The Eleven Emotional States of My Running Playlists

I have a long, inconsistent and mostly-undistinguished history as a runner.

Over the course of my life, I have run five full marathons, along with dozens of half-marathons, more than a hundred shorter-distance races, a smattering of triathlons, and countless training runs for each of those events. I assure you that this is not me trying to brag; those accomplishments are all mostly-distant history at this point. In recent years, I’ve allowed my increased obligations both at work and as a parent of young kids to stand in the way of running. (Or to at least serve as a handy excuse.)

Lately, I’ve been working to reverse that decline. I’ve been eating better (despite what my Friday newsletters might have you think), working on my sleep, getting out for more walks, and even occasionally stretching. I bought a new pair of running shoes, and I’ve tried to map out a path back to regular running—if not marathon distance, then at least to the point where I can comfortably run a 5K again.

Of course, what I really need is a playlist.

There are some people who can run without music. They prefer to move without distractions; they are connected to their body and can reach a state of peaceful flow while running, listening to the sounds of nature and their own breaths and footfalls.

Those people are crazy, and that sounds like hell to me.

I cannot run without music; it propels me, or at least partially drowns out my internal screaming. That said, I can’t just craft a linear playlist and listen to it straight through, nor can I listen on pure shuffle. During the course of a run—whether it’s a simple half-hour jaunt around the neighborhood or a three-hour marathon training run—I will pass through a series of distinct emotional states. As I encounter each of these states, I find myself skipping through my playlists until I find the specific kind of music I need to reflect said state.

Please run alongside me here as I travel through these states, and examples of the music I need to survive it.

If you’re willing, I’d love to hear some suggestions from you for songs I can add to those piles, too!

Emotional State #1: Let’s Do This

It’s time. I have changed into workout clothes, laced up my running shoes, and filled my water bottle. I am immediately filled with regret. Why am I doing this? I don’t want to go for a run; I have simply noticed that I have the time, the weather is amenable, and talked myself into the idea that I should go for a run.

The street I live on slopes slightly uphill away from my house, and if I’m going to make it up that gentle incline, I am going to need to come out of the gate strong.

Situational Music: STADIUM WARM-UP SONGS

These are the kind of songs that they play before kickoff at a football stadium. Ideally, they will explicitly reference movement, action and/or victory, things I am going to pursue on this three-mile run around several suburban subdivisions.

Examples:

• Trick Daddy ft. Lil Jon & Twista — “Let’s Go”
• Jeezy — “Put On”
• Republica — “Ready To Go”
• Lil Wayne — “3 Peat”
• Fort Minor — “Remember the Name”

Emotional State #2: This Hurts, But I Am Telling Myself That That is a Good Thing

Ugh. My calf hurts already, and I’ve got the beginnings of side-stitch. This is painful. But you know what? That’s good. No pain, no gain, right? I decided to do this, and I am going to fight through it!

I am strong. I am powerful.

I was just passed by a neighbor kid on a tricycle.

Situational Music: MEATHEAD BANGERS

This is not a time for artistically challenging or nuanced music; this is a time for songs from a high school weight room in 1998, or possibly a military recruiting commercial in 2003.

Examples:

• White Zombie — “More Human Than Human”
• Korn — “Got The Life”
• Pantera — “Walk”
• Godsmack — “Awake”
• Limp Bizkit — “Rollin’ (Air Raid Vehicle)”

Emotional State #3: Okay, This Actually Isn’t That Bad

I did it. I fought through the pain, and I came out the other side. I have hit that elusive state of euphoria often described as a “runner’s high”.

I am gliding. I am flying.

I am three quarters of a mile from my house.

Situational Music: HAIR METAL AND/OR GLAM ROCK

Give me a driving guitar line, some big drums, and a chorus that I can mouth along to as I nod to my neighbor driving by in their minivan.

It’s my life, and it’s now or never.

Examples:

• Poison — “Nothin’ But A Good Time”
• Def Leppard — “Pour Some Sugar On Me”
• Bon Jovi — “It’s My Life”
• Whitesnake — “Here I Go Again”

Emotional State #4: I Am Out Here On My Own (Positive)

You know what? I’m glad I did this today. It wasn’t easy to get out here. I always feel guilty taking time for myself, but that’s what this is—it’s time for me. I get some time alone with my thoughts, and I am going to feel better today for having done this.

Situational Music: SONGS I WOULD BE EMBARRASSED TO ACCIDENTALLY PLAY OUT LOUD IN PUBLIC IF MY AIRPODS DIDN’T CONNECT TO MY PHONE

Hey, it’s me time, right? It’s a judgment-free zone.

Examples:

• Tom Cochrane — “Life Is A Highway”
• Macklemore Ft. Skylar Gray — “Glorious”
• One of those Imagine Dragons songs that my fifth-grader is into, they all sound the same but they all work pretty well at this stage
• Rascal Flatts — “Life Is A Highway”
• Miley Cyrus — “Party in the USA”

Emotional State #5: Okay, I’d Better Pace Myself, Though

Whew. I actually went a little too fast on that last half-mile. Hard not to, though, what with life being a highway. I’ve gotta remember, a big part of running is pacing.

I need to find a groove, settle into it, and just move.

Situational Music: FAMILIAR, UNAGGRESSIVE SONGS WITH A STEADY BEAT

Examples:

• U2 — “Bad”
• Talking Heads — “Once In A Lifetime”
• Tears For Fears — “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”
• Kate Bush — “Running Up That Hill”
• Ted Leo and the Pharmacists — “Walking To Do”

Emotional State #6: I Am Out Here On My Own (Negative)

I have miscalculated.

I’m really starting to hurt again, and this time it’s for real. It’s hotter than I thought it was going to be today, and I’ve already finished my water. I’m at the halfway point of an out-and-back route, which means that there’s no shortening this today.

I am alone out here; the world has forsaken me, and I am a long way from home.

Situational Music: SONGS I REALLY SHOULD’VE TAKEN OFF MY PLAYLISTS YEARS AGO, KNOWING WHAT WE NOW KNOW ABOUT THE ARTISTS, BUT THEY’VE BEEN ON THERE FOREVER

No one’s going to hear it out here.

Examples:

• R. Kelly — “Ignition (Remix)”

• Kanye West — “All of the Lights”

• Puff Daddy ft. Lil’ Kim and The Lox — “All About The Benjamins” (Rock Remix)

• Justin Timberlake — “Mirrors”

• Michael Jackson — “Black or White”1

Emotional State #7: Aha! I Have a Secret Reserve of Energy!

Pain isn’t real; it’s a figment of my imagination. I can choose whether or not to hurt! I can choose to be successful today! I just have to dig deep, fight through, and tap that inner well of strength that I know lies somewhere inside me!

This is where legends are made.

Situational Music: SONGS THAT ELICIT AN “OH SHIT THIS IS MY JAM” REACTION FROM THE OPENING NOTES

Those opening strings are like hitting a Dash Panel in Mario Kart.

Examples:

• Juvenile — “Back That Azz Up”
• Outkast — “The Way You Move”
• Big Pun ft. Joe — “Still Not A Player”
• Dr. Dre — “Still DRE”
• Montell Jordan — “This Is How We Do It”

Emotional State #8: That Was A Mistake, I Did Not Have a Secret Reserve of Energy After All

My brain has written checks that my body cannot cash. Heck, the mere fact that my brain is talking about cashing checks is evidence that I am not young enough to do this anymore. I am in deep trouble now, and must narrow my aims. I am no longer focusing on the distance left to home; I am just going to focus on that lamppost up there, or that mailbox.

I am going to get there, and then I am going to get to the next point.

Situational Music: SONGS WITH ONE SPECIFIC AWESOME MOMENT THAT I AM GOING TO FIGHT THROUGH TO

Examples:

• The Postal Service — “Such Great Heights” (2:31 mark, when the guitar kicks in)
• Less Than Jake — “Gainesville Rock City” (2:24 mark, when the horns kick in)
• The Darkness — “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” (1:50 mark, when he shouts “GUITAR!”
• Phil Collins — “In The Air Tonight” (C’mon.)

Emotional State #9: I Am Going To Die

At least it’s a respectable way to die, right?

“Oh, he died during a run, wow, what an athlete!”

(Hopefully the obituary doesn’t reference my pace, or the fact that I was two and a half miles into a run.)

Situational Music: SONGS THAT EITHER DIRECTLY REFERENCE DYING OR AT LEAST TOUCH ON THE IDEA OF OBLIVION, TOWARD WHICH I AM NOW LURCHING AT A PACE ONLY SLIGHTLY FASTER THAN A BRISK WALK

Avenge me.

Examples:

• Drive-By Truckers — “The Day John Henry Died”
• Linkin Park — “In The End”
• Bubba Sparxxx — “Deliverance”
• Cake — “The Distance”
• Eminem ft. Nate Dogg — “Till I Collapse”

Emotional State #10: I Am Going To Make It?

The end is in sight. I’m back into my neighborhood. Things are slightly downhill from here, and I can power myself through on the back of an all-time classic song, the sort of song that I will skip past if it comes up too early in a run, because that simply would not be the time for it.

Situational Music: PLAY THE HITS

I am a broken hero on a last-chance power drive.

Examples:

• Journey — “Don’t Stop Believin’”
• Queen ft. David Bowie — “Under Pressure”
• Survivor — “Eye of the Tiger”
• Daft Punk — “One More Time”
• Bruce Springsteen — “Born To Run”

Emotional State #11: It Was Never In Doubt

I had ‘em all the way. I was always going to finish, and I was always going to finish strong. Please ignore my text messages where I asked you not to remarry after my death—I was in a difficult place at that moment. (You know, that big hill one neighborhood over.)

I set out to achieve something today, and while I might not have been as fast, as pain-free or as dignified-looking as I would have hoped, I achieved it.

I am a runner.

Situational Music: THE FINISH-STRONG SONG

Every time I have trained for a big race, I have had one song that I have kept as the last song of my training runs, the song I visualize crossing the finish line to. It is the empty-the-tank, leave-it-all-on-the-field song, and I’ve found each of those oddly helpful in the years hence.

Examples:

• Pat Benatar — “Invincible”
• The Who — “Baba O’Riley”
• The Hold Steady — “Hurricane J”
• Third Eye Blind — “Motorcyle Drive By”
• Counting Crows — “A Murder of One” (Live)

I timed things such that I crossed the finish line of the 2011 New York City Marathon at the exact moment Adam Duritz sings “I’ve gone to New York City” at the song’s crescendo in this live version, and I can still get a little boost from it on a neighborhood run a decade and a half later.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go lie down on the tile in the foyer for a while.

—Scott Hines (@actioncookbook)

What are your best running (or otherwise-motivating, if you’re not a runner) songs?