Let's Groove Spin Playlist

Last week we rocked out to 70s Rock & Roll, today it was 70s Disco Day.

Happy Tuesday!

Let's Groove - Earth, Wind & Fire                5:35  Warm up

Everlasting Love - Carl Carlton                     2:38  Build

That's The Way (I Like It) - KC & The Sunshine Band     3:04  Seated climb

September - Earth, Wind & Fire                   3:35  Continue, standing climb during chorus

Shake Your Body - The Jacksons                  3:46  Recovery 80-100 rpm

The Hustle - Van McCoy                                  3:30  Jumps 20”

Play That Funky Music - Wild Cherry         3:18  Seated climb

Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight                               2:45  Standing climb

Copacabana - Barry Manilow                        5:41 20” Alternate between rest, jump, sprint

Love Rollercoaster - Ohio Players                2:54  Build/seated climb

Turn The Beat Around - Vicki Sue Robinson      3:26  Comfortably fast with sprint 2min in

Last Dance - Donna Summer                         3:20  80-100, stand til the end when music starts

Flashdance...What A Feeling - Irene Cara  3:57  Cool down

Love's Theme - The Love Unlimited Orchestra  4:11  Stretch

Race Week Taper Mode

One week until one of my favorite weekends of the year!  The Falmouth Road Race!  It's going to be weird as I am not involved for the first time in about 12 years.  Below is a blog post I wrote for the Mashpee Fitness Center. To see the original, visit the Mashpee Fitness blog.

Whether you’re running the beautiful and prestigious 7-mile Falmouth Road Race course in Falmouth, Massachusetts next Sunday or preparing for your goal race of the year, race week is a very important week.

Let me start out by saying – nothing you do in the week (actually two weeks) before the race will benefit you in terms of aerobic fitness levels, speed, or strength. Your last long run should be 2 weeks out. One of the hardest things about taper can be learning to trust your training. However, cramming in an extra long run or logging mega miles will only lead to tired and heavy legs or even worse… over training and injuries! You have done all the hard work (hopefully!), now is the time to let your body rest up and prepare for the big day.

I am a big believer in training plans. There are a million to choose from but the right training plan, if followed, can set you up for a great race. Sure there are things that we cannot control—like the weather—but doing all the little things that we CAN control make all the difference in the world.

If the race is on Sunday, run like your normally would Monday-Thursday with a day or two off. Nothing crazy fast or out of the ordinary. Try 4-6 strides at the end of your run to work on turnover. Take Friday completely off as a rest day and use Saturday as a “shake out run” or an easy, easy 20-30 minutes max before you tear it up on Sunday.

If the race is early, practice running early. Set your alarm to get out the door before work. Your body’s energy levels fluctuate throughout the day depending on your sleep, stress, and nutrition. If you always run in the morning and you’ve signed up for a night race, make sure to get in a few night runs to see how your body reacts and give it time to adjust.

Eat smart and stick to your regular diet. Don’t try anything new—especially race morning and the night before the race. Avoid spicy foods, seafood or anything with heavy cream that may upset your stomach. During your training, you should have been practicing race nutrition. The week of the race isn’t the time to experiment with new gels or different pre-run meals. If you’re running a destination race, call the hotel ahead of time to see what they offer for breakfast. If not, bring your own meals or stop by the local grocery store when you get to your destination.

Get some sleep!! And I’m not just talking about the night before. Try to get to bed a little earlier every night the week of the race. Your body will thank you.

Drive the course. Some runners like to drive the course beforehand, others do not. Knowing the route can be beneficial if you are in new running territory and are nervous about the event. You can scope out the finish line and all the hills to mentally prepare yourself for what’s to come.

Develop your race day strategy. Have a plan for how you will tackle the run. Do you have a goal time in mind? Do you usually go out too fast? Are you too conservative so you always feel like you could have done better? Almost as important as having a strategy is being able to adapt. What if something goes wrong? How will you recoup and finish the race? Maybe you’re having a bad day but never give up. Take a look around at all the runners, volunteers, and race supporters. Everyone out there on the course has their own story to tell about their training and struggles. Appreciate the run and learn from your experiences. There is always another race to redeem yourself.

Lay everything out the night before. Pick out (and try on) your race day outfit. Even better–wear your race day outfit for a run. Don’t wear new sneakers the day of the race. Make a checklist of everything you will need: bib number, pins, socks, sneakers, watch, Gu, Body Glide, etc. Plan your breakfast. Set your alarm early enough that you aren’t rushed. Expect traffic. Add in extra time because you know you will want to wait in a porta potty line and a dynamic warm up before the start.

