Whether you’re running for fitness, training for a marathon or just running to get out, it is probably a good idea that you have something effective to listen to while you do so. If you’re struggling to find motivation to get out and tear up the tarmac, try mixing up what you are listening to.
I am a big fan of excuses not to put on the trainers and go out for a run. Its too cold, too windy, too hot, too rainy, too late. For me, one excuse that I find myself using the most is “I’ve got nothing good to listen to and i’ll get bored” then before I know it i’m on the xbox chillaxing. I have always listened to upbeat music when running, and studies have found that doing so can increase performance by up to 15 percent. Lately though I have started to wonder what else I could listen to, to try and make my runs more entertaining and break the monotony of my usual playlists. Over the past month I have experimented with podcasts, new music (stuff I don’t know the words to), and listening to nothing at all.
From listening to podcasts I found that it gives me something to think about, allowing me to get “in the zone” and my usual 5 mile run seems to go by a lot quicker. I had to try and find podcasts that roughly suited the length of run I was going on so I didnt end up with a load of half finished episodes. Ones that suited this perfectly were serial and no such thing as a fish.
From listening to new music I found it gave me a beat to set my running rhythm to. So dependant on how fast I wanted to run I selected a playlist which had a beat to match the intensity. Spotify is a great place to look for this type of playlist.
I found that listening to nothing allowed me to think about whatever was on my mind. Doing this was sometimes a struggle as I tended to get slightly bored on the run and therefore it seemed to take longer. I did however feel that this method is great for clearing the head.
(Photo credit: John Swann)
“You must expect great things from yourself before you can achieve them” – Michael Jordan
90s / early noughties trance!! I’ve got about four hours worth of songs stored on one Spotify playlist that I shuffle and go, but for longer training runs I try and go without since I don’t want to get into the habit of using the music to motivate me / set the pace.
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