It's Thursday morning and I'm feeling good. The cold is still there, but it's lower-grade (so far!) than the one I had back in March for the Boulder Spring Half. For the pace group situation, I'm leaning toward starting with the 3:50 group to preserve my quads. But I'll hopefully get to talk to someone at the expo about this before making up my mind definitively.
I've got my playlist for those last eight miles. Here it is, with commentary. It's about 90 minutes, hopefully way more than I will need. I know I'm really nerdy when it comes to music, but it works for me. I'm not sure about the order yet. I'll probably play with that some.
"Take Me Home Country Roads"--John Denver (always have to start with this song)
"Private Conversation"--Lyle Lovett
"Down By the Water"--Decemberists
"Let It Will Be"--Madonna ("just watch me burn")
"(Let Your Mind Be) Free"--DJ Quicksilver
"Sandstorm"--Da Rude
"Roses Are Red"--Aqua
"Can't Let Go"--Lucinda Williams
"Rox in the Box"--Decemberists
"Lift Me Up"--Moby
"Roll Away Your Stone"--Mumford & Sons
"I Get Knocked Down, But I Get Up Again"--Chumbawamba
"Americano"--Brian Setzer Orchestra
"Goody Two Shoes"--Adam Ant
"Wild Wild Life"--Talking Heads
"Learning to Live"--by Unknown (I got this alt-country sounding song off a mix CD that Will & Ruth got as a party favor at a 5-YO birthday party; I need to ask Zander's mom about it; couldn't find it on YouTube; it's awesome though)
"The One I Love"--David Gray
"The People's Limousine"--Elvis Costello (Dan loves Elvis Costello and I know thinking of Dan at this point will give me a lift)
"Lost in My Mind"--The Head & the Heart (new song I just heard on the radio the other day; sounds like a road trip song)
"Africa"--Toto (more 80s; it's just who I am)
"Sloop John B"--Beach Boys (my dad loves this song; thinking of my dad will give me a lift too; I need a song my mom loves next time; Mom, if you're reading, send me a song!)
"Fadeaway"--BoDeans
"Telephone Road"--Steve Earle (this is about a road in Houston; thinking about Houston....)
"Gabriel's Message"--Sting (yeah, this is a Christmas song, but it's beautiful and it's about submitting to the will of God, which is what I need to do in this race)
"Rock This Town"--Stray Cats
One song I did not include, because it's a little too mellow, is the
Eagles' "Peaceful Easy Feeling." But I think that's the theme song for
me for this race. It's my first marathon since my pregnancy five years
ago. Yes, I want to BQ, and I'm going to do my damnedest to do that, but
I know it's not the end of the world if I don't make it this time. I
have another chance in Houston in January. And no matter what happens
Saturday, I will have a much better idea of where I am, what I can do,
what I need to work on, after this race is over.
So as the Eagles say, "I got a peaceful easy feeling/And I know
you won't let me down/'Cause I'm already standing on the ground."
See you all in Utah!!
