Music makes you lose control

Since Jen shared her song recommendations - I thought that I would do the same. I unlike her, do not have much depth in my taste for music. I like anything that has a good beat and is catchy. I want to hear it on Top 20 for the next month over and over again until I get sick of it. Here are a few of my favorites!



We Found Love    (feat. Calvin Harris) Rihanna  
This City    (feat. Lupe Fiasco)  Patrick Stump
Faster     Matt Nathanson  
It Girl      Jason Derulo 
I Like It Like That     Hot Chelle Rae 
Good Feeling     Flo Rida  
In the Dark     Dev
Without You     (feat. Usher)  David Guetta  
You Make Me Feel...    Cobra Starship  
Bad      The Cab 
Criminal     Britney Spears  
Blackout     Breathe Carolina
OMG    (feat. will.i.am)  Usher DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love (feat. Pitbull)
Written In the Stars    (feat. Eric Turner)  Tinie Tempah
Higher    Taio Cruz & Travie McCoy
Domino  Jessie J

Happy Running!            ~Becky

Girly music?

Becky and I can usually agree on anything and everything running related. We don't love the same brand of shoes but we know how important it is to keep a wide variety of running shoes. We love our running tanks. We love tech t-shirts (although I usually cut mine up). We love Chomps and Sports Beans. We love the wedge salad at Johnny Carino's. (okay, maybe not running related, per se). We love our Garmins.

But when it comes to music, boy are we ever different!!

She would tell you (in a very nice way) that I have strange, dark, weird taste in music (I prefer to call it eclectic and awesome) while I will simply smile and nod when she professes her love for Bieber and McCartney. (no, not Paul. Jesse.).

There is, despite how much we love running, very little we would agree on when it comes to running music.

Often, when I see magazines or runners post running playlists, I scroll through them and I don't find ANYTHING relateable.

Hmmmm... maybe Becky's right about me?

Anyway, this weekend I came across a playlist titled "Grrl Power." And this is what this post is really about: When you put together a playlist called "Grrl Power" I expect some.... power. Yet most of the time, when I see these "Girl Power" "Girls Rock" "Girls Night Party" "Let's Hear it for the Girls" (the second two are actually available on iTunes, blech) it's like someone took a generic outline and said "if you're going to make a mix and market it to the girls, you have to have these: Brittney Spears. Selena Gomez. Beyonce. Rhianna. Kelly Clarkson. Let's add a little 'rock' with No Doubt and Avril Lavigne. Throw in any song that has the word: Independence, Survivor, and Respect. Oh, and add in some Lady Gaga and Katy Perry because they are empowering, right? Now slap a picture of a sexy lady dancing and boom, put it on the shelves!"

uhhh.... I'm going to need something a little more hardcore

No lie, in researching this post I looked at 4 different playlists and EACH ONE had "Womanizer" on it by Brittney Spears. How is that one motivating? I'm not trying to be all feminist on you, I'm just sayin....

Now, these mixes do have their place. I like to use them in group fitness classes because usually, you have a wide age range of participants and chances are, the songs are being played on the radio Top 40 so people know the songs and can sing along (at least in their heads). These mixes are generic and fluffy enough to have fun to and, okay, I really like "Fighter" by Christina Aguilera in my kickboxing class.

They have a good steady beat, which makes it easy to stay on tempo, especially when you're constantly counting off sets of 8.

But that's not how I run.

When I'm running, I don't want to have Lady Gaga's costumed, self-groping image in my head. I don't wanna think about kissing girls with Katy Perry. I don't want to feel like I need to shower off the stripper glitter after listening to Ke$ha.

So, I put together my own playlist of Girly Power Music. I wanted to load it into mixpod but most of the songs I wanted aren't available so there's no instant play. If you wanna check the songs out, you can look them up on iTunes or youtube. I will try to embed a few of my favorites via youtube below.

We're always always always uploading more music and looking for more music, so  send us your favorites!!

So here's Jen's mix. Some of it is heart-pumping, some of it is heart-swelling; some of it feels fierce and some of it feels fluffy. That's pretty much how I run though. I don't stay on a set tempo the whole time. I run through a mix of terrain, a mix of speeds, a mix of feelings. I like for my music to reflect that.

