This is who I really am.

This week's Music Monday is 100 Million Miles by Monster Magnet. This is one of my favorite running songs. It's really been my mantra for the last few races I have run. I just finished up the MRTC Road Race Series. This year has been a lot harder because I have been dealing with more pain and injuries. This song reminds me that I just have to keep pushing and that when I am done running I can rest and recuperate. I also love the steady beat of the drums. On a easier run I sync each step with each beat. On my harder days I sync my right foot to each beat. That means a lot of turnover! The song is not about running but the chorus and drum beat make it a perfect running song. "Hey, there ain't no pain! 100 million miles away!" Enjoy!

This week's Music Monday is "Bleed It Out" by Linkin Park. While I'm not a big Linkin Park fan, I really love this song. It's one of my favorite songs on my workout and running playlists. When this song comes on during a workout or a run I get a little extra adrenaline going. For me it's about going really hard and putting everything you've got into what your doing. It's not particularly fast or heavy but the clapping and the chanting chorus of "I bleed it out, digging deeper just to throw it away" give it a ton of energy. This is really great for my speed workouts. That's when I tend to go "harder". That's when I put the most work in. If you know me as a runner you know I'm hell bent on getting faster every day. Right now I'm working really hard in the gym with workouts from my trainer/pal Kate, so if you see me at the gym clapping and chanting to myself you know what song I'm listening to - "G...

This week's Music Monday is "Coeur d'Alene" by Alter Bridge. This song is about a lake near where the lead singer Myles Kennedy lives. It's a place where he goes to get away from everything and find peace. Listening to it makes me think about the place I go to "get away". That place for me is a long run. A long run for me is ten miles or more. There is something therapeutic about a long run. I can work out a lot of problems when I am out there. I know I am gonna be by myself for at least an hour and a half. I can do a lot of thinking.....or I can think about nothing. I can always tell when I need a long run. I get really frustrated easily, very irritable. I know my mind needs it even more than my body. Right now I have a something that is really bothering me. Something that I am dealing with internally that I haven't told anyone about. Right now I need a long run. I know that when I get one in I will hopefully get some clarity on the issu...

For all of my runner friends and friends that workout a lot I have some advice for you: HYDRATE! HYDRATE! HYDRATE! I have friends, and a wife, that don't drink enough water. You people are crazy! I try to carry a bottle of water with me everywhere. You need to drink water most of the day. I start drinking water as soon as I get up. If you are a runner you should try wearing a hydration belt. There are several different kinds. This is the one I wear:   I actually found it for $20 at T.J. Maxx. That is half the price they are usually. The price is worth it to get a good one even if you don't find it on sale.   With it still being hot outside you have to make sure you are hydrated BEFORE you go out and run. Take care of yourselves. And stay thirsty my friends.      

I have three routes that I usually run. I have a one mile loop around the YMCA that I use the most. I have a loop around my neighborhood that I use when I can't get to the Y. But my favorite is an out and back from the Y. I use this out and back when I want to go for a long run or if I really need to make myself run. The route starts at the end of the parking lot of the Y and goes towards Navy Road. I cross over Navy Road to Veteran's Parkway and out to Navy Lake. Depending on how many miles I plan to run I know where to turn around and come back. All the way out to Navy Lake is 5 miles but I also use it for shorter distances. Days like yesterday is why I like that route so much. Yesterday was one of those days that I wanted to run at least 5 miles or more but I was really tired. I knew if I ran the loop at the Y I would be tempted to quit early. It's easy to talk yourself into shortening your run when you are running a loop because you keep coming back to your startin...

This week's Music Monday is "Open Road Song" by Eve 6. This is a great running song. One of those songs you can really get in a good groove while your running. Even though the song is about driving you can draw a parallel to running. The joy of being alone..."It's so perfect, I'm so perfect, You're so perfect, You're not here!" That can be for anyone, everyone or no one. "My pile shakes as I hit 80 on the open road!" I love that line! I really thought this band had a chance to be really good. They had the hit "Inside Out". But there were two songs on the album that are just amazing songs,  "Jesus Nightlight"  and "Showerhead" . Two "heartbreak" songs that get away from their punk/pop sound. "Jesus Nightlight" was a song that I related to when I went through a breakup because at the time a lot of that song was happening. But now it's just a really well written, beautifully sad ...

This week's Music Monday is "Working Man" by Rush. This is one of my favorite running songs. It is a song that found it's way to me in that weird way that a lot of other music has. Ever since I can remember I always HATED Rush. I think it was always Geddy Lee's voice. So if Rush came on the radio I would change the station. I may have heard this song at some point in my life but never gave it a listen because I HATE Rush. We don't get very many radio stations in our office at work but for a short while we could pick up a classic rock station so I would leave the radio on all night. One night, probably about a year ago, I walked into the office and I heard this amazing guitar solo playing. As I was rocking out at my desk I thought "damn this is sweet! Who is this?" Then it happened.......Geddy Lee's voice. SHIT! But I HATE Rush! If I would have walked in at any other point in the song I would have turned it down or walked out of the ...

