Upbeat Cycling Playlist

I went out for a bike workout recently and lately I’ve been bringing along my headphones. It helps on long rides, let me tell ya. I don’t actually mind a quiet ride but when it gets to 45 minute, hour, hour plus rides, a little music goes a long way. For this ride, the night before I had planned on going through the entire new album from Judah and the Lion but the morning of the ride I was in a different mood. Not a talk radio mood, I’ve tried that on bike rides and it just doesn’t work for me. So I queued up the songs from my Run Music 2 playlist and yesterday during my ride, it was perfect. Spoiler alert: It’s a lot of NF, Connor Price, and Muse. Songs like “Spinnin” and “Trendsetter” from Connor, “Clouds” and “Hope” from NF, and “Survival” and “Madness” from Muse. If those don’t help keep your heart rate up, I don’t know what will! Now if I could just get my speed up too, wouldn’t that be nice?

Here’s a link to the playlist.

It depends on the day, I guess, but I like listening to things that make me feel *insert emotion here*. Sometimes I want to feel like a conquerer. That’s usually when I go with the playlist above. Other times I need to feel deep conviction while I workout… so I’d go with a worship playlist. Slow songs but overflowing with emotion and that can get me going. Then there’s the angry workouts. I don’t need music for those, actually… my thoughts can be enough fuel. But those are few and far between, thank God!

Do you have any suggestions? What’s on your hype playlist for running or cycling?

-Out of the Wilderness

Does anyone care about Super Bowl commercials anymore?

I know the ads still cost millions and I’m sure there’s research to justify a brand spending that kind of dough on a 30-second commercial, but as a normal citizen I have to ask… does anyone really care about Super Bowl commercials anymore?

A better question might be to ask if Super Bowl commercials still carry the same weight and prestige that they did 10 or 20 or 30 years ago. I can go ahead and answer that one… no. No, they don’t.

I know that each year, I am more disappointed than the year prior when it comes to the entertainment factor. I think it all started when basically every commercial was a dot com company commercial. Do you remember that? It was the year 2000 and there were more than enough new companies presenting their online presence. And then some year after that most of the commercials were movie trailers. Lame!

I hope Super Bowl LIX (or “licks” as Gronk likes to call it) has better commercials and by better, I mean memorable, humorous, and thoughtful. On top of that, I hope the Eagles fly! #AnyteambuttheChiefs

-Out of the Wilderness

The Fall – A New Reality Dating Show?

I had the weirdest dream last night. I was working at a TV station and came up with an idea for a show. It was called “The Fall” and it was about falling in love. The big fall everyone talks about. And of course it would air between September and December. A reality show where a guy is spending time with two women separately to find out if either is a match. The viewers follow along their journey to find out which woman (and if the man does, too) falls in love.

The second part of the dream was a follow-up show airing from January to May called “The Spring.” See how it naturally happens during spring? Sometimes I’m so clever in my dreams. This show is a woman deciding between two men. It could be the woman who wasn’t picked in “The Fall” and the double-meaning of the title is because the woman is springing back and forth between two love interests in hopes of finding the one.

Both shows are about the pursuit of true love and they sound pretty boring, right? I never said all my dreams are interesting or original!

What did you dream about recently?

-Out of the Wilderness

Welcoming the Melting Snow

The snow in north Florida has been a delight for so many people. Not anyone who was trying to drive on Interstate 10, but everyone else for sure.

That’s I-10 closed from Pensacola to Tallahassee and I can’t think of a time where I saw an entire highway closed off for hundreds of miles. Ice is a real threat, though, you know! Snow is not the first thing you think of when Florida pops in your mind but it will be for the next few days especially if you watch the news or your friends’ feeds on social media. Here in Tallahassee, the snow is mostly gone except for in areas that are very shady.

I enjoyed the show for a few hours. I can’t deny that, but when I left middle Tennessee, I hadn’t expected to (and didn’t care to!) see snow anytime soon. What can I say, I’m a sunny/hot weather kind of person. I was born in Key West, after all.

Today’s high is in the upper 50s and I’m welcoming it with open arms.

-Out of the Wilderness

Triathlon Training in Snow!?

Triathlon training in the winter is not fun. There, I said it. Of course, I’m so glad I joined the gym so even when Florida is getting snow– yes, you heard that right– I can do something. Although, full disclosure: It snowed on Wednesday and all I’ve done for workouts is “yoga with Adriene.” OK, so it’s only been a couple of days… not too bad. It’s felt like a month since I did any workouts, though. I guess time goes by so slowly when you can’t really go anywhere because of icy roads! Snow is cool and all but I’m ready for the 100° Florida summer.

The next race I’ve signed up for is Super Bowl weekend. It’s a repeat of a duathlon I competed in last year so I’m looking forward to it, even if I don’t feel quite fully-prepared yet. I’m interested to see if I’ve improved in my running and biking abilities (duathlons are run/bike/run), especially since I had the unique honor of being “most improved triathlete” at this year’s triathlon group awards. What a great surprise it was to be recognized for my effort over the last year! Of course, any improvement I have gained shares credit with all the other athletes in the group who’ve encouraged me in group bike rides, early morning intervals, swimming advice, etc. Just left to myself I might have improved some but I truly believe Tallahassee has the top triathletes in the country. For one thing, they’re super athletes but on top of that, they’re overflowing with encouragement and that goes a looooooooong way when it comes to motivation.

All that to say… snow is still on the ground and I’m still wearing my bath robe. But here soon I’ll be changing into my workout clothes and going out for a run going to the gym. I want to see if I can get most improved two years in a row!! 🤔

-Out of the Wilderness