A Case of the Runs

If you've fallen [as I did during this race ... and maybe this one ] Get back up; If you've been disrespected Tell them to shove it Move on [it's their problem; not yours]; If you feel a little ache Keep going [but not too much ]; Caring too much does not heal wounds. But maybe singing will: That {classical} guitar above is mine!  I took that photo before I ever strummed a single note on her.  Yes, her .  I'm calling her Maria (accent on the "i") for now, short for Via Maria [accents on the "i"s] Tocando la Guitarra.  Surely it's normal to name your objects -- I've done that to most of my major possessions, except my car.  I don't make this stuff up, people. Originally, I was planning on buying a guitar on Craigslist .  After some weeks, I finally drove to someone's place to do the exchange, he was a no-show with a turned-off phone.  After over an hour of waiting in decent, but foreign, territory, I got angr...

A few marathons ago (you know you've been doing too many when you can say that), I decided to include starvation as part of my taper strategy. The week before a marathon, I start loading up on pickle juice, sleep, carbs, and water. And I completely (to my power) cut out music. You see, I listen to music (on my Sony Walkman  -- GIVEAWAY STILL GOING ON , and formerly iPod ) on most of my runs.  I've done a couple of races without music, mostly because I forgot or wasn't allowed to have it.  But when I can help it, I'm going to jam to Eminem in my darkest moments of the race. So this means that on my last runs before the race, my ears are open.  I don't turn on the radio in the car (except talk radio), and I try to avoid lingering in music-playing supermarkets or stores for very long. This way, when race day comes, I'm starving for music, and its motivating affects are increased.  Yes, marathons much are less painful when you're absorbed in a Lil ...

No matter what critics are saying about it, I haven't been able to stop listening to Eminem 's Recovery album, which came out late last month. Regardless of people's comments, the album reached platinum level quickly. Hah, what did you think this blog title referred to??? I've written an entry about my musician love, Moby, but my second love is Eminem. I've been a fan of his since I was 13. I even have this stuffed tiger, Shady, named after him. I even brought Shady to see Moby (look at what he's signing in this picture). His "Hi, My Name Is" song was what I used to annoy my sisters before I got hit by the boy bands. His brutal and comedic lines got me through high school with the Marshall Mathers, LP and then later, The Eminem Show . Since then, I haven't been able to find an album that I've really loved as much as those. But yes, I liked tracks here and there, such as " Beautiful " (from the recent Relapse album) a song that I R...

This entry is totally unrelated to running, but I found a really fun website that realizes my karaoke fantasies. Of course, it's not that I'm good or anything, but come on, everyone likes to "belt it out" sometimes. Even during runs. Yes, I was even willing to humiliate myself and post a sample recording. It just takes a digital microphone or web-cam (which has one built-in) to play! ------ Link: http://www.karaokeplay.com/ Link: SAMPLE

This entry is about as far from running as can be, but it is close to my heart because it has to do with my favorite musician, Moby ! On Wednesday, October 14, Moby performed at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. That evening, I ran 10k on the treadmill alongside "The Ukrainian," grabbed some vegetarian banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches), and got there just in time to eat dinner in my car and get in line. Since I got my tickets so early, our tickets were actually for the pit, so we were close to the action. How close, you ask? Yep, we were pretty much two feet away from him at times (and my hair is like straw!), and he often edged the stage to reach out to his audience (not me, as my arms are not long enough). The rave-esque yells he did during "Feeling So Real" (always his last song at concerts) was awesome...! I've touched Moby a few times before, but having him perform in front of my face was an unparalleled experience. I had so much fun knowing that he ...

Today, June 30th, Moby (or click here to listen to some of his music) is releasing his latest album Wait for Me . Before I go to sleep tonight, I will be an owner of this album. I've heard all of the songs and can already see that this one is more of the trademark style that got him famous. In case you don't know, Moby is an electronica/ambient artist. You may have heard his stuff before, as it is often used in commercials and movies. I first got hooked on him when back in the beginning of high school, I heard a song called "Porcelain" (played in The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio) on the radio and recorded it on tape (ah, the world before downloading music!). Everytime I heard that song, I felt like I was lying on top of waters, relaxed and alive. I must have talked about it a lot, because when my 15th birthday came rolling along, my sister Tea Time got me his then-famous album Play . I listened to it mostly for that song "Porcelain" and "Southside...

On the evening before LA Marathon , my sister asked me for possible songs to download. So I went onto my iPod Nano 2G and went to the section that contains the song titles. Upon scrolling a bit, I noticed a pattern, or should I say, progression... (click the picture for a closer look)

Everytime I hear a song with the word "run" in it, I get a sudden spurt of energy. I wonder what would happen if I smooshed all of those into a song, but that would probably involve lots of cutting/splicing mp3 files on Adobe. Plus, I'm sure someone could do a far better job than I can. For now, I will list all the songs I have listened to that mention the sacred word in the chorus. Feel free to comment, so I can add more... (* = submissions by others) ------ "The One" - Backstreet Boys "Runaround" - Blues Traveler* "Water Runs Dry" - Boyz II Men "Sometimes" - Britney Spears "Run to You" - Bryan Adams* "Run It!" - Chris Brown "If You're not the One" - Daniel Bedingfield "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven" - Phil Collins/Deborah Cox "Running on Empty" - Diana Fox "You Can't Hide, You Can't Run" - Dilated Peoples "Run Rabbit Run" - Eminem* "Es...

This is my (or a good representation of the) thing that probably gets me through runs better than food... the iPod mini (4GB) in blue. I got this for my 20th birthday. Since training for races began, I only listen to it while running (as another incentive). My only complaint is that it is too heavy, but as they say, the weight is worth it. UPDATE: As of 04/27/07, this device no longer belongs to me. I passed it on when I received my upgrade. =)