most of the time, the songs are spot on for the pace I want to run. My favorites are usually in the 120 bpm range. http://jog.fm

    Reply
    • July 29, 2013 at 10:28 am
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      This is genius! Played with it a bit and found a lot of music I like in the pace I want. Thanks! 🙂

      Reply

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