So you all know by now that I’ve recently taken up running. One of the things I’ve loved about running time is thatit allows me to listen uninterrupted to lots of music that I love. And that music helps me focus on something besides, “Gee, this is hard,” so it makes my run much more enjoyable.

Today I want to share my current list of “exercise music.” There are two main reasons why I choose to put a particular song in the playlist, so I’ve grouped them accordingly. Songs marked with an asterisk (*) are the ones I like to use for my initial warm-up, mostly because I don’t love them so much that I feel compelled to run when they come on.

Running Music

These are songs that have something to do with running, or walking, or exercise, or breathing, or changing myself (usually for the better).

  • Move Along (The All-American Rejects): “move along, move along like I know you do”
  • Butterflies & Hurricanes (Muse): “change everything you are and everything you were … your time is now!”
  • *Feeling Good (Muse): cuz running makes me feel good!
  • *Here It Goes Again (Ok Go): naturally, it always reminds me of their now-famous treadmill dance, and the song’s subsequent inclusion in just about every exercise playlist invented … not especially a favorite, but it works
  • *Breaking the Habit (Linkin Park): probably my favorite-ever Linkin Park song — it reminds me that it’s up to me to break the habits I don’t like
  • Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day): cuz he’s on a boulevard … get it?
  • *The Distance (Cake): “he’s going the distance, he’s going for speed”
  • Hooked on a Feeling (Bay City Rollers): my favorite version of this song — I love that “ooga-chuga” intro
  • Harder to Breathe (Maroon 5): cuz sometimes it gets really hard to breathe when you’re running (although it really shouldn’t, if you’re running correctly)
  • *How You Remind Me (Nickelback): cuz running reminds me “of what I really am”
  • I’m Still Here (Vertical Horizon): cuz no matter how hard this running thing gets, I want to be able to say that I’m still here

Music I Love

These songs are in the list simply because I love them. Since they’re so great, they get me pumped and excited about life, which makes me want to run (and run good!).

  • Pain (Jimmy Eat World): i do sometimes think about how the pain of running takes other pains away …
  • Somebody Told Me (The Killers)
  • Time Is Running Out (Muse): on occasion, of course, i come to this one when my time really is running out
  • Beverly Hills (Weezer)
  • *Buddy Holly (Weezer)
  • Basket Case (Green Day)
  • Self-Esteem (The Offspring)
  • Wherever You Will Go (The Calling)
  • Hanging By A Moment (Lifehouse)

Muse
You will have noticed, I’m sure, that there are few Muse songs in the list already. Sometimes I run to nothing but Muse, which makes for a great run. But when I’m trying not to give in so much to the obsession (or when I’m feeling slightly less obsessed), I like to make sure there’s some other music in the list as well. The three Muse songs I’ve already listed (Feeling Good, Butterflies & Hurricanes, and Time is Running Out) always stay in that list, and then I add in a few others here and there, according to my mood. Right now, I’m still pretty Muse-oriented, so there about five other songs in the list:

  • Exo-Politics
  • Bliss
  • Cave
  • Uno
  • Darkshines (or Dark Shines, I’m never sure)

So, that’s it — my exercise playlist. Of course, it’s not set in stone. In fact, I expect to change it in the next week or so, since it’s been the same list ever since I came back to Idaho, which has now been over six weeks. Time for some new running music.

What about you?  Do you have a special playlist you want to share?  What do you like to listen to when you run/exercise?  I want to hear your thoughts!