PLAY & FUN LISTS: BANISH CRUEL SUMMERS

Lifeguard station waiting for summer. Taken by PKSenagore March 25, 2016, all rights reserved.

LAST JUNE 20(2017), EARNED RUNS PUBLISHED A SUMMER-THEMED MUSIC PLAYLIST of tunes that might rev-up outdoor exercise sessions, especially on hard-start days that may have required a mental kick in the behind just to get going. 
 
In that post, “Cruel Summer” was identified as my all-time favorite.  It perfectly expressed my feelings during teen summers when I was working horrible temporary jobs, feeling separated from my friends and the happy routine of school.  The single, initially released by the English group Bananarama in 1984 in the US, and covered by Swedish Ace of Base (my preferred version) in 1998, came along too late to help me during those hard times.
 
But now I hear the song and am able to look back, happy such days are behind instead of in front of me.  And that’s why Earned Runs places such an emphasis on making summers wonderful experiences, physically, mentally, and emotionally.
 
The song’s lyrics start out, “Hot summer streets and the pavements are burning, I sit around, Trying to smile but the air is so heavy and dry…”
 
In those teenage days, I hated the heat. I wasn’t active and did sit around a lot. My running life did not start until after college. It was as a runner that I learned to handle the heat of a workout and then the heat of summer days. Learned that my friends might not be accessible but aloneness did not necessarily put me in a prison of loneliness and despair.  
 
There’s more to my history of hating summers, but that’s not the point today.  The point is that if summertime isn’t usually something that’s happily anticipated, it CAN BECOME FUN without a major upheaval to life circumstances.  
 
Earned Runs suggests a number of physical activity challenges to help organize and bring focus to summer fitness routines. Challenges that each have a specific schedule and an end date. They are not programs to attain general wistful goals that could take years to realize (lose weight, get fit, build a beach body, etc.). 
 
Challengers aren’t required to transform themselves, just stick with a reasonable plan to stay active and achieve a goal. Each takes advantage of the Northern Hemisphere’s longer days from the end of May to early September, and the greater chance of vacation time and the increased availability of nearby fun events.
 
BUT Earned Runs Challenges aren’t required to enjoy summer. You can custom design one yourself. Construct a personal music playlist that heightens the enjoyment! And lists of “got to see” movies, favorite summer food treats to eat, and places to visit items that can be checked off as each experience is realized.
 
For convenience, check out the Earned Runs playlist selections from 2017. 
 
RUN & MOVE HAPPY!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruel_Summer_(song)