Stuff I'm Using: TomTop Underwater MP3 Player

I got a job offer on Tuesday! But it's just for a part-time job with Quiktrip. Great company, great benefits, but not enough to fund my triathlon habit.

So I'm trying to monetize my blog just a little bit more. Please forgive the blatant commercialization.

I can't bear to endorse just any product, so I'll only profile things I actually use.

TomTop Waterproof MP3 Player


I can't believe how much these things have come down in price! I first used the Finis SwimP3 for underwater music, and it cost around $125. Then I got a cheap, made-in-China player a few years ago from Amazon, and it was $45, and the cheapest I could find. Now you can get one for $20! It works perfectly well, too. I don't imagine it will last for very long, but that's to be expected. Besides which, my expensive SwimP3 only lasted for 18 months, before the chlorine and water corroded the connections. A cheap, waterproof MP3 player makes a nice investment for long, endurance-y swims.

Runner's High: He Will Make A Way

I've made no secret of the fact that I'm not exactly religious. My church is the Church of the Long Run. And I'm okay with that.


I used to be. I grew up as a conservative, Evangelical Christian. Amazing how coming out of the closet throws a monkey wrench in all that.

I'm finding my way back, slowly but surely. Actually, I prefer to think I'm finding my way forward. Because if I just go back to what I was before, what was all the suffering and confusion and questioning and all that for?

At any rate, I still retain some of the edifices of my former belief in my everyday life: a desire to reflect, a sense of fairness that I just can't shake, and Christian songs in my running playlists.

There's one song that keeps coming up, run after run. I mean, of course it comes up; it's on the playlist, it's gonna come up. But it always sticks with me, gives me encouragement to run a little faster, and (dare I say) kind of speaks to me. Don't know what it is about this song; it's sweeping and epic and the lyrics are exactly what I want to hear in the last 2 or 3 miles. Here it is.

He Will Make A Way
Kathy Troccoli
I know that you're discouraged
But you're not alone
There is absolutely no situation
Out of his control
One door may close
Another will open
Jesus is healer of all that is broken


He will make a way where there is no way
He will bring his peace where there is no peace

Watch him put together what's been torn apart
He can soften up the most hardened of hearts
He will make a way where there is no way


Don't you go believing lies
He's not forgotten you
There's gonna be another higher, greater place
He will take you to


Watch him move mountains, ride you through the way
He can deliver in the darkest of days
He will make a way where there is no way
He will bring his peace where there is no peace
There is no war he does not will
When you're at your end he's just beginning
He will make a way where there is no way


Our only hope is in him
No matter what this life can bring
Jesus stands alone
As the god of impossible things


He will make a way where there is no way
He will bring his peace where there is no peace

Watch him move mountains, ride you through the way
He can deliver in the darkest of days
He will make a way where there is no way
He will bring his peace where there is no peace

Spinning Workout 5: Cadence

SPINNING WORKOUT 5 - BIG CLIMB, BIG DESCENT (45 minutes)

This workout focuses primarily on cadence, so you should keep your turnover constant. The roadmap for the workout is primarily climbing in the first half, primarily descending in the second half. However, you'll notice that the resistances stay within a relatively small range. So don't go crazy with the resistance; make your primary focus on keeping the pace and maintaining form. Once you've got that down, you can start to add more and more resistance.

