I've taken great pleasure in tweaking, adapting, editing, cutting and remixing my playlist for the Boston Marathon on Monday. I want my mix to be perfect. I don't plan on listening to music for the whole run. In fact, I'm only going to listen to 10 or 11 songs, but when I do pop in my iPod, it's going to be just about the most important, difficult time of the race. I have energy gels in my shirt pocket and my iPod in my shorts and, at 28 or 31 kilometres, I plan on listening for about 30 minutes or so. Basically, when I'm hurting, I'm going to plug into my tunes for strength. So the music's real important to me.
What people get wrong is: the music doesn't have to be pounding or fast or intense and crazy. Better than something loud is something inspiring. You tend to get a headache anyway when running as fast as you can across 42 kilometres. Also, I think it's really important to switch up genres. I don't want to listen to 10 Kanye West songs in a row when I'm out there, desperate for anything to hold onto. I need lots of little jolts, which is why, even though there's always going to be plenty of Kanye, I switch up between genres and male and female voices.
OK, I'm dragging my feet, something I hope I don't do during the race Monday. One last tip, though: don't listen to your mix before the race! Keep the music fresh. One of the most difficult parts of making this mix was first emptying out my entire iTunes collection. This is why Watch the Throne doesn't appear on my mix. What I've done is make my greatest hits over a lifetime. And not surprisingly, stuff I loved in high school appears much more frequently than stuff I listen to now. (I even went out and bought I Against I by Bad Brains from my local HMV. Who know?)
Fine, fine, no more dawdling. These are the 11 tunes I'll listen to, hopefully about two hours and 10 minutes into the Boston Marathon. But please, anyone running and looking for iPod recommendations, don't listen to music during the entire race. When else in life do you get to hear people cheering your name?
1. “I Against I,” Bad Brains
I can't even remember the last time I bought a CD, but when it came time to making this mix, Bad Brains was the group that kept popping in my head. This tune switches tempo, has aggressive lyrics and reminds me of how geeky I was at 16.
2. “Anything, Anything,” Dramarama
Since I put this song on every mixtape I ever made a woman until the day that I met my wife, I feel like there's still a bit of emotion buried down there that I should be able to run away from toward that finish line.
3. “Combat Baby,” Metric
The song that Metric was playing on Toronto Island right after I proposed. Short, spiky and badass; I guess I traded Dramarama for Metric when I didn't need to be angry anymore.
4. “No Matter What,” T.I.
This is the only song that survived my great iPod purge. The theme music of a bald Jewish man? Why not. Also, if you're interested, look at this awesome video we made to this tune.
5. “Blue Jeans,” Lana Del Rey
A little romance after burning 3,000 calories, why can't I? I still wrestle with this and it might get fast-forwarded, but I love this tune.
6. “Death to My Hometown,” Bruce Springsteen
It was a toss-up between this and Hold Steady doing “Atlantic City,” but I always say, when in doubt, don't pick a cover tune when there's life yet in the original.
7. “Swagger Like Us,” T.I., Kanye, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne
Sure, swagger is an overused word and even a little embarrassing at this point when all of our moms drop it like it's hot, but still, Swagger is just what you need to keep fighting, keep running, keep pushing yourself to be better than you've ever been before. “My swagger is Mick Jagger,” that's right.
8. “Graceland,” Paul Simon
Grace, when running, is better fuel than anger. Probably my all-time favourite song, favourite lyrics, favourite everything. It's important when you're running to enjoy the moment, not just battle, but breathe. This song is a reminder of that vibe.
9. “Put On,” Young Jeezy
This is the tough guy anthem. I love the remix with Jay-Z.
10. “Sacred Love,” Bad Brains
I just, just got this CD and so, yeah, Bad Brains gets two songs on the mix. If karaoke DJs had half a brain, this would be part of everyone's set. (P.S.: Bad Brains is actually back and touring this summer and working on a new disc. Yeah!)
11. “Nothing as it Seems,” Pearl Jam
For the longest time it was “Black” that was my go-to Pearl Jam pick, but I discovered this tune in the Pearl Jam documentary and just love it. I can listen to it again and again, but haven't let myself. I'm saving this one for the race.
• Ben Kaplan is National Post's Marathon Man. His first book on running, Feet Don't Fail Me Now, will be out March 2013 from Greystone Press.