The Power of Music

I always run with music. There was a time when I didn't and honestly I don't know how I managed to run for 3 hours without my little soundtrack. There is something about hearing your favourite tunes that can lift you out of a funk or help you push through the last few km's of a tough run.

I decided it was time to change up some of the music on my shuffle. I was heading out for an hour and a half long run so some new tunes would be nice. I was feeling fine when I went out the door but when I started running, I felt a little "rusty". I figured that would work itself out the further along I got into my run. It didn't. It was also really windy. I hate the wind. I was already struggling and the wind just made it that much harder. I plodded along. I had no spring in my step. 45 minutes later, it was time for me to turn around. I thought I had been running into the wind on the way out but, noooooo, it was square in my face when I turned around. This made me cranky. I don't like being cranky when I'm running. I tried not to pay attention to the wind and just focus on my stride and form. That kept me distracted for a while. About half an hour from home, just as I'm entering the bike path, one of my newly added songs comes on: Wonderlust King by Gogol Bordello. I immediately started to smile. And skip. And sing. Thank God no one was around. I put that song on repeat 3 times in a row. I felt energized. The spring in my step was back. So much so that I decided to add some intervals to the end of my run. 3 x2:00 minutes all out with 1:00 minute rest. It felt so good to go fast. I even managed to hit 3:52 km's. That's some serious spring in my step.