Run This Town

I know this is a long overdue, but here is my playlist for TCS NYC Marathon.

I created this list for the 2015 race. Listened to it so many times during my training and the race. After all, I figured out I didn't even need such a list because so many spectators were cheering the runners throughout the course aloud (I couldn't hear the songs!).

But, the playlist could be used for this year's (especially training!) as well as NYRR Five-Borough Series kicking off with United NYC Half tomorrow.

STATEN ISLAND:
"A Better Tomorrow" (Wu-Tang Clan)
"Feel This Moment" (Pitbull feat. Christina Aguilera)

BROOKLYN:
"Life Is Good" (DJ Deckstream feat. Mos Def)
"Get By" (Talib Kweli)
"Crazy In Love" (Beyoncé feat. Jay Z)

QUEENS:
"I'm The Best" (Nicki Minaj)
"Fly" (Nicki Minaj feat. Rihanna)
"Cherry Wine" (Nas feat. Amy Winehouse)

BRONX:
"And I Miss You" (The DEY)
"On The Floor" (Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull)
"Still Not a Player" (Big Pun feat. Joe)

MANHATTAN:
"Girl On Fire" (Alicia Keys feat. Nicki Minaj)
"Empire State Of Mind" (Jay Z feat. Alicia Keys)

Looking forward to seeing runners, volunteers and spectators tomorrow, and the following races!!

Playlist for Staten Island Half

I don't visit Staten Island so often. Probably Staten Island Half Marathon is a few opportunity. But, once visiting the island, I enjoy a breathtaking Manhattan view, the beautiful boardwalk, and the community's ballpark.

It is a home of Wu-Tang Clan and Christina Aguilera, and getting more diverse. Earlier this month, TimeOut magazine covered Staten Island, arguing it is "the forgotten borough" no longer, could be a next Brooklyn.

Anyway, here's my playlist for Staten Island Half on October 11.

Yes, it's Christina:
"Feel This Moment (feat. Christina Aguilera)" (Pitbull)
"Moves Like Jagger (feat. Christina Aguilera)" (Maroon 5)
"Ain't No Other Man" (Christina Aguilera)

Of course, can't miss Wu-Tang:
"A Better Tomorrow" (Wu-Tang Clan)
"Bring The Pain (feat. Method Man)" (Missy Elliott)
"Runaway Love Remix (feat. Justin Bieber& Raekwon)" (Kanye West), which samples Wu-Tang Clan's song "Wu-Tang Clan Aint Nuthing Ta F' Whit"

Uh well. With all the above songs, it was still short of a playlist for a couple of hours' run. So, I got some help from NJ!
"Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" (Lauryn Hill)
"Doo Wop (That Thing)" (Lauryn Hill)
"Family Business" (The Fugees)
"Killing Me Softly" (The Fugees)

Bronx

Bronx is the birthplace of HipHop. 

Even though I did not grow up with those classics, it was a delight discovery of some old songs as I decided to make my playlist for NYRR Bronx 10-Mile on September 27.

Some classics (and discovery to me):

"Still Not a Player (feat. Joe)" (Big Pun)

"I'm Not a Player" (Big Pun)

"Step Into a World (Rapture's Delight)" (KRS-One)

"MC's Act Like They Don't Know" (KRS-One)

And well, everyone knows JLo:

"On the Floor (feat. Pitbull)" (Jennifer Lopez)

"Feelin' So Good [Remix] (feat. Big Pun & Fat Joe)" (Jennifer Lopez)

"Love Don't Cost a Thing" (Jennifer Lopez)

Last but not least. The DEY is a relatively new, and I believe under-rated trio. I look forward to listening to more songs by them, but is the group still performing?

"Give You The World" (The DEY)

"I Need You" (The DEY)

"And I Miss You" (The DEY)

Playlist for San Francisco Marathon

I just came back from San Francisco where I ran my second full marathon. The race was very, very tough for all the uphills and downhills, and not so many spectators cheering for us!! But, through the course, I enjoyed the great scenary of the city.

As a part of my preparation, I had some hard time compiling my playlist for the race as well because the only HipHop musician I know from the Bay area is Kero One. So, my playlist starts with his songs.

"When The Sunshine Comes" (Kero One feat. Ben Westbeech)
"In All The Wrong Places" (Kero One)
"Keep Pushin'" (Kero One)
"We Stay Fly" (Kero One feat. Othello & Dminor)
"Remember All That" (Kero One)

But, I couldn't just listen to all his songs for rotation through the race, so I added some of Apple's iPod commercial songs such as:

"Mi Swing Es Tropical" (Nickodemus)
"Hey Mama" (Black Eyed Peas)

And West Coast HipHop and the like for the rest:

"Don't Stay" (Linkin Park)
"Fly With U" (Far East Movement feat. Cassie)
"Young, Wild & Free" (Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa feat. Bruno Mars)

I couldn't achieve my target time, but albeit the hilly course, am proud to made it faster than my first full marathon in Miami!!

Queens Anthems

Tomorrow(Technically today)'s NYRR Five-Borough Series Queens 10K has been delayed for an hour due to the heavy rain forecast. Hope the weather is going to be OK, and all the runners will have a great (and safe) race!

Here are my BGM pick for tomorrow's race. Needless to say, Nicki Minaj, Consequence and Nas are all from Queens.
"I'm The Best" (by Nicki Minaj) - yes, runners, you all are the best!!
"Fly" (by Nicki Minaj feat. Rihanna) - La Guadiana and JFK airports are in the borough. Run like flying!
"Starship" (by Nicki Minaj) - don't miss the some famous scenes from "Men In Black"
"Turn Me On" (by David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj) - This song will turn you on for the race.
"Don't Forget Em" (by Consequence) - don't forget the support of volunteers and spectators. Thanks!!
"Gone" (by Kanye West feat. Consequence and Cam'Ron)
"A Queens Story" (by Nas)
"Memory Lane" (by Nas)
"The Good, The Bad, The Ugly" (by Consequence feat. Kanye West)
"Daughters" (by Nas) - last but not least, Happy Father's Day!!

BK Anthem

Like many others, favorite songs give me 'push' when running.

As running the Central Park Loop every week and listening to the favorite songs over and over, however, I got sick of my 'favorite' songs.

I googled some Brooklyn-related songs before running last weekend's Airbnb Brooklyn Half Marathon, but only ended up with finding very unfamiliar, slow HipHop songs from 1980s and 1990s. So, I decided to create my own playlist for the race, selecting some songs of Brooklyn-born musicians like Jay Z, Talib Kweli, and Mos Def.

Thanks partly to the following songs (and some other songs), I achieved my personal best!

"Brooklyn's Finest" (by Jay Z feat. The Notorious B.I.G.)
"Crazy In Love" (by Beyonce feat. Jay Z)
"Numb / Encore" (by Linkin Park & Jay Z)
"Life Is Good" (DJ Deckstream feat. Mos Def)
"Run This Town" (by Jay Z feat. Rihanna & Kanye West)
"Like That" (by Black Eyed Peas feat. Q-Tip, Talib Kweli, Cee-Lo & John Legend)
"Lighters Up" (by Lil' Kim)
"Get By" (by Talib Kweli)
"Young Forever" (by Jay Z feat. Mr. Hudson)
"Empire State Mind" (by Jay Z feat. Alicia Keys)

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