Soundtrack for St George - Into the Mystic

 What I love most about running is that a successful and  sustainable practice requires the necessity of engaging with, and eventually transcending an untold variety of contradictions. These contradictions all require balancing the joy of being present in the moment alongside the importance of respecting what the consequences of what our momentary impulses may bring, They include physical contradictions ( such as, comfort and discomfort, pain and pleasure, activity and recovery, health and injury), and more abstract or cognitive contradictions such as happiness and suffering, the mystical and the mundane, the absurd and the practical,  and finally that of self-indulgence against the awe of dissolving the self into the outside world.

These contradictions can play out in the short-term or over the long haul of a running practice, but when it comes to running there is nothing that more directly points out the importance of transcending these contradictions than a marathon race. Too much much momentary joy and too much ego-indulgence in the early parts of marathon race without the foresight to properly gauge ones limitations are sure to lead to what feels like a death march of suffering in the late stages the race. I know this well from past experience, and yet it remains a deceivingly difficult concept to employ in the moment.

With this in mind I have put together a soundtrack I will listen to during my up coming marathon in St George both to inspire and to remind. It is difficult to translate for a non-marathoner the experience of running a marathon so I am hoping the use of music and lyrics will help me in that translation. First I will present a fictional pre-race visualization of how I hope it goes. After the race I will present a slightly less fictionalized account ( since the language will under-describe the experience) :)

Unfortunately I developed a high hamstring issue during my taper. I was afraid I might not be able to run a complete race, but as it turned out I was able to adopt a slightly shorter stride and ran a pretty decent race. All post race additions will be in blue.

Waiting In a Chilled Darkness

The race begins at 6:45 am on the day of daylight savings change in Utah, and sunrise is not until about 7:30. I will be taking a 4am shuttle (equivalent to 2am Los Angeles time the day before) to the race starting point. This will leave about 1 hour and 40 minutes to wait for the race to begin. In this time period as I contemplate comedian Steven Wights one liner 'what is the speed of dark?' I will be listening to a classical music playlist that includes Beethoven's 9th, Bach's Brandenburg concerto, Vivaldi's 4 seasons, Tchaikovsky's  1812 overture, and Copeland's fanfare for the common man. I find each of these pieces to be simultaneously stirring and calming to various degrees which should create a nice mood for race preparation.

Miles 1 to 3 - (planned pace=7:56 Minutes Per Mile )
                       Actual pace=8:12 Minutes Per Mile )

It was apparent early on I would need to change plans as I was having hamstring pain from the outset and the first 3 miles were 16 seconds per mile slower than originally planned.
 
Van Morrison - is a long time favorite of mine. I haven't listened to him much in recent years so it was great fun re-connecting as I put this soundtrack together. The first track (Wild Night (youtube)) is a great one to get the mind and body moving as suggested in the lyric:

"And everything looks so complete, when you're walkin' out on the street
And the wind catches your feet, sends you flyin', cryin'
 Ooo-woo-wee! Wild night is calling,"

I think the 2nd track (Into The Mystic (youtube)) will capture the uncertainty that envelops the beginning of any marathon, especially one that begins running into pure darkness.

If their were two artists I could pick whose music brought forth within me feelings of pure joy it would be the great trumpeters Clifford Brown and Luis Armstrong. Track 3 is Browns' moving performance of 'A Night in Tunisia' (youtube)  . This live performance is bittersweet as it would be his last. Brown only 25, would not survive a car crash traveling in a rain storm between this gig and his next. This song always reminds me both of life's beauty and it's impermanence, and I always find it a privilege to experience the enduring gifts Brown left behind that live on.

Louis Armstrong - Stardust (youtube)

Miles 3 to 6 Planned Pace - (3-6=7:46 cumulative=7:51 Minutes Per Mile )
                      Actual  Pace - (3-6=7:56 cumulative=8:03 Minutes Per Mile )

 I settled into a somewhat better groove in this downhill stretch, still however 10 seconds below my planned pace for the section. My average HR for this section was 153 BPM which was higher than I wanted and a cause for concern. My shortened stride produced a higher cadence than usual (184 steps per minute at this point). This may have led to some decreased efficiency and possibly could explain the higher than expected HR., but this stride was really my only option.

Now well settled into the race after a brief celebration of the moon (Van Morrison - Moondance)

"Well, it's a marvelous night for a Moondance
......'Neath the cover of October skies....."

It is time time to take a nutrition gel and check myself so that I don't get to carried away with the surging endorphins. and quikened pace on this downhill section.

 Kurt Elling is  a personal favorite, and in my estimation the greatest vocalist of my generation. This next track of his 'Night Dreamer (youtube)'  always reminds me of the concept behind a tai chi movement I teach known as 'Lotus Sweep'. The meaning is that 'the calm is master of the overactive' which relates to finding stillness within activity. The eye of a hurricane is a good image for this concept. Here is part of Elling's Lyric that also conects to this meaning:

"I once was apprenticed to a man who was living
in the eye of the hurricane to know despair,

He knew all the dreams by heart just like sailing in a boat of
crystal silence seeing visions of the world of life within a life.
.......whirling it and swirling it and twirling it and hurling it
and overturning it and burning it again.