Mama Told me not to Come (3:19) : Pre-workout
Strength, Courage, and Wisdom (4:57) : Pre-workout
Call in the Cavalry (2:26) : Warmup
Satin in a Coffin (2:37) : +(4) at 1st verse, +(5) at 2nd verse, +(7) and up at slow bit, --(5) increase cadence at 3rd verse to end
Detective (2:55) : -(4) pick up at cadence at beginning, down at 1st verse, +(5) at chorus, up at chorus, pick up cadence at instrumental, down at a cappella
Cheryl Tweedy (3:28) : in (5), find a steady cadence, pick up after chorus, +(6) and maintain cadence (attack on uphill) at 2nd chorus, back off after chorus, climb to end (try to maintain or increase gap
I Wanna Love you Forever (3:22) : -(5) and pick up cadence, down and maintain cadence at 2nd verse, jumps at bridge, down at last chorus and maintain cadence to end
We're Not Gonna Take It (3:34) : +(6) up at musical intro, +(7) at chorus, -(6) at 2nd verse, +(7) at bridge, --(5) at guitar solo, +(6) at bridge, +(7) at chorus
The Dirty Glass (3:38) : ----(3) spin it out for intro, quick legs at tempo pick up, sprint at first chorus, +(4) and up for 2nd verse, sprint at chorus, down at 3rd verse, sprint at chorus, -(3) and spin out, sprint at final chorus, maintain to end
A Praise Chorus (4:03) : +(4) and quick legs, +(5) at chorus, -(4) and up at end of chorus, +(5) at chorus, -(4) after chorus, down at 2nd time through "crimson and clover," +(5) at chorus, pick up to end
Overrated (3:12) : --(3) quick spin, sprint at chorus, +(4) and up at pre-chorus, sprint at chorus, down at bridge, GIVE PLENTY OF WARNING FOR seated sprint to standing sprint! go at chorus, stand at second chorus, back off after chorus, stay quick to end
Are You Gonna be my Girl (3:38) : +(4) and down, establish a quick rhythm ("Close to the end now!"), pick up at chorus, fast time trial through verse, pick up at chorus, accelerate through last chorus (about :40)
Bad Reputation (2:48) : maintain intensity from acceleration, last mile, maintain intensity to end, +(5) at modulation, quick quick quick! up at guitar solo, accelerate through last repetition of "oh no! not me!" (at about 2:28)
The City (4:44) : Cool down
Back to the Middle (5:11) : Stretch
Satan Lend Me A Dollar (2:45) : Post-workout
Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (4:49) : Post-workout
Looking for more workouts? Go here!

It Really Does Make it Better

I have a Swimp3 player.

Keep in mind, this is something I would never have bought for myself. It's a device that costs over $100 (that's $100 that could be going towards my new bike, yo) that I will use for only one, specific purpose; in fact, it can't be used for any other purpose. So it's like a lot of products in triathlon--a cool toy, but not much more than that.

However, one of my dad's co-workers is a triathlete, and he suggested this as a gift for me.

So now I have one.

And let me tell you, I love it. Love love love. Don't get me wrong; I enjoy swimming, I don't mind long sets, and I have no problem losing myself in the meditative motions of glide catch pull recover slow smooth strong fast. But the music? It makes it even better.

And because I'm good at this sort of thing and I enjoy it, I decided to make a list of songs that seem (to me) perfect for swimming. This is probably a highly individual preference--even more so than biking or running music--but what the heck. Here's my swim playlist anyway.

23 by Jimmy Eat World (141 BPM)
In the Sun by Coldplay/Michael Stipe (123 BPM)
Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol (149 BPM)
Both Hands by Ani DiFranco (144 BPM)
Fireflies by Amy Cook (88 BPM)

And who knows? Maybe I'll even put together a swimming podcast, one of these days. Although, considering that this falls into the "cool toy" category, I might be the only one who ever uses it.

Does anyone else have one of these? What's the group's opinion of this nifty (but admittedly superfluous) device?

Tunes for Pre-Gaming

Spinning workouts are impractical, this time of year. Sure, you might hop on your trainer for a quick intervals workout, but in general you'd much rather be riding outside than listening to some dumb instructor tell you what to do as you stare at a blank wall.

With that in mind, spinning podcasts will take a break (because I haven't already been taking a break, right?) until late fall, when it gets cold enough that everyone will head back into the gym/house to ride on their stationary trainers.

You know what kind of audio we need, though?

Pre-game.

