Mainely music

Back from the Mount Desert Island Marathon and vacation and needed to get through a weedy week at work before even thinking about blogging.  Gosh it's rough to get back into this.

Per usual as part of race write ups around here I'm including my playlist from the race.  (And a heavily notated playlist at that.)  I actually heard very little of this playlist during the race because my iPod ran out of charge after listening to it off-and-on for half the race.  So I really don't know how cohesive this playlist is. 

• Hey There Delilah; Plain White T’s
• Hometown Glory; ADELE
• Burial; Miike Snow (I’m a late comer to Miike Snow, but I find this whole album perfect for running)
• Pumped Up Kicks; Foster the People (musical crush of the moment)
• The Mystery Zone; Spoon
• But, Honestly; Foo Fighters (Foo Fighters make a large showing on this playlist, I’ve started to listen to them a lot during runs)
• One Last Time; The Kooks
• Katherine Kiss Me; Franz Ferdinand
• Ready to Start; Arcade Fire
• Rumour Has It; ADELE
• Cult Logic; Miike Snow
• Helena Beat; Foster the People
• Thunder On the Mountain; Wanda Jackson (I want to love Wanda Jackson, but for some reason I just end up liking her)
• Soulchaser (US Mix); Caesars (I love running to this song for one reason: there is a phrase that goes “you’ve gone way too far by now to turn around, running fast and you’re running blind, but the past is always close behind, a million leaves are falling to the ground” and it always makes me think of running to the finish line of the NYCM in Central Park)
• You Make My Dreams; Daryl Hall & John Oates
• Silvia; Miike Snow (this song is to intoxicating!  Once I hear it I can’t get it out of my head for the rest of the day)
• Life On the Nickel; Foster the People
• Volare; Gipsy King (I was apprehensive about including this song, but it’s such a change of musical pace that it’s actually refreshing during a race)
• Show Me What I’m Looking for; Carolina Liar (I love getting lost in the bells and lyrics of this song while running)
• Daylight; Matt & Kim (this song makes me so happy that I can barely stand it)
• Light of the Morning; Band of Skulls (thank you Mustang commercial for turning me onto this song, Band of Skulls has such an old school sound that I have a hard time believing they weren’t plucked straight out of the 70s)
• Better Off; Foo Fighters
• Howlin’ for You (feat. Prins Thomas Diskomiks); The Black Keys
• Not New In N.Y.; The Fashion
• That’s Not My Name; The Ting Tings
• I Should Have Known; Foo Fighters
• Roxanne; The Police
• Sweet Disposition; The Temper Trap (I got turned onto this song from a friend’s wedding video/a Diet Pepsi commercial, I can’t understand a single word, but it fills me with hope anyway)
• Long Heels Red Bottoms; Trina (this song is ridiculous, but it’s like junk food for my ears)
• Rope (Deadmau5 Mix); Foo Fighters (a really, really good remix of a really, really good song)
• Boys and Girls; The Fashion
• Tighten Up; The Black Keys (I have one problem with the Black Keys and that is that their songs all sound the same, awesome consistency, but I can never convince myself to have more than two of their songs in one playlist because it feels like I’m just adding the same song)
• Come On Eileen (Single Edit); Dexy’s Midnight Runners (who doesn’t love this song?)
• Miss the Misery; Foo Fighters
• Teenage Beats; The Fashion
• I Know What I Am; Band of Skulls
• Home; Edward Sharpe& The Magnetic Zeros
• I’m Not Over; Carolina Liar (a great song for late in the race)
• Wake Up; Arcade Fire (this is a great hook to sing along to, and sing-a-longability is a key measure for running music)
• Love Today; Mika (a musical burst of energy)
• Cosmic Love; Florence + The Machine (this song is a bit over the top, but there is something so primal about the drums and Florence’s singing, I get this great image of a high priestess invoking the elements, gods, stars, and planets to do her bidding)
• Long Road to Ruin; Foo Fighters
• Soul; Paper Tongues
• Sins of My Youth; Neon Trees
• Beat It (feat. John Mayer); Fall Out Boy (an awesome cover of an already great song)
• Cheer Up, Boys (Your Make Up Is Running); Foo Fighters
• Any Way You Want It; Journey
• I Gotta Feeling; Black Eyed Peas (cliché, I know, but it works)
• Animal; Neon Trees
• Bridge Burning; Foo Fighters
• Month of May; Arcade Fire
• Reptilla; The Strokes
• Don’t Stop Believin’; Journey (funny thing about me and this song: I always think it’s bigger than it actually is.  The notes aren’t actually as high as I think they are, the music isn’t as frilly/complicated as I remember them.  I think the subsequent covers of this song have built this impression.)
• Dog Days Are Over; Florence + The Machine (there is something very, very addictive about this song, and during training I found out that it worked really well at the end of a run)
• The Pretender; Foo Fighters (ok, there is a lot of Foo Fighters on here, but this song is so great, it is one of my all time favorites)
• Let’s Dance to Joy Division; The Wombats (this was included more out of tradition than anything else)

To say I've been uninspired to post is on understatement.  I have flat out forgotten that I even have a blog.  And the fact that it's taken me almost a month to do a playlist post--the easiest of the pre-formatted posts that I do --is just, well, embarrassing.

Although coming back to Blogger after a month or so hiatus, I have to say: the interface is crappy.  I see why people start in Blogger and then migrate away.

Anywho, on with the music.

This playlist sucked.  When I finished putting it together the result felt uninspired.  I thought it would grow on me, they I just needed to warm up to this collection of music. Nope, never happened.  Even listening to it afterward I don't really click with the selection of songs, and the majority of the playlist is made up of songs from other playlists.  Oh well--I guess they can't all be winners.

