Happy Boston Marathon!

Good luck to all runners participating in today's Boston Marathon!

As most of you probably know, the running of the Boston Marathon is pretty much the highest honor most non-professional runners can have. With qualifying times starting at 3 hours 10 minutes for men, 3 hours 40 minutes for women, the trend of back-of-the-pack runners (like myself) are ineligible to compete in Boston. Hardcore runners have to prove their eligibility by completing another marathon within the qualifying time for their age group, within the past year and a half. Because of these high standards, running this race becomes a goal for those fast enough not to have their goal be to just finish (like myself!).

I have mad respect for these runners. Qualifying for the Boston Marathon is something I will never be capable of. And that's fine with me- I actually really enjoy having an interest in which I have no desire or pressure to excel at (beyond minor time and race location goals). It also adds a huge awe factor to all those who do have the desire to excel at marathon running, at least as far as finishing times go.

I may not be able to qualify for Boston, but I could still run it. Every year thousands of unregistered runners jump into the course as "bandits." These are the slower runners who could not qualify but want to run this fabled race.

Boston.com explains:

Though they are cheered on as much as registered runners, sneered at by purists and nearly ignored nowadays by race officials, Boston’s “bandits”—or unregistered runners—are as much a part of Boston Marathon history as John Kelley or the Kenyans.

[...]

There may be more bandits this year than usual, according to Dave McGillivray, the Boston Marathon race director. In late January, race directors cut off registration when they reached 25,000—several weeks earlier than in most years.

“People are saying all those qualifiers who didn't get in will increase the number of bandits,” McGillivray said. “My sense is that although they're disappointed they didn't get in, they have their own standards and they don't want to run this race that way.”

McGillivray “bandited” Boston himself in his teens and is less adamant about pulling bandits from the starting line on race morning in Hopkinton.

“The BAA’s position is that we certainly don't encourage unofficial runners from running,” McGillivray said, “but we recognize that it's part of the tradition that a certain number of them will show up.”

“Right or wrong,” McGillivray said, “we factor them in, too. When we order port-a-johns and water, we actually say there’s 29,000 in the race, not 26,000”—the number of registered runners. “It's a conundrum for sure. On the one hand you feel like you’re accommodating them, but it’s safety too.”

Read the whole thing for more info on how the bandit movement got started.

Bandits are also know to dress up in crazy costumes, a trend that has spread to most major marathons these days. I actually have a friend who ran Boston many years ago with his tuba! Crazy! It would take a lot for me to consider running Boston as a bandit. The training process is so long and arduous, that I honestly don't know if I could run one with out the promise of a finisher's medal!

For more info on today's race, coverage, and links, visit the Races in Places website.

Good luck runners!

Races In Places Reboot!

Races In Places has moved!

Find them at www.racesinplaces.com with a new format and new updates including a recent review of the Ukrop's 10k by Richmond jazzer Dean Christesen.

Races in Places is a community of runners, fast and slow, who have a passion for exploring the world, one race at a time!

Races in Places

Running keeps my abstract compositional mind stable. I devote a good deal of time and energy towards training for marathons partially to burn off the chicken vindaloo and paratha I seem to consume on a daily basis, but also because running keeps me from going out of my mind when in writer's mode (which, if you've been reading, is supposed to be a full time job now). The endorphins help battle the musical depression and the training runs force me out of my apartment, oftentimes making it the only time I leave.

In addition to complimenting my music driven lifestyle, my recent trip to Australia (posts on that soon to follow, I swear!) showed me just how much running can enrich that getting-to-know-you of a new town. I decided that in addition to wanting to be a rock star musical journalist, I also deem to be a rock star running journalist... or something. Basically, I just want to continue to travel and explore the world and I see a way through music and running.

My best friend J and I have joked about our "club" Races in Places as far back as our first marathon in 2001, the Mayor's Midnight Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska. We've decided to make it somewhat official and open it up to the many other anonymous runners out there who, like us, scrape our pennies for the chance to run in a new place. It is our hope to build a community of like-minded runners to share resources and awareness of running in other cultures with an ultimate goal of organizing events and publications to use this ever popular sport to promote global harmony.

...

(think that will get me some grant money to go running in Madagascar?)

In all seriousness, if you're into running, whether it be for health or competition, check out our new blog. Like this one, it focuses less on the nitty-gritty of the sport and more on the peripherals such as the comradery and of course... the travel that are involved in running.

And I know what you may be thinking... didn't I quit my job so that I could stay home and become a composer? Not full-time blogger?

Well, we all know how I like to procrastinate...!

Marine Corp Historic Half Marathon Race Course

Sunday morning, 7:00 AM, I become a runner again.

Nad and I are running the Inaugural Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon this weekend, held in my (sorta) hometown of Fredericksburg, VA. I am so not trained. For those of you who are, check out this write up of the course by the WhiteKenyan:

I met up with B, M and a few other guys Sunday morning and we ran the “Historic” Marine Corps ½ Marathon coarse for our long run. It was pouring rain when we started but in the upper 50’s so it wasn’t too bad.

The Expo Center has tons of parking and there are lots of parking lots near by so it won’t be bad getting there to morning of the race.

Most of the first mile is flat. As you make the left onto Cowan Blvd. there is a small hill. After the mile 1 marker there is a medium hill that takes you over I95. It’s pretty much downhill through the mile 2 marker and the rest of Cowan Blvd. After making a right onto Keeneland Road there is a short fairly steep hill. After cresting the hill it’s downhill to the mile 3 marker. Route 3 is pretty much flat from what I remember. You run up a decent hill after making a left onto Williams Street. As you approach UMW and your left it’s downhill to the 4 mile marker. After making a left onto Sunken Rd. there is a slight uphill followed by a slight downhill. The coarse weaves through the neighborhood as you pass mile 5 and follow Kenmore back to Williams Street. There is a bit of and incline when you’re on Williams street before making a left onto Washington. There is a nice downhill as you pass mile 6. After mile 6 it’s mostly flat as you run though Old Town F’burg until about 8 ½ miles. There is a short hill after going underneath Route 1. There is a little bit of a downhill around mile 9 ½. You will be on the canal path as you pass mile 10 (pretty much flat).

About mile 10 ½ as you turn onto Mary Washington Blvd you start to climb the most significant hill of the race. The hill actually flattens out about half way up it for little bit. The first half is less steep then the second half. By the time you hit the traffic circle at mile 11 it flattens out and there is a downhill as you turn and run down Cowan. Keep in mind once you turn on Cowan you are running the opposite way from Mile 0-2. There is a step hill as you approach I95 but it’s nothing after getting up the hill by the hospital. Once you get to the top of the over pass it’s down hill then flat the rest of the way.

Over all the most significant hills are as you cross the 95 overpass (both ways, ~mile1.25 and just before mile 12). The beginning of Williams Street at ~3.5 miles). And finally the Hospital hill from mile 10.5 to 11.

I’m probably slightly bias on what is considered a hill since we run these roads all the time but it’s really not that bad. Get ready to have some fun!!! See you May 18th.

RIP Wesly Ngetich

via Down the Backstretch:

Race Results Weekly reports that two-time Grandma's Marathon champion Wesly Ngetich was killed today in the on-going violence that has followed Kenya's recent elections.

Ngetich won Grandma's last year and in 2005.

The violence in Ngetich's native Kenya had caused him to withdraw from the Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon earlier this year.

The BBC offers THIS overview of the violent political situation in Kenya.

Ngetich is not the first runner to die in the Kenyan turmoil; former Olympic runner Lucas Sang was attacked and killed while walking home earlier this month.

Other runners fear for their lives after receiving death threats:

Some of Kenya’s most celebrated runners say they are receiving death threats because of rumors they are involved in the ethnic violence that has swept the nation following a disputed election.

Many were so worried they gathered from across the country this week in the western town of Eldoret, a running hub that has seen some of the worst violence,
to discuss how to respond. The meeting ended with a statement intended to dispel
the rumors.

During the meeting, William Mutwol, a bronze medalist in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 1992 Olympics, received another threat in a text message on his cell phone.

“We want your head,” the message said.

“I am scared. We are scared,” Moses Kiptanui, chairman of Athletics Kenya’s Marakwet branch, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Thursday. “I have never engaged in politics. I am an ordinary guy. But I think Kenyans have now created a lot of enmity among themselves.”

Going the extra (beer) mile

Runners and beerophiles unite!

Most runners I know love downing a nice cold beer (or two, or more), especially after a long hard run or race. Some runners, like my good friend Pat (a.k.a. "the white kenyan"), are so hardcore, they enjoy a good brewski during the race.

The Beer Mile is the extreme sport for those whole love "digestive athletics." According to the official website beermile.com FAQs, any mile that is run in combination with beer consumption can be considered a Beer Mile. However, thanks to the runners of Kingston, Ontario, a set of rules were defined and must be adhered to in order to have your Beer Mile time posted on beermile.com's official results page, which is organized not only by location, gender, and age, but by brand of beer.