Why listen to music before a race? I have a few reasons, but I'll preface them by saying it's a pretty individual thing. I have two main reasons: The first is that it's easier to push myself farther than I want to go when in my head Eminem is screaming at me to "lose myself in the music." The other is that it's helpful for me to get an appropriate rhythm stuck in my head before I go out to race.

What's an appropriate song, though? Again, it's very individual. One of my athletes really enjoys the Tim McGraw song "How Bad Do You Want It?" I might listen to that song when I'm training or use it for a cycling workout, but not when I'm racing. It's too obvious for me (Melissa Etheridge's "Run for Life" is the same way; great for training, but too obvious for racing), intensity is too low, and I don't particularly enjoy country music. But if you really hate rock, rap, or ska, you might really hate my selection of pre-race songs.

So having said all that, I present to you my suggestions for pre-race music. These songs have a driving beat at an appropriate tempo for swimming, cycling, and running (some more appropriate than others); lyrics that encourage reaching beyond the present moment, or that force you to remember an object greater than the current challenge; and I like them. This is the music playing on my iPod the night before a race (or sometimes an important workout), driving to a race site, and setting up transition.

The Song: Quest
The Artist: Bryn Christopher
Why it's Here: These lyrics: "What I'm gonna live for / What I'm gonna die for / Who ya gonna fight for"

The Song: Way Away
The Artist: Yellowcard
Why it's Here: Driving beat and catchy lyrics will help you wake up at 4:34 in the a.m. Cause it's hard to be sleepy when you're singing along at the top of your lungs.

The Song: Saturday Morning
The Artist: Eels
Why it's Here: Even though most triathletes race on Sundays more often than Saturdays, the central idea of the song--"It's Saturday morning! Stop sleeping 'cause it's time to play!"--is totally appropriate. Let this song remind you that you're playing out there; you don't have to take yourself so seriously.

The Song: 'Cause You Can

The Artist: Birdmonster

Why it's Here: "Cause you can!"

The Song: Remember the Name
The Artist: Mike Shinoda (Linkin Park's DJ) Feat. Styles Of Beyond - Fort Minor
Why it's Here: This song is all about earning respect by working hard. This song is about entitlement; you've worked hard to compete at your event, so go out and give everyone a reason to remember who you are.

The Song: Breathing
The Artist: Yellowcard
Why it's Here: Same reason the other Yellowcard song is on here; it's catchy, it's high-energy, and it's fun to sing along to.

The Song: The Dirty Glass
The Artist: Dropkick Murphys
Why it's Here: This song is fun. And that is enough.

The Song: Overrated
The Artist: Less Than Jake
Why it's Here: The lyrics in this song speak to how boring everything is, how it's hard to find something worth doing. Before a race, I like to remind myself that the intensity of a triathlon is a step above the humdrum of normal life.

The Song: U + Ur Hand
The Artist: P!nk
Why it's Here: Just for this line: "You don't really wanna mess with me tonight."

The Song: Pressing On
The Artist: Relient K
Why it's Here: "I'm pressing on, pressing on / All my regrets are going, going gone / Pressing on, pressing on." Yeah, just try quitting with this song running through your head.

The Song: Lose Yourself
The Artist: Eminem
Why it's Here: "You better lose yourself in the music, the moment, you want it / You better never let it go / You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow / This opportunity comes once in a lifetime." The hardest hills seem easy with this one; this one carries me through.

What are your suggestions for pre-game songs? Why do you listen to music before a big event, or, if you don't listen to music, why not? Sound off in the comments!

P.S. I also have a few other songs that I put on there, for no other reason than that I like them and they get me going, get me ready to race! You'll see those extra songs once iTunes decides to publish my iMix in their stupid store.

Workout Mix

All of these songs have tempos between 90 and 95 BPM, which will allow you to run/bike to them at 90-95 RPM. Just a little mix to let you know I care.