Tired now.

So I ran the British 10k this morning, and I did it in 67min, which is really quite slow but better than I was doing on my training runs, so I'll take it thankewverymuch, and anyway I'm just chuffed (still) that I'm actually able to run 10 WHOLE KILOMETRES. Which is more than the distance from Cape Town train station to my gran's place in Newlands. I'm just saying. 'Sfar.

Last time I did this particular race (it was also the first time I'd run a 10k), I had to walk most of the last 2km. This time was much easier. It helps that rather than running in sweltering 30-degree heat, it was a cool 20 degrees or so (with occasional rain). Rain is better than sun. Fact. It also helps that I had Choons. Yes! I took great care in assembling a playlist for the event. Now, playlist assemblage, for running, purposes of, is a fine art. You can't just stick a bunch of bouncy songs together, nonono. You need to predict your levels of energy at each point and choose the Choons accordingly. For me, the perfect playlist has 3 clear phases:

1. Aggro beginning. Gotta get off on the right foot, as it were, pounding the pavement like you really mean it. Lots of drums are recommended. The right sort of beat is vv NB: need to establish a pace. It should be quite fast, because after all you *can* go fast at this stage, but not so fast that you wear yourself out right away. My choices?
Stomp, Ripper Sole (the fab bit from Tank Girl where the rippers are all boogieing down)
Bjork, Army of Me (hey, it follows Ripper Sole in the soundtrack and that works for me)
Fleetwood Mac, Tusk (possibly the best running song ever)
Blondie, Call Me
Because we Can Can from Moulin Rouge

2. Middle maintenance. By now you've established a rhythm, so it's really more about entertainment. Pick Choons that will divert and distract you, and that have approximately the right pace. Defiant lyrics are good here. Some of my favourites:
Ini Kamoze, Here Comes the Hotstepper
Aretha Franklin, Son of a Preacher Man
Ice-T, Big Gun (yes, more Tank Girl, you gotta problem with that?)
Blondie, Rapture
Grand National, Playing in the Distance ("We're not caving in... we're not caving in...")
A fabulous mash-up of Nirvana and The Supermen Lovers, as recommended by top bloggers everywhere

3. Final stages. You might be flagging, so you need relentlessly perky songs to cheer you up and keep you going. If that should happen to be disco, well, there's no shame in that. NO THERE ISN'T SO THERE.
Scissor Sisters, Laura
Gloria Gaynor, I Will Survive,
Blondie, One Way or Another
Goldfrapp, Train

4. Finish line treat. Well, I guess this one's optional, but personally I really like having something totally delightful and maybe a little bit loony come on just as I'm patting myself on the back because OH MY GOD I JUST RAN ALL THAT WAY! Something like, say, the Langley Schools Project version of You're so Good to Me. Yes. Something just like that.

Of course, if you've gone to all the trouble of setting up the playlist, then you really want to listen to it all the way through. So do try to make sure your player doesn't mysteriously conk out just before the 7km mark, all right? Because, trust me. That would be really... really... really disappointing.