Shake it Out-- Florence and the Machine (turn it up. Louder. LOUDER!!!!)
Crushcrushcrush- Paramore
When I'm Alone-- Lissie (the live version on youtube is better than the album version on iTunes)
Heavens a Lie-- Lacuna Coil
Breathe Me-- Sia-- remix version
Set Fire to the Rain- Adele
Looking Up- Paramore
Alice- Avril Lavigne
Where Does the Good Go- Teagan and Sara
Dog Days are Over- Florence and the Machine
Volcano Girls- Veruca Salt
Ready to Go-- Republica and Dave Arch (make sure you get the "and dave arch" version)
How he Loves (Live)-- Flyleaf
I Have Found-- Kim Walker
Again-- Flyleaf
Not Gonna Get Us- T.a.t.u.
Sister Rosetta (2011 version)-- Noisettes
Pursuit of Happiness (Kid Cudi Cover) -- Lissie (again, live version on youtube is best)
I'll Fly with You-- Gigi d'Agostino
Temptation Waits- Garbage
Faster Kill Pussycat-- Brittany Murphy
Sweet About Me- Gabrielle Cilmi

Long Run Sunday: Crushing the impossible into the asphalt.

We are about 18-19 weeks out from the first race of the season for us-- Fargo Marathon!!! But between you and me, building up those training runs can be such a pain in the butt. So this winter, we committed to keeping up our base miles-- 6 to 10 milers-- and working on speedwork, and then we'll pick up our build up in another few weeks. Becky had to stay home sick today (she's NOT HAPPY about that) but I got to run with Kathy and Glenda-- and Glenda is training for Fargo as her first marathon! She had to do 11 today so I tagged along. I have to come back and tell you more about Glenda....

Frankly, as long as we have been able to run outside, we were anxious to go! True, the wind is still bitter and there is a little slush on the road to watch out for, but this winter has been a beach vacation compared to what we've been used to! (NORTH DAKOTA people, yes it is the frozen tundra you imagine it to be) Today it was about 35*F (Above freezing! Hooray!!) but the winds were 22-24mph out of the WNW. So my big man drove us almost 7 miles out of town so we could run back in with only a cross wind and then with the wind to our backs along a big L-shaped route. Sun was out, roads were clear, people slowed down for us, no farm dogs chasing us, it was a good day!





Josh drops us off on some country road...



7 miles back to town....

synchronize garmins..... and go!!

Made it back to my house for a quick potty break and said bye to Kathy and then Glenda and I had to loop around in town for the last 4 miles, which meant we finally had to deal with those increasing winds. Our miles went from 9:15 to 9:55 min/miles. Stupid wind.

My friend Glenda... I've known Glenda since our kids were in diapers and daycare together. We were always pleasant to one another; our kids invited each other to their birthday parties, even though Brayden was the only boy here and Katie was the only girl there. We didn't really see each other outside of our kids' lives. But in the last year, Glenda started a weight-loss, get healthy journey that has been nothing short of amazing. So we started running together.

This time last year, she shared with us today, Glenda was a size 20W. Today, she's a size 7/8. She never ever imagined she'd be running like this -- training for a marathon!!! Yet she's living proof that our bodies are AMAZING and once you set your mind to it, you can do anything!!

Glenda has the amazing support of her husband, her brothers, and of course, some pretty crazy running chicks who are all "let's go one more mile, let's go faster!" but she has some pretty powerful intrinsic motivation to keep going. Even now, even though we run side by side, sometimes when I run into her at the store or at the gym, I do a double take-- she has truly transformed her life, her mind, and her body has followed.

I guess I want to share her story because so often, I hear people who don't believe that they, too, can do it. Yet people like me, like Glenda, gals that were overweight and couldn't even do a mile 2 years ago, 1 year ago.... we once thought that way too. We never imagined ourselves here. We never thought we could have been marathoners. That was for those thin, strong, athletic girls. But we started running. We ran with other women who encouraged us. We read running magazines instead of Cosmo. We read books by other running women. We read other people's blogs. We ran a 5K. We kept running. We're not olympic athletes. We don't spend all day at the gym, training. We have kids and work and husbands who need time and energy and attention. But we make time for running too.

And we'll keep running, as long as we can. Our goals have gotten bigger, more exciting, more adventurous. Things that were once "never gonna happen" have been crushed into the asphalt, one mile at a time.

Whether you are just jogging a few miles or constantly working on a P.R.-- my encouragement to you is that your body is AMAZING and your willpower is STRONG and you can-- CAN- do this!!! You CAN do one more mile. You CAN go faster. You CAN!!

A Fart What???

Now that everyone is inspired by the New Year to start running, most people wonder where to start....
Do I just go out there and run as hard as I can until I pass out?? ummm no.

There are a few great ways to start the ever simple sport of running. You can build yourself up by doing a program like the C25K (couch to 5K). Where you simply alternate walking and jogging until you build your jogging distance up to 3.1 miles.
I didn't know about the C5K until I was already into running a few miles, so my trick was just whenever I started getting tired, I would try to finish out the song on my ipod until I rested or until the end of a certain block -pick a point to make it to before resting. After a while, you are going farther and farther each time until you need to rest.

After you can easily hammer out 3 miles is when you start wondering what else you can do to improve. If you hang out with runners long enough, you will hear them talk about fartleks and tempo runs. Here is a little break down on what those are:

Fartlek-
warm up -brisk walk 3 min
run-1 mile average pace
rest set- 3 min at slow jog
work set- 30 seconds at fast pace
rest set - 3 min at slow jog
keep repeating 3 min/30 sec intervals until you reach 20-25  min
run -1 mile average pace
cool down-slowly jog for 5 minutes
Tempo Run-
1 mile easy running
2-4 miles harder running (10 seconds slower than 10K pace)
1 mile easy running

Happy Running!                  ~Becky

why we cross train and why you should too and how to have fun with it

When I first started running, running was the goal. I thought the best way to get better at running was to keep running. Run harder. Run faster. Run longer. Light run day.

Hmmm. That works up to a point.

You develop a relationship with running. You like it, it's an attractive idea. You start to get to know it better. You spend more time with it. You invest in it. You start loving it. It loves you back. It shapes up your body, gives you confidence, makes you stronger.

But then you start falling out of love. It happens. But rather than fix the relationship, you start to let it go. It becomes an obligation. More like a lunchtime appointment with your dentist than a lunch rendezvous with your lover.

You don't fight with running. It doesn't call you to ask where you've been and what's wrong. You just start ignorning it.

One day you're sick of your iPod music, your shoes are no longer comfy, your route is boring and you just feel like you NEED to watch just one more episode of Jersey Shore and then, oh darn, it's dark out, too late to go running. All those things that were attractive- alone time! - become the things that drive you crazy- alone time :(

Running is sad. Running wants you back.

Becky and I have immensely different approaches when it comes to running. First of all, she does love running more than I do and Becky is better about getting in her small runs than I am. Me, I run about twice a week. One short day for speedwork. One long day. That's it.

I don't know of many other marathoners who would tell you they only run twice a week.

The reason I do it that way is because we also do a lot of cross training. Cross training offers so many benefits and I'm just going to highlight a few:

1)-- Boredom buster! when you're tired of hitting the asphalt, take a cruise on your bike. Or roller blades. Or work on upper body strength. Or take a class. You have so many options! You don't HAVE to do a Wednesday night 3 miler. You CAN take a boot camp class or yoga. You won't lose your conditioning if you decide to ride bike for 30 minutes instead of running for 30 minutes. When you don't want to go running because it seems like a boring idea, ask yourself what kind of training you'd like to do instead and by all means, go do it!

2) Tendons and Ligaments-connective tissue are the most prone to damage due to repetitive motion. Matthew Fitzgerald (sports nutrionist and writer for Competitor) explains it like this:

Tightness in certain muscles and tendons also contributes to some running injuries. For example, runners who develop iliotibial (IT) band friction syndrome typically have tight IT bands. Stretching can loosen tight connective tissues and thereby prevent such injuries.

Finally, by replacing one or two weekly recovery runs with easy workouts in non-impact modalities such as bicycling and pool running you can reduce the amount of repetitive impact your lower extremities are subjected to and in this way reduce injuries (without sacrificing fitness). Impact forces are the true origin of nearly every running injury.

Everytime one of us starts feeling a bothersome knee or shin or hip, we tell each other "ride bike for a week! Strength train! Squats and Lunges!"

3) Love of Power-- stronger muscles= stronger running. Leaner body = lighter running. Plyometrics = burst in muscles = greater stride = faster running.

4) Balance-- runners are notorious for over developing, under balancing their muscle groups. Quads get stronger while hamstrings pull tighter and are set up for injury. (Hint: Squats and Lunges!) Upper body training gets neglected and weakens, resulting in poor running form. Strength and yoga can help relieve some of the tension of overdeveloped, underbalanced muscles. This will help prevent injury and smooth out your running profile. Becky loves Power Pilates for strength training. There are so many classes, DVDs, youtube videos to check out!

5)Anaerobic threshold-- anaerobic means "out of oxygen." Technically, it's the point before you reach homeostasis, that is, your muscles getting the required amount of oxygen to perform the elevated work. You know that feeling where you're huffing and puffing trying to catch your breath and your heart is racing and it feels like your lungs are going to implode but maybe you're going to vomit first? That's your anaerobic threshold. The point where you're pushing your body to that feeling- the hard working out of breath feeling- can be pushed further and further out as you build up a tolerance and your muscles-- including your heart and lungs-- learn to work more efficiently. Runners will tell you it takes a little while for them to "get their rhythm"-- they are referring to that pace where the stride and the breathing completely mellow out and fall in sync. The further away your anaerobic threshold is, the sooner you'll hit your stride. Cross training efforts in swimming or aerobics classes like kickboxing will challenge your heart and lungs, making them stronger and more efficient, thus, pushing your anaerobic threshold further and further away.

