Don’t get me wrong, this was an amazing run. Unfortunately scheduling didn’t work out so that Katie and I could run together. We both suffered for it, because we didn’t have help keeping pace.

So I decided to put together a playlist of good running music, since running alone with no music would be boring. I’ll post the music below. I had Through the Fire and the Flames by Dragonforce and The Perfect Drug by Nine Inch Nails in the playlist, and both of those songs made me forget the meaning of the word “pacing.” When Dragonforce was playing, I noticed I was running really fast. I looked at the iPod, and I was going at a 6:30/mi pace. NOT GOOD. At least not yet. Similar happened later on with NIN, but I didn’t bother checking the pace, I just slowed down.

So my knees are hurting a bit because of it, but I figured out the secret to my shins: they’re cramping. It’s that simple. If I sit down for about 30 seconds when they start hurting, I’m perfectly fine. This will improve over time though; everything I’ve read says that these muscles are notorious for causing problems for new runners until they get stronger.

I also decided to start adding some resistance to my workout, as encouraged by some comments here and on Twitter and Facebook. The faster I can get some weight off, the fewer problems I’ll have running, and the quicker I can get to that 6:30 pace (because that was so much fun for the 30 seconds I did it, and I had a major runner’s high).

In other news, the Nike + website is buggy as hell. As you can see at the left, the Nike Mini has stopped working. This is the second time it’s done this. Still, it’s great to see the data to see where I’m improving. At least it *will* be once I have more than 2 runs in.

As promised,  here’s my playlist:

Metallica – The Ecstasy of Gold (A cover of Ennio Moriccone’s masterpiece from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly)
Marilyn Manson – Doll Dagga Buzz Buzz Ziggety Zag (Fantastic running music)
Kanye West – Stronger (the album version is slower than the single, and not good running music)
Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip – The Beat That My Heart Skipped (if you like The Streets, this is sorta like that but WAY better)
Dragonforce – Through the Fire and the Flames (…yeah)
MIKA – Grace Kelley (If you like Queen you need to listen to this)
NIN – Perfect Drug (again … yeah)

That’s as far as I got tonight music-wise. Queued up for the next solo run, however…

Outkast – Bombs Over Baghdad
Arctic Monkeys – I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor
Bad Religion – Los Angeles is Burning
Paramore – Misery Business
William Shatner – Common People (everyone’s homework assignment is to find some music from Shatner’s Has Been album and give it a serious listen. Some amazing stuff)

The new shoes definitely helped as well. I was running on a pair of Brooks Beasts last night that my friend Andrew gave me years ago. Turns out they are for people with close to no arches, and I have average arches. I got a pair of Saucony Progrid Guide 2’s which are like heaven in shoe form.

Whether it was better pacing or better shoes, I have far less pain than last night. I was able to get my heart rate up higher and get out of breath some since my shins weren’t aching almost immediately.

Two runs so far, that’s all, and already I feel SO much better. Sleep came so easily last night, and I had so much energy today. I’ve been in an amazing mood all day.

As I was trying out different shoes at Runabout Sports in Blacksburg (amazing, amazing store) I was running around the store, and just that little bit of running was like waving a bag of coke in front of a junkie. I found myself daydreaming about the run all day. I can totally see how people get addicted to this. In fact, I’m well on my way.

In totally unrelated news, if you haven’t heard of Amanda Palmer, check her out. It’s imperative. AMAZING music. Here’s my favorite song.

Amanda Palmer – The Point of it All