Music mix offers a rhythm to the run

Now that I am back into working out regularly, there are a few key ingredients I need for a good work out.

One is the proper attire, which mostly means a comfortable pair of yoga pants, a sports bra, a tank top and New Balance sneakers. Though I can hardly believe I did it, I dropped $100 on the pair of yoga pants I have now at Santana Row about a month ago. They are comfortable, the right length (which is an issue for me at 5'1") and as my friend said when we were shopping they make everything look a little perkier and shapelier. Luckily, I get my New Balance shoes and Gap tank tops for cheap at the Gilroy outlets.

Another key ingredient for a good work out is a couple of magazines to keep me occupied while I am working on cardio machines. The truth is I get kinda bored on the elliptical, bike or treadmill so a magazine is a good distraction. I wasn't going to the gym for a while so I had a backlog of People magazines. People is perfect because there are lots of pictures and it's light reading. It doesn't take a lot of concentration and the type is larger than in a magazine like my favorite read, The New Yorker. But after a few months of a six-day a week gym habit, I quickly caught up on the magazines. So now I've been mixing in an issue of Entertainment Weekly here and there, or Esquire or GQ, which have surprisingly high-quality and clever writing.

But perhaps the most important part of my workout routine (and something that has been a part of it since my first fitness stint back in college) is good music. Back when I used to run in college and at San Jose State University, I used to carry around a Sony Discman. When I was using cardio equipment, I'd prop it in the cup holders. When I was using weight machines, I wore baggy men's gym shorts so that I could stuff the Discman in my pocket. It was heavy and unwieldy.

Times have certainly changed. Now I run with my iPod nano strapped to my arm with headphones that have soft earbuds to block out all the outside noise. I have 600+ songs on the iPod so it's easy to mix up the music. I have to say I have eclectic taste in music in general, but especially when I workout. I don't really care what the lyrics are as long as it has a fast pace and isn't heavy metal. When I first started jogging at the gym, I listened to the soundtrack from "Slumdog Millionaires," which has some great high beat per minute music on it. "Mausum &Escape" is what I use to start the jog because it sets the mood and rhythm.

So when I was preparing for the 5K last weekend, I spent some time thinking about with what music I might want to start and end the run. I wanted to use the music to help pace myself - like two fast songs for jogging and then one slower song for walking. But mostly I wanted fun stuff that would keep me going when I got a little tired out.

So below is my random mix:
Hop on a Plane - Tegan and Sara
Mausam & Escape - Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack
Blah Blah Blah - Ke$ha
Amphetamine - I Can't Go On I'll Go On (Bandslam soundtrack)
Sexy Mistake - The Chalets
Upside Down - Jack Johnson
Beggin' - Madcon
Mean Girls - Sugarland
Supermodel - Jill Sobule
Walking on air - Kerli
Party at a Rich Dude's House - Ke$ha
Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne
Single Ladies - Beyonce
Shake It - Metro Station
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
Boom Boom Pow - Black Eyed Peas
Get On Your Boots - U2
O Saya - Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack
Gimme More - Britney Spears
Whatcha Say - DJ X-Change

I put on an hour and 10 minutes of music, just in case I really blew my average time of a 40 minute 5K (on the treadmill at the gym.) The songs that gave me the biggest motivation included Mausam & Escape, Supermodel and Girlfriend, perhaps because of their timing in the run. I crossed the finish line to Beyonce's Single Ladies so I didn't even get to the one song by my favorite band U2. But I am sure I will get some more use out of the mix at the gym.

And anyone who has suggestions for other songs to add is welcome to share them.

iPod brings back music memories

The other day when I was driving home I had my iPod playing on random and "Boys Don't Cry" by the Cure came on. It's one of the songs I can't listen to without singing along. I hadn't heard it in a while, but it's one of those songs I love from when my junior high years. Of course, the CD came out in 1980 when I was only two. The "Wish" abum, however, came out in 1992 when I was in junior. My friends and I fell in love with the Cure while watching the "Friday I'm in Love" video on MTV.

Back in the day before iPods, YouTube and MySpace music sites, I'd head up to Streelight Records in Campbell in search of all the CDs of my favorite artists, including a dozen Cure cds that are stored in a binder in the garage. Streetlight was awesome because they sold used CDs for super cheap, and often had hard-to-find albums such as the Passengers, a experimental album U2 released under a psuedonym. I sometimes miss the click-clack of searching through used CDs for a find instead of listening to 30 second clips through iTunes.

I used to think of my road trips to and from Los Angeles while I was in graduate school and college as a five-to-six CD drive. I got really good at changing CDs with one hand and not taking my eyes off the road - at least not for very long. I always had at least 30 CDs in the car for variety.

But when my sister gave me an iPod mini in sherbert green for Christmas one year, the way I listen to music changed forever. I'm now on my third iPod, again a gift from my sister, and I love the option to create playlists even though mine probably only make sense to me. I've got the pop/punk list, klamath man, rap/dance and nearly every U2 song ever recorded. But mostly I like the chance to play the songs on random so every once in a while I get surprised by an old favorite.

This morning it was songs from the Nirvana "Nevermind" album that came out when I was in junior high. The lyrics don't really make sense, and at the time it didn't matter to my friends and I. It just mattered that it was loud, and it was music our parents couldn't understand. The songs bring me instantly back to slumber parties with pizza and cheeseballs and headbanging late at night until our necks hurt the next morning. Only an iPod can collect that many musical memories at once.