This week's Music Monday is "Warrior" by Disturbed. I picked this song for a few reasons. This weekend my wife came to me with an idea her best friend from college came up with: she wanted to do the Warrior Dash . I had thought about doing it before but never really got too serious about it. We decided we wanted to do it and signed the three of us up. While I was at it, it was time to register for the MRTC Road Race Series . I talked Staci into doing it again this year. We did it last year and had lots of fun. The award you get for finishing all ten races in the series is the "Road Warrior". I will be going for my third "Road Warrior" trophy. Another reason I picked this song is because I am starting a new battle with my weight. I really haven't been trying lately. I let myself go when I was dealing with my tendinitis. I couldn't run for a couple months and I really didn't do the things I needed to do that I could have been doing. I...

This week's Music Monday is "Born 2 Run" by 7Lions. This is not a cover of the Springsteen song. It's not even a song that I would normally listen to. I heard this song on a couple of Sirius/XM stations that I listen to. (Octane and Faction) The song does not fit either station's format. But they play it. (Biting my tongue from ranting about how stations decide what music they want played......) Sorry. When the song started playing I was about to change it but decided to give it a very quick listen because of the title. The lyrics kept me from changing it. They are really good lyrics that relate to being a runner. I knew right away: "Damn! This song is a good running song! And Dammit! I'm probably gonna end up liking it!" It's not really my kind of song. It's more of a pop song. It has a dude rapping and a douchey singer with some douchey indie/soft rock dudes playing the music. (My apologies to any douches I offended) How this song ...

I finally got the chance to run for the first time in over two months. And it was AWESOME! I got the "all clear" on Friday but somehow waited until Monday to get out and run. Going in, I had a little bit of fear. Really just little silly worries: will the knee be ok, will I get shin splints, will I remember how to run, will I be terribly slow, will I have to - gulp - walk. Monday afternoon was the perfect time to get that first run. I couldn't think of any better way to get going than my favorite running weather: hot-as-balls! The temperature had to have been over 90. I know a lot of people don't like running when it's that hot but I love it. It really make me pay more attention to my body and how efficient I am. As I was getting ready to go outside my kids asked where I was going. Of course they all wanted to go but the girls just can't make it but my son can ride his bike right along with me. Those are some of my favorite runs wh...

This week's Music Monday is "Back In The Saddle" by Aerosmith. I've been really busy the last week and the coming week looks a little hectic. I missed last week's post and this week is short but very sweet........ Why is it so sweet? I'm back!!!! Yep, I'm a runner again! I had a great run this afternoon and there is a great story that goes with it. I will share it when I get a chance. So here's some Aerosmith while you wait. It's from when they were actually good. (I liked them in the 80's and 90's until I heard their music from the 70's and realized the stuff I was listening to really sucked compared to the old stuff.... Rant over) Enjoy!

This week's Music Monday is "As Fast As You Can" by Our Lady Peace. In case you haven't heard OLP has a new album out. If you haven't heard shame on me for not telling you. The name of it is Curve . It is a little bit different than most of their previous albums. It has what I call an indie rock kind of feel to it. That's the best way I can describe the sound but lyrically it is on par with everything else they've done before. I'm thinking about doing a review on it here on this blog. The only problem is that I am not well versed in "music lingo." Every time I read a music review I wonder if they just make words up or if I'm an idiot. (Probably a little of both.) Anyway, this is my favorite song by far....well maybe not by far. (I think I drive my wife crazy when we listen to a CD and every song that comes on is "my favorite song on this CD.") But this one is my favorite. ("If This Is It" is a close second... or ma...

This week's Music Monday is "Open Your Eyes" by Guano Apes. This song helped pick me up today (Tuesday) during my workout when I was in need of a kick in the ass. I wasn't struggling with my workout. I was struggling with my focus. I have been really bummed about the way my knee has been and starting to really get down because I can't do what I want, RUN. This song really gives me that reminder to stop being negative. Open my eyes and beat that feeling. I am not completely shutdown. I can still do other stuff. Just gotta keep myself focused. Open your eyes,open your mind  Proud like a god don't pretend to be blind Trapped in yourself, break out instead Beat the machine that works in your head The funny thing is that after this song played another awesome song came on. Hole's "Be a Man" came on. There is something about Courtney Love screaming "BE A MAN!" that makes me work harder. Enjoy!