• Jacqueline; Franz Ferdinand
• Howlin' for You; The Black Keys
• Rumour Has It; ADELE
• La Mexicana; Bacilos
• Young Blood; The Naked and Famous
• Let's Go Dancing; The Fashion
• Bamboleo; Gipsy Kings
• Ready to Start; Arcade Fire
• Hanging On; Valley Lodge
• Feel Like Taking You Home; Brendan Benson
• I Really Want You; Plain White T's
• Sins of My Youth; Neon Trees
• All of My Loving; Valley Lodge
• Great DJ; The Ting Tings
• I'm Not Over; Carolina Liar
• Home; Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
• Empty Room; Arcade Fire
• Any Way You Want It; Journey
• Poised and Ready; Brendan Benson
• Not New In N.Y.; The Fashion
• Animal; Neon Trees
• Come On Eileen; Dexy's Midnight Runners
• A Little Less Conversation (JXL Radio Edit Remix); Elvis Presley
• Month of May; Arcade Fire
• Shout; The Isley Brothers
• Assassin; Muse
• I Gotta Feeling; Black Eyed Peas
• Percussion Gun; White Rabbits
• The Pretender; Foo Fighters
• Let's Dance to Joy Division; The Wombats
• Move Along; The All-American Rejects

Recorded music for the live music capitol of the world

One of Austin's claims to fame is that it is "The Live Music Capital of the World."  I have no idea how they validate that or who even came up with it.  I can say that it felt like every bar and restaurant we went to while in Austin was promoting some band/musician/performer that was going to be playing their place in the upcoming week.

However, during the Half-Marathon I would not be able to enjoy this live music, so, per usual, I prepared a playlist of recorded music.

While the process was pretty much the same (spent more time making the playlist than running the race), I did break one long-standing tradition: for the first time in my 6+ years of running I did not start a long-distance race (Marathon or Half) by listening to Tina Turner's "Proud Mary."  It was part of the overriding theme to my training for Austin: I had gotten into a running funk so I needed to change up everything.  For my first Half-Marathon I like this song because it started off slow and then half-way through turns into a super-funk high energy.  It was a nice mix between pacing myself and racing.  It was good for then, and it was nice to have the tradition, but it was time to change.  (Of course, I changed it to a song that has a very similar structure.)

One last thing before going onto the actual music: while I have never run out of music during a race I have the fear that I will.  Despite knowing that I will pause the music several times in order to check my breathing I still pad the playlist by about six minutes.  The end result is that I usually only listen to two-thirds of any given playlist during a race.

• Jacqueline; Franz Ferdinand  (it even looks weird starting the playlist with a song that isn't "Proud Mary," it feels like I skipped the first song)
• Garbage Day; Brendan Benson
• It’s Not the Fall That Hurts (US Mix); Caesars
• Let’s Go Dancing; The Fashion
• Supermassive Black Hole; Muse
• I’m Not Over; Carolina Liar (odd song to put at the beginning, but it worked to kick up the pace)
• Don’t Stop Believin’; Journey (don't judge, I'm a sucker for catchiness)
• All of My Loving; Valley Lodge (piece of sRod trivia: this is the only band or artist in my music collection that I actually know in person--the drummer is one of my vendors)
• Soulchaser (US Mix); Caesars
• Long Road to Ruin; Foo Fighters
• Renegade; Styx
• That Girl; Plain White T’s
• Kids; MGMT
• Sins of My Youth; Neon Trees
• Sea Lion Woman; Feist
• A Little Less Conversation (JXL Radio Edit Remix); Elvis Presley
• Love Today; Mika
• That’s Not My Name; The Ting Tings
• Not New In N.Y.; The Fashion
• 1983; Neon Trees
• Feel Like Taking You Home; Brendan Benson
• Wake Up; Arcade Fire (Or as everyone called them after the Grammys: “Arcade Who?”)
• Home; Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
• Shout; The Isley Brothers (yeah, it’s cliché and I try to avoid clichés [please ignore "Don't Stop Believin'" above], but I put it on here anyway—oddly enough, I never ended up hearing it during the race)
• Poised and Ready; Brendan Benson
• Percussion Gun; White Rabbits (awesome song for late in the race)
• The Pretender; Foo Fighters
• Let’s Dance to Joy Division; The Wombats
• Move Along; The All-American Rejects (although I changed my starting song, the finishing set of songs didn’t really change that much)

Rocking out in Portland

Geez.  Over three weeks since the last time I posted, huh?  It hasn't been for lack of topics--more for lack of time.  Work has been busy leading up to the end of the year.  And then traveling for the holidays and a wedding.  Three weeks just kinda appeared eventually.

Anywho, so I'm clearing out my backlog of post topics with my very delayed music post for the Portland Marathon.  Below is my playlist from the race.  You can go here for a basic outline of the process.

It took me about four hours to compile this playlist--longer than it took me to run the race!  But I have to say, I really like this mix.  I listed to the majority of it, all the way down to Don't Stop Believein' with a minimal amount of skips.  Usually I end up listening to only half of the songs because I pause the music so much to establish my own cadence.  I've enjoyed this mix so much that I haven't switched it out for another in the months since the Marathon--granted I've done very light running until this week (official first week fo training for Austin!).

• Proud Mary; Tina Turner
• Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down; Alicia Keys
• Crown of Love; Arcade Fire
• Wouldn't It Be Nice; The Beach Boys
• Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'; Michael Jackson
• Every Little Thing; Valley Lodge
• A Whole Lot Better; Brendan Benson
• You Make My Dreams; Daryl Hall & John Oates
• Time to Pretend; MGMT
• American Slang; The Gaslight Anthem
• Roxanne; The Police
• Pick Up the Phone; Dragonette
• This Bed; Alicia Keys
• Garbage Day; Brendan Benson
• 1901; Phoenix
• Haiti; Arcade Fire
• In The Hospital; Friendly Fires
• Human; The Killers
• Home; Edward Sharpe & The Magnificent Zeros
• Renegade; Styx
• Natural Disaster; Plain White T's
• All of My Loving; Valley Lodge
• Rebellion (Lies); Arcade Fire
• For Reasons Unknown; The Killers
• Feel Like Taking You Home; Brendan Benson
• Always Where I Need to Be; The Kooks
• Sins of My Youth; Neon Trees
• Two Doors Down; Mystery Jets
• That Girl; Plain White T's
• Hanging On; Valley Lodge
• That's Not My Name; The Ting Tings
• Lasso; Phoenix
• Take Me Out; Franz Ferdinand
• Uprising; Muse
• Neighborhood #3 (Power Out); Arcade Fire
• Mr. Brightside; The Killers
• I'm Actual; The Format
• I Really Want You; Plain White T's
• I Can't Win; The Strokes
• Lisztomania; Phoenix
• Long Road to Ruin; Foo Fighters
• Percussion Gun; White Rabbits
• Wake Up; Arcade Fire
• Animal; Neon Trees
• I Don't Wanna Dance; Hey Monday
• Show Me What I'm Looking for; Carolina Liar
• Come on Eileen; Dexy's Midnight Runners
• Heartbreak Stroll; The Raveonettes
• Love Today; Mika
• Zero; Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Don't Stop Believin'; Journey
• 1983; Neon Trees
• Spotlight; Mute Math
• I'm Not Over; Carolina Liar
• Juicebox; The Strokes
• I Gotta Feeling; Black Eyed Peas
• Beat It; Fall Out Boy
• The Pretender; Foo Fighters
• Let's Dance to Joy Division; The Wombats
• Move Along; The All-American Rejects

