seems as though 50% of regular blog readers (which comes out to approximately 3) are runners, i thought i’d post my favorite songs to run to. its amazing how a good playlist can make you go faster. i’m also discovering that my running music is a completely different catalog from what i used to consider my “favorite music” ie. what i listen to when i drive…

5. mute math: chaos

4. bloc party: helicopter and bloc party: banquet - yeah, cheating, 2 songs. sure, the singer sounds as though he has a speech impediment (brian says its just because he’s british, but i think there’s more to it), but the beat is good.

3. john mark mcmillan: make you move - it really does make you move, no joke. this song came on halfway through my last race and gave me an unexpected bout of energy. who knew?

2. the darkness: get your hands off of my woman - i didn’t know i liked running to this song until it randomly came on one day, and i’m a little (a lot) ashamed of it. total guilty pleasure song. if you’ve heard it you know why. if you haven’t, you are probably better off not hearing it. but, if you ever need a good laugh, go to itunes and listen to the clip (just go ahead and go for the explicit version) and think of me running around my neighborhood listening to this. be prepared to not want to be my friend anymore. it makes me laugh, sometimes almost audibly, when i’m running which helps me forget what my lungs feel like.

1. jimmy eat world. i realize that’s a band and not a song. there are too many good ones, if i listed them all separately i’d have taken up all five spots with jimmy eat world songs and that’s no fun. the tempos are perfect and the lyrics sometimes just motivate me enough that it pushes me to go a little faster or farther than i thought i could. bleed american and pain are both good songs, but my favorite jimmy eat world song of all time is lucky denver mint. if i ever do a long distance race for real, i’d consider just listening to this song on repeat.

This time it’s on my own.
Minutes from somewhere else.
Somewhere I made a wish with Lucky Denver Mint.
Hurry go on ahead.
Good things won’t let you wait.
I’ll catch up when we get home.
At home I’ll leave.
A dollar under water keeps on dreaming for me.
You’re not bigger than this, not better.
Why can’t you learn?