Tag: playlist

The Playlist Swap (Part Three)

The Playlist Swap (Part Three)

by TartanJogger ♥ 4 Comments

It’s been a while since I posted about the Playlist swap. It has been a lot of fun!

Frequent visitors will remember that Girl Runs Wild and I swapped MP3 players earlier in the year, and it was a fantastic experience! I also shared with you that I’d received an MP3 player from Kyla at http://earlybirdfitness.com and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying her music.

Lots of tracks are upbeat and really good for running to. There were a few oldies I had forgotten about, including a track that reminds me of a holiday to Ibiza with my sister (The Ketchup Song, if you’re wondering 😉 ) and I’ve been loving the Justin Timberlake tracks!

As with Julia’s MP3, it’s been really good to hear music I didn’t know, and songs from both MP3s that were previously unknown to me have become firm favourites.

I’m looking forward to getting another MP3 in the future from The Running Princess, who has been busy running the Paris and Edinburgh marathons recently. Go, Allison!

There’s another running track that I just love running to at the moment. It’s a little slow, but very powerful. It’s from a BRILLIANT album, too. I’d highly recommend it.

‘What is it? What is it?’

I’m sure you’re shouting that out loud, while reading this post and rolling your eyes at my dramatic build-up…. 😉

It’s….

Yip, Iron Sky from Paolo Nutini’s album Caustic Love.

And I love, love, love it.

Do you have a favourite new running track at the moment? What is it?

The Playlist Swap Continues

The Playlist Swap Continues

by TartanJogger ♥ 17 Comments

Frequent visitors will remember that Girl Runs Wild and I recently swapped MP3 players, and it was a fantastic experience! It was so different, discovering music I didn’t know, rediscovering some tunes I had forgotten about, and being surprised by tracks that we share on our running playlists.

We’ve extended the swap further, and it now includes The Running Princess (who is just back from running the Paris Marathon) and Early Bird Fitness.

So, I was delighted to receive this in the post:

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This MP3 player came all the way from Kyla at Early Bird Fitness, and I can’t wait to try it out on my next long run! 🙂

It’ll probably be a post-wedding run, but will definitely be something I look forward to!

Do you have a favourite running track? What is it?

 

 

 

Tag Teaming the ‘Mill

Tag Teaming the ‘Mill

by TartanJogger ♥ 23 Comments

This morning, @TheWelshWookie and I planned a 9 mile route. So, we had a breakfast smoothie, and got changed to head out for a run. Then, I made the mistake of looking out of the window, and seeing the icy, driving rain outside.

Ooops.

So, I made an alternative suggestion: why not check our running ‘outfits’ for Madrid by running our nine miler on the treadmill?

That’s what we did!

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As I mentioned yesterday, @TheWookie has had a dodgy knee, so rather than running nine miles straight, we tag-teamed it by running three miles and swapping over. I’m pleased to say that the running gear performed well, as did @TheWookie’s knee 🙂 We were also able to watch a couple of films as we ran, so we’ve now caught up with the excellent American Hustle and  the not-quite-so-good The Delivery Man. It certainly passed the time!

The plan for this evening is to chill out with a glass of vino and The Voice. What are your plans?

A Friday Update

A Friday Update

by TartanJogger ♥ 22 Comments

Happy Friday, peeps!

I thought I’d catch you up on my half marathon training: some people have been surprised to hear that @TheWelshWookie and I are going on runeymoon, but after I’ve explained that we’re able to combine a love of running with some sightseeing and relaxation, it makes more sense to them. I’m still following my Hal Higdon plan really closely, and the training is still going well. I missed one run last Saturday, but that’s really the first missed run and I’m already at the end of week 7’s training plan.

Unfortunately, @TheWelshWookie slipped on some grass when playing football with the nephews on Sunday and has re-injured his knee, so he’s not run this week. Yet. Hopefully he’ll be back to it soon enough!

Runners blog relay 2014

My  Around the World Running Blog Relay mileage is about on target: I’ve already gotten in 57.96 kilometres so far, and with a 9 miler planned for tomorrow I should be adding more to that this week.

Also, it’s almost time for The 5×50 Challenge 2014. We signed up for this back in mid-December, and time has flown in, as it now kicks off in eight days: next Sunday! I’m really looking forward to it, as I know it combined with #ATWRBR2014 will definitely keep me on track!

In wedding news, everything is in a bit of a lull: everything is organised, and I’m now just waiting to carry out the last minute things that can’t be done in advance. It’s three weeks today: I can’t wait!

How are your challenges going?

Affy Windy

Affy Windy

by TartanJogger ♥ 26 Comments

This morning, @TheWelshWookie and I headed out to do our eight mile run. We had perfect running conditions: it was cool and overcast but dry. However, it was affy windy. So much so that when we got to the harbour the Tarbert – Portavadie ferry wasn’t running!

We headed out on around glen road, which was where we ran a fortnight ago. It was quiet, and we kept our pace slow. We then headed back into the village, and along our usual harbour route to Garvel then around the harbour to the concrete and back. 8 miles done. It felt really good today!

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This was @TheWelshWookie’s longest ever run, and he felt good afterwards, too: the steady, slow pace and fuel practice paid off.

I took the MP3 player that Girl Runs Wild sent. And, I can tell you, she has some great taste in music! It has loads of really good, upbeat tracks, including ‘Gloria’ by Laura Brannigan, ‘Suddenly I See’ by KT Tunstall and ‘Grace Kelly’ by Mica. I was so excited to hear a track by The Lightning Seeds that I hadn’t heard for years! (It was ‘Sugar Coated Iceberg’ in case you’re wondering). Then, at around the 6 mile mark, I heard the first track that we both have, it was ‘Teardrop’ by Massive Attack. Love that.

