life is good on the open road

I'm still not exactly sure why I ever thought that I could be a fun runner. I've tried it a few times - there were those couple of times I ran the Monument Avenue 10k, the once or twice I tried running in Tallahassee only to discover that that part of Florida was anything but flat, and the once or twice I ran around Capitol Hill in DC. I did finish those two races, but now when it comes to running I'd probably even try to avoid running from anything but the police.

I tried to figure out ways to make running easier or more fun. I bought proper running shoes only to discover that after about 4-5 miles my right foot goes numb. Seriously, I get that pins and needles feeling as if I'd been sitting on it on the couch for a few hours. Nothing has seemed to fix this save for not running on roads/sidewalks. If anyone knows anything about this, I'd be interested to hear.

I also tried aural motivation. When I was in undergrad and I worked in the scene shop we used to nudge the level of work output by changing the music. We're doing too much too fast - slow it down. Having a particularly lethargic day - play speed metal. Need everyone to focus - play instrumentals. Turns out there's lots of science out there about modifying work output/exercise output by modifying music tempo (here's one example of many). The last thing I tried to use to make me run (and run faster) was stuff by Trampled By Turtles.

I don't remember who gave me/turned me on to "Wait So Long" by Trampled By Turtles, from their 2010 release Palomino. I do remember using it to motivate a few runs up and down East Capitol Street. For a number of years now Trampled By Turtles has been best known for something called "speedgrass." Full disclosure: it took me a while to remember the term speedgrass, and I kept trying to call it things like slamgrass or riotgrass, but they just didn't seem right. Speedgrass is exactly what the term sounds like it should be - it's bluegrass music with the tempo turned up. Way up. 

Their new album, Life Is Good On The Open Road, feels like a mature band that's finally found a tempo they all like that's not above 180. After a few albums of fast-and-loud-grass, 2014's Wild Animals felt a bit like an animal that had been tranquilized. Now the band is back and they're settling in to that sweet spot where bluegrass really thrives. Gone are the Fleet Foxes-esque slower americana of Animals and instead we have a band reconvening after a two year hiatus itching to get back to their bluegrass roots. For most of Life Is Good the blazing fast tempos are gone, but to me that's the beauty of the album. They're older and wiser, and know they can do just as much (or more) with seasoned songwriting as they can with punk rock speed. I could even see a few of these tracks sneaking on to country radio and making a bit of a splash. If only they could get me up and running...

Recommended Tracks: "The Middle," "Right Back Where We Started," "Kelly's Bar," "Good Land," "Annihilate"