Learning to Run

It’s been a month since my friend, Andrea, and I decided to train for a 10 mile race this summer. Neither of us are runners, and we have much to learn!

So far, we go to the gym three times per week, stretch/tone before & after our workouts, and jog on the treadmill. Canada is quite icy/slushy in February, and I can’t wait to get outside. However, the treadmill is helping me keep a steady pace until Spring. Having healthy snacks that are high in protein/carbs are necessary to combat my low blood sugar (see the Almond “Bounce” ball review below).

I’ve been consulting a variety of friends who are regular runners, and mixing their expert advice with internet info. Here are two of the most useful (paraphrased) tips so far:

From “M”
- Increase your running time SLOWLY - more so for your joints than for your lung capacity
[I made the mistake of increasing my time from 20 minutes to 45 minutes within two days and suffered a few days of leg pain]

From “Alex”
- His favorite tip: Make an iPod playlist of both fast & slow music. High-energy “exercise” music isn’t ideal for long runs.

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Songs from my own running playlist:

“Get Some” – Lykke Li
“Bigger than Love” – Benjamin Gibbard
“Lisztomania” – Wolfgang Amadeus Pheonix
“The Theory of Relativity” – Stars
“Paper Planes” – M.I.A.
“Dancing Shoes” – Arctic Monkeys
“Black, Black Heart” – David Usher
“Terrible Angels”  – Charlotte Gainsbourg
"Hold Me" - Yoko Ono
“Ne Me Jugez Pas” – Sawt El Atlas
“We Go Together” - Grease
“Rococo” – Arcade Fire
“Cecilia” – Simon & Garfunkel
“Escape Velocity” – Chemical Brothers
“Deny, Deny, Deny” – Joel Plasket
“Maneater” – Nelly Furtado
“Don’t Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas) – “Regina Spektor”
“Seven Nation Army” – The White Stripes
“Day to Day” – Amy Millan
“Numa Numa” - Ozone
“Life in Technicolor II” – Coldplay
“Windsurfing Nation” – Broken Social Scene
“Yer So Bad” – Tom Petty
“Never Give Up on the Good Times” – Spice Girls
“Fanfare Macvara” – Figli Di Madre Ignota
“Finding Something New to Do” – Hellogoodbye
“She Wolf” – Shakira
“Magdalena” – Brandon Flowers
“Straight to Hell” – Lily Allen Ft. Mick Jones
“Cemetery Gates” – The Smiths
“4 Minutes” - Madonna
“Move Over” – Janis Joplin
“Zeye Meyel” – Nass Marrakech
“What  You Waiting For” – Gwen Stefani
“Can’t Buy Me Love” – The Beatles
“Never Ever (All Stars Remix)” – All Saints
“Run On” - Moby
“You are a Tourist (The 2 Bears Remix) – Death Cab for Cutie
“Hey Ya” - Outkast
“Heartlines” – Florence and the Machine