Association

As I polished the lounge ahead of the arrival of our guests yesterday I wondered if everybody who's been to our house thinks that it always looks clean and smells of polish? When I was young all my friends' houses used to have their own distinctive smell however I doubt that's because all their parents used to frantically tidy up to make it look presentable like we do.

It's funny what memories your senses can conjour up. Popular opinion is that smell is the sense that is most 'tied' to your memory (or at least that's the result of my full 30 seconds research on google) but I'm not sure that's necessarily true. There's an album by a folk singer that was the soundtrack to every car journey - long or short - my parents took for a couple of years when I was a young boy. About 20 years later I heard it again and it freaked me out how strong the sensation was of being a kid again, and still does every time I hear it. Not as freaked out however as the man himself was when I spotted him in Debenhams in Leeds a couple of weeks ago and acted like a dumbstruck stargazed fan, talking gibberish.

Marketing boffins know that what you're listening to whilst they advertise is fundamental to product placement. It doesn't matter if it's a great tune (Lenny Kravitz's Get Away for Peugeot) or an annoying one (Snap, Crackle, Pop!,  Comparethemarket.com!) the chances are it'll help you form an impression.

Of course it can work the other way too. I met my wife's ex a couple of years ago who thought it was both original and witty that my profession (a banker) rhymed with ... you know what. He was the spitting image of and sounded exactly like the lead singer of Snow Patrol, and since that day I can no longer listen to what was a favourite band of mine because I associate one with the other and so have to change the radio station whenever they come on.

Equally last week l found myself skipping the odd song that was playing on my iPod in the car. I realised that they were some of the 10 or so songs that are on my playlist that I listen to when I go out running. Within the space of 2 weeks I was associating certain songs with that mindset of being out on the road, toiling away.

So for my latest run I therefore experimented by asking Emma to come up with a new playlist and determine what the soundtrack to my training would be. I'm told that changes in routine and familiarity are going to be important but as yet I don't run far enough to enable me to do a different route. But the new playlist, which I didn't look at beforehand, worked a treat.

Traditionally I try to look nonchalant at the start, closing my mouth so people think "wow he's not even out of breath!" before reverting to grimacing as I go up hills, down hills, get to the end of intervals....pretty much at all other times in fact. If you happened to be one of the cars that drove past me this time (if you were the bint in the 4x4 we need words!) then you'll have likely seen me go through any one of a number of emotions.

A couple of times I actually laughed as a particular song started that was put on for comedy effect or, in the case of Du Hast by German Metal band Rammstein (http://grooveshark.com/#/search?q=rammstein+-+du+hast), you simply can't help to find a little ridiculous.

In my final stint as I struggled to make it home and desperately needed fresh impetus the perfect song came on, Chop Suey by System of a Down (http://grooveshark.com/#/search?q=system+of+a+down-chopsuey). Again not what I'd listen to every day, but an aggressive rock song that helped me to run rather than stagger over the finishing line.

So my words of wisdom for this week are to have a think about what soundtrack you choose for your work-out. I can't tell you what music works better than others, but changing it about might help avoid it feeling like the same old routine. It might be that you can set it so specific songs or genres kick in at about the right time to give you that little push or lighten the mood. If it helps you forget the aches and pains it's got to be worth a shot, right?

Alternatively if you're the type of person that wants their head filled with negative thoughts and wants to associate their work-out with being a prat, I can recommend Snow Patrol.