Last fall, my friend and Whirlaway teammate, Erin, suggested I sign up for the
McKirdy Micro Marathon which would be taking place in upstate New York at the end of this March. So, I poked around on the website and noted all the perks (pacers, personal bottle stations, marked tangents along the course, flat and fast). And all of that plus the fact that it just looked really cool and I'd be road tripping and racing with Erin was more than enough to convince me to sign up. Which I did. And then, given that I was focused on Hartford last fall, I didn't give it much more thought simply because I didn't have to. At the start of the new year, McKirdy himself began to send informational emails about the marathon.
We are the only marathon in the world that offers an elite experience to every runner, he said. Then he went on to explain that 225 of us would be taking on the roughly three mile looped course and that it was a USATF certified. Oh, and by the way, headphones are strictly prohibited. Insert loud record scratching sound here. What the
what??!! I emailed McKirdy directly to be sure I understood the situation and he confirmed that wearing headphones during the race was not allowed due to USATF rules. I then texted Erin.
I was seriously considering telling her that, for obvious reasons, I could no longer participate in this event. I have run 34 marathons and countless other races from the mile to ultras. College aside, I have never raced without music. Ever. For the love of Pete, I am Running With Music. Music is my fuel. I cannot imagine not using it for a full marathon nor do I want to imagine it. Well, my friends, it is officially time to expand my imaginative capabilities as despite my efforts to try, Erin refused to let me bail. And given that I'd registered, paid and was halfway through my training, I decided I would begrudgingly take on this new and exciting challenge of running a marathon without music. Which meant I needed to start practicing by doing some workouts on my own. In the dead of winter. When I was doing most of work inside, down in my basement on the treadmill. Because that sounded fun. Ok, I know, I'm being a giant baby. I won't deny it. But I can't help it. Sorry not sorry. Back in February, I'd been planning to race a 4 miler with my team. Then we got a blizzard and the race was canceled. Well played, Mother Nature. So my coach suggested I do a time trial on my treadmill. He also gently suggested that I do it without music.
And I knew he was right. It had to be done. So, I agreed to give it a shot. I didn't like it. But, dammit, I
got it done. As you can see in this video, I was really proud of myself. It's now March and the race is four weeks away. Clearly, it would be beneficial for me to continue practicing without tunes. Thus, I've come up with some creative ways to ease my way into it without completely ripping the bandaid off and running silent for the next month. I think these seem like very reasonable solutions. No? Stay tuned. This is gonna be interesting.
TOP 10 WAYS TO WEEN MYSELF OFF RUNNING WITH MUSIC
1. Turn the volume way down. So like, I can hear a little something, but not enough to distract me completely the way it usually does when it's loud.
2. Listen to a book rather than songs. Yes, it's something but I promise you a book doesn't get my juices flowing the way a good song does.
3. Try to learn a new language. This sounds really hard but might as well throw another huge challenge into the mix if w're doing it anyway.
4. Play music every, OTHER, mile. So, yea, I get to hear it but not when I want and/or need it. I have to turn it off for every other mile, no matter what.
5. Listen to shitty music like country (not my favorite, no disrespect). Or music that could potentially slow me down like classical (love it, but not for running). This sounds like it could actually work against me. Is that good? I'm not sure.
6. Listen to music on Monday, Wednesday and Friday but not on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. No matter what the workout is. Long run? Doesn't matter. Track workout? If it's on Wednesday, sucks for you.
7. Shuffle my playlist. Okay, this one is lame, but I do like to plan out my music journey each day so not knowing what's coming would make things a little more difficult.
8. Listen with one earbud instead of two. Basically, the same concept as turning it down. But, honestly I don't get nearly as excited or distracted when I can't really hear the music in one ear.
9. Play my music out loud on the phone's speaker. No headphones at all. So yea, I'd hear something, but not clearly or loudly. Basically almost nothing.
10. Start running without music when the weather improves and therefore I am not dreading both the cold and the lack of tunes. Not sure when that will be given it's 17 degrees out today, but hey. You never know.
Listen to this:
