Saturday, March 9, 2019

Born Too Spun


Today, as I set out from Rotary Park for a five-mile run up Mill Creek Rim & back, a dear friend of mine sent me a text saying he's ". . . been thinking about maybe getting into running this year.  Any advice would be helpful.  Diet maybe - or philosophy?"  This communique immediately filled me with joy, for it boosted my motivation to run as well as got the gears turning on a blog that's been kicking around my brain the last few days.  Ladies and Gentlemen, this is for the born-too-spun:



No photo description available.
By Android Jones (https://androidjones.com/)
And just what am I talking about, anyhow?  Well, let's revisit our Kosmic Blue Titan from the last blog, who's persistently running around the extra-galactic track in order to pump his heart so that we might be born & live & die within the Big-Bang of his heart.  Now you see him again in the image here . . but he's spinning discs.  Yes, our overlord titan is DJing tracks of fierce rhythm to make The Eternal Jog not only exercise but a Cosmic Rave!  (image credit: Android Jones).  Which is to say, my first advice to my friend who has inquired and is an avid raver himself, is that the joy in running is similar to the bliss we find on the dance-floor at festivals and parties.










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Possessed by rhythm at the inaugural Bass Center.
In my first blog I mentioned that the "runner's high" is what gripped me - what kept my coming back for more.  It was not just the high isolated, but rather in combination with the music in my earbuds which was, at the time, Soul Coughing's album El Oso.  While Soul Coughing is a full band with instruments & vocals rather than an EDM producer, that album is heavily influenced by the dance music style of "drum & bass" (or "dnb" for short).  Fast-forward to a few years later when I am first beginning a steady cardio routine in my second season (2010) working at Yellowstone National Park, and I have bought Bassnectar's album Cozza Frenzy through the fairly novel (at the time) medium of electronic download.  I use the stair-stepper at the gym in Mammoth Hot Springs or jog up & down Old Gardiner road, entranced with this fresh sound I am hearing in Bassnectar's tracks. This heavy "dnb" style along with the tribal textures & far-out lyrical content from various underground rappers is uber-motivating. . . motivation-to-motion.  This is what EDM is all about.  I doubt I would have got into dnb and then also dubstep (which is generally a slowed-down version of drum & bass), glitch-hop, house, etc. if I hadn't been MOVING.   My brother joined me at the first Bass Center festival in Broomfield and, while he's never been much of a bass-head himself, could tell that "something was going on there." (he took the photo above.  He also encouraged me to start this blog.  Thanks, Paul!).   


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English DJ Hatcha performing in NOLA.
The mixture of endorphins released on the run combined with bass-tracks is why I do what I do.  So my first advice to my friend (who is a dedicated "bass-head" and will travel far & wide to see Bassnectar all over the states) is to utilize the music we love to dance-for-days-to out on the trail.  Get a small mp3 player or a phone that can attach to you in some way & hit the dirt.  I suggest finding a trail with rolling hills to get a roller-coaster effect on training runs.  I've found the "rolling-coaster" is the best ergonomically & makes the expedition very fun (in Salida, CO Backbone or Little Rainbow trails are both excellent.  In Moab I suggest Pipe Dream.  Horsetooth Reservoir area is great in Fort Collins, just watch out for big cats.  In Denver I suggest Green Mountain trails or Lookout Mountain in Golden.  Yellowstone is a little tricky because of all the dangerous animals, but Old Gardiner Road between Mammoth Hot Springs & Gardiner, MT has enough visibility to be mostly safe.  New Orleans is very flat & that's one of the main reasons I left).   Purchase some bass-savvy earbuds (there are many on the market these days, I've been satisfied with Yurbuds), charge up the ipod, and hit the trail day-after-day.  Find some quality shoes that are comfortable & can grip out in the bush (I use Altras because I like the wider toe-box).  You'll overcome the initial discomfort in capillaries opening up in your chest the first week.  As you initiate your mind to discover the runner's high, you'll want more & more.  Push yourself to the point where you're elated:  ecstatic-in-motion.  Remember The Blue Titan. . . imagine the Big Banging heart. . . imagine him at the decks, throwing on your favorite remix.  Cozza mutha fckn' frenzy, cuz baby we were born too spun!

I highly suggest anyone who wants encouragement for trail-running read Christopher McDougal's Born To Run.  He posits that we're "born to run" - showing evolutionary evidence for how endurance-running made Homo Sapiens who they are, and how our ability to out-last our prey on the hunt gave us the upper-hand (er, foot).  In the same way, I emphasize that our desire for rhythm (think early tribal drum circles) pushes us to move & sculpts us to grow into splendidly fit meat-machines.  The sensation I would feel when I lived in New Orleans & stayed up for three days going to rave-after-rave and dancing my heart out / banging my head off, is the sensation I feel at mile 22 of a marathon, Infected Mushroom or Excision blasting in my ears.  Gaining a habit of trail-running will, for the rave-inclined, give a healthy outlet for enjoying the tracks you love but out in nature with sunshine & mountains rather that in a dingy club fueled by Red Bull, tequila, and MDMA (not that that isn't fun, but we need healthy alternatives for a balanced lifestyle).




Blerch – Lawful Academical
May The Blerch be with you.
While Matthew Inman (a steady ultra-runner) would disagree with me about utilizing music on the run (he thinks it "distracts from THE REAL PAIN"), I suggest anyone starting out in endurance running read his hysterical comic series on why he runs:  https://theoatmeal.com/comics/running.  As my curious friend knows, finding the absurdity in any endeavor is of top-shelf importance (the character to the right is the motivational "cupid-demon" from The Oatmeal, The Blerch). 


In other blogs I'll touch on nutrition, shoes, mileage, etc., but hopefully Born Too Spun shines light on the core of what can drive us to move, and how our festival / club spirit applies to day-to-day exercise which will eventually get you to sign up for a 10K or half-marathon.  And then in no time you'll be cruising 50Ks, wondering how you got in such damn good shape, and feeding on high-calorie feasts to fuel the frenzy.




In addition to Soul Coughing's "El Oso" and Bassnectar's "Cozza Frenzy," here are some of my other favorite abrasive-bass albums to jam on the trail:  Infected Mushroom's "Army of Mushrooms" and "Friends on Mushrooms."  Bassnectar's "Reflective Part 3."  Anything by The Crystal Method.  Dirtwire's "Showdown."  Feed Me's "Existential Crisis."  Daft Punk's "Alive 2007."  Most GRiZ albums.  Liquid Stranger's "Weird & Wonderful."  "DeadLanguage" by Mr. Bill & Esseks.  Nine Inch Nails' "Things Falling Apart."  Anything by Rezz.  Anything by SoDown.  Tipper's "Tip Hop."  Here is a mixtape I put together with heavy bass tracks made specifically for running / exercise:  

https://soundcloud.com/peer-broozer/jock-jams-for-bass-gypsies

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