I shared a whirling dervish out on the side of a hill called metaphore
......And when he spoke to me he sang and his words really rang -
this child of the knowledge of the beauty of the night"

Nina Simone's haunting 'Black is the Color of my True Love's Hair  follows:

and then Elling again, this time with 'My Foolish Heart

"The night is like a lovely tune
Beware, my foolish heart
How white, the ever constant moon
Take care, my foolish heart

There's a line between love and fascination
That's hard to see, on an evening such as this
For they both give the very same sensation
When you're lost in the madness of a kiss" or a marathon :)

To experience a joyful marathon one must run the line with awareness of eventual physiological constraints which includes limiting the heart rate from rising too high too early in race. In this way paradoxically, freedom emerges from an understanding of constraint. I check to make sure my beats per minute stay below 147 at this stage.

Miles 6 to 9 Planned pace - ( 6-9=8:21, cumulative=8:01 Minutes Per Mile)
                       Actual pace - ( 6-9=8:38, cumulative=8:15 Minutes Per Mile )

This section includes a big hill and with my HR higher than hoped (154 for this stretch), I adjusted my pace accordingly.

Here I sneak in Carmen McCray singing Thelonius Monk's classic 'Round Midnight (youtube),' mostly because I just like it. The darkness is beginning to give way to tsunrise, and for the first time a horizon becomes visible. So appropriately the next track is Sun Ra's 'New Horizon (youtube)'. There is a significant hill climb between mile7 and mile 8, and I figured Ella Fitzgerald's light and energizing 'How High the Moon would be a nice distraction.

As the steepest climb has been ascended  what could be more apt then John Coltrane's majestic 'Softly as in a Morning Sunrise (youtube)' ?

Miles 9 to 12- Planned pace ( 9-12=8:29, cumulative=8:08 Minutes Per Mile) 
                           Actual pace ( 9-12=8:51, cumulative=8:16 Minutes Per Mile )

During this uphill section of rolling hills I stabilized my HR at 153 BPM, but this required some additional decrease in pace (22 seconds per mile for the section)

Miles 9 through 12 are characterized by the rolling Veyo hills and the emergence of daytime so I change the tempo a bit with some classic rock & roll starting off with Bruce Springsteen with 'Born to Run (live version)' and then 'Darkness on the Edge of Town (live version)', followed by Jackson Browne with 'Running on Empty (live version).'

"In 69 I was 21 and I called the road my own
I don't know when that road turned into the one I'm on....
running on empty, running blind...running into the sun but I'm running behind"

After mile 12 it is pretty much downhill, so I salute to the altitude after the climb and before the descent with Flora Purim and Return to Forever and Chick Corea's  '500 miles high (youtube)'

Miles 12 to 15- Planned pace ( 12-15=7:46, cumulative=8:03 Minutes Per Mile )
                          Actual pace ( 12-15=8:12, cumulative=8:22 Minutes Per Mile )

At this point in the race I knew I was not going to BQ and felt the priority was to keep my hamstring safe and my HR at 153 or lower. This required another additional decrease in pace ( now 26 seconds per mile for the section)

Mile 12 to 13 is a very slight downhill and I ease in to the halfway point of the race with BB King's - 'The Thrill is Gone' (youtube live with Bobby Blue Bland) in which his guitar belies the tracks title.

I fall into a nice downhill pace in stride with John Coltrane's Classic- Giant Steps (youtube), and once I find this new pace I am able to better appreciate the surrounding beauty while Kurt Elling sings 'Nature Boy'  must listen to 3:50 to 5:10 and 8:10 to 9:10

The downhill steepens between miles 14 and 15 and Mose Allison's 'Cruise Control' provides a reminder that while the downhill feels great at the moment there is plenty of race in front of me.
Again I summon Kurt Elling to help find this balance with his 'Eye of the Hurricane' (youtube).

"Dreaming you meet yourself, Broken open living free"

Miles 15 to 18- Planned pace ( 15-18=7:45, cumulative=8:00 Minutes Per Mile )
                            Actual pace ( 15-18=8:09, cumulative=8:20 Minutes Per Mile )

I was feeling pretty good for most of this section and my HR was maintained at 153 for the past 9 miles. Near mile 18 however I started to feel a sharp abdominal pain from too much GU without enough water to digest it properly.
This fast  section may include some of the most important miles of the race. It will be very important to maintain good downhill running form while maintaining a peaceful inner calm.

