My silver iPod Nano will be 5 years old this month. I don't remember the exact date that I got it. My husband bought it for me when he was in San Diego for his father's angioplasty in January 2007. It was a very nice surprise gift. An even bigger surprise is how long it has lasted. It must be because it has a flash drive inside instead of a hard drive. My husband, who's a software engineer, seemed to trust flash drives more than hard drives. At least he did when he bought my iPod. Before I got the iPod, I had an old Rio MP3 player that held a whopping 120 megabytes of music. I still have that MP3 player, which still works.
Even though my Nano was probably obsolete within a week of getting it, I love it. A couple of years ago one of my friends teased me about having such an old iPod (it was 2.5 years old at the time). It is still going strong after all this time, which is amazing for an electronic device with built-in obsolescence. The battery shows no signs of wearing out after five years. Between listening to music while running, working out in the gym, and skiing, plus listening to Russian language podcasts at work, it gets used just about every day.
My Nano has been my faithful workout companion on two continents and four countries. It has been to the USA, Germany, Austria, and Italy. My little iPod is also very hardy because it has been subjected to extreme temperatures. It has been with me while skiing when it was -15 C (4 F) and in the California desert when it was 40 C (104 F). It has been in all kinds of weather conditions from bright sunshine, rain, snow, sleet, and fog. Just last Friday it came with me while I ran in a snowstorm, tucked safely away in my fleece overshirt pocket. When the weather is wet, I put it into a Ziploc bag to keep it dry. The Nano has been to the top of Germany's highest mountain and at sea level in San Diego.
What I really like about my ancient Nano is its size. It fits nicely in one of the side pouches on my water bottle carrier. The drink carrier is also a relic, but that's another story. It also fits perfectly in the inside pocket of my ski jacket, running jacket, and fleece overshirts. The new Nanos hold 8 and 16 gigabytes and can do more things than mine. Mine "only" holds 2 gigabytes of information. The new Nano models look like they're the same size as my husband's Shuffle, which is a little too small for my taste. They also have a touch screen instead of a click wheel. I like being able to navigate with the click wheel instead of touching the little screen to get to my music playlists or podcasts. The only feature that I don't like about my iPod is that the screen is small and I need reading glasses to see it clearly. But I can live with that. I don't need to see the screen while I'm running or skiing.
I'm sure that my Nano won't last another 5 years. But if it somehow does, it will be considered a classic instead of a relic. I intend for the Nano to be my workout partner until the day it dies. When I replace my iPod with whatever the latest model will be, I hope that it will last as long as my little Nano.
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Friday, June 3, 2011
Running Song Titles
The last couple of days have been great. Just when I thought that I was going to be slow and not get my speed back before Munich, I really knocked a lot of time off of my usual routes. The nice cool weather really helped. Last week it was warm and very humid. Yesterday and today it was cool and overcast. Last week I did my hill course in 40:40. Yesterday the same run only took 38:37! Last Friday my short, flat route took me 31:53. Today I did it in 31:06. The best thing was that I didn't feel like I was pushing myself. It was very easy to hold my pace. On Sunday I'll have to remember to hold back on my long (1:50:00) run. I'm feeling so ready for Munich. Only 23 more days.
While I was running today, Meat Loaf's "Bat Out of Hell" came on the iPod. I really felt like a bat out of Hell because of my torrid pace. That reminded me of other song titles that sum up my running experience. Some of you readers may have seen some of these before. A while ago a friend and I came up with song titles that describe running. The catch was that the titles couldn't have the word "run" or any derivative of it. Here are some of them:
Hurts So Good (John Mellencamp): How you feel after crossing the finish line of a marathon and getting a finisher's medal placed around your neck.
The Long and Winding Road (The Beatles): Running on any trail in Bavaria.
Take the Long Way Home (Supertramp): What you do when a training run is going really well.
Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd): How you feel during those last 5 km of a marathon.
Hungry Like the Wolf (Duran Duran): Your appetite after either a long run or race.
Bat Out Of Hell (Meat Loaf): How you feel when you're going all-out.
Accleerate (REM): What you do about 100 meters from the finish line.
Certain Kind of Fool (The Eagles): The type of person who enjoys long distance running.