As I got to my final hill, I was cheered by some good old Meatloaf, and I was signing along like a loon! @TheWelshWookie thought I was singing ‘I Battered the Hill’ instead of ‘Bat out of Hell’, so I think I’ll be sticking with those new lyrics from now on 😉

To finish the final mile, I had some Mumford and Sons, which was just right at that point in my run. I can definitely say that I am so glad we did the swap: I’ve heard some great tunes I don’t have, or I had forgotten about, and I’ve been introduced to some great music I hadn’t heard before. I’m not sure what Girl Runs Wild will think of my playlist, but I’m looking forward – with trepidation – to finding out!

After today, I’ve added to my  Around the World Running Blog Relay total by another 8 miles, or 12.88 kilometres, which brings my  total to 28.98 kilometres for week one 🙂

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend: I know it’s LA Marathon time, and the Inverness Half tomorrow too.

Are you running this weekend? What’s your goal?

An Update

An Update

by TartanJogger ♥ 16 Comments

Evening all!

I thought I’d give you a quick update on my half marathon training plan, and the headline is that it’s going really well.

So far, Hal Higdon is working out really well: it’s a good mix of runs, with four days running, one day cross training and two rest days per week. I’ve now reached Week 5, Day 4, so I’m not quite at the half way point yet. I’m managing to do a mix of running outdoors and dreadmill runs, which is also helping to stave off boredom.

So tonight, I’ve added to my  Around the World Running Blog Relay mileage: another 3 miles, or 4.83 kilometres, which brings my  total to 16.1 kilometres so far 🙂

In wedding news, I now have virtually everything arranged, I think. And if I don’t have it arranged, it isn’t happening! I’m just about to finish off writing the Order of Service, and that will be another job done! 🙂

funny-wedding-programs

I feel as though some things are just about coming together, in terms of both running and wedding planning this week 😉

What’s going well for you at the moment?

The Playlist Swap

The Playlist Swap

by TartanJogger ♥ 30 Comments

Tonight, I headed out for my second dry run in a row for ages! I was running four miles, and so I was able to listen to some of Girl Runs Wild‘s running playlist. I was very excited!

The first forty five minutes worth of music is a really great mix, all of which I really enjoyed. It included:

  • the theme from Flashdance
  • a good smattering of Country music
  • some old skool James tracks
  • some Katie Melua

And, as I finished my four miles, I was running to Roar by Katy Perry! Yay!

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I’m looking forward to hearing more! As I think of some of the sad tracks on my own playlist, I think I’ve benefited from this swap! It was great to be able to run, and have no idea what music was coming next. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this aspect of my run tonight.

So, I’ve added to my  Around the World Running Blog Relay mileage: another 4 miles, or 6.44 kilometres, for a total of 11.27 kilometres so far 🙂

What’s your favourite running track?

A Blogger Surprise!

A Blogger Surprise!

by TartanJogger ♥ 44 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, I was chatting to Girl Runs Wild about running music and playlists. During the online conversation, she mentioned that we should buy a basic MP3 player each, download our playlists, and mail them to each other.

And so, the great playlist swap has begun!

While Girl Runs Wild is still waiting for me to receive the MP3 player from Amazon to load and send to her, I received an email on Tuesday, telling me to look out for a little package through the mail 😉

And yesterday, there was a parcel waiting for me at the front door! Eeeek!

It was quite a large package, and my first thoughts were: was there something I’ve ordered for the wedding that I’ve forgotten about? Has @TheWelshWookie been doing some sneaky online shopping?

I carried the package into the kitchen, and opened it. Hmmm. It was a lovely pink box, wrapped in a silver satin ribbon. I was intrigued!

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I carefully removed the ribbon, puzzling over this lovely package.  My thoughts included have I entered and won a competition? I rechecked the name and address, in case I’d accidentally opened a package for my neighbour: nope! It’s definitely for me!

I opened the box, unsure of what to expect. And what did I find? A box of fabulous goodies, perfect for a runner!

The lovely notecard inside explained all: this wonderful blogger was treating me to the whole ‘Girl Runs Wild’ running experience, including the music, fuel, recovery food and post-run pampering kit! 😀

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In the box was: a 9 Bar (I love these), a bag of Lindt eggs (delish!), The Body Shop Total Energy Enlivening Body Gel, a big box of lovely scented tea lights and another small gift box containing the MP3 player!

I’m a very, very lucky blogger!

I’m already a huge fan of 9 bars, and I’m not sure you’ll believe this, but @TheWelshWookie and I polished off the last of our Lindt chocolate balls from Christmas only on Monday, so to receive the Lindt eggs now is just perfect!

The body gel smells really lovely, and I can’t wait to try it post-run. I use a lot of candles, and the ones Girl Runs Wild included smell divine!

I am tempted to have a sneak listen to the MP3 player but I’m going to hold off, and use it on my long run, so that I can really enjoy it. I’ll let you know all about it after I’ve listened!

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I’ve been blown away by both the generosity and the lovely, thoughtful surprise: it has really made my week!

Thank you, Girl Runs Wild! You’ve really highlighted for me how fantastic all of you bloggers are!

In case you missed it, we’re also both signed up for the Around the World Running Blog Relay 2014: Are you in yet? No? Well, you’d best get a wriggle on, it starts on Saturday! 😉 Sign up here

Have you ever received a wonderful surprise?