The lights are on. There are people everywhere. Everyone’s on the line, striding out, ready to race. The gun fires. The race begins. At this point, it all seems so simple. It’s just a bunch of guys running, but everyone knows that it takes a lot to get to this point: it takes training, dedication, and hard work. Because of the pressure of these races, I freak out. At that moment when I’m about to race, I am in a deadlocked battled with my nerves.
I’ve always been nervous before races. It’s a sure thing that I’ll be anxiously pacing before my race, trying to calm myself. One thing that really helps me get the better of my worries is music. Listening to music before a race allows me to turn some of my nervous energy into beneficial excitement; music pumps me up. The day of a race, I’ll wake up to my current race playlist and listen to it up until the point where I check in for my race. My race playlist is my baby. It’s constantly updated and consists of usually around 200 songs. It has everything: rap, rock, dubstep, everything.
My race playlist isn’t just for bragging rights; it really helps me out. It calms me down, it pumps me up. All of the songs in it are catchy as hell. I always have a song stuck in my head, especially when I run. One of the main functions of my race playlist is to get some fast, intense song stuck in my head for my race. When I run, the song stuck in my head cycles through, over and over. It becomes a cadence. I use it as a mantra to calm myself down and to keep me focused on the race. For this reason, I don’t want some slow, calm song coursing through my brain. I ran with Mrs. Robinson stuck in my head once, and I never want to experience a painful situation like that again.
Music really is a magical thing. It has the power to evoke all kinds of emotions in us; it can make us happy or sad, tense or relaxed. It can help us run a race or get to sleep. Music really is a wondrous thing.
Below is a playlist of 20 songs that are currently in my race playlist.
I love to listen to music during fitness, because it distracts me from the montony of running in circles (even if the radio station sucks). One of the coolest parts about the Illinois Marathon here is that they get local bands to volunteer, and they position them around the course. It's nice to hear the music in the distance and have something to keep you going. This marathon is the only major race I've ever seen that allows headphones on the course. It would be interesting to see if I perform better listening to music during the race, or if i should only listen to it before the race.
ReplyDeleteI like listening to music before sports as well. I feel as if the music helps me tone out my surroundings so that I may focus better on the event. I never have been the type of person that gets pumped up with music before a race, but it does help my nerves. I really like your music play list it has a lot of great songs on it.
ReplyDeleteMusic truly is a great thing to listen to before a sporting event. But sometimes they can be distracting. For example: before basketball games they always play songs during warm ups. But some of these are songs that have special meanings amongst friends and the warm ups can get distracted by laughing at certain lines in the song or other things.
ReplyDeleteAwesome post, and I will definitely be checking out that playlist.
hmmmm ive never been much of a runner, or let me rephrase ive never been a good runner! (but you probably already knew that) but your playlist has given me a little spark of motivation and perhaps running with music will help me to improve
ReplyDeleteI agree with Steven it doesn't really get me pumped so much as helps with nerves. Listened through the playlist and now love Skrillex, thanks <3
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I've always found that listening to an up-tempo or catchy song can turn the monotony of running into a really enjoyable, exhilarating experience. I don't really have a running playlist, but I also don't have an ipod right now. I imagine that if I ever get more serious about running I'll have to dedicate some real time and energy to making my own perfect playlist. I gave yours a listen and it did indeed make me feel pretty pumped. The La Roux remix is sick. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean about nerves - except I don't run. I always get very nervous before I perform, and have various ways of calming myself. Music is a good one - it's just a little counter-productive when you're about to play yourself. But I empathize completely.
ReplyDeleteI understand how you feel. I listen to music a lot when I too am nervous. I had never heard of Skrillex before, but it is a good motivator.
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