One week after Steamtown, I was back on the wagon, running an ill-advised 17 mile jaunt through the trails of Harbison Forest with some buddies. The typically lively banter (most of which I cannot and will not repeat) was interrupted by a question from a bloke soon to embark on his first marathon.

“What does it feel like after mile twenty?”

Before I could muster a pithy response, another runner (a tanned rugby coach) answered with blunt hyperbole, “[after mile twenty] if I had a gun, I’d shoot myself.”

Ah, restraint.

But you know what? For a hypothetical nanosecond he made perfect sense. I’d never actually contemplate self euthanasia, but the unrelenting misery of miles 21-26 can be overwhelming. You must fight the almost irresistible urge to stop… to end it.

While crude, gunpowder projectiles seem as good a metaphor as any.

Just call me Old Yeller.

- Dean

Last Christmas, Andrea gave me an iPod. I love running with it. I’ll tweak play lists as the occasion warrants; for trails, tempo, track, or LSD (Long, Slow Distance in runner’s parlance). Music certainly motivates. But I got to thinking, are there types of songs I’d never listen to while running?

Of course there are.

Nothing against these fine artists and songs. You just shouldn’t listen to them while running:

ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL (pt. 2) / Pink Floyd
References to “The Wall” should be shunned, of course.

I’M A LONG WAY FROM HOME / Shooter Jennings
I dare you not to cry.

THE THING THAT SHOULD NOT BE / Metallica
Apocalyptic visions of the leviathan or your latest 20-miler. You make the call.

DREAMING WHILE YOU SLEEP / Genesis
It’s best to avoid Phil Collins/Genesis songs as a rule, but anything about vehicular homicide is an unwise choice, no matter how tortured the driver.

HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN / The Eurythmics
Eshew, unless of course you enjoy running in the rain in November, or listening to the sad, introspective Annie Lennox.

I FALL APART / Juliana Gianni
Sure it’s hip, but in that purposefully depressing, Independent film sort of way.

GUESS THINGS HAPPEN THAT WAY / Johnny Cash
Abject resignation.

NOT TODAY / Jump Little Children
The sweet sounds of procrastination.

REQUIEM IN D MINOR - LACRIMOSA / W.A. Mozart
Funerary dirges just don’t motivate.

HALF A WORLD AWAY / R.E.M.
Michael Stipe at his depressing best… er… worst.

I CAN’T CATCH YOU / Six Pence None The Richer
The anthem of my last 10k.

SINCE I GAVE UP HOPE, I FEEL A LOT BETTER / Steve Taylor
The anthem of my first marathon.

FRAGILE / Sting
Quiet contemplations on pacifism.

HAS IT COME TO THIS? / The Streets
The cadence alone should put you off pace.

RUNNING TO STAND STILL / U2
Question your life on your own time.

Of course, if you really want to run to this stuff, just go ahead and download all the songs via my iTunes iMix