Wrapping up the NYCM

We’re still not done with the NYCM! I never got to post my playlist prior to the race and immediately afterward I was too consumed with my five-part race report to write up the ol’ list of play. [Side note: FIVE part? Geez, I wouldn’t think that was necessary unless I wrote it. Screw self-editing, right?]

I slapped together my playlist at the last minute—literally. In the last hour before I went to sleep on Saturday night I took out all my race day stuff and added two hours worth of music to my last Half-Marathon playlist (i.e., Grete’s Great Gallop). I’m not proud of it, but it was the only time I had.

Funny thing is that the music worked out really well during the race. I only listed to about two-thirds of the thing (accounting for pauses to check my pace), but I was really happy every time a song started. Perhaps I have been over-hinking my music selection—Marcy haunts me from beyond the blog-grave!!

• Proud Mary; Tina Turner
• Brandy Alexander; Feist
• Bennie and the Jets; Elton John
• Ulysses; Franz Ferdinand
• Boston; Augustana
• Chocolate; Snow Patrol
• Under Control; Parachute
• Lucid Dreams; Franz Ferdinand
• Bulletproof; La Roux
• Tears Dry On Their Own; Amy Winehouse
• Heavy Cross; Gossip
• Losing Touch; The Killers
• PYT; Michael Jackson
• Spaceman; The Killers
• Always Where I Need to Be; The Kooks
• Lisztomania; Phoenix
• No You Girls; Franz Ferdinand
• Tick of Time; The Kooks
• Dog Problems; The Format
• Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground); The Jacksons
• Heads Will Roll; Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Jump In The Pool; Friendly Fires
• Resistance; Muse
• Can You Feel It; Michael Jackson
• HAPPY Radio; Edwin Starr
• Paris; Friendly Fires
• Blinded By the Light; Manfred Mann's Earth Band
• Barracuda; Heart
• Canned Heat; Jamiroquai
• I Saw It on Your Keyboard; Hellogoodbye
• Human; The Killers
• My Moon My Man; Feist
• Read Between the Lines; KSM
• Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough; Michael Jackson
• Uprising; Muse
• The Love You Save; Jackson 5
• I’m Bad; The Last Vegas
• Zero; Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• I Kissed a Girl; Katy Perry
• Beat It; Fall Out Boy
• American Boy; Estelle
• I Don't Feel Like Dancin'; Scissor Sisters
• I Want You Back; Jackson 5
• This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race; Fall Out Boy
• Reptilia; The Strokes
• Times Like These; Foo Fighters
• Shockwave; Black Tide
• Let's Dance to Joy Division; The Wombats
• The Pretender; Foo Fighters

Onto lessons I learned from the NYCM, now that I’ve had time to decipher them:

1. I really did try to have faith in all the training I had done—and while it might not have produced a 3:40 finish time, I still finished very strong and repeated my PR. So the strategy worked! I will be keeping this in mind for future races.
2. My hamstrings were mysteriously NOT fatigued. I thought it was just a post-race fluke, but then the week of recovery they were never sore. I’m not sure why this happened. I need to investigate this. I’m wondering if I didn’t use them enough during the race.
3. I really liked my training schedule. It worked well with my work/life schedule yet managed to incorporate an extra day of running. The only thing is that I stepped up the mileage without setting my alarm clock earlier—so toward the end I had to cut runs short since I was running late.
4. I used to like Tempo runs, but now that I’ve gone through a training cycle having to do Tempo runs outside I no longer like them. In addition to having to run these outside, I lowered the pace for Tempo runs A LOT. I may have been too ambitious this time around, but should be OK using these paces for the next training cycle.
5. I knew my stomach was sensitive in the morning, but I never realized just how sensitive it was until I moved out of the gym, far away from any bathroom. I may have to start drinking coffee first thing in the morning just to get the constitutional out of the way before I start running.
6. The NYCM forces you to get to the starting line early. Ridiculously early. I’m normally a “just in time” type of runner, getting to the starting corral within minutes of the gun. So sitting in Ft. Wadsworth for over an hour was very different. But all that time let me prepare correctly, both mentally and physically.
7. Focus! I doubt there is any runner who can’t stand to focus a bit more, but I felt I had an incredibly hard time on the course focusing on my race. I suspect this was mostly due to the huge crowds. However, I think I could stand to devise some kind of mental process to stay focused during a race.
8. I can’t forget to stretch. My IT bands got really tight toward the end of the training cycle—and that is purely because I wasn’t taking enough care of them. Now that I’ve had time to rest I’ve been able to stretch more before and after runs and use heating pads to help loosen the muscles—I need to carry this through to the next training cycle.
9. It was strange, but I was very sore after this race. After Newport and the Pig I just kinda sprang back to life the next day, but I was tapped out by the NYCM. I didn’t get back to 100% until the following Thursday. Not sure what lesson to take out of this, but it’s worth keeping in mind.

Last, but not least, my time. I still don't have a resolution on that. I've sent pictures to the NYRR and long emails explaining what I think happened, but they're still trying to figure out what to do. There will be a final update on that, one day.

Surprise: Half-Marathon today!

Even though I signed up for Grete's Great Gallop over two weeks ago, I'm still surprised to find myself awake at 6:30 on a Saturday getting ready for a race. I wasn't planning on running a Half-Marathon before the NYCM due to our depleted travel funds--and I was cool with that. But then my friend from middle school, who now lives in New Jersey and is also running the NYCM talked me into running the Gallop--not that it was a hard sell: $30 for a Half-Marathon that I don't have to travel to it.

There are no medals given out at this race (boo!), but I'm looking at it purely as a tune up for the NYCM (ahem, which is 29 days away!). I only have one goal: to PR at this race. That will be difficult because Central park is so hilly, but then again, I am very familiar with the park and know where I can slow down and where I can speed up. If all goes well, hopefully this will be a confidence booster heading into November 1.

Per usual, I've come up with a playlist for this race. Unlike in the past this playlist took less than an hour to put together. That's probably because I've added a lot of new music to the ol' iTunes library over the past month. Here's what I'll be listing to during the Gallop:

• Proud Mary; Tina Turner
• Ulysses; Franz Ferdinand
• Ain't No Rest for the Wicked; Cage the Elephant
• Under Control; Parachute
• Lucid Dreams; Franz Ferdinand
• Bulletproof; La Roux
• Tears Dry On Their Own; Amy Winehouse
• Heavy Cross; Gossip
• PYT; Michael Jackson
• Spaceman; The Killers
• Always Where I Need to Be; The Kooks
• Lisztomania; Phoenix
• Heads Will Roll; Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Jump In The Pool; Friendly Fires
• Resistance; Muse
• Can You Feel It; Michael Jackson
• HAPPY Radio; Edwin Starr
• Blinded By the Light; Manfred Mann's Earth Band
• I Saw It on Your Keyboard; Hellogoodbye
• Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough; Michael Jackson
• Uprising; Muse
• The Love You Save; Jackson 5
• Zero; Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Beat It; Fall Out Boy
• I Don't Feel Like Dancin'; Scissor Sisters
• Reptilia; The Strokes
• Let's Dance to Joy Division; The Wombats
• The Pretender; Foo Fighters

Now that I've typed up the list I realize there are a ton of MJ songs in the mix. Well, that's partially because like the rest of the world we felt compelled to buy his best of albums after he died, but also because they actually turn out to be great running songs. He may (or may not) have liked little boys, but you have to admit the man made some kick ass music.

I'm a little worried about the race because I slept like crap last night and the night before. A lot of stuff has been going down on the employment front in the past week and it has me excited and stressed to the Nth degree. So much so that I'm also having trouble eating--which is next to impossible. By the middle of next week I should be able to share--and I promise, it is BIG big news.

Muted running

I think it's been pretty well established that I like listening to music while I run. So I find it very odd that I have taken Liam on a run exactly once during the past three weeks of Marathon training (about 15 runs). I realized this on Thursday when I went to the track for Yasso 800s--which usually require music--and didn't even realize I forgot Liam until I arrived back home.

I have to say, I'm starting to see some truth to all that stuff about "listen to your body, not your music." Without music I'm finding it a lot easier to manage my pace. I'm also having a better time controlling my breathing--and training myself to inhale/exhale with my left step as to avoid stitches. I don't miss the music and I don't find myself getting bored either.

That said, today is going to be my first long run by myself in about six weeks. And I'm putting together a playlist now (borrowing heavily from our recently purchased, 50+ track, Michael Jackson Essentials albums) to accompany me on the run. Old habits, right?

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So my job continues to kill me slowly--this has been another hectic week with crazy hours and mad dash work. I'm just trying to get to July 28 at which point I'll be a free (and very tired man).

The swine grind

For the first time ever I've put together a playlist for a race and I'm not excited to hear it. It feels worn out: I haven't bought new music in a while so all my current music is played out and I have no new music to spice it up. I'm seriously hoping the course entertainment will live up to expectation and that I'll be so busy following the pacer that I won't care what I'm hearing.

After several hours of ordering and "mixing" here's the final playlist for The Pig.

• Proud Mary; Tina Turner (yup, still need it to kick off a race)
• California's Burning; Augustana
• We Used to Vacation; Cold War Kids
• I Feel It All; Feist
• See the Sun; The Kooks
• What She Came For; Franz Ferdinand
• I Turn My Camera On; Spoon (this song single-handedly made me a Jaguar fan)
• Wow; Snow Patrol
• Tell Me In the Morning; Cold War Kids
• Rock Wit You; Alicia Keys
• Viva la Vida; Coldplay
• Sam's Town; The Killers
• In The Hospital; Friendly Fires (my new favorite band)
• Down to the Market; The Kooks
• Stab My Back; The All-American Rejects
• Song I don't know the name of
• Unstoppable; Santogold
• Losing Touch; The Killers
• Razor Blade; The Strokes
• Freedom 90; George Michael
• Ulysses; Franz Ferdinand
• A Dustland Fairytale; The Killers
• Lazy Gun; Jet
• Detriot; Black Gold
• All Time Lows; Hellogoodbye
• Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough; Michael Jackson (Marcy's favorite)
• You're My Favorite; Caesars
• Roxanne; The Police
• She Doesn't Get It; The Format
• Blinded By the Light; Manfred Mann's Earth Band
• Rehab; Amy Winehouse
• Lucid Dreams; Franz Ferdinand
• Attention; The Academy Is
• 11:11 PM; The All-American Rejects
• Bitch; Rinocerose
• Barracuda; Heart
• Electricity Scape; The Strokes
• Time Bomb; The Format
• Canned Heat; Jamiroquai
• The River Is Wild; The Killers
• Outsiders; Franz Ferdinand
• Red Light; The Strokes
• ABC; Jackson 5 (my old school addition to this playlist)
• Paul McCartney; Scissor Sisters
• Mr. Brightside; The Killers
• Beat It; Fall Out Boy (lots of Jackson and Jackson-inspired music)
• Jump In The Pool; Friendly Fires
• No You Girls; Franz Ferdinand
• H.A.P.P.Y. Radio; Edwin Starr (I first heard this song during a spin class forever ago and found it a perfect song for the final kick)
• She Don't Use Jelly; Ben Folds Five
• Hot N Cold; Katy Perry (this is my one pop music cave in for the playlist because it is SO DAMN CATCHY)
• White Diamonds; Friendly Fires
• You Spin Me Round (Like a Record); Dead or Alive
• 25 Miles; Edwin Starr (What follows has pretty much stayed the same for the past three races)
• Times Like These; Foo Fighters
• Juicebox; The Strokes
• Let's Dance to Joy Division; The Wombats
• The Pretender; Foo Fighter
• Move Along; The All-American Rejects

The Great Bay music post

With only a few days until the Great Bay Half-Marathon I've compiled my playlist for the race. Read here for the extensive background on the method behind my music (it took 2.5 hours to compile this 1.9 hour long playlist!).

• Proud Mary; Tina Turner
• Stars and Boulevards; Augustana
• Before the Worst; The Script
• In The Hospital; Friendly Fires
• Crackin' Up; Caesars
• Spaceman; The Killers
• I Turn My Camera On; Spoon
• Lucid Dreams (Original Version); Franz Ferdinand
• Creator; Santogold
• Pasos de Gigante; Bacilos
• Indian/Bangra song
• Tears Dry On Their Own; Amy Winehouse
• Ulysses; Franz Ferdinand
• Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough; Michael Jackson
• Si Senor; Gloria Estefan
• Stormy Weather; The Kooks
• Paris; Friendly Fires
• Another song that I don't know the name or artist of
• If Work Permits; The Format
• Heart In A Cage; The Strokes
• My Moon My Man; Feist
• Human; The Killers
• Time Like These; Foo Fighters
• 25 Miles; Edwin Starr
• Reptilla; The Strokes
• For Reasons Unknown; The Killers
• Heartbreak Stroll; The Raveonettes
• Let's Dance To Joy Division; The Wombats
• The Pretender; Foo Fighters
• Move Along: The All-American Rejects

Weather is looking good (56 degree at gun time) and just received confirmation for the car and hotel reservations. the only thing that has me concerned still is that the race starts at 11am--what the hell do you do until 11am? I mean I can eat a full breakfast, stretch properly, read "Anna Karenina," and still get there before the port-o-potty line forms.

There are others

Looks like there are indeed other runners in this world that take the music they run to very seriously. I've always thought about analyzing what BPM works better during different parts of a run, but unfortunately I don't have that information on my music.

The music post

I feel like I just went through this process—mostly because I did just 45 days ago.

After about three hours of work, I've finished the playlist for the Breakers Marathon in Newport. I’m keeping with the methodology from last time: going from slow songs to fast songs, holding the gravvy songs for the end. I just have a few thoughts before getting onto the “short” list.

First, I haven't added much music to the library since Manchester, so overall it sounds very similar. Second, I'm trying to keep the music as slow as possible for the first half of the race in order to not have a repeat of MY FIRST MARATHON ever. Third, I'm starting to rethink the role of music in running and that I might actually not have the iPod playing the whole time during the race--I'm going to let my body call those shots.

And now the "short" list:

• Proud Mary; Tina
• Matches; The Format
• Boston; Augustana (I see this as the mood setter for the race)
• One Last Time; The Kooks
• Stuttering; Ben's Brother
• P.D.A.; John Legend
• Pasos de Gigante; Bacilos (after getting grief from my sister that I didn't have Spanish music in my last playlist--even though I did!--I made a concerted effort to up the Spanish portion of my music collection)
• The World At Large; Modest Mouse (I go through my phases with Modest Mouse, sometimes they're perfect, sometimes they're annoying)
• I Feel It All; Feist
• Paradise; Ana Serrano
• You Only Live Once; The Strokes
• Sway; The Kooks
• Tiny Little Fractures; Snow Patrol
• Shake Me Baby; Junior Senior
• American Boy; Estelle
• Wow; Snow Patrol
• Detriot; Black Gold
• The Hardest Button To Button; The White Stripes
• Sister Jack; Spoon
• Razor Blade; The Strokes
• Mr. Maker; The Kooks
• La Mexicana; Bacilos
• Roxanne; The Police
• Dog Problem; The Format
• Float On; Modest Mouse
• Santo Santo; Gloria Estefan
• Down To The Market; The Kooks
• Viva La Vida; Coldplay
• If Work Permits; The Format
• I Saw It On Your Keyboard; Hellogoodbye (not entirely sure about this one, it may change)
• What Ever Happened?; The Strokes
• Are You Gonna Go My Way; Lenny Kravitz
• The Phrase That Pays; The Academy Is
• Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough; Michael Jackson
• I Can't Win; The Strokes (bad name, good song)
• Out of Control; Kenna
• Always Where I Need To Be; The Kooks
• Classifieds; The Academy Is
• Fergalicious; Fergie (I'll need a distraction by this point in the race, this song is such an oddball to the mix that it'll definitly take my mind elsewhere)
• Tears Dry On Their Own; Amy Winehouse (oh, and there will be tears by this point)
• Vision Of Division; The Strokes
• Tres Deseos; Gloria Estefan
• Blinded By The Light; Manfred Mann's Earth Band (I love this song, I don't know why I never bought it earlier)
• All Time Lows; Hellogoodbye (another poor choice for a title)
• Shake Your Coconuts; Junior Senior
• For Reasons Unknown; The Killers
• One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces; Ben Folds Five
• H.A.P.P.Y. Radio; Edwin Starr (Why? A generous serving of cowbell 40 seconds into the song)
• I Don't Have A Dancing Problem; Marathon (first words of this song: "F!ck this I'm going dancing." Awesome.)
• Flagpole Sitta; Magnificent Tracers
• This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race; Fall Out Boy
• Steven's Last Night In Town; Ben Folds Five
• Attention; The Academy Is
• Jolly Roger; Marathon
• Filthy Gorgeous; Scissor Sisters
• Reptilia; The Strokes
• Quimbara; Celia Cruz
• I Kissed A Girl; Katy Perry
• Time Like These; Foo Fighters
• Why Do I Keep Counting?; The Killers
• 25 Miles; Edwin Starr (awesome song for the last few miles of the race)
• Juicebox, The Strokes (aka "the passing song" because the chorus has the lyric "why don't you come over here?")
• Let's Dance To Joy Division; The Wombats (still love this song)
• Shockwave; Black Tide
• The Pretender; Foo Fighters
• Move Along; The All-American Rejects

And now back to checking weather.com for hourly updates on the forecast for this weekend.

The compulsory playlist post

As I mentioned in last weekend's post, one of my running neuroses that comes out in the two weeks before a race is to carefully craft a new playlist specifically made for the race. Unlike the my other 20ish playlists where I pick a fun group of songs and hit shuffle on my iPod, I actually mix (I use that term loosely) my race playlists to make sure each song flows into the next and somewhat corresponds with my need for musical support at that point during the race.

After realizing that there may be a flaw in the way I mix (once again, loose usage) my race playlists, I've attempted a different musical progression. Originally, I would (using the iTunes rating stars) follow my mental pattern during a race and start out with a very ambitious high energy group of songs. After the initial burst of energy, I'd move to the second group of songs that were slightly slower. Right in the middle of the mix I'd have the slowest songs, corresponding to the slower, uninteresting miles. Then I'd pick it up a bit to a faster set of songs before going onto a powerhouse set of songs that would carry me through the home stretch.

This progression of music kinda backfired during Fairfield where I was getting lots of fast songs on slow uphills. Because of that I've switched up the methodology and instead of following the intuitive route I've stacked songs according to what my pacing should be: start with slow songs and move onto faster ones (i.e., negative splits). So now, instead of using the iTunes stars to define song categories, I used the stars to identify pace.

After about an hour of working on this playlist--which is actually pretty quick for me--I finished Half-Marathon 7.0 (VT). (Yes, I do name my playlists that way; when you have 20 bazillion playlists you stop being creative and resort to practicality.) I'm actually pretty excited about this playlist, probably because I've bought a lot of new music lately and I haven't played the hell out of it yet.

So here's the finished product, in all it's eclectic beauty. There may be one or two tweaks between today and race day, but I'll note any of them.

• Proud Mary; Tina Turner (per usual, this is my first song, it starts off the race with something very familiar and really, at this point it's just tradition)
• American Boy; Estelle (I actually saw the video for this song at the gym several times, the problem was that I was listening to my iPod and never actually heard the song. After seeing the video on mute for the umpteenth time I YouTubed it when I got home and bought it quickly thereafter.)
• Stuttering; Ben's Brother (this was actually the song from a commercial that wifey and I kept on singing around the apartment; I had to buy the song because we only knew the five second chorus from the commercial, and that got annoying real fast)
• Eleanor Put Your Boots On; Franz Ferdinand
• See the Sun; The Kooks (The Kooks are one of my newest additions: I've been playing their album non-stop for about a month now)
• No One; Alicia Keys (see what I mean about slow?)
• Hang Me Up to Dry; Cold War Kids (Wifey hates this band because she insists that they don't sing, they just whine into the mic and call it music. I can't say I disagree with her.)
• Dog Problems; The Format (The Format are another of my newest additions, I had to resist the urge to put the whole album on the playlist)
• Santo Santo; Gloria Estefan
• Mr. Maker; The Kooks
• Teenage Love Affair; Alicia Keys
• Read My Mind; The Killers
• She Doesn't Get It; The Format
• Tears Dry On Their Own; Amy Winehouse (I figure at this point I'll need to channel my inner crack whore or bar mop, I get both with one with song)
• Can I Get Get Get; JUNIOR SENIOR
• Dead End; The Format (See what I mean having to resist puttign the whole album int he playlist? Three The Format songs in the past nine songs.)
• Down to the Market; The Kooks
• Touchdown Turnaround (Don't Give Up on Me); Hellogoodbye (my jury is still out on this band, but I'm giving them a chance on this playlist anyway)
• Sea Lion Woman; Feist (I did some research on this song, turns out it is actually from the 1930s and has a little bit of controversy about it)
• I Kissed a Girl; Katy Perry (...this time no one can say they don't know at least one song on my playlist)
• Barracuda; Heart (and for those of you who don't know I Kissed a Girl, this is one you probably know from 1) hearing the original on vinyl or 2) the current Honda Odyssey commercial)
• Time Bomb, The Kooks (apparently I have the same problem with The Kooks that I have with The Format)
• Here (In Your Arms); Hellogoodbye
• Reptilia; The Strokes (my hipster finest)
• Shake Your Coconuts; JUNIOR SENIOR (wifey is disturbed by this song, so I take every chance to sing it in front of her)
• The Phrase That Pays; The Academy Is (proof that you will buy music that you hear on Pandora)
• Out Here All Night; Damone (my second favorite free iTunes song)
• 25 Miles; Edwin Starr (I know, you're thinking daaaaaamn, where'd he pull that one from? Well, I'm thinking the same thing.)
• Juicebox; The Strokes (this is the start of the gravvy songs)
• Stronger; Kanye West
• Let's Dance to Joy Division; The Wombats (my most favorite free iTunes song)
• Shockwave; Black Tide (my third favorite free iTunes song)
• The Pretender; Foo Fighters
• Move Along; The All-American Rejects (much like how Proud Mary is my traditional opening song, this song is quickly becoming my traditional finishing song)

Never, never, never quit

I'm channeling Winston Churchill for my final hours before the starting gun at Fairfield. I'm about to head out for an easy 30-minute run around the 'hood. But before that, I want to get all my thoughts down before they swirl out of my head as they tend to in the hours leading up to a race.

Goal Times

• Goal 1 (attainable): Come in close--but under--my PR of 1:53:42. Completely doable because my Half-Mary PR pace is 8:41 and most of my training runs have been faster than that. (I do realize that for humility's sake and out of respect for the distance that my attainable goal should be "to enjoy the race," but damn it, I am a cocky 20-something that always has something to prove.)
• Goal 2 (challenge): Come in at 1:50. That would shave about four minutes off my time. It's within the realm of reason, but it won't be easy to maintain that 8:24 pace.
• Goal 3 (pie in the sky): Come in at 1:45 (essentially an 8:00 pace). This would be exceeding hard because it's hard enough to maintain this pace for a six mile run. Can't imagine how I'll do it tomorrow.

Weather
Oh New England--your weather patterns are horrible. This week was beautiful. Every morning I woke up to a chill in the air, puffs of clouds in the sky, and glorious sunshine. However, tomorrow's weather for Fairfield calls for light showers leading into scattered thunderstorms. While the rain sucks (I've never actually run in the rain), it does guarantee cool temps (high 60s) and plenty of cloud coverage. The rain also spoils the beach plans we had for the rest of the day. Boo.

Travel
The lovely seaside town of Fairfield is just one-hour North of New York City. I could actually take the commuter rail to the race, but that would mean getting on the 5:35am train out of NYC--I just can't bring myself to get to Grand Central at 5:30am. So we'll be renting a car tonight and driving up at 6am tomorrow.

I've never stayed this far away from the race starting line, so hopefully it turns out alright.

Race Day Strategy
I've been good about this race and studied the course quite a bit over the past few weeks. The hardest part of the race seems to be the hilly midsection. Although I've heard from people that have run this race in the past that there are some surprise hills at the end.

So my plan for the race will be to take the first two miles easy, which shouldn't be a problem because with 3,000 runners there will be a lot of people in my way those first couple of miles. Miles 2-4 I want to settle into a good pace, trying to get toward my goal pace. Miles 5-7 have the biggest climbs and downhills, so there'll be some speeding up and slowing down--which I anticipate will completely mess with my pacing. After mile 7 it looks to be pretty easy, with a few rolling hills--which I like because little hills help get the blood pumping without taxing me too much and can really boost my mood if I tackle them well. After the hill in mile 11 I'll be going through my gravvy songs and hopefully just feeding off the excitement, making a mad dash to finish line.

I'm really hoping to be smart about this race and not just attack it blindly like I normally attack a race. But I'm sure come tomorrow morning I will be suffering from level 5 runner's brain and all this good thinking would have gone to waste.

Music
There have been a few changes to the playlist for Fairfield, I've updated Tuesday's post with the new mix. I had to switch out some songs that just didn't feel right.

Final Thoughts

• It's been over a year since I've raced at this distance, it's going to be a good time to returning to my favorite distance
• When it starts to hurt and suck and the world starts crumbling around me I will just think: Does it really hurt that much? The answer is always no.
• It is quite possible that this race, as much as I've prepared for it, will go bad. I'm not going to lie: if all does go horribly wrong I will be upset. If my GI tract acts up, as it has lately, I'll have to stop to get that out of the way. If I break out into stitches, I will have to combat them and probably have to walk. If my IT Band flares up, I will have to stop and stretch and inject walking breaks. But, I know I will finish. It might not be the time I want or the beautiful race I had hoped and dreamed about, but I will get my shit together and get to that finish line. I will never, never, never quit.

The final countdown

As the Fairfield Half-Marathon approaches and I go through the pre-race rituals, I'd thought I'd share my playlist (also, this was a request from Laura). With that, I'd like to set the mood with arguably the best techno-rock song to come out of Scandinavia in the mid-80s:



Great, now that we're all totally stoked about bad music, let's get onto the playlist. Here is the process I've developed over the years:

1. I get excited! And why shouldn't I? It's a week before a race and the end of training is within sight.
2. I set aside an hour (although it sometimes becomes two) to go through all the music on my computer and pick out only the best of the best running songs. Those songs go onto the playlist. (I've also learned that I gravitate toward newer songs that I haven't worn out yet.)
3. Now that I have a short list of songs to play with I start the delicate process of ordering them and weeding out the songs that just don't work. To do this I assign a rating to each song on iTunes according to the following system:

• One star - The starter songs. These songs help set the pace early in the race because they are fast and really fun. These songs make me happy--which hopefully carries over on race day.
• Two star - The ease into the groove songs. These songs are a slower pace than the one star set, but equally as important in maintaining pace as the initial energy wears off. They also help transition to the next set of songs.
• Three star - The workhorse songs. At this point in the race I'm well into the miles and need to just concentrate on keeping one foot going behind the other. These songs are slow and remind me that it's ok to slow down because by this point I've established a comfortable pace and just need to maintain it.
• Four star - The "ok, let's start picking it up" songs. These songs are scheduled to start about 75% of the way into the race. When I hear these songs that means that the finish line is getting closer and that I should start pushing out of the comfort zone. No fireworks, but just a slight increase in pace.
• Five star - The gravvy songs. If there is anything left in me, these songs can get it out of me because they're just that inspirational/bad ass. When I hear these I know that I have to whip out the gravvy and start pouring it on.

4. Once the songs are in these five groups, then I order them according to what songs lead well into the following song and what is appropriate for that approximate point in the race.
5. Once the playlist is done I try to take it for a test run. (Didn't happen this time around, oh well.)

Yesterday I went through this process and here is the finished product, ready for racing--and maybe even a PR--in Fairfield:

• One Star songs
• Proud Mary; Tina Turner (this is always my first song and I only listen to it on race days, it just gets me in the right mood--no idea why)
• Rhythm Bandits; Junior Senior
• Let's Dance to Joy Division; The Wombats (I am currently obsessed with this song)
• Out Here All Night; Damone
• Reptilia; The Strokes (Good choice for this section since it contains the line "don't slow me down if I'm going too fast")
• Soulchaser; Caesars
• Two Star songs
• Coconuts; Junior Senior
• Check Yes Juliet; We the Kings
• This River Is Wild; The Killers
• Your English Is Good; Tokyo Police Club
• Take Me Out; Franz Ferdinand
• Can I Get Get Get; Junior Senior (maybe this should be renamed the Junior Senior Half-Marathon playlist--they are the only band on here thrice [yes, I said thrice])
• Three Star songs
• Only You; Caesars
• Freedom 90; George Michael
• For Reasons Unknown; The Killers
• Save Room; John Legend
• My Moon My Man; Feist UPDATE: replaced with Barracuda by Heart
• She Don't Use Jelly; Ben Folds Five (I always laugh at this song and by this point in the race I'll take anything that can make me happy)
• Wreckless Love; Alicia Keys (Alicia seems like a really slow choice for running music, but some of her songs have a very fast beat if you listen for it) UPDATE: replaced with Roxanne by The Police
• I Turn My Camera On; Spoon (I first heard this song on a Jaguar commercial and haven't been able to get it out of my head since, it has an easy beat to match my pace to)
• Four Star songs
• Black Cadillacs; Modest Mouse (Nothing says get your ass in gear like Modest Mouse screaming "Done done done with all the f*** f*** f***ing around")
• Sea Lion Woman; Feist
• Steven's Last Night In Town; Ben Folds Five UPDATE: replaced with Shockwave by Black Tide
• Times Like These; Foo Fighters
• Juicebox; The Strokes (This has become my "passing" song because there is a line in the chorus that screams "Why won't you come over here?" Well, if you won't come over here I'm just going to have to pass you, aren't I?)
• Five Star songs
• I Don't Feel Like Dancin'; Scissor Sister (Because I indeed don't feel like dancing by now) UPDATE: replaced with Stronger by Kanye West
• The Devil Went Down to Georgia; The Charlie Daniels Band (It's cheesy, but it works)
• The Pretender; Foo Fighters (awesome song, it immediately got Five Star designation the first time I heard it)
• Move Along; The All-American Rejects

_______________________

Updated: 6/21

Introducing Liam Grau

I don't think I've brought up the iPod situation before:

About a month ago, when I first broke the 13.1 mile mark, I sat on my iPod Nano. Yes, sat on it. I mean Winston (the name of that iPod) has been through a lot: he's been dropped on asphalt, drenched in sweat, and thrown across a room. But apparently, when you squeeze him between a 185-pound man and a hard plastic subway seat, there is no chance he'll come out alive.

So Winston died after almost two years of abuse. He will be missed. Here is the postmortem picture:



Since then I've had to use Winston's older brother: Isaac. Isaac is my three year old iPod mini who had been retired when I won Winston in a raffle. Isaac is heavy and bulky compared to Winston, but he still plays music. Although I found out on one run that he only has about 1:45 worth of battery life in him. So I've been running these past few weeks pausing my music during the easy parts and playing it during the hard parts.

During this month that I've taken Isaac back from the pasture I've been debating on what new iPod to get. There are the new Nanos: ultra-thin, cool colors, 8GB of memory, and they connect to my Nike+. The draw back is the $250 price for something that I'm going to beat up and sweat all over and most likely have to replace in a year or two (runners are a frugal bunch). But then there is the Shuffle: unbelievably small and compact, with a built in super-strong clip; it only has 1GB of memory, but comes with an equally small price of $79.

Decisions, decisions.

But thanks to my credit card, the decision became very easy. I have a bunch of reward points from my credit card and found out that I could use those points a get a free Shuffle. A free Shuffle or a $250 Nano? Um. I didn't have to do much thinking there.

I placed the order last weekend and the Shuffle arrived on Friday. I've named him Liam Grau. The rationale behind the name? I always give my iPods a full name: the first name is a very intellectual sounding name, because iPods are smart products; the last name is always related to their color. Isaac Verde (verde = green in Spanish), Winston Ecru (ecru is actually off-white, but sounded better than other options), Liam Grau (grau = gray in German).

I went for my first run with him yesterday and it was great (never mind that I didn't have to pause the music to conserve battery life). He was light and clipped right onto my shorts, which meant I didn't have to reach across my chest to fiddle with an upside-down iPod on an armband:



Welcome to the family Liam.

Good to go!

A week from today I'll be running the Long Branch Half-Marathon in Long Branch, NJ. Since it's been about 7 months since I last ran a race I'm a bit out of practice, but after a solid two months of training not only am I back at the level I was at back in September, but I think I might even improve my time. Yesterday I ran an 8-mile loop around Central Park and maintained an 8:30 pace--which is fan-f***ing-tastic because there are some monster hills in Central Park, as opposed to the Long Branch course which is all flat. I'm completely stoked because there is a good chance I could make a PR during this race.

Yesterday I also went through the first of my pre-race rituals: I put together the playlist for my iPod. A week before every race I put together my playlist for the race. The process takes a good hour or so. I start by taking a look at my iTunes library, pick out the best running songs in it, and put them into one playlist. (Normally, I buy several new albums between races.) Then I rate the songs using the stars and the following system:

• 1 star ("inspiration songs") = exciting, super high energy start song to help set the pace
• 2 stars ("transistion songs") = similar to 1 star songs, but just a tiny bit slower to make sure I don't burn out in first half of the race
• 3 stars ("groove songs") = these are the pace songs, they are the slowest in the mix, but they are good for keeping pace and help for the "workhorse" middle portion of a race
• 4 stars ("warning songs") = faster than 3 stars (and kinda like 2 stars), these warn me that I'm close to the end and that I better pick up the pace if I'm behind because the end is around the corner
• 5 stars ("power songs") = the crown jewels of the mix, these push me through the finish line and tell me to start sprinting if I'm not there yet (these can also be called the "oh shit" songs, because they mean "oh shit, I have to haul ass")

After rating all the songs then I sort the list by rating and make sure the songs gel from one to the next and then take it out for a test run. The mix for Long Branch is pretty good, I may end up switching out a song or two, but here's the mix in playing order:

• 1 star section:
• Proud Mary, Tina Turner (always my first song)
• Spirit, Caesars
• Out Here All Night, Damone
• Cubicle, Rinocerose
• Say This Sooner, The Almost
• Heartbreak Stroll, The Raveonettes
• Crankin' Up, Caesars
• 2 stars section:
• Filthy Gorgeous (Extended Original), Scissor Sisters
• Abra Cadaver, The Hives
• Evil and a Heathen, Franz Ferdinand
• Tres Deseos, Gloria Estefan
• Is It Any Wonder?, Keane
• I'm Waiting, The All-American Rejects
• Take Me Out, Franz Ferdinand
• Suddenly I See, KT Tunstall
• 3 stars section:
• Hang Me Up to Dry, Cold War Kids
• SexyBack, Justin Timberlake
• I Like the Way (Radio Edit), Bodyrockers
• I Turn My Camera On, Spoon
• The Fallen, Franz Ferdinand
• Unknown song from my friend
• Freedom 90, George Michael
• Tell Me in the Morning, Cold War Kids
• 11:11 PM, The All-American Rejects
• Lights, Editors
• Rubidoux, Cold War Kids
• 4 stars section:
• It's Not the Fall That Hurts (US Mix), Caesars
• Hey Teacher, Louis XIV
• You Could Have It So Much Better, Franz Ferdinand
• Let's Go Parking Baby, Caesars
• Vertigo, U2
• Two-Timing Touch and Broken Bones, The Hives
• 5 stars section:
• Soulchaser (US Mix), Caesars
• I Don't Feel Like Dancin', Scissor Sisters
• Move Along, The All-American Rejects