In compliance with the "Kingston Rules," the format of the race is as follows: Start - beer/lap, beer/lap, beer/lap, beer/lap - finish. Restrictions require that the beer be an untampered, unopened 12 oz. can (or 1 pint in the UK) and must contain a minimum of 5% alcohol by volume. Each beer must be completely consumed before starting the next lap (and yes, the drinking time is part of your overall race time). In the (likely) event of regurgitation, the offending runner must complete one penalty lap immediately following their 4th lap, which is also included in the overall race time.

Currently the world record is held by Jim Finlayson of Victoria, British Columbia, at 5:09.

There are some variations to this extreme sport including the Soda/Pop Mile, the Chocolate Milk Mile, the Ben and Jerry's 4x4 (4 pints of Ben and Jerry's ice cream per lap!), and the Vodka 2-Mile (8 shots, 8 quarters).

I'm not sure I could participate in any of the above because frankly, I hate vomiting. However, I think I may submit to the NYRR suggestion box a request for an Espresso Mile. I'd love to see my mile time for that race!

Hometown Hosts Historic Half

Fredericksburg, VA is not technically my hometown. By casual definition, hometown indicates where you were born and raised. Well, I was born on a military base in Okinawa, Japan, and grew up in small towns scattered across the US. But when asked where I am from, I usually respond with the simple answer, "Fredericksburg, VA." I spent five years there in elementary and middle school, and then another three after I finished college. Plus, my parents live there.

Fredericksburg is known to most for it's Civil War history. But come this May, it will be known as the home of the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon, sister race to the Marine Corps Marathon. I am super excited that Fredericksburg will now be on the running map!

Interested in running it? Registration opens on Nov. 1 and is expected to sell out quickly, so sign up quick! And let me know... maybe my parent's will put you up! ;)

Yeah, Fred-vegas (Kyle term), yeah!

Musician Marathoners part 1

Yesterday I ran the penultimate brutal training run. After running from Sakura Park in Morningside Heights, along the Hudson River Park to Battery Park and back for a total of 18 miles, I am still, this Sunday evening, tired, dehydrated, tired, achy, tired, sore and tired.

I always (conveniently) forget how this stage of marathon training becomes so exhausting all other aspects of life enter a standstill simply because, I am just too tired. This is not good when there are commission deadlines looming and holiday music concerts just around the corner (note to self: do not do not do NOT forget to write up an easy "jazzy" version of Jingle Bells for elementary school jazz band by Wednesday!).

There are only a few more high mileage weeks left and then begins my favorite part of training, tapering! But until then, I am searching for a little extra inspiration...

Eric Alexander

I first learned of Eric's 2001 Chicago Marathon sub 3 hour race in December of 2003. I was in Honolulu for my second marathon and had just happened to pick up a copy of Running Times Magazine.

This highly entertaining article, published in Running Time's January/February 2004 issue, was extremely inspiring then, and still is today:

I'm a broken man," Eric Alexander says as we meet at noon for a run around the reservoir in Central Park. Thanks to his 19-month-old son, Alexander has been up since 8 a.m.—which wouldn’t be a big deal, except that he went to bed at 3 a.m. after headlining at Smoke, a jazz club on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The June sun is high and bright, drawing sweat to his fair skin and providing a constant reminder of his less-than-ideal hydration of the recent past.

"I took it pretty easy last night," he says. "Think I had only four beers. It’s rare to get through three sets on less than four. Maybe it was five." Alexander still has to take part in a photo shoot and give a saxophone lesson before leading another three sets that evening at Smoke.

So why, despite his comfortable, conversational pace, are we passing each and every one of the hundreds of other runners circling the reservoir? It probably has something to do with the fact that the only race of Alexander’s life was a 2:58 marathon. continue reading

Sean P. Diddy Combs

All he wanted to do was beat Oprah's 4:29:20 time at the 1994 Marine Corps Marathon. And in 2003, after only 8 weeks of training (!), P. Diddy ran the New York City Marathon in 4:14:54.

Causing much controversy from the amount of publicity and media he brought to the race, P. Diddy raised 2 million dollars for NYC public schools.

Carter Brey

As principal cellist for the NY Philharmonic, Carter Brey still finds time between rehearsal and concerts to train for a marathon. In 2002, he completed the NYC Marathon in 3:51:37. In 2005, he ran NY again, beating his record with a 3:32:39 time.