Next is Grant Green's crystal clear  toned guitar backed by John Coltrane's brilliant longtime piano player McCoy Tyner on Green's version of 'My Favorite Things (youtube). Followed by Van Mor;rison's beautiful title track from the crtically acclaimed album Astral Weeks (youtube). Bob Dylan's alltime classic finish' Like a Rollin Stone (youtbe)'  helps me roll through mile 18.

Miles 18 to 21- Planned pace ( 18-21=7:50, cumulative=7:59 Minutes Per Mile )
                          Actual pace ( 18-21=8:32, cumulative=8:22 Minutes Per Mile )

 I was feeling substantial abdominal pain for miles 18-20 and had to drop my pace accordingly. Having hit the wall at this stage in prior marathons I thought it could be happening yet again. I didn't hear much of the Hemdrix sequence but do remember focusing on the idea of the impermanence of the pain as 'Catlse made of sand played'. 'Castles made of sand fade into the sea..eventually', and so was the case with my pain which began to lift with  Curtis Mayfields  'Little child running wild'. 

Somewhere on this portion of the race I will come to a clearer understanding of my chances to acheive a Boston marathon qualifying time. Musicaly the section starts off with 3 tunes by the incomparable Jimi Hendrix.  The first two are slower tempo, beautify wistful, and melodic, peices and include his tribute to idealized femine energy in 'Little Wing' (youtube)
, and his touching ode to impermanence 'Castles made of sand' (youtube). I finish my hendrix tribute with 'All along the Watchtower' (youtube) which was ranked number 47 on rolling stones all time rock song list.

I love Curtis Mayfield's soudtrack to the movie 'Superfly' and it works well to acompany running so I sneak 3 tunes in here including 'Little Child Running Wild' (youtube), 'Pusherman (youtube), and Superfly (youtube).

Miles 21 to 24- Planned pace ( 21-24=7:54, cumulative=7:58 Minutes Per Mile )
                          Actual pace ( 21-24=8:15, cumulative=8:21 Minutes Per Mile )

 Unlike in prior marathons I was able to pick up the pace in these difficult late stage miles which felt good (psychologically). My HR climbed to 160 by mile 24 which I knew I could not sustain for long but I figured only a bit over 2 miles left so not a time to hold back anything.
Hopefully a combination of soul & blues will aid me through the most  challenging portion of the race by embracing the inevitable mental physical pain that is likely to present itself. I also interject some humor between the blues with the tracks by Mose Allison and Kurt elling.

Otis Redding has a way of penetrating deep into ones emotions acknowledging lifes pains but somehow always grounded in a sense of hope. His  'Pain in My Heart' (youtube) is then lightened up with Mose Allison's humorous  'You Call it Joggin (youtube live version).

 A little bit of macho man blues next with the great Howlin Wolf and 'Tail Dragger' (youtube).

Kurt Elling's  'Endless' (youtube) feels perfect here as he lets loose an an extemporaneous word association that is simultanepusly non-sensical and hilarious:

"trees and breasts and atoms, oxygen, oxygen and plants.........ICE CREAM!!.........."

 For me I think it captures the absuridty of this section of a marathon with the random thoughts that tend to cross ones mind. Next back to reality with the king of the delta blues Robert Johnson and Hellound on my Trail  (youtube)

"Got to keep movin, Got to keep movin, Blues falling down like hail...
and the day keeps on winding with a hell-hound on my trail....."

 Van Morrison's uplifting 'St. Dominicks Preview' (youtube) gears me up for the finish.

Miles 24 to 26.2- Planned pace ( 24-26.2=8:02, final=7:59 Minutes Per Mile )
                               Actual pace ( 24-26.2=8:33, final=8:22Minutes Per Mile)
Final Time 3:39:34

The last mile was pretty tough, it was warm and I was spent. Despite a bit slower than the original plan I felt good about my race execution, and my capacity to maintain a relatively high HR throughout the race. It was a substantial PR, yet I feel I can go faster so we will see if can follow through on that sense in my next race ( likely May 2015).
The finish line is now close enough to provide extra motivation. Excitement and fatigue are entangled and Kurt Elling 's  esoteric lyric from 'Tanya Jean' captures the moment well.

            "'Come dancing with me in a little dream, Tanya Jean',
              Said Prophet-Man-With-One-Hand-Put-Away.......

'My friend, take your practiced powers and stretch them across the  void until everything living has a chance to ponder every contradiction.

that might be everyone's Doable mission.....................Hermann Hesse said it:

'You'll search for truth among The planets and never find a truer voice
than that Voice which is calling it out to you – calling you to......Go dance in the whirlwind.' For those who have heard It, .............
.............It's saying, 'Go moaning and groaning, alone-ing.
Go Rolling on the breast of earth......Pow! Poof.
The dreaming was over. But Prophet-Man had Put mind into motion:'"

A potential BQ time ( <3 hr 30 minutes ) may be possible and I dig deep as suggested by
Van Morrison's 'Listen to the Lion' (youtube)

The result ???? 

Final Time 3:39:34