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Recent News
I PR'd at the 2009 Las Vegas Rock N Roll Half by 27 minutes! You can read my race post-mortem at dailymile.com if you're curious.
Hella Sound now offers Gift Certificates! Priced at $5, $10 and $15, they're perfect stocking stuffers and last-minute gifts for your running buddies. Print 'em out, or let us email them directly with a note from you. Sweet, huh?
On the Las Vegas RnR tip, here's some thoughts on how I did 27 minutes better than previous outings, and things I learned:
1. A good running playlist is a good thing. If you're curious, here's what I ran to:
· Hella Sound What Are You Made Of?!? [165BPM]—my go-to running song these days
· Hella Sound As You Wish [165BPM]—transitions nicely from "What Are You Made Of?!?"
· Hella Sound How To Turn Around A Bad Day [165BPM]
· One Day As A Lion Wild International—great live drum sound, great aggro vocals; really gets me going.
· Eve & Fatboy Slim Cowboy—the lyrics are SOOOOOO crass, but the rhythm is fantastic. I love Eve. She nasty.
· Hella Sound What Are You Made Of?!? [165BPM]—finished up strong
2. Gu Chomps are cheating. They're so kick ass, and so easy to use, that it's almost too easy. I brought 2 baggies and started chomping them every so often from mile 3 to mile 11. I never once ran short on energy, never once bonked, and also never once got that gaggy "ugh I just ate a Gu" feeling. I hit every water station on the course (just drinking water, no Cytomax) and it went fantastically.
4. Losing weight helps. At racetime I was down about 20lbs from two months ago, and I believe it's really helped. Another 40 or so to go...
5. Garmin. This was my first race with a Garmin; and while I've run with the Nike+ before, I rarely had it calibrated properly to be accurate. I was shooting for 2:30:00, which turns out to about 11:20 miles, and with the Garmin, I was able to stay at pace easily.
6. In general, I think I've just become a better runner.
Be safe, have fun, and don't be a stranger!
Showing posts with label running music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label running music. Show all posts
Our Third Song is Out!
Hella Sound's third running music release, "As You Wish" is now available—go check it out!We also have had 3 reported PRs by folks running with our music—check 'em out on our Facebook page. That makes me incredibly happy.
Good stuff!
Running Music Road Test - Song #3 (Thrash \m/)
I bounced down the thrash song and headed out for my 5k run.
("Bouncing down" is the process in which a multi-track recording is merged into a single stereo audio file.)
("Thrash" is aggressive music made popular in the '80s by bands like Metallica—that is, before Metallica started sucking. Badly. The distinct characteristic to the genre is that it makes you want to punch people in the face. And run aggressively.)
("5k" is a metric distance. Why the US never adopted the metric system, I'll never know, but until we do I'll continue to buy my milk by the gallon, my gas by the rundlet and my beer by the hogshead. Stupid British measurement system...)
When I lay out and record an arrangement, I work at 160 BPM. When it's done and thoroughly road tested I go back and re-record everything at the different cadences. 160 BPM is now slower than my 5k running cadence; as such, I didn't come close to 30:00 today, but that's cool: it was a good run and a good road test. There's DEFINITELY some parts to this song that get you really amped up and you fly. There's one part, though, that I thought for sure would be great, but really doesn't work well for running. I'll have to hack it out and rework the piece.
But man, I like it.
In continuing with my warm weather prep, I ran with a dark long-sleeve shirt on and a black shirt over it. The sun was bright—it was a gorgeous day out in San Francisco today—but the breeze was still somewhat cool. Perfect running weather, really. But Los Gatos and San Jose will not be as cool or as kind, so I keep preparing for the worst.
Total Weight: -15lbs
("Bouncing down" is the process in which a multi-track recording is merged into a single stereo audio file.)
("Thrash" is aggressive music made popular in the '80s by bands like Metallica—that is, before Metallica started sucking. Badly. The distinct characteristic to the genre is that it makes you want to punch people in the face. And run aggressively.)
("5k" is a metric distance. Why the US never adopted the metric system, I'll never know, but until we do I'll continue to buy my milk by the gallon, my gas by the rundlet and my beer by the hogshead. Stupid British measurement system...)
When I lay out and record an arrangement, I work at 160 BPM. When it's done and thoroughly road tested I go back and re-record everything at the different cadences. 160 BPM is now slower than my 5k running cadence; as such, I didn't come close to 30:00 today, but that's cool: it was a good run and a good road test. There's DEFINITELY some parts to this song that get you really amped up and you fly. There's one part, though, that I thought for sure would be great, but really doesn't work well for running. I'll have to hack it out and rework the piece.
But man, I like it.
In continuing with my warm weather prep, I ran with a dark long-sleeve shirt on and a black shirt over it. The sun was bright—it was a gorgeous day out in San Francisco today—but the breeze was still somewhat cool. Perfect running weather, really. But Los Gatos and San Jose will not be as cool or as kind, so I keep preparing for the worst.
Total Weight: -15lbs
Running Music Road Test #1 - Song #2
I got an early draft of Hella Sound's next running music release from the wonderful composer that's working on it, so it was time to take it out for its first road test.
Ooooooh babies. We're on to something good here. It's groove-a-licious. I can't wait to share it with you all.
The version I was sent was at 160BPM—a notch down from the 165BPM I've been running with. So, as you'd predict, my overall time today for 5k was slower—stride rate/cadence is key component of speed. But I thoroughly enjoyed the run. All things considered, it's probably a good idea to have a mix of run workouts: pace-pushers, cruisers, and long-slow runs. Today was a cruiser.
Feeling good, feeling on top of things, feeling on track. No issues to speak of in how things are going. I do believe, however, that I'll have to invest some effort into the following:
In unrelated news: check out the new Hella Sound home page. I love that photo. Found it on Flickr, loved it, contacted the photographer, and he was super cool and enthusiastic about us using it on the site. How cool is that? We live in wonderful times.
Total Weight: -15.5lbs
Run entry on dailymile.com
Ooooooh babies. We're on to something good here. It's groove-a-licious. I can't wait to share it with you all.
The version I was sent was at 160BPM—a notch down from the 165BPM I've been running with. So, as you'd predict, my overall time today for 5k was slower—stride rate/cadence is key component of speed. But I thoroughly enjoyed the run. All things considered, it's probably a good idea to have a mix of run workouts: pace-pushers, cruisers, and long-slow runs. Today was a cruiser.
Feeling good, feeling on top of things, feeling on track. No issues to speak of in how things are going. I do believe, however, that I'll have to invest some effort into the following:
- My ARoM hip exercises (which I've been neglecting)
- Getting better sleep
In unrelated news: check out the new Hella Sound home page. I love that photo. Found it on Flickr, loved it, contacted the photographer, and he was super cool and enthusiastic about us using it on the site. How cool is that? We live in wonderful times.
Total Weight: -15.5lbs
Run entry on dailymile.com
Another :30 Down, Another :30 to Go
Came within 35 seconds of my sub-30:00 5k goal. It felt good!
I think the weight loss is definitely working in my favor—it's definitely nice to have less baggage to drag along with me as I go. And I'm also getting more focused on better form (from reading the ChiRunning
book) and increasing my stride rate.
The stride rate (or cadence) thing is a major underpinning of the whole Hella Sound Running Music concept, and I've found it to be an incredibly useful tool for helping me increase the speed of my turnovers.
Soon I'll roll out The Plan V, but in the meantime I'm enjoying the results I'm getting!
Total Weight: -11lbs
I think the weight loss is definitely working in my favor—it's definitely nice to have less baggage to drag along with me as I go. And I'm also getting more focused on better form (from reading the ChiRunning
book) and increasing my stride rate. The stride rate (or cadence) thing is a major underpinning of the whole Hella Sound Running Music concept, and I've found it to be an incredibly useful tool for helping me increase the speed of my turnovers.
Soon I'll roll out The Plan V, but in the meantime I'm enjoying the results I'm getting!
Total Weight: -11lbs
5k Número Dos de la Semana
Until I roll out Plan V, I think I'm basically going to run every other day. Easy to remember, informal, lots of recovery time.
I also think, for a while, I'm going to be running 5k. That'l be my default until I feel I've developed a regular, consistent thing (and a bit of a base).
Today I started off the run with P.O.D.'s song "Alive". I'm becoming convinced that it's one of the best songs you can run to if you want to feel like a total badass. It's heavy, it's got balls, but it's also really pretty uplifting.
Honestly, I wish I could incorporate what's great about it into an upcoming Hella Sound song. But I fear there's no way extract that essence without having it end up being a fakey rip-off version.