A few years back, Runner's World profiled Brey:

What made you run the marathon?
I went with my family to watch the runners go by at the edge of Central Park because we had a friend running. We went to cheer her on. And what I saw was so inspiring I turned to my wife and said "I'm going to do this next year." That was it. I saw these people going by who had done this incredible thing. Ordinary people like me. I thought "I could do this too."

Was it hard to train for?
That's a funny story. I applied on the New York Road Runner's website and I did not make the computer lottery. I was rejected. And I thought "oh well I'll try again next year." And at the very end of September I got an e-mail from the Road Runner's Club telling me they had such a precipitous drop off in the number of overseas applicants because of 9/11 that they were inviting me back in, so to speak. So I said great and I wrote back and I accepted. The only problem was that the New York Philharmonic, of which I am the principal cellist, was about to leave for a nearly month long tour of Asia. And at the end of September, I had what...about 5 weeks in which to train. So I did all my training on the road in places like Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and Manila. It was very unusual, to say the least. My training was pretty haphazard and not at all thorough. I already was maintaining a basic level of fitness, so I knew at least I could finish the race. It wasn't a big leap to try to get ready for the marathon. Although, this ext time I'll do it a little differently, I'll certainly start considerably farther in advance.

Was it hard to perform after the marathon?
Just the walking part. Fortunately, when I work, I sit down. But I remember taking a week off from running.

When the Philharmonic travels do you run in foreign cities?
Oh yes. All the time. Quite a few of us do. All the runners in the orchestra know each other and sometimes we arrange to go out in pairs or in groups. Or otherwise we'll see each other in the hotel gym on the treadmills. There are a couple of runners in the horn section and the other member of the orchestra that ran the same marathon is the assistant principal clarinet. Another runner is the second oboist.

Do you run before a performance?
It energizes me completely. I always feel better and more prepared mentally and physically after I've run. It doesn't tire me.

Do you run after a performance?
There's no reason not to, it's just that most performances take place at night. We're nocturnal creatures. But after a matinee for example there's no reason why I wouldn't want to go. I do have to say it's more likely it would happen the other way around because running energizes me but concerts deplete me. I find performing much more tiring.

Does being a musician help your running?
Not directly. But I think they both demand the same kind of discipline. The difference between a professional and an amateur in any field, certainly in music, is that the professional cannot depend on the inspiration of the moment to produce a high quality product. You just have to be able to do it even when you don't want to. If you're feeling lousy or if you just had a fight with someone, nobody cares, you just have to go out and do it. So, I try to apply that same type of discipline to my workouts. There are plenty of days where I just sit on the sofa with a magazine and veg out. But I try to maintain a commitment to fitness. It's like practicing everyday. There are lots of days when I don't feel like practicing either.

Have you ever run with a cello?
Strapped to my back? Only to catch a bus. I don't recommend that.

[incidentally, I have a friend who ran the Boston Marathon with a tuba on his back!]

Do you run to a beat?
Oh, definitely. I almost always have music going through my head. I bet a lot of people do. It's a very natural thing. Very often it's some piece that we happen to be performing that week.

Read the whole thing.

If you know of any other musicians that have also completed a marathon, please let me know!

Rave Run

In Runner's World, there's a column called "Rave Run" where people can send in a picture of themselves running their favorite routes. I love pouring over these 2 page spreads of varying landscapes and locations, daydreaming about what it would be like to run in these favorite places, discovering the magic the route holds for each stranger. Does the runner feel inspired when running here? Is it the simple challenge of the route that holds the allure? Does it offer peace, or a desired loneliness? Or is the view so breathtaking that the runner felt compelled to photograph it and mail the print into Runner's World?

Last Wednesday, I had a Rave Run.

I met with Kate, much later than intended, and we headed over the Reservoir. We were both a little nervous as we cut through Central Park to darkening skies. Scenes from Law and Order and CSI:NY of cops bent over dead girl number 1's body in the park flashed through my mind as did my mother's warnings to "not go out after dark in big, bad New York City." But then we crossed over the W 94 Reservoir Bridge, and all changed.

The reservoir's 1.6 mile loop, which is usually crowded with runners, walkers, and extremely annoying space taking tourists, was sparse with just enough runners to make us feel safe. By now it was flat out dark, but the run was amazing. Kate kicked my butt with a slightly faster than normal pace. Extremely peaceful, the loop was a nice juxtaposition to the streets that lay a half a mile to either the east or west.