6) Engaged-- you know how taking the afternoon coffee break helps you come back to the last few hours of work with a little more patience and focus? You know how taking a break from your family makes you miss them and come back with more love? You know how taking a break from Facebook makes you more productive in your daily activities?.... my point is, when you take a break from running, you will become more engaged with other things in your life and then you will come back to running more focused and ready to engage in running. Sometimes, you just need a mental break. If you would consider taking a "mental health break" from work, consider that you may need to take a "mental health break" from running every now and then. A few summers ago we trained for a triathalon. (Well, Becky and our friend Jodi V. trained for the Triathalon. I hate swimming.) So we took our bikes out for looooonng summery bike rides! What a refreshing change of pace. Coasting downhill with the wind in your hair makes you feel like a kid again, with a huge smile on your face!

Cross-training will give you a whole new set of skills. Consider that it will break you from your routine and shake things up a bit. You'll train your body and your mind to work more efficiently and more balanced, you'll reengage your love for running. Chances are, you'll even meet some new friends who can share their advice in swimming or boxing or cycling.

Get out there and have fun with it. Find a new adventure. Don't be afraid of the weights. Make some new friends at the swimming pool!

Happy Cross Training!
~Jen

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Jen is a certified NETA fitness instructor, and also used resources and publications from the internet, like http://www.running.competitor.com/ and also http://www.ultrarunning.com/

greater than myself

If you ask a runner why they run, there will be a different answer for every day, for every type of run, for every mood.

Crazy Running Chicks--- me, you, your friends, your teammates--- we juggle so many, many things in our lives and somehow, in the middle of our chaotic worlds, running still makes sense of it all.

Very often, the races we participate in help to fundraise for one organization or another: Susan G. Komen. Alzheimer's Association. American Red Cross.

But in 2012, my closest favorite Crazy Running Chicks each chose a purpose, a mission, if you will, for which they will be running.

Their calling, their stories, I want to share with you. 

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I've always ran for myself. It’s my time to escape the world. I do it for my physical health and my mental sanity, among a million other things. But, in 2012 I want to start running for a cause greater than myself. I have chosen to raise funds for pediatric cancer.

In June 2009 our nephew Clayton was diagnosed with Medullablastoma (a type of cancer caused by a tumor in his head). After removal of the tumor, he went through 6 weeks of radiation and 6 months of chemotherapy. After a courageous battle, he went to be with our Lord on July 29, 2010. He was six.

I want to run in memory of Clayton, but also for all of the children sitting in hospital beds around the world. Children, who are unable to run, play and just be free. When I run, I feel free. I pray that all those kids can feel that way again or even for the first time in their lives. I am so blessed that the Lord has given me the ability to run. He has blessed me with this strong, healthy body. If I can use it to bless someone else in any way, then you better believe I am going to try.

46 children are diagnosed with cancer every day. Brain cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in children. Over 3,000 children die from cancer each year. Cancer kills more children than all other diseases combined!

“They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31

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Kathy Lentz has participated in the Fargo Half Marathon, the Bismarck Marathon, and the Mickelson Trail Marathon Relay among many other races. She has already signed up for the Fargo Marathon 2012. To support her cause and to fight the war against childhood cancer, please visit http://www.peopleagainstchildhoodcancer.org/ and http://www.stjude.org/

"Little Black Shorts"

"I think Little Black Shorts are sexier than Little Black Dresses."

I wrote this in a journal to myself last summer. I came across it again today and it put a big smile on my face.

I remember the day I wrote it and the way I felt.

I don't normally wear shorts. I mean, there's only like a month of opportunity that it's hot enough to wear shorts in the first place (North Dakota, people. I live in NORTH DAKOTA.).

But that day was already warming up by the time we headed out. I was wearing black running shorts, my turqoise race tank (the one in ALL the pictures) and we only did 12 miles that day (only). It was the longest I had run again since Grandma's Marathon and that crazy runner high had kicked in. 12 miles is actually my ideal training run. About two hours, cover some great distance on gorgeous back country roads, good visit with friends,waking up the deer in the fields and the pheasant in the brush, and still home before the littles are even rising and shining. In fact, on a summer Sunday morning, we're pretty much out and back before ANYONE is up rising and shining.

I had just come home, to a quiet house. The morning sun was shining through the kitchen windows and I had thrown on a loose, comfy t-shirt. And I kept catching a glimpse of myself in one mirror or another as I was moving about the house.

I had a HUGE smile on my face, my hair was still in a neat braid, my cheeks were rosy. And I was happy. Accomplished. Proud. Hard working. Satisfied. Peaceful. Content. Full.

And apparently, decided that I even felt sexier in those sweaty Sunday morning running shorts than all dolled up in a little black dress.

Think about that the next time you're throwing on shorts and lacing up shoes and headed out. Because I think anyone out there putting one foot in front of the other, working towards their goals, letting go of the stress, building yourself up... is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!

Little black running shorts are way sexier than little black dresses!

~Jen