BCM Blog

How running a night of big band music is like running a marathon

It's been a week since the BCJO played the Brooklyn Lyceum, our first show in almost a year, and I am finally starting to feel like I am recovering.  The energy is coming back, I'm sleeping at night, and the blisters from my feet have finally healed.  I recognize this feeling... oh yes, its the slow transition back to every day life that occurs after completing a marathon. 

In fact, as the gig came to a close last Wednesday night and I found I could no longer speak clearly, my feet were killing me (why oh why did I wear 3 inch heeled boots?), I was starving, and felt I could collapse from sheer exhaustion, it occurred to me that this feat, minus the sweat and salt buildup, really was no different than that of finishing a marathon. 

In fact, the whole experience is pretty similar. 

Consider this...

The average runner spends 4-5 months training for a marathon.  I booked this September Lyceum gig back in the spring, a good 4-5 months ago and had been in preparations since then. 

Marathon training starts off pretty easy with 4-5 easy runs a week including a long run, which in the beginning is only 6-8 miles or so (a breeze compared to the 26.2 you'll eventually attempt!).  As training increases, so do the length of the runs, the intensity, and time given to each run.  This is pretty much the same when writing for a gig.  At 4-5 months out, sure you're writing, but not nearly as much as the month leading up to the gig.  In fact, compare my running log with my writing log (yes, I keep a log of my writing, and I like spreadsheets, too) and I'm sure a line graph would show a similar increase of time spent training for both race and gig.  The only difference here is that when training for a marathon, 3 weeks from race day you start the wonderful phase of tapering, cutting back your mileage in attempts to rest your body as it gets ready for the monster run.  Sadly, I am usually up till the last minute writing, revising, cleaning and printing.  Hopefully one day I'll be able to successfully work in a tapering phase to my gig training!

Long runs, at least those of the 16-20 mile variety, suck.  So do long cleaning sessions.  As someone who runs a music prep biz, I am extremely scrupulous about my parts, striving to make each one as readable and clear as absolutely possible, and this takes a long time.  HOURS.  Much longer than you ever estimate for... just like long runs! Downside to long runs is that you can't have Gilmore Girls blaring in the background to help the time fly (...actually, I guess you could, if you were one that ran with an iPod. I am not.)

Another frustrating similarity is the cost.  It's expensive to run a marathon.  Entry fees are a good $100 at least, not to mention travel, accommodation, and food costs.  Add in the cost of expensive gear and race/training fuel and it's something you need those months ahead to save for.  Financing a big band gig is... probably the hardest part of putting on a show.  Like a marathon, all costs are usually out of pocket and there is much to be accounted for including paying for rehearsal space, printing, and paying the musicians.  Both events take tight and realistic budgeting, which need to include room for unexpected expenses like buying a new pair of socks to replace the ones you forgot, or getting ALL of the trumpet parts reprinted because the first print was in concert key (this tends to happen to me every time!).

Most striking though, is the way each goal consumes and alters your life.  You find yourself secluded from friends and fun activities like margaritas ("sorry guys, can't go to the Heights tonight, I have to get up early to run/write.").  As each day brings you closer to the big one, your thoughts are limited to that day and that day only.  Doubts start to surface and anxiety forms in questions like "What should I wear?" and "Am I really ready?" and the scariest of all, "Are they all going to laugh at me when I come in last/they realize I wrote that music??"

The day of the race/gig arrives with little sleep the night before.  Unable to eat due to nerves you tremble at the start.   It begins and a calm takes over- you are trained, you are ready, and you are now giving it your best.  Still, its hard not to watch the watch, counting the minutes to completion. As the finish approaches exhaustion takes over and you can no longer form sentences (just ask last week's audience about how my introduction to the final tune made no sense at all!). 

Then it's over.

First comes the surprise that you are no longer moving (running/conducting).  The still feeling is strange.  Then there is a bit of numbness where you are unable to process the last few hours.  Finally  comes the blissful hydration of Fruit Punch Gatorade/Raspberry Frozen Margaritas followed almost immediately by a long "aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

The day after is the best! You can sleep in, eat whatever you want and just watch TV and veg all day, which is all you really can do after a super intense outing.  And when you are finally able to process your accomplishment, it is a feeling of pride, achievement, and overall self- gratification. You basically feel like a super-hero. This is of course, provided that it went well- nothing is worse than the feeling of failure after a marathon/gig.  I have experienced both and they are hard to rise above. 

Running and composing are both huge parts of my life.  I do feel they define me and my passion for both allow me to learn from each one lessons that are applicable to the other.  When I struggle with one I reference the other.  When up all night finishing backgrounds or cleaning charts, I remember that when six miles out from finishing an 18 miler it seems I will never finish, I eventually do, and that means this night of seeming torture will too pass.  When my pacing plan on the marathon does not go as I'd hoped, I try to remember that even when tunes are riddled with mistakes, they can still succeed in being beautiful, as can the race, even if my time is slower than I'd hoped. 

And as I add more marathon finisher's medals to my wall (6 in total as of now) it does get easier, or rather, easier to prepare for, and I have complete faith that getting my band to perform more often will eventually become easier as well.  Now to tackle the delightful task of finding the perfect shoes...

The first long run back is always the hardest...

New post up on Races in Places...

This past weekend I went on my first long run in several months.  Saturday night I begrudgingly set the alarm and woke up early Sunday morning to gray clouds telling me to go back to bed and sleep in.  Had it been a month ago, had it been the weekend before, I would have heeded those clouds and snuggled back into my bed in my air conditioned bedroom.  But last month, the prior weekend even I was not in training and this weekend, I’m afraid I am.

Read the rest here.

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!