Kate and I did the usual girl chat on the first lap, but fell silent on the second as we worked to keep our pace. This silence taunted me to return alone, knowing my introvert self would be in heaven in the darkness. But despite my Donna Troy alias, I think I'm not quite brave enough to venture back there alone. (Well... maybe if I entered from the East Side, but who wants to go there?!)

Sadly, I only had my 1.something mega pixel cell phone camera to capture my Rave Run, and I will not be mailing the print into Runner's World.

Instead, I share it here.

Philly Marathon

It's official! I am now registered for the Philadelphia Marathon to be ran on November 18, 2007.

I'll only be there a few days, no long trip this time, but I would like to do 1 or 2 touristy (or non-touristy) things.

Suggestions?

Marathon Man

Dean Karnazes is an Ultrarunner. Meaning he is crazy. He has completed running feats such as running 50 marathons, in 50 states, over 50 consecutive days, concluding with the NYC Marathon (lucky!). He's run across Death Valley as well as the South Pole. He's famous in the running world for his extremely long run runs and the severe conditions in which he runs them.

Now he's done it again. This time, on the Summer Solstice, he ran for 24 consecutive hours on a treadmill suspending in the air in Times Square!

Curious? Go here, here, and here.

Philadelphia Marathon

I'm thinking of entering the Philadelphia Marathon this November.

(who needs the NY Marathon anyway! Not me! grumble, grumble)

Anybody out there run it before? What about Philadelphia? I've never been.

Thoughts on the city?

Thoughts on anything...?

...

Please... distract me from the writing!!

Missed Marathon... AGAIN

Once again I am missing out! This time I do refer to a running marathon: the ING New York City Marathon, my running nemesis.

This will be the third year in a row that I have failed to be drawn in the lottery, the NYRR's system of keeping the number of participants from completely taking over the city.

The good news is that when a runner such as myself has lost the lottery three years in a row, said runner is given guaranteed entry for next year's marathon.

So ING NYC Marathon 2008, HERE I COME!!!

A Good Laugh

As I write this I am high off of my first (well, second now) cup of coffee in forever!

Most people think that marathon runners are crazy. I say the truly crazy ones are the ones who willing purchase pictures of themselves during the marathon. Oh yes, there is this of-the-devil company called MarathonFoto who profits from the documentation of runners' misery and vulnerability in their attempts to cross the finish line. These mean, mean people are staggered stealthily throughout the race course and snap photo after photo of you as you blindly stagger by. Then they charge an obscene amount of money for the purchase of these incriminating pictures. Seriously, I don't know how these people sleep at night!

For a good laugh, go here and check out the look of agony on my face as I plowed through that humbling experience known as the London Marathon.

Saint Ralph

This movie is hilarious. Especially if you grew up catholic and are a runner.

It has nothing to do with music, though musicians may find it inspiring.

Go check it out!

The Runner Musician

Julie came up this past weekend for our 20-miler. We’ve been training for London together, long distance, and like our last marathon, deemed ourselves incapable of running the massive 20 alone. So she flew up and we had a wonderful weekend of running and catching up. On Sunday, we finished off our final pre-tapering run with the Scotland 10k, and added Nadje into the mix. It was such a great weekend of running and friendship, that I found myself happily blogging about it on the the Races In Places myspace.

Originally a lot more friends were going to join us on the 10k. Laura, Kate and Sara had all expressed interest, but Kate and Laura were preoccupied with big auditions, and Sara had a gig (that I unfortunately missed) the day of the race. As I mused in my Carrie Bradshaw way about the race and my friends who are runners, I couldn’t help but think that there was something about running that complimented music. (Now if only I had an outdated Apple laptop and Upper East Side apartment!)

But it’s true! I think there is a lot about running that is attractive to musicians. Just ask P. Diddy and Eric Alexander. Initially, there is the kinship of excelling individually within a group. We practice all day long (well… so I’ve heard) so that we can be our best, but most often we display our shiny selves within a group, an ensemble. Running our best, within fields of thousands of runners feels comfortable, normal.

That comfort is a nice reward to what I think attracts most musicians: the seemingly masochistic nature of training. It’s not much different than practicing, or in my case, writing. Somewhere in you, you want to do it, but given the choice between practicing/writing/running or eating pie… mmm, lemon meringue pie… No need to state the obvious. As musicians, we value and relish the extraction of greatness from sheer, hard work. It’s like getting water from a rock, or turning metal into gold. The high from performing, when completely prepared and honestly intentioned, is the sweetest tasting water, the shiniest gold. Finishing a race is no different. In some ways, its better.

Running is concrete. Music is not. To run, you stand, run, stop. You cross the finish line and there is no question of success. No interpretation. No some like it, some don’t, we all hear different things. You crossed the finish line. You are a success. Two people cross the finish line an hour apart, they both get finisher medals. Out of a field of 25,000 runners, only 15 or so actually run to win, and then another 85 maybe to place. That leaves 24,900 runners who are content with not being the best. What a relief to a musician who has to be so competitive to be successful! And substituting for the critics, are the thousands of anonymous spectators, cheering for you, whom they’ve never met and only need to know one thing about you: you are a runner. It has literally brought tears to my eyes in race to hear people telling me that I can do it, I can finish, complete strangers giving me their energy. Such a stark contrast to the music world, where we desperately check our mypace music page for confirmation of our musical existence.

Not to say that running is simple, because it is a quite complex sport. Sort of the way good music on first listen sounds effortless and simply beautiful, but on analysis complex chord structures, shifting time signatures, and challenging instrumental techniques are found. Good form, pacing, preparation, nutrition, discipline, strength, strong recovery, and patience are only a few of the aspects of good running. These facets I try to apply to my musical training. In running, with out them, it’s not so much that you fail, you just make your life suck, really, really bad. What’s worse than being 4 miles into a 12 miler (a distance which should be a breeze if you are in marathon training) and finding your muscles fatigued, dehydrated, you’re freezing, you’re tired, you want to be back in your warm bed, and you’ve still got 8 miles left and because of the route you chose, you can’t quit where you are- you have to finish the run? How about sitting at your computer at 1:13 am, for the 6th hour, sick off coffee, the caffeine conflicting with your massive fatigue, trying to finish your jazz phil piece which is due the next day by noon, complete with bound scores and taped parts, consulting your Adler AGAIN for a double stop because you are not a damn violinist, craving your warm bed, but knowing you will not feel its comfort because you only have 10 measures and even slowing the tempo drastically does not meet your 3 minute minimum- you have to finish the piece. I can say with the confidence of personal experience that that sucks more than the 12 miler.

This marathon’s training started with runs like the afore mentioned 12 miler. It’s amazing how quickly I learned to not go out drinking the night before a long run, to get more sleep during the week, eat better, drink more water, etc so that my Sunday afternoon runs would not suck. I’m not sure I’ve learned my lesson with the writing procrastination, though those experiences are far worse. But being in marathon training, and having to be constantly aware of my lifestyle and how it will affect my back of the pack running, is forming habits that will hopefully be easily transferred to my composition training.

I think that’s the relief we musicians find in running. The lack of the frustrating abstract. While it’s that very abstract and interpretation that gives music, and all arts for that matter, that sparkle, the mysticism, it can also drown the artist in the very cup of coffee she is clinging to. Running is the Baywatch lifeguard that saves you and refills your inspiration. No matter how dark my day, how eaten away by egotistic depression, running pulls me back out. Every time. Because it’s a concrete chemical reaction that I don’t really understand but am extremely grateful for. Often that runner’s high only lasts the bus ride back from the gym, and dissolves as I ascend the 6 flights of stairs to my dark cavern of an apartment. But those 20 minutes are mastercard priceless. I cling to them as my rested mind can better battle the feverish you’re-not-good-enoughs that pepper every musician’s existence.

Running has become my stability. I’m not fast, I don’t excel at it, I half the time don’t even want to run, but it has become a passion parallel to coffee drinking. And like my eagerly anticipated bringer of spring double tall iced caramel macchiato, running is one more giver of strength, stabilizer, and bringer of good habits that will support my efforts to excel as a composer.

Notes in my... tea?

As many of you know, I am in training for the Flora London Marathon, scheduled for April 22. My long distance running partner and best friend, Julie and I agree that this has been our best training so far (this is our fourth marathon). Diligently following our Hal Higdon Novice Marathon Training Guide, we are currently in the hardest part of training, logging in 30-40 miles a week.

While I feel good about the training, I’ve become victim to some a disturbing side effect… (deep breath) I can no longer stomach coffee. I CAN NO LONGER STOMACH COFFEE!! Coffee!! Coffee. My sidekick. My crutch. My muse. My Linus’ Blanket. Indefatigable. Bold. Strong. Gone. All, gone. Sure, Green Tea is great, and healthier, won’t stain my teeth, blah blah. But c’mon…

How am I supposed to write without coffee???