papa came to visit for thanksgiving week! the boys were so, so excited to have their papa to play with! everything from reading books, watching car crushing videos on papa's iPad, and playing suitcase tent. phew! i think the boys wore him out--he took a nap right along with them during nap time!
and now for the most romantic thing in the world: david's playlist for my thanksgiving half marathon. (warning: the rest of this entry is fairly lengthy, but to be fair, this has pretty much become my journal, and our family book at the end of the year, so...on with the story!)
david rode right along with me at my last half, taking pictures, handing me trail mix bars and water, and snapping photos. this time, he couldn't be with me physically, so i asked him to create a playlist for me to listen to while i was running. i made couple requests, but i mostly wanted to be surprised to hear what he would pick for me. i never listen to music while running; most of the time i'm running with boys in the jogger, so i want to talk to them or hear them if something is wrong. but this half was going to be me-time, crank-up-the-music-time, just-breathe-time. i was excited to hear my playlist! david showed me how to use the shuffle (yep--i had to be trained in using that thing...), and told me to not start it until i was at the starting line, ready to go.
before i get to some highlights, let me just say i was amazed at what david created for me. it was like he had run the course himself, and picked the songs to perfectly match the route, what i'd be seeing along the trail, and knew what sort of song i'd need along the way to keep me moving. the songs were perfect, the order was perfect, running the trail listening to those songs was perfect.
so there i was, waiting for the event to start, standing in the freezing cold, jumping up and down to keep warm and get my muscles started. (side note: i was dressed perfectly for the cold morning, but once the sun came up over the mountain, and i started running, i was definitely overdressed. i took my gloves off by mile 3, and was wishing i'd had a t-shirt on by mile 5-7. i would have taken off my jacket if i hadn't pinned my number right over the zipper. note to self for next event...)
and then the people around me started to move forward. so i thought, this is it! i better push play and start running! i pushed play...and nothing...oh, right! you have to turn it on first. and there i was, expecting music to start blaring, but no. it was david's calm, warm voice in my ears. telling me this was my playlist, to have fun and enjoy the run, and that he loved me. turns out before each song he said why he'd picked that song, what it meant to him, how it reminded him of me, how he thought of us each time he heard the lyrics. for 13.1 miles i got teary-eyed, i laughed, i smiled--david kept me moving. that is what a good partner does for you. highlights (the second half of the event has more memorable ties to the songs--they were perfect messages and music, and that's when i needed them!):
- the very first song: o pastor from madredeus. the beautiful staccato string instruments and the rich portuguese soprano keeping beat while i saw a stream of runners in front of me, heads bobbing while taking on little rollers in the trail. it was a masterful way to start this event.
- i got you, jack johnson. "my most prized possession: us. i got you. i've got you. i don't need nothing more than you. i've got everything. i've got you."
- the future has arrived, the all-american rejects. "all that training for one half marathon? no way, not my michal. don't be afraid just keep going on. one step at a time and you can't go wrong!"
- pachabel's canon in d. how did david know i'd be running through a horse pasture and the mama horse and baby horse would be galloping together in perfect beat to this one?! and then we came out from under the trees, the sun shining in full glory.
(i'm not about to pay $50 for 4 photos, so you'll have to make do with the watermarks on them...)
- the best day, taylor swift. "being a parent is the most wonderful thing in my life. loving my boys and being loved by them is truly the great monument in the plan of happiness. i hope one day pace and max will remember their childhood with us as 'the best day with you today'." right at that moment, the sky was blue, the trail was warm, a flock of birds flew overhead, i knew i'd see a husband and two boys who loved me at the finish line; it was the best moment. and you know i was passing purple lady.
- life for rent, dido. a good laugh: "if my life is for rent, and i don't learn to pie? what is she saying? maybe you can figure it out...you have two hours!" ha ha! i wanted to call david right then and let him know what the lyrics were (buy, not pie), and that they make total sense.