This week's Music Monday is "Superman's Dead" by Our Lady Peace. This is a live version from Woodstock '99. I was there! But that is only the reason why I picked this version. The reason I picked the song is because I am in the middle of a "pity party." It's mine and I'm having it. This past week I was feeling really good about how my knee was feeling. I decided to bump up what I was doing because I really felt much better........bad idea. I really felt like I was babying it too much, but apparently I was doing the right things. Also, recently I was talking to a couple people and one of them made the comment: "I thought he was Superman?" Nope. Superman's Dead. Enjoy.

This week's Music Monday is "This Time" by Depswa. This is so very much a song that I can relate to. It's one that every time I hear it my blood begins to boil. My fists clinch. My teeth grind. This is a song about me. The psychological battle within is the hardest to win. We often know the way to win but we constantly let our "mental demons" get the best of us. I know how to lose the extra weight I am carrying right now. I just keep losing these little mental battles with myself. But THIS TIME I've finally had enough! THIS TIME I'm ready to fight! Everyone has these battles. They can be about anything in your life, not just weight loss. So if you keep losing these same mental or emotional battles with yourself I suggest you clinch your fist and say: This time, I think you'll finally see This time, I will not break This time, I'm smart enough to know There is only so much I'll take This time, I'm gonna make change This ti...

This week's Music Monday is "Superstar II" by Saliva. Lately I have been really struggling with this whole "not running" thing. I finally went to the doctor in March and was diagnosed with tendinitis. The doctor told me I could do whatever I want....as long as it doesn't inflame the knee. In other words: no running. For two months. I thought it wouldn't be that hard. I could still lift weights as long as I wasn't using my knee. This was actually a bonus because I HATE doing walking lunges. (If you've ever seen my do walking lunges, then drop and do four push ups, it is one push up for each letter of the four letter word I want to scream out loud.) I also had found pool running  as a way to "run". I knew what I could and couldn't do, now it was time to do those things that were allowed. I came up with a plan and thought it was a good one. Not quite. The plan: MWF - Pool running. 1+ hour in the pool running and swimming. Tu...

This week's Music Monday is "30 60 90" by Oleander. This is my perfect "Thursday morning song." Thursday morning is when, if I'm getting all of my workouts in and doing more at work and doing everything that I want to do with my family and...., I am about to crash. I had  this post  at the first of the year where I talked about needing balance and perspective. I talked to someone I usually lean on about this kind of stuff and came to the realization that I need to do things  my way to feel balanced. I'm not sure they meant I need to run myself ragged but that is when I feel the most balanced. If that is the case then right now I am REALLY balanced. This song is about drug addiction. For me this song is about my addiction to trying to be selfish and unselfish at the same time. It perfectly describes the way I tend to feel at times. I decided to use it when I was sitting on a workout bench Saturday morning as it was playing on my iPod and I...

Sunday I ran the Germantown Half Marathon. This is one of my favorite races to run. It lines up perfectly that my training for it starts at the first of the year. The weather is usually pretty nice on race day and the area that we run in is very nice. This was the fourth time I've run the race. This year the training has been a little difficult. I have had to deal with my knee thing so I have had to rest more than I would prefer. I learned that I need to do more pool running  a little too late. I probably could have gotten better use of my training time if I would have hit the pool earlier instead of trying to fight through it. Needless to say I felt under trained. The thing I like about the half marathon is that it is not an easy distance, but once you get used to it you really learn how to run it. The first time you run it you think it is horrible. But once you get a few under your belt you get a good feel for how to handle it. Inevitably, unless you are an elite ...

This week's Music Monday is "Fire It Up" by Thousand Foot Krutch. This song is the ULTIMATE "get fired up" song. It is always at the beginning of my playlist for a race, especially a 5K. It's a really good song to get your blood pumping for a great workout. I thought of this song after reading a blog of an old friend . She is blogging about her journey to a better self. She has a great story for why she is on her journey and recently wrote a post about her fire within. It was one that really shows her fire for getting where she wants to be. Check her blog out. Everything I've read has been great. I haven't seen her in years but judging from her blog it looks like she is in a good place. This song should definitely be in YOUR workout playlist. Listen to the lyrics and try to not get fired up! I've got a bad case of turning it up It's getting cold in here so fire it up Enjoy!

This week's Music Monday is "Adrenaline" by Bush. This is another one of my favorite running songs. Especially right now. This morning I was having a really hard time finding the right song for this week. Sure enough this was the first song on my iPod when I started running. It's funny how these things happen. Music is so important to me and I don't really think it is ever an accident. I posted this song a few weeks ago because it just kept coming on during my runs when I really needed it....and it has three more times since I posted it. Like, literally right when I needed it. If you are friends with me on Facebook, now you know why I have "my music" listed as my religion. This song instantly became this week's song because lately with my knee issues I have had trouble getting started because I never know for sure how my body will react. Today I said "F- it, whatever I need to do to get 6 miles in I'm gonna do it!" How can you ...