Homeward Bound (Simon and Garfunkel): The return leg of an out-and-back course.
It's Raining Again (Supertramp): Running in Germany.
The Road to Hell (Chris Rea): What you feel like you're running on when the weather's hot.
Life In the Fast Lane (The Eagles): Track workouts.
The Metro (Berlin): What you're thinking about riding on to the marathon finish.
Do It Again (Steely Dan): 6 X 800 meter repeats on the track.
Eyes On the Ground (The Connells): Where you need to look when running on trails in order to avoid tripping over obstacles.
High (James Blunt): That feeling when crossing the finish line of a marathon or half-marathon or after a great training run.
Already Gone (The Eagles): Where the rest of the runners are in one of your pre-race nightmares where you've missed the start of the race.
Feeling Stronger Every Day (Chicago): What's supposed to happen, both mentally and physically, when you're training for a race.
Take It Easy (The Eagles): How you're supposed to pace yourself on long training runs.
Talent Is An Asset (Sparks): That's true, but you also need training and determination to make it to the finish line.
While I was running today, Meat Loaf's "Bat Out of Hell" came on the iPod. I really felt like a bat out of Hell because of my torrid pace. That reminded me of other song titles that sum up my running experience. Some of you readers may have seen some of these before. A while ago a friend and I came up with song titles that describe running. The catch was that the titles couldn't have the word "run" or any derivative of it. Here are some of them:
Hurts So Good (John Mellencamp): How you feel after crossing the finish line of a marathon and getting a finisher's medal placed around your neck.
The Long and Winding Road (The Beatles): Running on any trail in Bavaria.
Take the Long Way Home (Supertramp): What you do when a training run is going really well.
Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd): How you feel during those last 5 km of a marathon.
Hungry Like the Wolf (Duran Duran): Your appetite after either a long run or race.
Bat Out Of Hell (Meat Loaf): How you feel when you're going all-out.
Accleerate (REM): What you do about 100 meters from the finish line.
Certain Kind of Fool (The Eagles): The type of person who enjoys long distance running.
Homeward Bound (Simon and Garfunkel): The return leg of an out-and-back course.
It's Raining Again (Supertramp): Running in Germany.
The Road to Hell (Chris Rea): What you feel like you're running on when the weather's hot.
Life In the Fast Lane (The Eagles): Track workouts.
The Metro (Berlin): What you're thinking about riding on to the marathon finish.
Do It Again (Steely Dan): 6 X 800 meter repeats on the track.
Eyes On the Ground (The Connells): Where you need to look when running on trails in order to avoid tripping over obstacles.
High (James Blunt): That feeling when crossing the finish line of a marathon or half-marathon or after a great training run.
Already Gone (The Eagles): Where the rest of the runners are in one of your pre-race nightmares where you've missed the start of the race.
Feeling Stronger Every Day (Chicago): What's supposed to happen, both mentally and physically, when you're training for a race.
Take It Easy (The Eagles): How you're supposed to pace yourself on long training runs.
Talent Is An Asset (Sparks): That's true, but you also need training and determination to make it to the finish line.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
The Sound of Music
Several people have asked about my old blog on Yahoo 360. After thinking about starting a new one, I finally got around to doing it. I hope that those who decide to follow this one will enjoy it as much as my old Yahoo 360 blog.
I've been running for 20 years. It's hard to believe that all those years ago my walking progressed to slow running, then to faster running. I still remember the thrill of finishing my first 5K race and the excitement of finishing my first 10K, half-marathon, and marathon. Now I'm a veteran of over 50 races, including 4 marathons. My favorite race distances are in the 5K to half-marathon range.
Throughout all of my years of running, music has played an important role. I've always seemed to have a song, or at least a song byte in my head while running and racing. Music helps to set the mood of the run and also to take my mind off of any soreness. It also alleviates some of the boredom of having to run on a treadmill. When I had to run on the treadmill, I had a whole repetoire of songs that I'd sing, including the soundtrack to "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Fortunately for those around me, I sang to myself and not out loud. When MP3 players came out, I got myself a Rio Sport player and loaded it with a variety of songs. It was state of the art for its time and held a whopping 128 megabytes of music, or about two hours worth. Now I have an iPod Nano that holds about 1000 songs, which is plenty of music for those long runs. I always have the iPod with me when I train, though I leave it at home for races.
