My Half-Assed Half Marathon

I’m getting a jump start Saturday night. As with all my training plans, which pretty much went out the window months ago, I’ve taken a half-assed approach to my musical accompaniment for the Run Galesburg Run Half Marathon Express.

Finish strong!

Long ago I thought it would be brilliant to create a playlist for this run, rather than trust to the whim of fate to motivate me through songs on shuffle. I was inspired with a few songs I wanted on the list for sure: Catch My Disease, Gonna Make You Sweat, Shoot to Thrill (my chosen finish song, if it works that way, thanks to “Iron Man”). So I started the list. Then I let it slide. It’s not that I forgot about it, I just didn’t bother to put any effort into it when I had time to craft and create.

The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don't wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules. – Rob Gordon, “High Fidelity”

So here I am the night before piecing together my playlist. I don’t really rely on the music tempo for my running pace, so I select songs I like and try to have a mix of styles and tempos, avoiding jazz, classical and instrumentals in general. So after the early inspirations, I added a handful from other mixes I’ve used while running; favorites like “Roll With the Changes” and “Caught Up In You.” Then I had a flash of brilliance and searched my iTunes library (the small one, not the mega-library) for songs with “run” in them. Several of those I interspersed throughout the list.

I took a tour through the titles to pair up a few for fun – “Running From An Angel” and “Runnin’ With The Devil,” “I Want Your Sex” and “Tell It to My Heart” – a gimmick I stole from my music maven buddy Kent Kriegshauser. Clever stuff. Three times I changed my lead song, eventually landing on James McMurtry’s aptly titled “Off And Running.” After it happened by chance last year at the Railroad Days 10K, I decided “Shoot To Thrill” is a kick-ass finisher, chiefly because of the “Iron Man” connection. Then I thought it would be wishful thinking or irony to add a post script: “(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life.”

Of course, the finale depends on my pace and survival. I threw in “Walk Like An Egyptian” but it may play before I feel the need to walk. Hell, I may not feel the need to walk. We shall see. (Yes, this is weird writing a running blog in advance of the run. Just trying to get a start; I have to write a story/column for the paper after the race, so I have a lot on my plate.)

Race Day

Woke naturally at 5:36, 9 minutes before my first alarm was set to sound. My whole body was a jangly bundle of nerves. I tried to relax. It kinda worked. When the alarm blared, I reached behind me to silence it, thought about trying to doze a little longer (I had, after all, set a backup) but thought better of it and sat up.

Checked Facebook – pix and posts of race preparation and encouragement from organizers and friends for all the runners/walkers. The real booster came in an email from a friend:

Best of luck to you today-good weather so far! Just take it one mile at a time. Don't worry about your pace-just keep it steady. Keep your shoulders and arms loose and don't lift your legs when you get tired. That only expends energy. Breathe and listen to music so you don't freak out by the sound of your breathing. Stay hydrated. Finish. You will finish! Go go go!!

Time to prepare…

And now it is nighttime. My thoughts are collected in the newspaper story, which you can read here. So I’ll make just a few notes about the day. Read Mat Wheaton's story and Matt Dutton's story, too.

I was a member of the Acapulco restaurant race team – 25 runners in matching high-vis yellow-green T-shirts that read on the front:

At Acapulco Restaurant

We serve authentic food…

We make excellent margaritas…

We give great service…

AND WE RUN

My shirt now has a nickel-sized blood stain where my right nipple chafed. R-M photographer John Williams had great fun grossing out photo editor Steve Davis repeatedly with photos that showed the stain.

 

Elvith extends greetings as we pass at a turnaround.

Acapulco owner Elvith Santoyo was the only other team member to run the half and she finished well ahead of me (she’s half my age and I’m fat). I did get to see her during the run on a turnaround in a residential cul-de-sac outside of town. She smiled, shouted and waved, always encouraging. (Amendment: city streets supervisor Justin McNaught also ran the half as part of Team Acapulco. And he bested Elvith's time, leaving me in third place among our group. Oh well. Props to Justin. I see he was also smart enough to take advantage of post-race therapy, so he's probably less sore.)

Thanks, Elvith and Acapulco for the sponsorship – paid half my race fee and provided the ultra-cool shirt (my sis informed me at the finish it is her favorite color).

Somewhere around the 4- or 5-mile mark (I have no idea of miles until I hit the halfway point) I was struck with a shooting zinger along the bottom of my right foot straight into my second toe. The zingers continued for at least a few hundred yards before subsiding, but they returned twice. I was seriously fearful the feeling would become debilitating and force me to forfeit my goal of finishing. Thankfully that didn’t happen. And I never walked, though I considered it in the final mile and a half, as I hit the Farnham Street bridge. 

Everybody wears colorful shoes and clothes at races, but the best bit today was a trio of women whose shoes were adorned with little Mercury-like wings. “They’re called Schwings,” one of the women informed me when I was admiring them and pointing them out to my running buddy Ellen. Looked ’em up online and they’re not expensive; might have to get a pair of those.

