It is 1998 on my ipod.

Week 2 of the corporate challenge is already off to a solid start for me. I'm doing much better with fitting my runs in, remembering to hydrate throughout the day and perhaps most importantly, 82 degrees feels like a cool fall night compared to last week's consecutive 90+ degree days. In short, life is good and I'm crusing along according to the training plan (first six weeks here).

So since I haven't dry heaved while running for a few days (totally just jinxed myself), let's move on to more important matters. Running music and playlists. I'm always curious as to what other people listen to while running and more often than not I'm surprised by the answers. I for one cannot run to a slow song. I need a quick pace, it needs to be loud and bonus points if it's a song I can easily lip synch to while running (a habit I am completely unable to break). Also, gangsta rap more often than not finds its way onto the playlists...something about bitches and hos just really gets me moving.

However, the most recent playlist I've been listening to for most of the summer has very few current songs [except for Drake, who is my new music obsession] and instead is taking me back in time to middle school. Here is a sampling:

-Semisonic - Singing in My Sleep, Never You Mind, Completely Pleased, This Will be My Year
-Everclear - So Much for the Afterglow, Amphetamine, Heroin Girl, Santa Monica, Nehalem, Sunflowers
-Third Eye Blind - Losing a Whole Year, 10 Days Late, 1000 Julys, Graduate, Burning Man
-Counting Crows - Mr. Jones, Angels of the Silences
-Hootie and the Blowfish - I Go Blind, Only Wanna Be With You
-Will Smith - Gettin' Jiggy With it
-LFO - Every Other Time


After seeing all these hanging out together, some thoughts:

*Everclear/Third Eye Blind were the angsty teen phase...I still remember driving my first car and blasting the cassette tapes in fits of MOM DOESN'T GET IT rage. Now they're great for taking my frustrations out by pounding out a few miles on the pavement. Old age.
*I'm going to sound like an idiot, but I honestly never put two and two together of what 10 Days Late was about until googling the song lyrics just now...uh awkward. Go on everyone, download songs about unintended pregnancies! Makes for great running music! Seriously though, it is a good song, all possible schsmortions aside.
*Semisonic was so much more than just Closing Time.
*Counting Crows will never leave my ipod.
*Will Smith...don't pretend like you don't want to do the gettin jiggy with it dance right now.
*LFO...better known for Summer Girls, but this song has the classic lyric "keep it up homegirl don't you quit you know the way you scream is the ultimate."

So now that I've divulged all my guilty pleasure running songs...spill. What are yours? Are you able to run to just about anything? Or do you need an upbeat tempo to keep you going?