Running Buds Vol. 10: Caitlin D'Agostino, Vixen77
Musicians on running. Runners on music.
Vixen77 are cool as hell.
Quite simply, there isn’t another band like them in Philadelphia or perhaps anywhere else. They’re a tightknit squad of scoundrels who play high-energy, old-school punk rock that worships at the altar of Johnny Thunders, Johnny Ramone, and Joan Jett. “Born to Lose”? Hell no. These ladies were born to kick your ass.
Last Friday, Vixen77 released their debut album Easy Access (via Megaforce Records). Produced by Pete Donnelly (The Figgs), the album is a full-on rager of high-octane rock and roll bursting at the seams with charisma. Songs like “Royalty,” “Record Store,” and “Your Love” are instant standouts, not to mention the excellent choice in covering The Romantics’ “What I Like About You.” This band is clearly ready to take over Philadelphia, one power chord at a time. I love it when a record sounds like a sweaty rock show, and Easy Access clearly has the rush of a punk rock party. You can practically hear a crowd begging for an encore by the end of “Give It Up.”
Luckily, you don’t have to rely on the record for that feeling. You can go see them live tomorrow at Philly’s best venue Johnny Brenda’s where they’ll be headlining a show celebrating the release of Easy Access.
In the meantime, I caught up with guitarist and co-founder of the band Caitlin D'Agostino, who, in between teaching English at Rutgers University - Camden and getting her doctorate in Educational Leadership, is an avid runner and ultramarathoner(!). We talked a bit about the mental aspect of running, pain, and how running has changed her life for the better.
—
When did you start running? How’d you get into it?
Long story short, I always knew I wanted to do running because I understood the payoff – like the runner’s high – but I never really had the patience as a kid to do it. I was never into sports as a kid, but running was always the one sport that I really liked from afar. When I was a kid, my mom was a runner. So, I knew that when I got older I had to run otherwise I’d slow down real quick.
I always had it in my brain that I want to run when I’m older, but it wasn’t until I was like 25 when I was in grad school and I was at my low point in life. I made a commitment to stop drinking alcohol, become vegan, and get into marathon running.
Before that, when I was 19, 20, I’d go running for a mile or two. I used to go to the gym a few days a week but I never ran outside, and my excuse was well I thought I would get a lot of sunburn! Obviously, that’s still something I worry about today, but I stopped making excuses and just went for it. I really think for me, trying to not be an alcoholic is what allowed me to get into marathon running.
That’s so great. Have you run a lot of marathons since?
Three in three years probably, so not a lot.
Wow, well that’s three more than a lot of people!
Yeah, I’m basically just a beginner. It’s cool meeting people who have been doing it for longer. It’s really interesting that a lot of them have actually started later than me. One of my favorite local running people started when he was 34. So, I don’t feel as bad for not being a high school runner and getting into it a little later. With ultrarunning, you can start at any age.
Oh yeah. I mean, I ran for one week in high school and quit. I didn’t seriously start running until I was in my 20s, and the longest race I’ve done is the Broad Street Run. I do want to do a half-marathon at some point.
Oh if you can run 10 miles you can totally do a half-marathon. Your mind really is your worst enemy, and having patience in the moment.
What’s it like running a marathon?
So my one friend Eddie was really honest and gave me good advice before I started. He was like “basically, it’s a pain contest.” And so I really mentally prepared for extreme suffering and horror to the point that when it happened, it wasn’t so bad! It’s actually very addictive, and you in your mind in that however many hours you’re there, you really have to overcome your mind. It sounds really horrible – like why would anyone want to do that – but I think it’s a way to deal with your own issues.
I feel that for sure. So, can you describe your typical running schedule?
To be honest, I’ve only been doing this for three years. So at first I started doing heavy mileage with no strength training. I would do like 40 miles a week, but I was really weak because I didn’t do strength training. Now I do less miles but a lot of strength training. So my schedule is not that crazy, like maybe 4 days a week.
What sort of strength training do you include?
Well, I do 15 minutes of wall sits every day. Push ups, jumping jacks, all the “free” at-home workouts. It’s cool to see the effect of daily 10-15 minutes wall sits had on the feeling in your legs after a marathon. Like last August, I ran a 33 mile marathon and I was just in agony. I couldn’t walk. But then I did one year of wall sits every day and less miles, and while the next marathon didn’t go as well because I was dehydrated, my legs were like really not in pain. It was crazy to measure like year by year how much easier it gets. And for my older running friends, they say that just wait 10 years because your legs will just keep building up. So, in a weird sick way, I enjoy measuring like oh it hurts less. I don’t know. It’s fun to see the progress in terms of pain.
Which marathons have you done?
So, where I live they have the “Endless Endurance Looping Looper Marathon”. It’s just a 3.7 mile loop around Cooper River Lake. Very pleasant, very low elevation. It’s just like how many loops can do you do? And so you have people doing it for 24 hrs. So it’s not like a real ultra marathon, like I’m not out on the street for 100 miles. I just go around 3.7 miles and my husband is there with food. It’s a really good thing for people who are just getting into it. So, if you are ever so inclined to challenge yourself just to see like for 8 hours how many loops you can go, it’s a non-scary marathon to try. With a 3.7 mile loop, it’s enough of a difference where you can really get into it.
So, why do you run? What do you like about it?
It helps with my mental health, like any kind of depression or anxiety. It just alleviates it. I’m better when I’m in shape. And with work and school, I’m just better. It makes me a better role model for my students. It makes me a better guitarist, I’m better on stage. I think it just goes hand in hand with me making better choices.
That’s an interesting point about being a better musician because of running. How does it help you musically do you think? Does running help your creative process at all?
Well, running gives me an opportunity to listen to a lot of music, which I love. But also just for stamina on stage, I’m much better on stage now than I ever was before. That’s how I try to look at working out. I’ve always understood with the aging process, you either work out or you regret it. I was trying to like pump myself up for that and by 25 I got really into it. And so, having something to be in shape for like going on stage, is a good motivator for me – to try to give people the best live show and not be in horrible pain afterwards.
What music do you listen to when you run?
I have a bunch of playlists that I’ve made. I can’t listen to slow music. I really can’t. I like to listen to The Clash a lot when I run. When I say ‘slow,’ I just mean it can’t be too chill, because when the music is too chill it makes me not pumped up. So generally, faster rock and roll music. Maybe I’ll listen to some chiller music like T Rex while I run, but that’s about as chill as I can listen to while I run. I’m also obsessed with The Strokes, and Jack White. He’ll never come to Philly.
Oh yeah, what’s his deal?
I don’t know. I read that somebody threw a bottle at him on stage in the 90s and ever since then he was just like ‘fuck this.’ And I totally get it. It’s an offensive city [laughs].
We’re notorious for throwing things at people, apparently.
Yeah. That was not cool whoever did that. So I get it.
What’s your proudest running accomplishment.
I would say last year when I did 33 miles. My goal is to run 50 miles. My next attempt that I’m tentatively scheduling is the next Loopy Looper which is the Frosty Looper in December and I will attempt to do 50 miles. The only reason I didn’t do 50 miles during the summer is because when you’re running in that level of heat, as my friend told me afterwards, basically you have to put in as much effort to the running as you do with drinking water and fueling. Not to get gross, but I was having a hard time drinking the water and keeping it down. My body was not hydrated, I was just shaking, my fingers swelled up, and it was 100 degrees and it was really scary. I just tapped out. If I had properly hydrated, it would’ve been a lot better. I know that I can execute it with the right conditions. I didn’t prepare properly.
What’s your plan of attack going into the next race then?
I have a lot of time. I’m just going to continue to stay in shape, and because the weather will be cold, it’s actually so much easier to run. As long as there’s not ice on the ground, it’ll be great. I wanna run 50 miles! I love running in the winter, as long as there’s no ice.
Do you have any favorite running gear?
I use a Camelback things for water. I see people with the little handheld ones, so I’m thinking about using that. Even with the mini Camelback, it’s still a lot on your back. I use a Garmin watch. I love it. It’s a great watch. I use Diadora running shoes, usually.
Do you have any advice for beginners or people who are thinking about getting into running or maybe even marathon running?
My advice would be is that [running a marathon] is going to be horrible in many ways. It’s familiarizing yourself with a level of pain that most people would think that you go to the hospital for, right? In many ways, it’s really bad at the beginning but it gets better although it’s still always going to hurt. I think there’s a mythology in this culture that’s like if you work out all the time, it gets really easy and then you’re not going to be in pain. But that’s just not it. I’m fit, but I’m always in pain all the time and that’s why I smoke a lot of weed [laughs].
So, my advice would be to accept that it’s going to hurt a lot but you have to mentally tell yourself that you ARE running a marathon. For me, that was always my goal. It wasn’t a question. It’s like, you ARE going to run a marathon. In a psychotic, insane way where you have to decide that there are no excuses. I don’t like the whole “no excuses” attitude, but if you’re giving yourself that self-directed coaching, I think it can be productive, at least for me. That’s how I get through school and stuff. I just apply that mindset to running.
—
Easy Access is out now via Megaforce Records, and available on all streaming services. Vixen77 will be at Johnny Brenda’s in Philly Friday, October 21 to celebrate the release of the new record.
Be sure to follow the Running On Nothing Spotify Playlist here. And why not subscribe, eh?