Rock'n the Bolder Boulder

Ever since folks starting running with yellow Walkmans on their waist, there has been a debate about whether one should run with music or not.  Critics of running with music say you should stay in tune with your body and not drown out listening to your own breathing.  I am a pro-music person who does not find listening to my gasping to be very therapeutic and I prefer the distraction that music gives me.  A part of my pre-race ritual is to generate a playlist to keep me moving throughout the run.  Today I am getting ready for tomorrow’s Bolder, Boulder, the largest 10K in the country.  While they provide bands along the way, I prefer my own soundtrack.  Here are the songs I picked out for tomorrow’s race:

Before I get started, I will listen to Adele’s “I’ll Be Waiting” during the time in the corral.  Then I will ease into the race with Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long” since Memorial Day kicks off the summer.  Hopefully this slower song will help me prevent my usual rabbit start.  The Bolder Boulder course has some challenging early hills so I went to AC/DC's “Thunderstruck", Jack White’s “I’m Shakin’”, Run DMC's “It’s Tricky” and the Beastie Boys' “Intergalactic” to help me with the climbs.  Those hills tend to take a lot out of you so I start to rock even harder to keep my pace going with Guns N Roses “Welcome to the Jungle”, AC/DC “Highway to Hell”, and Saliva “Click Click Boom.”  Hopefully the hills won’t trash my legs so I can hit the downhill at Mile 4 fast.  I have songs Bon Jovi “Livin’ on a Prayer”, “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” by Michael Jackson, and “Bust a Move” by Young MC for that portion of the race.  In the challenging last two miles I literally want to dance through some of the last few steps with “Apache” by the Sugarhill Gang and “Let’s Go Crazy” by Prince.  As I enter the stadium “Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky)” by Bill Conti kicks in for my final sprint to the finish.  If I manage the personal record that I am hoping for then “Don’t Stop the Party” by Pitbull will be how I want to celebrate.  Finally I have “Man Like That” by Gin Wigmore (think Heineken James Bond commercial) to mirror my pride of a strong finish.

I hope these songs help me to set a personal best, since "Go Faster" is one of my New Year’s resolutions (http://www.alohafridays.net/2013/01/continued-resolutions.html). Even if it doesn’t, it will make for a fun race.  Comment here or send me a message with what some of your favorite running songs are and if I will create a reader’s mix for my next race.