When I race, I let myself be surprised by the songs or song bytes that pop into my head. That's one of the fun things about racing. I never know what the DJ in my brain will decide to play. In fact, I associate many of my races with certain songs because they were the dominant ones that played in my head during them. Here are the ones that I remember:
"Eleonara" (Antonelli Venditti). When I hear this song, I think about going over the Coronado Bridge in San Diego (from Coronado) during the 1991 Lifespan 10K, which was my first 10K race. That song also played in my head during the 2003 Hohenfels Turkey Trot 5K.
"Dimelo Tu Cos'e" (Antonello Venditti). This one goes with the 1991 San Diego Half-Marathon, which was my first half-marathon. I flash to the last uphill section around Mile 10 when I hear this song.
"Do Ya Wanna Dance" (Beach Boys). The 1998 and 2003 Amberg Half-Marathons. When I ran this race for the second time in 2003, at the start I wondered which song would play in my head for the race. I found it kind of fun that I heard the same song both times.
"Brown-Eyed Girl" (Van Morrison). The 2001 Regensburg Half-Marathon. It was mostly the intro to that song which I heard during the race. I think a more fitting song would have been Chris Rea's "The Road To Hell" because it was so hot during that race--it was the half-marathon from Hell with the heat and humidity. But Van was what the internal DJ played.
"Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)" (the Hollies) and "Shut Down" (Beach Boys). The 2005 Neumarkt City Run 10.5 km race. Those songs alternated during that race. Whenever I hear "Long Cool Woman" I think about the stretch between the 4 and 5 km points in Neumarkt. "Shut Down" seemed to pop up when I was about to pass someone. "Tach it up, tach it up, buddy gonna shut you down" seemed appropriate as I passed other runners, especially toward the end. My competitive streak really came through with that one. I also ran the 10.5 km race in 2003 and 2004, plus the half-marathon in 2002; but no songs stood out from those times.
"I Saw Her Standing There" (the Beatles) and "Out of the Dark" (Falco). The 2007 Munich City Run Half-Marathon. For most of the race it was the first song. But when I came out of the shade of the English Garden into the sunnier part of downtown Munich, it switched to the second. I also did this run in 2008, but there were no dominant songs.
"Under Pressure" (Queen with David Bowie). The 2003 Hohenfels Box Run 10K. We had 6 runners on our team and the top 5 times would count for the team title. I felt like I was really under the gun to do well because our team captain was a real competitor and really wanted us to win the team title. I knew that I would be one of the top 5 on our team (I was the 4th finisher on the team) because our 6th member was a slower runner who was doing the race more for fun and personal acheivement than to be competitive.
"Authority Song" (John Mellencamp). The 2006 Box Run 10K. It was mostly the second verse which played in my head throughout the race. It was obviously a good song to have in my head because I set my personal course record. I took 45 seconds off of my previous PCR. I also the 3rd woman overall for the second time at that race.
"Rudie Can't Fail" (the Clash). The 2008 Eibsee Herbstlauf (fall run). That one really helped on all of the
uphills.
"Carry My Picture" (the Connells). The 2007 Munich Marathon. This one was obvious. I pinned a photo of my late running partner Bill to my shirt above my race number. The first line of the chorus, "So write my name and carry my picture..." was a perfect tribute to a person who taught me so much about distance running. To have Bill with me during the marathon was an experience that is hard to put into words. Bill was the first person that I called when I got home from running my first marathon (Munich 1993), so it was only fitting that he'd be with me for my best marathon. I set a new personal marathon record, breaking my old one by 5 minutes.
Several people have asked about my old blog on Yahoo 360. After thinking about starting a new one, I finally got around to doing it. I hope that those who decide to follow this one will enjoy it as much as my old Yahoo 360 blog.
I've been running for 20 years. It's hard to believe that all those years ago my walking progressed to slow running, then to faster running. I still remember the thrill of finishing my first 5K race and the excitement of finishing my first 10K, half-marathon, and marathon. Now I'm a veteran of over 50 races, including 4 marathons. My favorite race distances are in the 5K to half-marathon range.
