When the weather starts to really transition from Summer to Fall, I am always reminded of the days when I was running distance races. I frequently joked that once I found out I could put on a pair of sneakers, and a set of headphones (and a SONY Walkman, as it were…) I would run for hours and stretch out that time for as long as I could.
I ran a few half marathons in Philadelphia, PA and at least one full (26.2 miles) there as well. Runs were so fun, because I always met people and made friends. There was this magnetic force that drew the runners together to get up early on a Sunday, no matter what the temperature, and meet up at the starting line of a race. The excitement was like no other!
When I ran the full race in Philly, I made a major mistake with my music. I had recently transitioned over to an MP3 player (now I am truly, dating myself) and I failed to properly upload the playlist. Only about 7 or 8 songs were actually on the 512 gb player, but I hadn’t realized this until I was 3 or 4 miles into the run.
Mercifully, the few songs I had on there were good ones. The extended version of Parliament’s “Flashlight” kept me occupied for chunks of mileage and I recall a couple other ones that I listened to again and again. (Okay for curious minds I also had some of the Rocky Soundtrack on there, but I was in Philly afterall!)
Enter Mom’s Chex mix. I loved to distance run with small snack baggies of Chex mix that Mom sometimes made. The combination of salt, carbs and protein made for a perfect pick-me-up every 5 miles or so. It didn’t spoil. It was light and easy to carry.
This race day in Philly was no different. I went through my list of priorities. I consider both the sound of music AND the taste of Chex mix to be equally indulgent, enjoyable and absolute requirements for long runs. But it turns out when checking my punch list for marathon preparation Chex mix actually did trump my music. “Oops.”
I finished the race at a “personal worst” pace for a marathon, but I did so with a normal blood glucose level! When it comes to priorities, they may compete, but ultimately our actions reveal what matters to us most. In this case, I will take the Chex Mix over my music but hope that’s not a choice I have to make again!
And I don’t think I have intentionally listened to “Flashlight” ever since.