How to Create Your Perfect Running Playlist:

Step 1: Decide what genre of music puts you in the most  motivated, and pumped up mindset. 

- Whether it's rap, Country, or Classic Rock, it should be personal to you. You'll learn that even though you like Soul music it might not put you in the most running type of mood. Sometimes the thought process behind my song choices can go as complex as whether its gonna be a long run I might choose slower, more calming music, whether I'm going out on a short run, I'll play a more hype up playlist.

Step 2: Choose an App that matches your needs.

- There is wide range of options when it comes to music apps. Most popular options are Spottily and Apple music because they have a low monthly fee, and provide current and past songs of all genres. Personally I am a big fan of Sound Cloud, but only for Rap music in particular, and I am also a loyal Pandora user even though its not always the most updated on the latest albums.

Step 3: Collect and Save an abundance of cohesive song options.

-Begin saving and searching for songs! Enjoy this process, listen to new songs, and don't worry about saving to many  (see next step). Stay within the same genre but if your feeling your DJ intuition try saving some songs that good lead to a gradual transition into another genre. Nothing is worse then a sudden switch from Hip Pop to Folk music, but with the right songs laced in between it can go very smooth.

Step 4: Sift through the songs, and visualize yourself on the run and what song transitions are best.

- This part is a little more tedious, but when you are out on your run and that perfect song comes up next without any motion, you will be thankful to put the time into this. This is also where you will realize how long the total length of the playlist is going to be, so depending on how long your runs typically are, try to estimate it around that same time.

Step 5: When listening to your music on your run, make sure you have a comfortable way of holding your phone

- More often than not I do my winter running on the treadmill which makes it very easy to stash my phone right on the treadmill dashboard itself. When I'm running outdoors I get a bit more creative with it. I used to use one of those arm bands that hold your phone, but I much more prefer just placing it in my sports bra (Screen facing away for skin), and then i just simply lace the headphones under my shirt, and my headband secures the headphones in my ears.