Finding the inspiration to keep going...

Now that the weather has been nicer I've been able to take my cardio outdoors, which I enjoy much more than the gym but no matter where I'm exercising the one thing that really keeps me going is my 'tunes!

My iPOD is my coach, my trainer, and my butt kicker...in the form of music! I have a playlist called "randomness" that I use for my workouts. It really is a bunch of random songs that inspire me for different reasons. Sometimes it's just the melody that takes me to a time or place that either lets me forget that I'm exercising...or sometimes it's the lyrics that remind me of why I'm doing this. Most times it's the combination of melody and lyrics that together either keep me in the moment or take me out of the moment if that is what I'm needing.

Here are a few of the songs on my "randomness" playlist:

Tu Compania (Keith Urban)--this is an example of how melody and lyrics both put me into a good mood. Good Mood=keep running! This is a feel good song and you can't help but smile while listening to it.

"Well, I love the way you look
Love the way you feel
And the way you roll your eyes
At the kisses that I steal
Love the way you stare
When you're staring right at me
I just love your company...Oh, yes, I do"

Fly Away (Lenny Kravitz) Another melody/lyrics combo. This song is great when I'm about half way through a workout. The beat helps me to speed up and the lyrics are perfect...I like to imagine myself flying rather than slogging...weightless even.

"I wish that I could fly into the sky so very high Just like a dragonfly I'd fly above the trees over the seas in all degrees To anywhere I please..."

So Small (Carrie Underwood or Matt Giraud--been listening more to Matt!) This is perfect when I need a cool-down but it's not time to quit yet. This is a good song to listen to when I'm feeling like I can't run anymore. So I walk while listening to this song and it helps to put it all into perspective....the workout and life itself. When the song is over i'm ready to kick it again!

"Cause sometimes that mountain you've been climbing is just a grain of sand, What you've been up there searching for forever is in your hands When you figure out love is all that matters after all It sure makes everything else seem so small..."

Hope (Alli Rogers) Again this is a good cool down song and an all over feel good sort of message. It helps me to "re-center" and "remind myself" about alot of things all health, body, spirit and of course...HOPE.

"Hope, I'll be waiting, I'll be holding on to...I am never knowing, so I'll be holding on to hope.."

Breathe (Michelle Branch) This song is perfect for after a cool down song to get me going again. It also has a simple but important message: Breathe! It has an upbeat melody to help me pick up the speed but the melancholy lyrics keep me grounded still...

"If I just breathe-Let it fill the space between-I'll know everything is alright-Breathe Every little piece of me You'll see Everything is alright If I just breathe..."

All I want to Do (Sugarland) This is another upbeat fast paced feel good song! The lyrics take me away from the moment and let me zone out to another place and time with the one I love. It gets me past the feeling like i'm going to "die" and keeps me slogging to the end!

"I got my whole life to change the world and climb the ladders Looking at you looking at me is the only thing that matters Come a little closer baby, we can talk without the words..."

well there are 101 songs in my randomness playlist, this is just a very small sampling. The songs change as I get bored and want to add new ones in. I find that if I'm skipping over certain songs more than a couple of times it's time to take it off and replace it with something different!