Preparing to find God

Over the last couple months, I've worked on a playlist to assault my ears with before important runs and races.  The idea is that by playing it before my hardest workouts, the psychological effect of those songs will compound so that by race day, I could go from comatose to race-ready by the time the list is up.  I think it's working.  The title of the playlist is the title of this entry: Preparing to find God.

I thoroughly touched on why I run two entries ago, so this is really just another way of saying it.  It's not always the case that I catch a glimpse of something divine during a run - or a ride, for that matter - but it happens.  Most prominent in my mind is a memory of a three-hour ride I did in the fall - October 26, to be specific.  I headed to the coast, turned north towards Newport Beach, and cut back inland on Newport Coast Drive.  It's a decent climb, gaining 675' over 2.5 miles.  I had tentatively planned my route and the elevation chart I'd seen suggested that this was the only big climb of the ride.  So I crushed it.

I got to the top and started looking for the road I was supposed to turn on.  After a 450' decent, I found the turn.  Then I realized that the elevation chart had lied.  In front of me was a mile-long, 7.5% climb.  Full disclosure: I love climbing until the road gets steeper than 6%.  Then I have no interest whatsoever.

My legs were still aching from the last hill.  They wanted little to do with this hill.  I gave them a break, got out of the saddle, and just started walking the pedals over one another.  One step at a time.  I looked around at the cypress trees, the 180 degrees of green rolling hillsides, the newly-paved winding black road.

"There is nowhere in the world I'd rather be, nothing in the world I'd rather be doing, than climbing this hill, right here, right now."  It wasn't a conscious thought, but it was clear enough to have been spoken.  In the midst of my suffering, the heaviness of my legs was lifted.  I felt light, nimble, fresh.  My face, drawn with pain, turned to a smile.  I started laughing.

I'm 9 days out.  That playlist is on repeat in my head already.
(I apologize in advance to everyone who has to deal with my taper madness.  I know, I'm a needy middle-school girlfriend right now.)


Notable workouts:
4/13 - 12 w/ last 4 faster than MP
4/17 - 16 @ 7:44 pace; my last run over 2 hours
4/19 - 8 @ MP+15sec
4/21 - 7 w/ mid 4 @ ~10k pace (6:19)