the one with all the music

it is no today show/cnn breaking news that i love music. like, obsesssed. i dont really go to a lot of concerts (although find me a close goo goo dolls one and im there! and kelly clarkson... oh the memories...). i dont collect albums or anything, but i am always listening to the radio or my ipod, and usually its one or three songs on repeat. over and over (and over) again. and i analyze lyrics and almost always relate some part of every song to my life... "omg this song was made for me!" and if youve ever driven by me on my way to work youll more often than not find me singing. next american idol right here, folks.

i know im not the only one out there like this. youre sitting there going "this girl totally could be my twin! this is so me!" (dont lie, its true). but anyway... music. cant live without it. and my likes are from one extreme to the other... "alone" by heart ("i hear the ticking of the clock, im lying here the rooms pitch dark.... how do i get you alooooooooone") to "wild wild love" by pitbull. christmas music in june? absolutely. acapella. disney music. fast, slow. ive got it all. sure ive run without music before, but i feel like i can really just get lost in it, run with the beat or not, music just helps me. so much of my music reminds me of people, times in my life, etc.

and now, in the seemingly biggest run of my life so far, im struggling with how to put my playlist together. what do i want to start? clearly ill want to get pumped up, but the course is pretty much downhill flat for the first 10 miles, and i dont want to go out too fast. and who am i kidding, ill play a song on repeat three times before i even go to the next one im sure. thats the nice thing about my ipod- im in control. thats how it should be, right?

so until i have a specific order of music set up (which will happen tonight), ill start the list of the songs that will at least be on it. got any more for me to add? please send them along!

angels & airwaves- the adventure
all kinds of kinds- miranda lambert
applause- lady gaga
arms- christina perri
back home- andy grammer
belle of the boulevard- dashboard confessional
best day of my life- american authors
brave- sara bareilles
breathe- ryan starr
burn- ellie goulding
call me maybe- carly rae jepsen
chances- five for fighting
a christmas festival- boston pops
the climb- miley cyrus
c'mon- kesha
crush- david archuleta
dark horse- katy perry
die young- kesha
do what u want- lady gaga
dont say goodnight- hot chelle rae
dont stop believing- glee and journey versions
dont you worry child- swedish house mafia
every tear is a waterfall- coldplay
the fighter- gym class heroes
fix you- coldplay
free fallin- john mayer
gone, gone, gone- phillip phillips
home- dierks bentley
home- goo goo dolls
human- christina perri
i choose you- sara bareilles
i kissed a girl- katy perry
i like it like that- hot chelle rae
i look to you- whitney houston
i wont give up- jason mraz
im shipping up to boston- dropkick murphys
its time- imagine dragons
jet leg- simple plan
kiss me slowly- parachute
love drunk- boys like girls
love like this- natasha bedingfield
madness- muse
make a move- gavin degraw
my body- young the giant
never alone- lady antebellum
no sleep- wiz khalifa
the other side- jason derulo
party in the usa- miley cyrus
payphone- maroon 5
raise your glass- pink
rebel beat- goo goo dolls
rise above this- seether
roar- katy perry
run this town- jay z
shake it out- florence and the machine
slow down- selena gomez
smooth criminal- michael jackson
some nights- fun
stay the night- zedd
story of my life- one direction
super bass- nicki minaj
talk dirty- jason derulo
timber- kesha
tonight tonight- hot chelle rae
unconditionally- katy perry
waiting for the end- linkin park
we owned the night- lady antebellum
welcome to the black parade- my chemical romance
wild ones- flo rida
wild wild love- pitbull
womanizer- britney spears
xo- beyonce
your love is my drug- kesha
19 you and me- dan and shay
22- taylor swift

as you can see (if youre still reading)... its quite the variety. and i clearly love me some kesha and katy perry. in all reality, ill probably listen to about 10 of the songs on that list (in their entirety... many more ill start listening to and turn to the next one within the first minute). my music has been there with me from the start of it all. it pumps me up, gets me in a good groove, can bring me back to certain times and people, makes me smile and often brings tears.

ill probably shut my ipod off for a while and just take everything in...  18 weeks/720 plus miles of training... its gonna hit me somewhere along the course, thinking about where ive come from and what i have been able to accomplish. ill be out there doing something that not everyone can say that can do/have done, and regardless of the outcome, i will cross that finish line sunday morning with a smile!