Throughout all of my years of running, music has played an important role. I've always seemed to have a song, or at least a song byte in my head while running and racing. Music helps to set the mood of the run and also to take my mind off of any soreness. It also alleviates some of the boredom of having to run on a treadmill. When I had to run on the treadmill, I had a whole repetoire of songs that I'd sing, including the soundtrack to "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Fortunately for those around me, I sang to myself and not out loud. When MP3 players came out, I got myself a Rio Sport player and loaded it with a variety of songs. It was state of the art for its time and held a whopping 128 megabytes of music, or about two hours worth. Now I have an iPod Nano that holds about 1000 songs, which is plenty of music for those long runs. I always have the iPod with me when I train, though I leave it at home for races.
When I race, I let myself be surprised by the songs or song bytes that pop into my head. That's one of the fun things about racing. I never know what the DJ in my brain will decide to play. In fact, I associate many of my races with certain songs because they were the dominant ones that played in my head during them. Here are the ones that I remember:
"Eleonara" (Antonelli Venditti). When I hear this song, I think about going over the Coronado Bridge in San Diego (from Coronado) during the 1991 Lifespan 10K, which was my first 10K race. That song also played in my head during the 2003 Hohenfels Turkey Trot 5K.
"Dimelo Tu Cos'e" (Antonello Venditti). This one goes with the 1991 San Diego Half-Marathon, which was my first half-marathon. I flash to the last uphill section around Mile 10 when I hear this song.
"Do Ya Wanna Dance" (Beach Boys). The 1998 and 2003 Amberg Half-Marathons. When I ran this race for the second time in 2003, at the start I wondered which song would play in my head for the race. I found it kind of fun that I heard the same song both times.
"Brown-Eyed Girl" (Van Morrison). The 2001 Regensburg Half-Marathon. It was mostly the intro to that song which I heard during the race. I think a more fitting song would have been Chris Rea's "The Road To Hell" because it was so hot during that race--it was the half-marathon from Hell with the heat and humidity. But Van was what the internal DJ played.
"Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)" (the Hollies) and "Shut Down" (Beach Boys). The 2005 Neumarkt City Run 10.5 km race. Those songs alternated during that race. Whenever I hear "Long Cool Woman" I think about the stretch between the 4 and 5 km points in Neumarkt. "Shut Down" seemed to pop up when I was about to pass someone. "Tach it up, tach it up, buddy gonna shut you down" seemed appropriate as I passed other runners, especially toward the end. My competitive streak really came through with that one. I also ran the 10.5 km race in 2003 and 2004, plus the half-marathon in 2002; but no songs stood out from those times.
"I Saw Her Standing There" (the Beatles) and "Out of the Dark" (Falco). The 2007 Munich City Run Half-Marathon. For most of the race it was the first song. But when I came out of the shade of the English Garden into the sunnier part of downtown Munich, it switched to the second. I also did this run in 2008, but there were no dominant songs.
"Under Pressure" (Queen with David Bowie). The 2003 Hohenfels Box Run 10K. We had 6 runners on our team and the top 5 times would count for the team title. I felt like I was really under the gun to do well because our team captain was a real competitor and really wanted us to win the team title. I knew that I would be one of the top 5 on our team (I was the 4th finisher on the team) because our 6th member was a slower runner who was doing the race more for fun and personal acheivement than to be competitive.
"Authority Song" (John Mellencamp). The 2006 Box Run 10K. It was mostly the second verse which played in my head throughout the race. It was obviously a good song to have in my head because I set my personal course record. I took 45 seconds off of my previous PCR. I also the 3rd woman overall for the second time at that race.
"Rudie Can't Fail" (the Clash). The 2008 Eibsee Herbstlauf (fall run). That one really helped on all of the
uphills.
"Carry My Picture" (the Connells). The 2007 Munich Marathon. This one was obvious. I pinned a photo of my late running partner Bill to my shirt above my race number. The first line of the chorus, "So write my name and carry my picture..." was a perfect tribute to a person who taught me so much about distance running. To have Bill with me during the marathon was an experience that is hard to put into words. Bill was the first person that I called when I got home from running my first marathon (Munich 1993), so it was only fitting that he'd be with me for my best marathon. I set a new personal marathon record, breaking my old one by 5 minutes.
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