My Soundtrack and My Goals for Gansett

Thus far, this week has been the complete opposite of last week. My crabby, depressed, anxiousness has turned into confidence, excitement, and optimism. It's been such a relief to shake off the dark cloud I felt like I had hanging over me, and feel happy about running and hitting the starting line at Gansett.

That being said, I haven't run very much this week at all. I was planning on doing my final track workout on Tuesday, but my sore butt and hips were sending me a different message. So I skipped it and went for a walk at the beach with Carmine instead, and I'm so glad I did. I felt very stiff and achy when I first started walking, but when I was done, I felt great, and have continued to feel better since then.

I hate skipping any workout on a training plan, and it's especially tough during taper, when you feel like you're barely training at all, but I know full well that not running those six 200-m intervals will have absolutely zero affect on my race.

To remind myself of that, I flipped back through my training log and looked at all the workouts I have done over the past 16 weeks. That's where my race is going to come from - not this week - and it was really encouraging to see in black and white how much work I've put into this. I know it will pay off.

I did get in my final training run today, and the tightness was still there, but it was much less pronounced, and went away much quicker once I was warmed up. I know I'm probably going to need some PT and several chiropractor visits to get this all sorted out once the race is over, but I also know that once I drop back to a more normal training schedule, I probably won't even have to worry about it.

And the good news is that today's run was awesome!  I felt such a burst of energy, and had trouble keeping myself to just 3.5 miles, and staying at a moderate pace. That's the kind of run I've been waiting for for such a long, long time - the kind of run that makes you remember why you love to run, and makes you believe that you can do just about anything that you set your mind to. It's been a long time since I've had one of those runs, and having it today - two days before race day - was pretty perfect timing.

One of the things that's kept me busy this week (besides eating lots of carbs) was finalizing my playlist. I will be seeing a few familiar faces out on the course, but much of it will be a solitary endeavor for me, so having my music is going to be really important.

It wasn't easy coming up with another huge playlist, though, as I was getting kind of sick of some of the music I listened to training for and running Hartford. I did a lot of searching, and found lots of great songs through the playlists that the fabulous ladies at Run Like A Mother have shared on iTunes. And like all my playlists, there's a little bit of everything in here - even kids' music. As I've said before, nothing is off limits if it keeps me moving through 26.2 miles.

So here's what I'll be listening to as I run Gansett in TWO DAYS!!!!!!!

The Sound of Sunshine - Michael Franti & Spearhead - super fun, upbeat way to head out down Ocean Road

Beauty in the World - Macy Gray

Stone in Love - Journey

Where the Streets Have No Name - U2

Calamity Song - The Decemberists

Section 9 (Light & Day / Reach for the Sun) - The Polyphonic Spree

Wide Open Spaces - Dixie Chicks - this was on my playlist when I ran my first half-marathon in 2 hours and 14 minutes, 5 years ago. Never did I imagine then that I'd one day be aiming for a 3:40 marathon - but here I am : )

Hey, Soul Sister - Train

Closer to Fine - Indigo Girls

Rain King - Counting Crows

I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas - one of Dante's favorites

No Bad News - Patty Griffin

Don't Turn Out the Lights - NKOTBSB - embarrassing, yes, but also has a great beat for getting your feet moving

...Baby One More Time - Britney Spears - like I said, it takes a little bit of everything to get through 26.2 miles

Basket Case - Green Day

Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall - Coldplay

Don't Stop Believin' - Journey

Bad Romance - Lady Gaga

Mr. Brightside - The Killers

Under Pressure - Queen & David Bowie

O-O-H Child - The Five Stairsteps - so I can try to trick myself into thinking that "...things are gonna get easier....."

Brighter Than the Sun - Colbie Caillat

Something That I Want - Grace Potter

Single Ladies - Beyonce

American Idiot - Green Day

Pony (It's OK) - Erin McCarley

Firework - Katy Perry

Set Fire to the Rain - ADELE

Let It Grow (Celebrate the World) - Ester Dean - fun song from The Lorax - thanks to Gabe for discovering this one for me!

The Lucky Ones - Brendan James

Happy Hour - The Housemartins

Lose Yourself - Eminem

If It's Love - Train

Without You - David Guetta & Usher

Dynamite - Taio Cruz

Sing - My Chemical Romance

We Are the Champions - Queen

Loser Like Me - Glee Cast

Move Along - The All-American Rejects

The Middle - Jimmy Eat World

Tonight Tonight - Hot Chelle Rae

Hollaback Girl - Gwen Stefani

Eye of the Tiger - Survivor

Viva la Vida - Coldplay

Another One Bites the Dust - Queen

I Wanna Be Sedated - Ramones

My Body - Young the Giant

Dog Days Are Over - Florence + The Machine

Fly - Nicki Minaj & Rihanna

Brian Wilson - Barenaked Ladies

Raise Your Glass - Pink

We Found Love - Rihanna

Where We Belong - Thriving Ivory - love the lyrics to this one - "Hearts racing like a rocket at the speed of light, Don't fight it we've been running for far too long, We're going back where we belong"

Tik Tok - Ke$ha

Let It Grow - The Lorax Singers - I've been listening to this in the car with the boys constantly the past few weeks - the three crazy little boys whose faces I'll be seeing just moments later as I cross the finish line - no better way to inspire me to keep putting one foot in front of the other

Here's To Us - Halestorm - I always like to finish with an anthem-y type of song, and this is the one that's clicking for me right now, so there you go

 

This playlist is actually a few minutes shorter than what I anticipate my race time to be, because I know that I am going to have at least a few spectators at the finish line - Scott, my three little guys, my parents (who are driving up nearly 2 hours to see me finish, for which I am eternally grateful), and a close friend and her family - and I want to hear them cheering, so my iPod will be turned off before I head into that final stretch.

In some ways I feel like I've been waiting eons for this day, and in other ways I feel like I can't believe it's already here.

Bib numbers for the race are assigned by qualifying time, and mine is 44 (out of 55 females). As I've gotten faster over the past few years, I've gotten used to being toward the front of the pack at races, or at least usually in the middle. But this time around, I'm going to be bringing up the rear!

I'm fine with that, though. I earned my spot fair and square, and I'm proud to be running this race at all. I may be in the back of the pack, but two years ago, I wouldn't have been able to even be in the pack.

My main goal is to enjoy this race, but of course I have time goals, too!

My "Everything Went Perfect And I Nailed It" goal is 3:38

My "Not Quite My Day, But Still Pretty Awesome" goal is 3:40

My "Did My Best And I'm Happy With That" goal is anything under 3:43:12

But no matter where I am, and how long it takes me to finish, it's going to be a great day : )

Comments

[tricia]

I love seeing other peoples sound tracks, thanks for sharing!

[Nicole]

Love the playlist! You are gonna rock Gansett!

[Laura]

Great playlist! I was just working on one for spinning classes as it looks like I may start teaching in the next month or so (my training is in two weeks) and I am using a lot of these songs, too. GOOD LUCK! Can't wait to hear all about it!

[Michelle]

Thanks all!!!!