Heating Up Those Winter Workouts

Winter training. Sigh. It’s cold outside. It’s pitch black in early morning. Who wants to get out of a warm bed and go pound the pavement or jump in a pool and do laps? Not I!
But there is no rest from training for the triathlon weary. We must trudge onward and we must find motivation wherever we can. For me it was creating a playlist where I could get lost in the music and get pumped up for my next event. Especially in the pool when the endless laps seem to make time stand still, I could now draw inspiration from the music and lyrics and envision myself completing each stage of the triathlon, triumphantly crossing the finish line, strong and smiling. Here is that playlist, with the songs, the artists, and the reason(s) those songs inspire me:

1. Thunderstruck – ACDC – I love my Thundering Herd. That is all.
2. Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky) – it is impossible to listen to this song and not picture yourself running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, raising your arms in victory and celebrating your hard work.
3. Eye of the Tiger – Survivor – although you’ve gone thru tough times, you can use those experiences to rise up against any challenge you face.
4. Walking on Sunshine – Katrina and the Waves – this happy-happy song reminds me of what an endorphin junkie I am.
5. Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen – it’s just in the blood.
6. Learn to Fly – Foo Fighters – “I’m looking to the sky to save me” is how I feel when I’m tired and don’t want to go on and need Divine intervention and inspiration.
7. Get Back Up – Toby Mac – “Never too late to get back up again” – even when you get knocked down and have setbacks, there’s nothing that can keep you down.
8. Enter Sandman – Metallica – this one just makes me move faster!
9. Break My Stride – Matthew Wilder – “I’ve got to keep on moving” is my life’s motto.
10. Overcomer – Mandisa – I’m an overcomer and I’ll stay in the fight ’til the final round because I know Who has my back.
11. Not Afraid – Eminem – you gotta be tough enough to pull yourself up and out of the ditches in life and then help others do the same.
12. Good Feeling – Flo Rida – sometimes I get a good feeling when it clicks that I. Am. Going. To. Achieve. My. Dream! You have to SEE it first before it comes to fruition.
13. Pompeii – Bastille – I think this is just a cool sounding song but the lyrics “How am I gonna be an optimist about this” reminds me that you do sometimes have to look for the silver lining even when everything around you is crumbling.
14. Heart of a Champion – Nelly – “I push myself to the limit so my talent will surface” – sometimes we miss finding out just how tough we are because we quit too soon.
15. Pocketful of Sunshine – Natasha Bedingfield – this is another makes-me-happy song that comes with a warning that you can do what you want to me but you’re never gonna break me.
16. Stronger – Kanye West – Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger.
17. Monkey Wrench – Foo Fighters – I just like the Foo.
18. Happy – Pharrell Williams – Happiness is the truth.
19. We Will Rock You – Queen – the ultimate let’s-get-pumped-up anthem.
20. The Edge of Glory – Lady Gaga – that moment when I’ve almost, but not quite, reached my goal is when I feel like I’m right on the edge of glory; of fulfilling my dream.
21. All I Do is Win – DJ Khaled featuring T-Pain Ludacris, Rick Ross & Snoop Dogg – Quitting is not in my vocabulary.
22. The Final Countdown – Europe – it makes me think about all the work leading up to race day. And it has cool ’80’s synthesizers.

Boom. Workout complete.