Running on empty: Music to interval by

This past weekend Maryland got lucky with some great weather. It was actually best at the end of last week, but a cold kept me from going for a nice long run until Sunday.

This winter has been surprisingly warm. So warm that golfers have even been able keep to the greens and people are acquiring the dreaded flu less than usual. I guess what I'm trying to say is things that are usually made worse by chilling winter temperatures aren't as bad this year--and that includes running.

Straightaway on the third segment of my Lake Artemesia interval run

(Photo by City of College Park)

On Sunday I went on one of my go-to running routes around Lake Artemesia. Since my outdoor soccer league is coming up I decided to do some interval runs, which work out great with the shape of the lake. If I'm running intervals I usually run the mile it takes me to get to the lake from my house at a warm-up pace. If I'm running intervals I split the path around the lake into four segments, starting out at a decent pace and increasing that pace after each quarter of the lake, ending with just below a sprint for the last segment. I only do this twice because a loop around the lake is about a mile.

Over time I've discovered three qualities of good interval music: A catchy and repetitive chorus, a fast tempo and music that builds in intensity from start to finish. Songs don't have to have all of these qualities, but for intervals it seems to be good if the song has at least one.

On that note, here are 5 songs that got me around the lake Sunday:

1) "Like Toy Soldiers"by Eminem: This song falls into the "builds in intensity" category. I also like it for interval running purposes because of the repetitive snare drum and piano that underly the verses. Gives it some bootcamp like feel and makes me feel like i'm literally in a fight with winter if it's cold out.

2) "In The Beginning" by K'naan: Clearly a song with a lot of speed. It's sometimes hard to understand what K'naan is even saying. But that's fine. This song is great for the 4th segment of the lake when I'm doing everything I can to kick in a sprint. It makes me think about that misplaced but popular belief that the real reason Kenyans are so fast is because they have to outrun lions.

3) "Animal" by Miike Snow: Talk about catchy. If this song doesn't make you bob your head I'm going to judge your ability to be a cheerful human being. The chorus is repetitive, which helps remind me to maintain a pace. I got really into this song at home in Hawaii over winter break, so I guess it's correlation to a warm sunny place is a motivator, too.

4) "Feel So Close" by Calvin Harris: This is a great one for anyone who may be falling into the electric dance music craze. It's a good mix between hardcore house music and pop. For the runners who love running to a beat, choose this one.

5) "The Cave" by Mumford and Sons: The epitome of a good intensity building song. Listen to the difference between the first 20 seconds and the music around the 2:45 mark.

Hitting the Pavement

If you've stumbled upon this blog and at least read the title I can tell you your assumptions are most likely correct. I'm a runner and yes, to some extent, at least I hope, the process of writing this blog will derive a perfect running mixtape. The idea? Well that spurred from my interminable discontent with the amount of discourse online about what music works--and what doesn't--for runners.

This is how it's going to work. I'm going to write about music, running and most commonly a combination of the two. And since the internet has failed at providing quality running tunes up until this point, I'm taking matters into my own hands. I'm going to go on long runs and short runs. Runs on cold winter days. Even extremely fast-paced runs (although they aren't my favorite). The goal is to find music that fits into a motivational role for all different types of running. Along the way I'm sure to pick some songs that utterly suck, and when I do I'm going to explain why.

I think it's also important to note that much like my entire music library the selections will be eclectic. I've found that some of the best running songs aren't always ones that you'd consider, so hopefully some unheralded gems will be discovered over the course of this experiment. Just to give you an idea of what I've listened to in the past:

- When I ran cross-country and track in high school I was a big All-American Rejects fan. I listened to their song "Move Along" on repeat when I ran the annual Haena to Hanalei 8-mile run in my home state of Hawaii.

- Last month, when it was bitterly cold, I decided it was smart to go for a 5 p.m. run 4 miles in a direction opposite my house. When I decided it was time to turn around because the sun was setting, I used the song "Lisztomania" by Phoenix to fight the dropping temperatures.

So, welcome. I hope you're both surprised to have fallen upon this experiment of a blog and excited to see what comes of it. I strongly encourage you to send me input if you find the inspiration to do a little mixtape creating of your own. After all, that is the beauty of the internet.

Happy running!