What’s cooler than being cool? Ice cold — as in literally submerging your body in a pool of ice water. It’s something Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs recommended to Angie Martinez recently when he called the DJ on her popular New York City radio show.
Martinez, who is transitioning from Hot 97 (where she worked for more than a decade and made her name as “The Voice of New York”) to her new home at rival Power 105.1, welcomes the advice since she’s gearing up for the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon on Nov. 2. She took the tip from Puff, who ran the iconic race back in 2003, but though the ice bath made her feel better, Martinez tells Billboard she “screamed like a baby the whole way through.”
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“Honestly, that’s the first time I was able to tolerate it,” says the 43-year-old mother, radio personality, and food blogger. “I’d tried a couple of times. I got my foot in, and I was like, ‘Hell no!’ I just can’t do it. I put my feet in a little water, or I put an ice pack on my knee, but to get in the ice bath? I just couldn’t do it.”
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Until recently, she’d have said the same thing about running 26.2 miles. The native New Yorker grew up watching the marathon and dreaming of entering, but she was never a runner. She might have continued watching from the sidelines had it not been for friend Amber Sabathia, wife of Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia, who asked her to run on behalf of her PitCCh In Foundation.
“I felt like this year, with all the change in my life, it was the time to conquer it,” Martinez says.
She’s hoping she will, even though her leg has been bothering her, and she’s “a little worried” she’s gone off track with her training. Then again, she signed up for a half-marathon in Central Park a couple of weeks ago and made it through all 13.1 miles.
“It took me a long time, but I finished it,” Martinez says. “And I was exhausted after. It made me even more scared, because I thought, ‘Oh god, I have to double this marathon day!'”
When Puff called last week, he didn’t offer much more in the way of running advice. He did, however, pledge $1,000 per mile, adding to a team fundraising total that has already surpassed $125,000. When Puff ran his marathon, he pressed his famous friends to fork over cash, and by the time he completed the five-borough trek, crossing the finish line in 4:14:54, he’d raised $2 million for NYC public schools and a pair of youth charities.
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Martinez is eager to help PitCCh In, which provides athletic and educational activities for inner-city kids, and she plans on pulling a Puffy and hitting up some of the celebs in her Rolodex. CBS This Morning host Gayle King is among her industry pals who’ve already donated. Now she just needs to holler at some of the deep-pocketed singers and rappers she’s interviewed over the years.
Many of these artists have already helped out by soundtracking her training. As she headed into her final two weeks of prep runs — using mileage schedules outlined by marathon organizer NYRR and the numerous books she’s read on the subject — Martinez says she often listened to Jay Z or Young Jeezy when she needed something aggressive. Other times, she preferred Marc Anthony. (Scroll down to read Martinez’s 10-song playlist of go-to running songs and listen to them.)
“I listen to songs that either I connect with them or they take me to a place that removes me from running,” Martinez says. “With a Marc Anthony, people are like, ‘You’re running to salsa?’ But it’s not so much about the tempo always. Sometimes, it’s about the music taking you somewhere that removes you from the fact you’re doing something physical. The El Cantante soundtrack is one of my favorite albums.”
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“In the girl-power category, Beyonce‘s “Run the World (Girls),” or one of the up-tempo Rihanna songs, those will get you going,” she adds.
As much as Martinez loves music and suspects her favorite songs will carry her through the bulk of the race, she plans to run in silence for the final stretches and soak up the sound of the crowd.
“It’s going to be something I’ll be able to carry with me for the rest of my life,” Martinez says. “It’s one thing to grow up in the city, but I imagine doing this race, you see it in a whole different way. It’s an experience I can have in this city that I’ve never had.”
Check out Angie Martinez’s favorite running tracks in a Spotify playlist, and read on to see why she these tracks appeal to her.
Meek Mill, “Dreams and Nightmares”
He has that energy, and you can feel that underdog spirit in the way he spits. I listen to a lot of Meek Mill when I run.
Jay-Z, “Reservoir Dogs”
This is one of my favorite “group” rap songs of all time. It’s arrogant and aggressive — all the things you need when you’re attempting to run more than you ever have in your life.
Journey, “Don’t Stop Believin'”
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Black Star, “Definition”
Feel-good classic. And I know all the words! This song makes me want to run in Prospect Park in Brooklyn.
Kanye West, “Two Words”
I just love this song. And this album is clearly a classic.
Marc Anthony, “Aguanile”
I’m just a fan of pretty much anything he does. This song makes me feel some type of holy ghost or something — it just takes me away.
Chaka Khan, “I Know You, I Live You”
She’s one of my favorite singers of all time, and this is one of my favorites of her uptempo songs. I sing the shit out of this song when I run!
Chris Brown, “Beautiful People”
Dope song, and you see so many beautiful and interesting people in this city when you run that you almost feel like you’re running in a video when this is playing. It’s a great soundtrack-to-the-city kind of song.
Beyonce, “Run the World (Girls)”
We run the world! I save this for when I’m tired and really need it.
Amy Winehouse, “Tears Dry On Their Own”
I rediscover this album every couple of years an always wind up with a new favorite song. At the moment, this sounds so good to me.