So kids, do yourself a favor and buy the MP3 of that song. It's totally badass for running.
I listened to "Alive" twice—I enjoyed it so much the first time I went back for seconds—then I switched over to the 165 BPM version of How To Turn Around A Bad Day. Normally I run to the 160, but my turnover is getting a little quicker so I stepped up to the next-fastest.
It really drove me hard. I felt great, and there was no way for me to ease up or slack off my pace. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. So good.
Total Weight: -9lbs
I also think, for a while, I'm going to be running 5k. That'l be my default until I feel I've developed a regular, consistent thing (and a bit of a base).
Today I started off the run with P.O.D.'s song "Alive". I'm becoming convinced that it's one of the best songs you can run to if you want to feel like a total badass. It's heavy, it's got balls, but it's also really pretty uplifting.
Honestly, I wish I could incorporate what's great about it into an upcoming Hella Sound song. But I fear there's no way extract that essence without having it end up being a fakey rip-off version.
So kids, do yourself a favor and buy the MP3 of that song. It's totally badass for running.
I listened to "Alive" twice—I enjoyed it so much the first time I went back for seconds—then I switched over to the 165 BPM version of How To Turn Around A Bad Day. Normally I run to the 160, but my turnover is getting a little quicker so I stepped up to the next-fastest.
It really drove me hard. I felt great, and there was no way for me to ease up or slack off my pace. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. So good.
Total Weight: -9lbs
A Gift of Running Music for Your Earhole
No, unfortunately I don't have a kick-ass workout to report, but I do have some kick-ass music to report:Hella Sound running music is now for sale!
Our first release, How To Turn Around A Bad Day, is available for download.
This first song was a long time in the making, and I can't wait to hear how it works for your run. I'm gonna do a little write-up on Hella Sound about the song—provide some detail on the various parts, what I was going for and what my inspiration was, etc. A sort of low-frills Behind The Music, if you will.
Anyhoo, I have a little gift for you folks that read Slow Mofo:
A 20% OFF COUPON!
Coupon Code: GOSLOWMOFO
That's a buck off, just for you. Click any of the links above to go to the song page, or just click this link right here.
Thanks for reading, and enjoy!
(PSSST! The coupon expires at the end of this month (March), so go get it while the gettin's good.)
Road Test: Song #1
Before Thanksgiving I finished arrangement of the first Hella Sound running song. Today was the day I took it out for a final test run.
Friends, it felt mighty good.
I'll probably elaborate more on it more when I release it on the web site, but there are really four main sections; it begins pretty wound up and charged, cruises into a dark segment, releases into a melodic, airier section, then resolves in something I can only describe as fun.
I was juiced by the time I got to the last segment. It was the last piece I recorded, and it was the first time I ran to it. You're never really sure until you take a song out for a road test, and man it felt really good.
Can't. Wait. To share.
I'll be re-recording some of the guitar and bass, performances, finessing the percussion and drums, then it's mixing, mastering and getting it up for the world to hear. Very exciting times these is.
As you can tell by my lack of recent posts, I've been slacking on the running front. No valid reason—just excuses (which I won't bother you with). Since I had over a whole week of laziness, my pace was a little slower today than it's been.
I'm also going to have to adjust the calendar a bit—nix the days I didn't workout, maybe move everything back a few weeks (again). I may just jump into the plan where I left off. We'll see.
Hey, seriously: thanks for reading! Y'all are the bestest.
Friends, it felt mighty good.
I'll probably elaborate more on it more when I release it on the web site, but there are really four main sections; it begins pretty wound up and charged, cruises into a dark segment, releases into a melodic, airier section, then resolves in something I can only describe as fun. I was juiced by the time I got to the last segment. It was the last piece I recorded, and it was the first time I ran to it. You're never really sure until you take a song out for a road test, and man it felt really good.
Can't. Wait. To share.
I'll be re-recording some of the guitar and bass, performances, finessing the percussion and drums, then it's mixing, mastering and getting it up for the world to hear. Very exciting times these is.
As you can tell by my lack of recent posts, I've been slacking on the running front. No valid reason—just excuses (which I won't bother you with). Since I had over a whole week of laziness, my pace was a little slower today than it's been.
I'm also going to have to adjust the calendar a bit—nix the days I didn't workout, maybe move everything back a few weeks (again). I may just jump into the plan where I left off. We'll see.
Hey, seriously: thanks for reading! Y'all are the bestest.
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