Twice I found myself relatively alone, separated from the pack with only a few runners behind me. It was a weird sensation. (Mum, you’ll note I spelled weird correctly there.) The second time that happened was on the return route, in town, and I worried momentarily that I’d taken a wrong turn, which would be hard to do with all the great volunteers helping along the route. I was reassured when, to my surprise, I spotted a lone spectator whom I recognized as my friend Barb, who’d come down from Alexis to yell at, er, for me (her words). Apparently she caught me around the 7-mile mark, too, but I did not see her then. My pace was slow enough that she walked along with me a bit and we chatted briefly. Thanks for the support, B.

The final surprise(s) came at the finish. Near the end my playlist hit upon a couple of songs chosen solely for their run-titles: “Long May You Run” by Neil Young and “The Long Run” by The Eagles. They were too slow and I was too near the end so I skipped both tracks. That brought me to “Beer Run” by Garth Brooks, apropos given that the after-party was hosted by Budde’s Pizza and American Craft Beer, one of my favorite hangouts. That allowed for the perfect timing of “Shoot to Thrill” as I turned on my Iron Man afterburners in the final block and a half.

I finished 5 minutes faster than my secret goal, which was awesome. And cheering at the finish as the announcer called my name over the P.A. were my dad and my sister. Sis recognized me first; Dad said I looked shorter and he didn’t know I’d put on weight (see my gut in the accompanying photos – that’s what he patted when he said, “I didn’t realize you had this.”). My youngest daughter showed up a little late, but thoughtfully bearing Cliff granola bars and a water bottle, though she figured I probably had water.

Though I am no star runner – yes, I’ll accept the label of runner now – I may have been the most photographed individual of the day. Having committed to writing a first-person story for The Register-Mail Sports Department, I needed a photo of me to go with the words. So all three R-M photogs – Steve Davis, John Williams and Bill Nice – had lenses trained on me. Add to that freelancer Kent Kriegshauser and his cohort Bill Gaither, both former R-M photogs and tops in the biz, and I was targeted by five pros today. Almost makes me feel like a pro – or a little narcissistic and self-conscious. If you want photos from the run (I’m sure I have adoring fans), you can order prints from Kent Kriegshauser Photography.

Lastly, I want to give a huge shout-out and thank you to race organizers Dave Dunn and Natalie Kessler of Dave’s Auto Body and Nick and Tracy Pigg of Go Outside and Play RunningCo. and all the volunteers – roughly 200 of them – for a quality, kick-ass event. Well done. And props to Budde’s for the after-party. Love you all.    

Obligatory ponytail shot. She was my early
motivation. I passed her, then she passed me.

Today's Stats

Temp: 59 degrees F

Distance: 13.1 miles (I think it's time for bumper stickers!)

Weekly Total: 27.65 miles (my all-time high)

Treasure: Saw a sweatshirt with a bib still attached, which I left, and a headband I should have picked up but did not.

Race Stats

Chip time: 2:33:48.

Overall: 179th out of 195

Division (men’s 40-49): 24th out of 25

Gender: 99th out of 104

Pace: 11.45

6.5 mile time: 1:13:39

Pace: 11:15

Bib: 158

Weight: 212 (207 after)

iPod Playlist (Half Marathon Playlist):

Off And Running – James McMurtry

Catch My Disease – Ben Lee

Move On Up – Curtis Mayfield

Gonna Make You Sweat(Everybody Dance Now) – C+C Music Factory

Born To Run – Bruce Springsteen

Facts of Life – Billy Squier

Just Like a Pill – Pink

All Your Reasons – Matchbox Twenty

Save A Horse/Ride A Cowboy (Dance Mix) – Big and Rich

Fireflies – Owl City

Bitch – Meredith Brooks

Streetcorner Symphony – Rob Thomas

Hung Up On You – Fountains Of Wayne

College Days – The Great Divide

You Run – The Call

Roll With The Changes – REO Speedwagon

Hungry Like The Wolf – Duran Duran

Come Running – Van Morrison

She’s A Runner – Billy Squier

Caught Up In You - .38 Special

Trampled Under Foot – Led Zeppelin

Live Like We’re Dying – Kris Allen

Run Like Hell – Pink Floyd

Walk Like An Egyptian – The Bangles

She’s A Beauty – The Kinks

Running From An Angel – Hootie & The Blowfish

Runnin’ With TheDevil – Van Halen

How Far We’ve Come – Matchbox Twenty

I Want Your Sex (Parts 1&2) – George Michael

Tell It To My Heart – Taylor Dayne

I Don’t Wanna – The Call

Runnin Down a Dream – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Never Gonna Give You Up – Rick Astley

Run So Far – George Harrison

Long May You Run – Neil Young (Skipped)

The Long Run – The Eagles (Skipped)

Beer Run – Garth Brooks

Shoot To Thrill – AC/DC (Finished early in this one.)

(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life – Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes