Tag Archives: running

Blood, sweat, and beers

A little over a year ago, Ms. S&C ran her first 5K. Since then, she’s run in ten 5Ks and one 5-miler. Her 11th race was this past weekend, when she ran the Crystal City Twilighter. It was sweltering, it was tough, but it was also so freakin’ gratifying. I don’t know if it was because of the cheering crowd, because other friends ran in the race, or because it was one of the hottest days of the year — this race was memorable.

What shoes was Ms. S&C wearing? A new pair of Brooks. What was Ms. S&C drinking? Well, a hell of a lot of water before and after the race. But, a little after 9 pm, she opened a beer — a Bud Light — and no beer has ever tasted better.

There was at least sweat and beers as Ms. S&C ran her 11th race on
one of the hottest days of the year.

Continuing with the S&C music momentum, Ms. S&C thought she’d share her current running playlist. While she doesn’t listen to music during races (she tries to make it on pure adrenaline), her iPod is a necessity for everyday runs.

The S&C running mix includes:

  • Bruises — Chairlift (the song made popular by the iPod Nano commercials)
  • Hey Ya! — Outkast
  • MMMBop — Hanson (a little embarrassing, but whatevs, it is fun)
  • Rill Rill — Sleigh Bells (love that it samples Funkadelic’s “Can You Get to That”)
  • Drunk Girls — LCD Soundsystem
  • Party in the U.S.A — Miley Cyrus
  • Empire State of Mind — Jay-Z (and the Jay-Z song was on)
  • You Know I’m No Good — Amy Winehouse (remix, featuring Ghostface Killah)
  • Crazy — Gnarls Barkley
  • Here Comes Your Man — Pixies
  • My Place — The Adverts
  • No Woman, No Cry — The Fugees
  • Time to Pretend — MGMT
  • Cold War — The Morning Benders

And finally, our public service announcement: go for a run. Go for a walk. Get outside. Then, drink to your health!

posted by Ms. S&C

Get out and run

Ms. S&C ran in her first 5K on Saturday and now she is all hot-to-trot over this running thing. Tomorrow, June 3, is the inaugural National Running RD_LogoDay. National Running Day is an initiative whereby many organizations within the running industry are joining forces to promote running as a healthy, easy, and accessible form of exercise.

A few months ago, Ms. S&C was looking to start a regular exercise regiment. Two things were important to her: (a) she didn’t want to spend a lot of money (i.e. no membership fees), and (b) she didn’t want to dedicate more than an hour or so of her day (i.e. no wasting time in traffic, dressing and undressing in a locker room, etc.). I guess you could say there was really only one thing that was important to her: she didn’t want to join a gym.

She started with a stationary bike in her basement. This was great. She could watch reruns of The Daily Show and Real Housewives of New York City. She could flip thru magazines and listen to iTunes. Then, she got bored. And spring came. She wanted to be outdoors, so she decided to go for a run.

–Okay, enough of the third person– I am by no means a natural or gifted athlete. When I started running, I couldn’t run a mile without stopping, cramping, and cursing. I even joked to a friend that I only ran when an upbeat song came on my iPod. After awhile, a half mile turned into a full mile, a full mile turned into two miles, and so on. Running, up to this point, was entirely a solitary activity, so a friend suggested I run in a race. When I crossed the finish line at the Maya Angelou See Forever 5K, and saw Mr. S&C (also there with the S&C family dog) cheering me on, I’ve never felt more exhilarated. So, if you are looking to start an exercise routine, Ms. S&C thinks you should get out and run. She’s never felt better.asics

P.S. You didn’t think I forgot about shoes did you? I recently went shopping for a new pair of running sneakers and the sales associate told me that Asics make the best running shoes around. Ms. S&C wants to know from all the runners out there: Do you have a fave running shoe? I would love to hear your recommendations!

posted by Ms. S&C