The Hives have been around quite a while and I already own their Tyrannosaurus Hives CD from a few years ago. I’d heard of their latest CD, but hadn’t got around to buying/downloading it. This would be the perfect opportunity to check out their new material.

Production duo, Expensive People, craft a completely new running adventure by pulling elements from The Hives’ 2007 hit The Black and White Album. Nike boastfully touts the 45 minute workout as “the ultimate runner’s companion” and I must say they could be spot on with their comments. The mix is a masterful one and I had a thoroughly enjoyable, but challenging, afternoon workout thanks to the iconic Swedish rock band.

So with iPod Shuffle at the ready, I set off in the 80+° heat and hoped the music would keep me going. The 45 minutes began with a steady warm-up (roughly 4 or 5 minutes if I remember correctly) before allowing me to find my stride and get into a good rhythm. The songs were fantastic and really put me in a good mood and I’m sure people in their cars wondered why I had a silly grin on my face as I trotted along to classics like “Tick Tick Boom”, “Try It Again” and “Won’t Be Long”. All to soon, however, the tempo dropped and the workout came to a close with a restorative cool-down. If it wasn’t so hot and I wasn’t so thirsty, I’m positive I would have done it all again!

I’m sure The Black and White Album isn’t for everyone. It’s a distinctly European sound and I’m sure people will comment on my musical taste, but it certainly got me running and I can’t wait to do the workout again. Actually, I loved the music so much, one of the first things I did after my post-run stretch and shower was log on to iTunes and purchase the album. Should keep me happy at work tomorrow….

Just for the record, I covered 6.28 miles in the 45 minutes and my splits were as follows:

7:43 7:18 7:07 7:00 6:53 6:51

As you can see I ran each mile slightly quicker than the previous one, despite not even glancing at my Garmin 305 during the workout. Now all I need to do is recover in time for Saturday’s Women’s Distance Festival 5k at Fort Story in Virginia Beach – a celebration of women’s running with a rare women-only 5K. The men-only 5k follows the completion of the women’s race at around 6:30pm. Last year I was coming back off a foot injury and ran a very disappointing race – 19:19 if I remember correctly. It was hot and humid and I just got slower and slower as the race developed. This year will be better, but I’ll have to wait 48 hours before I find out how much.

Details of tonight’s workout inspired by The Hives: