Thursday, October 28, 2010

On playlists, pre-race nerves, and the (Washington) Post

There's no denying it-we're in the home stretch.  The Marine Corps Marathon starts in less than three days (courtesy of the stress-inducing countdown that we've managed to ignore for the past few months as the number fell inexorably lower), and both Monica and I are in the last stage of our taper--the part that comes with all the nerves and apparently a feeling of being overstuffed thanks to our new glycogen reserves.  Hot.

There are no doubt thousands of articles, blogs, and seasoned runners willing to provide advice on how to combat the intense stress we're going through now, but true to style, I'd rather stay calm through a series of distractions and occasionally reminding myself that we have trained for this and will be fine.  Our last long run we did together (16 miles a few weeks ago) was fantastically reassuring and steady at a 10 min/mile pace, and provided a big enough boost in confidence that despite my necessary downtime to let my muscles get their act together (thanks, plantar fasciitis) I feel like I'll be fine. 

This is good, because almost all of the articles about the MCM that we've seen over the past week or so (Monica's mother has been sending her basically everything she sees, which is lovely) have somehow managed to mention the fact that some people don't finish the race (see the Post's article entitled Not everyone will finish the Marine Corps Marathon. That's what makes it a race. Seriously guys? Not helping). 


We've been reminded multiple times about the most difficult parts of the race: the Gauntlet at mile 17.5 and "Beating the Bridge" at mile 20.  Both are based around a 14 min/mile pace, and are meant to clear runners off of the roads in time to open them up for traffic.  Runners have to pass the Gauntlet around the foot of the Washington Monument or else face being detoured (basically, you skip a loop of the Mall).  However, if you don't Beat the Bridge (make it across the 14th St Bridge) at the same 14 min/mile pace, you'll be put on a stragglers bus and shipped to the finish line.  Both of these cutoffs mean that you technically don't finish the Marathon. 

So in order to psych ourselves up to pass both of these tests and complete the Marathon at our reasonable-yet-slightly-ambitious 10 min/mile pace, I've turned to distractions--my favorite way of coping with stress.  The first necessary distraction was making my marathon playlist.  Now, I'm kind of experienced at making playlists (aw, now I have to add a "shameless plug" tag), so this theoretically shouldn't be too hard.  There is, however, a slight science to music and running.  Researchers have tried to link beats per minute to performance, but most of the conclusions in what I've seen have indicated that creating the perfect race playlist is a personal experience largely based on attachments to certain songs and the feelings and motivations you get from listening to anything under the sun.  Basically, if you experience positive emotions hearing a song, no matter what the tempo/key/lyrics, it will trigger happy signals in your brain that will counter the "OMGWTFAREYOUDOINGTOME" that your body will be trying to overwhelm you with.

A couple days and a long time on GrooveShark later, I had 7 hours of music--a bit too much, even for my conservative finishing estimates.  Luckily, since most of it was made by dumping huge swaths of music into a list at a time, it now stands at about 5 hours, including a separate playlist for the last 6 miles--arguably the hardest (thanks Apple, for shuffles with playlist capabilities!). It's linked if you're interested, but most of this should be pretty predictable if you know my taste in music.  I'll throw Monica into the spotlight for her playlist as well (love you!). 

I should note that many races discourage iPods for safety reasons, but at this point you'll find few people who actually follow that suggestion.  There will be entertainment on the course for the runners (including the GU Pep Band! I hope they take requests...), but it will not be enough for me.  If you're spectating, Crystal City seems to be the place where the most fan entertainment will be--you might want to check it out!  A note of caution though--Crystal City is in the last 6 miles, so if you're planning on meeting your runners at the finish, you might have to hustle on over. 

And finally, a recently-discovered surprise distraction (which also merits a "crazy" tag on this post): Monica and I will both be live-blogging the marathon as we're running it.  Technically we're live-micro-blogging it on Twitter, but eh.  The Washington Post has asked runners to submit photos and tweets to its special MCM section, and they'll be putting up submissions that are GPS tagged along a virtual course map.  Being who we are, we both decided to participate (Monica found it first, to her credit, and has let me join in on the fun/distractions).  So, lucky readers, even if you will not be making the trek down to DC with us, you'll be able to follow us on race day as we spazz out, stop to take pictures of Monica thugging out at the Gauntlet (because obviously this will be happening, now we just have an audience), and cross the finish line.  If the Post thing falls through, here's mine and here's Monica's

If you ARE joining us, it might be worth signing up to follow one or both of us via text messages on Twitter, as the MCM has discontinued its text update service in favor of a (paid) iPhone app.  That way, you'll be able to know when we're heading towards the finish. 

Before I wrap up, just want to give a quick shoutout to Tim and Derek, who'll be running the Marine Corps 10K at the same time as us.  The course basically tracks the last 6 miles of the marathon, and ends up at Iwo Jima.  I can definitely say it's a great race, since the two times I've done it led me to sign up for the marathon this year.  Good luck guys!

To finish, here's a bit of sap for you: this has been one of the most frustrating, difficult, and rewarding experiences of my life, and I've gotten nothing but support from all of you (and the occasional "are you insane", but that's ok).  Despite how nervous I am, I am so excited to see you all at the finish line! A special thanks goes to Monica, the best running partner ever.

6 comments:

  1. Here's my bet: you guys will not only finish the race, but actually kick its ass. GOOD LUCK!!! Sounds like you're physically AND musically prepped. :)

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  2. Obviously I shall say in person too, but you guys are going to rock it Sunday! Enjoy your final carbo-loading days and try to have fun?

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  3. You'll be fine! Honestly, I ran Paris last year and once you start, you dont even ever let yourself think about not finishing, you're just focused on the next mile...or ten! Good Luck and let me know how you do! Biz,
    Pat

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  4. You know, Kim, I'm a bit surprised at the live blogging. I know Monica can't let her Blackberry out of her hands, but I wasn't expecting you to be in on it! However, it's a fantastic idea, and I'm sad I won't get a chance to haggle you girls during the run.

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  5. Maddie--Thanks dear! We'll let you know how we do, for sure.

    Em--YAY should about cover it. See you either late Sunday or early Monday! I might be curled up downstairs unable to climb up to our apt.

    Pat--I think we'll be fine, it's just nervewracking at this point, which I'm sure you can relate to. Are you still in Lille?

    Dasha--I mean...I'm kind of a phone addict as well, I just hide it better than Monica. I also think that it's a good idea to give everyone who wants to know an idea of how we're doing, and it also means we'll have a set of pictures that we actually wanted taken! Besides, iPhone cameras > BB cameras. I had to do it!

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  6. Kim - Can't wait to hear your playlist! I need some good motivational music!

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