- the adventure, angels & airwaves. another laugh, right as i was coming around a curve and up a roller: "if you don't think 'adventure' by angels & airwaves is a seriously sweet song then there is something wrong with your seriously sweet gauge. the fact is our life together is really only 'waiting to begin'. i cannot live, i can't breath unless you do this with me. do this with me.
- i promised to look at my watch only twice: at the 7-mile mark, and at the 12-mile mark. at 7 miles, i was at 1:07, which was totally amazing to me--that's normally my time for a 6-mile run. so i was excited and feeling great. up to that point i was keeping pace with the 2:10 pacers, but i was feeling great, so i took off and never looked back...
- right around this time we started passing "i'm thankful" signs--people had written what they were thankful for. it was a nice way to pass the time, and it gave really positive energy.
- you raise me up, josh groban. i had forgotten to tell david i didn't want any josh groban songs. but this one was surprisingly good at this point in the run. we were running west, looking toward the mountains across utah lake, it's nearing the long end of the run, and i'm starting to feel fatigued. david says, "everyone needs to be raised. so many times we are discouraged and need to turn to our sources of strength to be raised up. you raise me up so i can stand on mountains. you raise me up to walk on stormy seas. i am strong when i am on your shoulders. you raise me up to more than i can be." it worked.
- the climb, miley cyrus. right after josh groan came miley. i'd never heard a miley song before this one. this was a good laugh, too, but a really great appropriate song for where i was in the run--toward the end, hitting some rollers. "you might ask yourself, "why oh why am i about to listen to a miley cyrus song?" well good news, your dorky husband is forcing it on you so you can listen guilt-free. just keep pushing on. ain't about how fast you get there. ain't about what's on the other side. it's the climb."
- move along, the all-american rejects. "there are so many days when i am dragging in the back of my truck i'm out of energy and can't imagine how i'm going to get through my day. i'll put this song on repeat in my head and just move along. when all you've got to keep is strong, move along. and even when your hope is gone, move along. move along just to make it through." still hitting the rollers, i think about 10 miles at this point. this had a nice guitar and drum beat, and the chorus is perfect. it was at this point, climbing the little rollers, that i started singing along aloud. i think i got a few looks as i passed a few people.
- welcome home, radical face. mile 11. the entire run, i am thinking about that one ueli steck song i love, and that i had forgotten to request that one of david. but right at the 11 mile marker i hear david say, "welcome home by radical face is the song that plays while ueli steck climbs the eiger. watching ueli steck climbing the north face of the eiger this winter changed my life. climbing up the murderous face with only ice axes, crampons, and his skill to keep him safe seemed impossible. but he did it. and he did it faster than anyone else. in the words of one of my heroes killian jornet, "thresholds don't exist in terms of our bodies. our speed and strength depend on our body, but the real thresholds, those that make us give up or continue the struggle, those that enable us to fulfill our dreams, depend not on our bodies but on our minds and the hunger we feel to turn dreams into reality". every time i listen to this song i feel that hunger." right when david said "ueli steck", i knew what song was going to play, and i threw a fist up in the air and shouted, "yeah!" and then started shadow boxing. seriously.
the playlist looped around back on itself, so i got to hear that great madredeus song again, the strings pushing me up that last little hill through the neighborhood. right after that hill--and yes, i was grunting to get myself up that thing--i saw the 12 mile marker and stole a look at my watch. i was very happily shocked when it was 1:56--under two hours with only one mile to go! right then i knew i was going to finish 2:10 or under--very exciting motivation to get me through! and the future has arrived was playing as i crossed the finish line. "don't be afraid just keep going on. one step at a time and you can't go wrong!"
i think these finish line photos are hilarious because in my mind i am smiling; i feel good, i can see the finish line, and i am grinning from ear to ear. i guess that was only in my mind...ha ha. the playlist must have worked--i finished in 2:06, 12 minutes faster than my last half!
get a good, long look at that pony tail, because the next day i treated myself to a haircut...
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