Monday, October 27, 2014

My IRONMAN Florida Playlist!

OK, so here is my 2014 IRONMAN Florida Playlist.

This started out to be just my "ring walk" playlist. You know what a "ring walk" is, right?! That is what a Mixed Martial Artist (MMA) or boxer does before the big fight. You know how they saunter into the arena, from their dressing room, and into the ring with music blaring, their entourage in tow, and their adoring fans screaming at the top of their lungs?!

Well, my playlist went from just a couple of songs, to pump me up as I walk into the "ring" (a.k.a. - IRONMAN Florida swim start), to music that will pretty much define my entire race. And, while I do not have a really awesome silk robe, with a hood, like a famous MMA star or boxer, I do have my bitchin' swim parka! I will wear that for my "ring walk" this Saturday!

THE "RING WALK" (a.k.a. - Walking from my condo to the swim start.):
OK, it is time to get pumped up! What better songs to do it with than...
  • Bawitdaba - Kid Rock ("Bawitdaba da bang a dang diggy diggy diggy said the boogy said up jump the boogy", indeed, my friends!)
  • Thunderstruck - AC/DC (Not sure what they are carrying on about at the beginning, but it sure pumps me up!)
  • Lose Yourself - Eminem ("Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity, To seize everything you ever wanted. one moment, Would you capture it or just let it slip?")
  • Remember the Name - Fort Minor ("This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill, Fifteen percent concentrated power of will, Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain, And a hundred percent reason to remember the name!" Make them remember your name!)
  • Alive - P.O.D. ("I feel so alive for the very first time and I think I can fly!" Or at least swim, bike, and run 140.6 miles!)
THE 2.4-MILE SWIM:
  • Panama - Van Halen (Since 1932, this song has launched the IRONMAN Florida swim start*. For no other reason than having a rocking beginning and the word "Panama" in it... with the race being in Panama City Beach, Florida! See a couple of IRONMAN swim starts and ANY song they play at the beginning of one will get you pumped up! * - I might be a little off on the date.)
  • Keep Your Hands To Yourself - Georgia Satellites (Yeah, I know that the song is talking about something totally different, but I would appreciate the other ~3,500 swimmers all entering the water at the same time as me to keep their hands, feet, fists, knees, cudgels, snorkels, etc. to themselves!)
T1:
  • Strip - Adam Ant ("We're just following ancient history, If I strip for you will you strip for me?" Gotta get out of that wetsuit and into our bike gear somehow! LOL!)
THE 112-MILE BIKE:
  • Fat Bottomed Girls - Queen ("Get on your bikes and ride!" Yeah, there will be all kinds of "bottoms" to focus on during that long bike ride. Find one you like and follow it. Just maintain four bike lengths so as to not get a drafting penalty! Or get peed on. Yes, it happens. LOL!)
  • I Live For The Sun - Surf Punks (Still not sure what the morning temperatures or winds are going to be. One, early forecast had a low of 48 and 14 mph winds. That will make for a chilly first hour on the bike until that big, yellow, heat-tab-in-the-sky warms things up a bit. I will be looking forward to finding some sun. But not too much, right?!)
  • 99 Problems - Jay-Z (More like 112 problems, but I know what won't be one! Keep pedaling!)
  • Life is a Highway - Rascal Flatts ("Life's like a road that you travel on, When there's one day here and the next day gone. Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand, Sometimes you turn your back to the wind." A good portion of our life, this day, will be a highway. A few of them, actually. Here is to hoping that the wind is ALWAYS at our backs!)
  • The Boys Are Back In Town - Thin Lizzy (And the girls! "Guess who just got back today? Those wild-eyed boys that had been away." Everyone will be happy to get back into "town" after a hundred miles of "not much" scenery. And probably a little "wild-eyed" thinking about that 26.2-mile run ahead!)


T2:
  • Changes - David Bowie ("Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes" For many of us, time for another costume change. Me, I'm changing into different duds for every event. I aspire to have more costume changes than a Celine Dion Vegas Show!)



THE 26.2-MILE RUN:
  • Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen ("...tramps like us, baby we were born to run!" One of my all-time favorite running songs and the perfect way to get the run started!)
  • Beautiful Day - U2 (Supposedly this is played at 9:00 pm at every IRONMAN, or so the announcer at last year's IMFL said. I hope to cross the Finish Line before that time, but will definitely be doing all I can to have a "beautiful day" on the run course!)
  • Rainbow in the Dark - Dio ("No sign of the morning coming. There's no sight of the day. You've been left on your own. You are a Rainbow. Rainbow in the Dark." It gets DARK back in that State Park. I hope I have the motivation and energy to "shine bright, like a diamond" or be a "rainbow in the dark"!)
  • Livin' On A Prayer - Bon Jovi (Pretty sure that the second lap, heading into the State Park, this is going to me...)
  • Big Girls Don't Cry - Fergie (No, they do not! And I'm going to keep telling myself this on that second lap!
  • My Body - Young The Giant ("My body tells me no. But I won't quit, Cause I want more. Cause I want more!" Can't stop, won't stop! ;) Gotta make that turn in the State Park on that second loop!)
  • One Vision - Queen ("One man, one goal, One mission. One heart, one soul, Just one solution. One flash of light, yeah, One God, one vision." This whole song rocks. After that turn in the State Park, I will have "one vision"... that finish line!)
  • With A Little Help From My Friends - Joe Cocker ("I get by with a little help from my friends." I will need a LOT of help from my friends, family, team mates, and fellow triathletes to get through those last miles of the marathon! Let me hear it!)
THE FINISH CHUTE AND FINISH LINE:
  • Sexy Back - Justin Timberlake (You might not think I am sexy, but I will, when I finally see that Finish Chute!)
  • The Man - Aloe Blacc ("Well you can tell everybody, Yeah you can tell everybody. Go ahead and tell everybody, I'm the man, I'm the man, I'm the man. Yes I am, yes I am, yes I am. I'm the man, I'm the man, I'm the man." This is definitely how I am going to feel when I cross that line. There are so many great songs to finish to, but this one would be near the top of the list for me.)
  • Iron Man - Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne (Not sure if I want this playing right after my finish or if I will just scream the opening words a few times... "I AM IRONMAN!!!" I guess it is possible that these lyrics may also apply... "Has he lost his mind? Can he see or is he blind? Can he walk at all, Or if he moves will he fall?")
  • Hall of Fame - The Script ("Yeah, you can be the greatest, You can be the best. You can be the King Kong banging on your chest." I hope there will be some well-earned banging on my chest when this thing is done!)
BACK AT THE ROOM:
  • Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice (Ice bath, bags of ice, ice-cold beer... ice, ice, baby!)
SUNDAY MORNING:
  • Thrift Shop - Macklemore and Ryan Lewis (Look out Official IRONMAN Store... "I'm gonna pop some tags...")

OK, friends, followers, and accidental travelers... this may likely be my last blog post until after the big day, IRONMAN Florida on Saturday, November 1, 2014! I would like to put out another one to really say thanks to all those who have helped me in this journey and to really wish the best of luck to all of those competing. I don't want to put any pressure, with everything I still have to do this week, to crank out another post, though.

So, until I can more adequately say thank you to the countless family, friends, and well-wishers that have helped get me to the point where it is now up to me to make this dream a reality, let me briefly say it now. Thank you!!! Without your support, this would simply remain only a dream.

And to those of you competing, I pray for your safety and your strength as you travel to Panama City Beach and on race day! I hope you have an incredible end to your journey! One that far exceeds your wildest dreams of how you thought it would!




Good luck, IRONMAN!!!




I'mRONMAN

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