It's Friday - Reader's Pick

Today's pick is from Kirsten H.  She is both a dear friend and loyal teammate and I often look to her for inspiration and advice.  She definitely keeps it real which I find incredibly refreshing.  She likes this song because it's got so many different elements to it - groovy horns, unique solos, complex rhythms - and this keeps her mind entertained while she's on the road.  Especially when she's running a 5K in oppressive heat and humidity at 6:00 at night as we did yesterday.  Go team Bacon!  She also likes it because it's funky, fun and fresh without all the foul language and inappropriate subject matter that so many rap/pop songs have today.  Just basic good stuff.  Thanks for sharing, Kirst!

Listen to this:
Pump It - The Black Eyed Peas  

The Time Is Now

Over the last year or so I have been trying to break a specific time for my 5K.  I'm 37 and the clock is ticking, so I'm feeling like I need to make it happen sooner rather than later.  After running several races last the year, I was beginning to feel a bit stuck so I asked a coach to work with me to create a plan that would help me achieve my goal.  Since May, I have been diligently heading to the track to run his suggested workouts.  Even on paper they were intimidating and each time I began I wondered if I would be able to pull it off, which, I suppose, was the point.  Despite the heat, some family travel, and a few bruised ribs, I have been able to successfully follow his plan.  At this point, I have two final races to attempt my goal and then I have to shift gears and focus on my job for the fall.  I'm hoping that the hay is in the barn, so to speak.  The first race is tomorrow evening so I was planning to treat it as sort of a dry run to see what I'm capable of.  I emailed my coach and asked him to suggest a strategy which I have struggled to come up with for my past races.  Should I go all out?  Should I take it easy for the first mile?  Should I just treat this as a speed workout and save my energy for the final race the following week?  His response was unexpected and so simple.  He said, "Rebecca, sooner or later you're going to have to take a risk, why not now?"  Fair question.  As I mulled it over I hopped in my car to run an errand.  And then, as if someone was speaking to me from above, I heard this stirring track by Lord Huron titled, no joke, It's Time To Run.  The song's story happens to be about someone who is running from the law, but hey, running is running.  I listened to the lyrics explain that this guy took a risk and that he has no regrets about what he did.  Yep. Ok.  No regrets.  I don't want to have them either.  Let's risk it all.  Because, clearly, the time is now.

Listen to this:
It's Time to Run - Lord Huron 

Monday Morning

My girls are five and seven years old.  I run for them and because of them.  Translation, I want to set a good example for them and sometimes they drive me nuts.  This Monday morning I was dealing with the latter.  My seven year old was up first.  Unbeknownst to me, she has figured out how to find her favorite shows 'On Demand' so she simply snuck down and started watching.  When I came down and poked my head in the room, she looked at me and said, "what?" as if the fact that she'd set herself up with "Good Luck Charlie" was something she'd been doing for years.  Ok, fine.  This one I could deal with.  We had a quick 'check with me first even if you don't need my help' conversation and I moved on.  I sensed a little eye rolling, but I decided to let it be.  I did note, however, how fun that will be to deal with as she gets older.  Next, my five year old walked in and informed me that she no longer wanted to go to gymnastics camp this week.  I explained to her that she had asked me to sign her up back in May and that it wasn't free so she would need to buck up and give it a try to which she responded, "ok, but I changed my mind."  Awesome.  We packed everything up and headed out the door all while my little one kept reminding me that she actually wasn't going to go which I chose to ignore.  We got to the gym and I asked my seven year old where her bag was.  She gave me a blank stare and said, "I thought you had it?"  I was taking deep breaths at this point as I shuffled them inside.  I could feel a slight grip on my leg as I let the teachers know that I had to come back with the lunch and towel that "we" forgot.  When I returned, my five year old was sitting by herself in the corner with tears running down her cheeks refusing to participate.  So I left and hoped for the best.  And then I ran.  And despite the heat and humidity and my feelings of frustration and anger, I was ok.  And with each step, I got better.  And by the end, I had left it all behind.  Until Tuesday morning.

Listen to this:

Mixed Bizness - Beck  

New Month, New Music (& NUUN Winner)

I'm just going to go ahead and date myself here but remember when Gwen Stefani came on stage with pink hair begging whoever she was singing to not to speak because she knew what they were saying?  It was 1995 and I was a junior in college.   No Doubt wasn't just a band, they were a part of a rock movement.  Punk, ska, pop - whatever you want to call it - a lot of us were digging it.  The band continued to evolve, in some ways good and in other ways, well, different.  Let's just say some of their fans might have sought out something new as the years passed.  And then Stefani went solo, became a wife, a mother and a fashion designer.  Nothing wrong with that.  Fast forward seventeen years and suddenly I'm hearing No Doubt again on XM Radio.  What?  That unique 'thing' this band had going back when it all started is still there simmering under the surface while slightly a bit more, dare I say, mature?  Is it ironic that the song is called 'Settle Down'?  You make the call on that.  A huge smile spread across my face when I heard this fresh new ditty.  Not just because it's a catchy tune, but because it's bookending my life between a time when I was young, free and clueless to today when I am older, smarter and slightly more clued in.  And, to some degree, that's what music is all about.  It's about the story, the experiences, and the history that we dwell on when we hear certain bands, old and new and, in this case, both.

Listen to this:
Settle Down - No Doubt   

AND

Nuun Contest Winner:
Congratulations to 'YouMightDieTryin' who picked up a tube of Kona Kola NUUN.  The question was, beyond all the standard reasons, why else do you run?  Her answer: "so I can eat oreos by the ROW and not feel guilty about it."  Amen to that!  
*please email your address to rebecca.trachsel@yahoo.com to receive your prize.