Random Running Commentary

First a confession: I did not run today. But I thought about running. I know, that does NOT count as running. However, I thought I could manage just a tiny blog post out of some of the stuff I thought about.

The fact is, as I run, I think of all kinds of things. Since I’ve written a blog, I mostly think of things I can put in a blog post about that run. Some of my posts about runs have been over 1,000 words. Yikes! And I do not include all the silly things I think. After I make the post, I always think, “Oh, I didn’t put in blah blah!” I know, some of you are thinking, “Oh, Cindy, you put in PLENTY of blah blah!”

Be that as it may, one thing that has occupied me lately when running has been the songs playing in my head. I absolutely never run with earphones on. Partly because I don’t own any, but mostly because I like to be aware of my surroundings. Also, I am skeptical of my ability to come up with a play list I would like. Suppose I wanted to run slower than the song that was next (I’m almost positive I would never want to run faster)?

As noted in various posts, I often hear the ice cream truck when I am running. I don’t particularly like being stalked by the ice cream truck (although I do like including the possibility in my post), but I must say some of those silly tunes are good to run to. It is not uncommon to have the music playing in my head after the truck has gone.

One song that plays in my head quite often is one from the ’80s that goes, “I know what boys like/ I know what guys want/ I know what boys like/ boys like/ boys like me!” Those are the only words I know. In fact, they may be the only words to that song. I must admit to feeling pretty good as I run along thinking all the boys like me (shut up! I can think what I like!).

A song that caught me the other day was one that goes, “All I wanna do/ Is have some fun/ I got a feeling/ I’m not the only one.” Again, those are the only words I know. And I’m pretty sure there are more to that one. For a little variety, I sometimes think it as, “All I wanna do/ Is run, run, run!”

When I was on the swim team in high school (about a hundred years ago), the girls used to compare songs they sang in their heads while they swam. One favorite was a part of a Journey song I cannot recall that went, “Nah Nah Na-NAH Nah, Nah-nah Na NAH Nah…” I may not have that right, but I bet some of you know the song.

Swimming, of course, is a different proposition from running, which is something else I started thinking about while I was running. I do best at running the more I think about other things. That didn’t work so well with swimming. I started swimming my fastest (which was never very fast) when I concentrated on the pure physical effort. Actually, I suppose that is what I do when I sprint, which isn’t often.

Well, I see I am over 500 words. And I thought this was going to be a tiny blog post. Well, it was fun to write. I’ll probably go running tomorrow. What song will my head play?