Tights as Pants and a Sickkkkk Playlist: The Year’s First Run

Sarastotle is the resident runner of the Players of Prince Arthur, but I am slowly being drawn into the world of running. Turns out, I’m awful at it. No wonder I get winded when I try to climb up the stairs to third floor of the Arts Building (I swear each of those steps are a couple millimetres too high); I have no lung capacity, no stamina! How do I even manage to lug the weight of my body around? This is all going to change this summer. I have a running plan and I’m sticking with it (I had a running plan last summer and I did not stick to it, but shush about that), and I’m even dragging my brother into it too. Three times a week, we’ll be shuffling around the high school track in our hometown. Maybe we’ll even throw some push-ups and sit-ups in at the end of each run. I kinda want some six-pack abs!

Even though I’m not particularly good at it, I find running to be one of the most fun solo sports activities to do in a city. It can be cheap–all you really need are a pair of decent running shoes, and an old T-shirt. Remember to stretch and do a five-minute brisk warm-up walk!

Highlights of running:
5. Sunshine!

4. Fresh air!

3. Nodding ‘sup to other runners in solidarity.

2. Acceptable situation in which to wear tights as pants! Shazam! Look at dem legs!

1. Play-list making!

Speaking of playlists, I made a new playlist to start the running season (defined as: whenever it gets warm enough to brave the air in just my McGill sweatshirt). I listen to a mix of total garbage (as well as Garbage, good band), stuff my parents play on the radio, and the free iTunes Song(s) of the Week(s), and it shows in my running playlists. Throughout the winter, I listened to the same sappy Beyoncé song at least a hundred times in a playlist of about five songs that were equally well-played. It’s not like I have a diminutive iTunes library; I stocked that thing well with my parent’s CD collection. I just really, really love sappy Beyoncé numbers and/or any song that has rhythmic clapping and gospel choirs. If I ever become a recording artist, that’s what all my songs are going to be like.

Playlist 1: SPRING RUNNING TUNES

Length: about 50 minutes

(no particular order)

1. Countdown – Beyoncé

Let’s get this little number out of the way, to start.

2. Annie You Save Me – Graffiti6

Whatever radio station the grocery store in my hometown plays, they LOVE this song. It’s always playing when I go grocery shopping.

3. Girl on Fire (Inferno Version) – Alicia Keys (feat. Nicki Minaj)

This is about as much rap as I can handle.

4. Lonely Boy – The Black Keys

Are the Black Keys hip? I’m kind of out of the loop. I like this one because I can head-bang to it if there are no other runners gawking at me.

5. Bulletproof – La Roux

I danced in a field in first year to this song when the promised Beatles tribute band didn’t show up.

6. The One That Got Away – Katy Perry

EMBARRASSING, I KNOW. HEY, AT LEAST IT’S NOT T-SWIFT (she’s for when we’re hand-washing dishes).

7. We Are Young – Fun. (feat. Janelle Monáe)

My mom likes this song too. She tells me about these guys and Bruno Mars now, all the time since the Grammys.

8. Half Light II (No Celebration) – Arcade Fire

Super-long screechy violin build-up is great for trying to run up hills (like if you’re trying to climb up Mount Royal).

9. Your Man – Down With Webster

I like this song solely for a single lyric about halfway through: “Got a crush like an empty soda can.” BRILLIANT.

10. Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) – Kelly Clarkson

I got a free gift card for iTunes when I was about 13 for buying a pair of jeans, and I spent it immediately on a Kelly Clarkson song. I had the whole music library of the world to choose from, and I chose a Kelly Clarkson song. I knew then I had no taste. My Kelly Clarkson collection continues to grow.

11. Little Talks – Of Monsters and Men

Good pace for slow jogging.

13. Cerahtonia – Fibes, Oh Fibes!

I have a friend who is on exchange in Sweden this year, and she is on a radio show through her university there. They play great music and have great discussions! You can hear podcasts of the episodes here: <https://www.facebook.com/InternationalRadioExposeYourselftoSwedishCulture>. Anyway, this was played during one of the radio shows, and it’s my favourite random-dance-party-must-dance-now song. Very upbeat, great for running.

Happy running!

Exam Season Survival Guide

Here at McGill, exams start in a mere three days, the very next day after classes end. Facebook posts are flying about saving seats in the library, which remains jam-packed until the wee hours of every morning. The minutes crawl ever so slowly as you try to squeeze out searing and insightful prose for ENGL or study the cutaneous innervation of the lower limbs for ANAT, and then fly by in a great gust of procrastination as you type your way over to Facebook or celeb gossip blogs or whatever your poison of choice happens to be. And then you’re living off Thai Express and Subway takeout, and showering happens once a week at most, and you don’t see your room-mates, like, ever. Exam lyffe is tough, so here are a few of my favourite tricks to get through it all.

1. Get yo’ move on!

Out for some early morning exercise!

I happen to love to run. I’m pretty terrible at it, especially because I insist on lying like a lump all winter, and so early spring runs are the gnarliest. But it feels super amazing to not stare at your computer/textbook/notes for even twenty minutes and connect with humanity again. So run through the nearest park or pound that pavement from your apartment to campus and back, breathe, and forget about your looming doom. Of course, running is not for everyone, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go for a walk/bike ride/swim! Or try a yoga/pilates/zumba/belly dancing class. A lot of studios offer discounts for your first lesson. Whatever you choose, it’s great to get those endorphins flowing, re-oxygenate your brain, and remind yourself that there’s a whole lotta world outside campus that you’ll get join in just a few short weeks!

2. Don’t forget to eat & sleep.

Nap time with my favourite feline.

And no, fifteen-minute blackouts as your face rests against your keyboard do not count, nor does your fifth fast food meal in a row. Omelettes are the easiest to make — check out this xoJane tutorial — and if you add veg & meatballs/meatball-esque tofu/smoked salmon/whatever protein you desire to pasta, you’re good to go. Alternatively, you can engage in some productive procrastination and whip up an enormous pot of stew/lentils/deliciousness or three or four quiches, and not have to worry about dinner for the rest of the week.

Sleeping is a bit trickier to manage. If you have a paper due tomorrow, by all means, stay up and write it. But if you’ve got more time, download SelfControl. Write in longhand and shut your computer in the closet. Head on over to the library or a café or somewhere that doesn’t have a bed and a fridge in such close proximity. Maybe don’t pop Adderall like it’s candy, but focus as best you can all day long, and then get a solid seven hours of unconsciousness before you start all over again. If that’s just not feasible — and, hey, sometimes it really isn’t — see if you can squeeze in a series of power naps throughout the day.

3. Institute a reward system.

Survival snacks.

Finished that monster paper? Take a mini-break, head on over to your favourite café, and treat yourself to a grande soy tazo chai, or whatever floats your boat. Finally understand the metabolic pathway of benzodiazepines? Make a brunch date with your besties who’ve disappeared under their own finals. Or maybe you just wanna take a long, delicious nap in a pool of sunlight, or have a lovely long chin-wag with your mum. You know you deserve it. Me, I’m a food monster, and when I finished my take-home exam for my Homer/Virgil/Ovid class today, I hightailed it over to the fancy grocery store nearby, and stocked up on over-priced pesto, shrimp spring rolls, stuffed olives and all other things I like to nom on but rarely do.

Good luck!!