Try all these race week taper tips and you’ll be arriving at the start line with fresh legs ready to rock a personal best! Good luck!

Falmouth Road Race Start Line 2011

Old Time Rock & Roll Spin Playlist

Back by popular demand, we spin to the 70s tunes in spin this week.  Had to throw in a little KISS & Def Leppard.  Did you know Linda Lou and I went to their concert last Friday?!

Old Time Rock & Roll - Bob Seger                      3:15  Warm up                     

You May Be Right - Billy Joel                                4:09  Drills, pedal strokes

Any Way You Want It - Journey                           3:26  Build                

Got Me Under Pressure - ZZ Top                         4:00  Jumps, with high rpm

Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard             4:23  Build, alt seated/standing climb

Detroit Rock City - Kiss                                           3:39  Fast, with 1 min out of the saddle

Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd           4:45  Build

Satisfaction - The Rolling Stones                          3:44  Standing climb                       

Rag Doll - Aerosmith                                                4:25  Jumps with build

Up Around the Bend - Creedence Clearwater Revival     2:41  Build

American Woman - Lenny Kravitz                       4:22  Standing climb

American Girl - Tom Petty                                      3:32  Downhill with sprints (10/20/30”)

Beast Of Burden - The Rolling Stones                 3:28  Cool down

Sweetest Thing - U2                                                  3:02  Stretch

Grandma

Life gets put on hold when someone close to you passes. Nothing really matters anymore. Work, running, social life, painting the new house, awaiting furniture deliveries, blogging... Everything comes to a pause. We question. We grieve. We honor. We celebrate.

These last few days have been tough but I'm lucky to be surrounded by such loving friends and family.

Mom & Dad, I love you. Lizzie, My best friend. Sarah, Your friendship means the world to me. Eric, Thank you for being so understanding and accommodating with work. Melissa & Michele, I am forever grateful to have cousins as amazing as you two. You will always be “the sisters I never had” and I thank you for dropping everything for a fun, distracting night in the falls. Judy & Kim, Nonnie & Papa, Barb & John, the Belczaks, everyone else that crossed my path this week with kind words – I love you all.

I did not know Rena as "The Mayor of 6th Avenue" but from all the stories I've heard over the past few days, she sounded like a pretty cool woman.

When I was a little girl, going to grandma and grandpa's house meant coming home with a new Barbie doll or a $20 bill. Sleepovers meant waking up early to the sounds of pots and pans and the smell of bacon taking over the kitchen.

As an adult I enjoyed conversations with grandma on drives to the eye doctor or our lunch dates at Chilis. Her sarcastic yet positive outlook on life kept me laughing – even when she joked around questioning why she was still around when all of her friends were leaving this earth.  One thing that’s for sure is, she never forgot to tell me how proud of me she was... and I hope I can continue to make her proud.

As the priest said on Wednesday morning, "God has a plan for everyone." It may have been grandma's time to go but her memories will live on forever.

<3

Decades Spin Playlist #2

Too Many Fish In The Sea - The Marvelettes    2:30  1964 - Warm up

Let's Twist Again - Chubby Checker                  2:24  1961 - Drills, start adding tension

Hooked On A Feeling - Blue Swede                   2:54  1974 - Build

Brick House - Commodores                                3:27  1977 - Jumps on a hill

I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor                            4:47  1978 - Build

Bust a Move - Young MC                                    4:24  1989 - 15" jumps

Just A Girl - No Doubt                                         3:29  1995 - Sprints (10"-20"-30")

Miami - Will Smith                                              3:18  1997 - Recovery

Toxic - Britney Spears                                         3:22  2003 - Faster 90/80/90/80

Tempature - Sean Paul                                         3:32  2005 - Seated climb 80/70/80/70

Low feat. T-Pain - Flo Rida                                 3:52  2008 - Jumps 30" up, 15" down

I Like It feat. Pitbull - Enrique Iglesias               3:49  2010 - Seated/standing climb

Starships - Nicki Minaj                                        3:31  2012 - Rolling hills

Brand New - Pharrell Williams                           4:32  2014 - Cool down

Empire - Shakira                                                  3:59  2014 - Stretch

[Related Post: Decades Spin Playlist #1]