In almost all races I’ve joined this year, I saw a great deal of runners listen to their ipods and music players while running. While I understand that they probably don’t want to get bored during the run, I also spoke with some people and told me convincingly that listening to music does improve their performance by helping them defocus on pains they feel during the race.
I personally can not verify this as almost all my races, I ran without music player. Although I did try to carry one during my first 21k race , I removed it only after three kilometers because adjusting the wire from time to time was such a distraction and having no playlist during that time, I found myself switching to different songs most of the time, hence I decided to run the rest of the distance without one.
After doing some research on the internet, here’s my conclusion:
Newbie runners like me MIGHT benefit from listening to music, helping you keep a good pace and takes your mind off some of the things that can slow you down. Just a warning for my readers, as most road races here in Philippines are being conducted on the same road where jeepneys are travelling, you may have to listen with just one ear or keep the volume very low so that you can still hear cars,jeepneys,motors etc coming your way.
However as you gain more experience and wanting to “level-up” your performance, its better to focus, concentrate better on your running form and listen to your body sans the music. That’s probably the reason why you never see elite runners or those who always bag the podium finish carrying music players during their races. Additionally, I personally believe that true motivation should come from within us. It’s much better to be comfortable with ourselves with no music and learn what really works. Also I do enjoy talking and listening to other runners during the race itself, plugging in my earpiece seems to take away the joy of communicating with people sharing the same passion as yours.
As I do not consider myself yet “experienced” I might bring my player this coming Sunday for Earth Run to help me improve my terrible pace. My plan is to play all Maroon 5 songs (minus one song that has a line “…is there anyone out there coz its getting HARDER AND HARDER TO BREATHE) to jack up my pace, followed by slow comfy music for my recovery then back to Maroon 5 songs again!
Do you listen to music when you run? Does it have any effect on your performance? I would like to know.
No related posts.
Ria
on May 27th, 2009
@ 7:48 am:
Judging from my race times, I ran my best ones without a music player
but I usually bring one along during training, especially on easy runs, long runs, or treadmill sessions.
Ria
on May 27th, 2009
@ 7:52 am:
Hahaha, natawa pala ako dun sa Harder to Breathe na song! A no-no during a race! I’ve tried putting on relaxing yet intense music during a particular treadmill session pala. It helped me hit a sub 60 10k (with inclines). Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra, “Sky Blue” http://www.amazon.com/Maria-Schneider-Standard-packaging-booklet/dp/B000UCZU3K
Pero, treadmill yun, iba pa rin yung road.. hehehe
admin
on May 27th, 2009
@ 7:55 am:
Listening to music on treadmill is fine and perfect, another story if you’re gonna use it on road races here in Philippines. In fact in some states in U.S, you are not allowed to bring your music player.
admin
on May 27th, 2009
@ 8:02 am:
Nice song list! But I’d rather listen to your music (what time is it now? bolahan time!!!)
Luis Arcangel
on May 27th, 2009
@ 8:59 am:
As for me buddy, I have tried running both with and without music and I seem to lean towards the former. When running with someone, I can tolerate running without it because of the conversation specially during LSD’s. But during races I often run 95% of the race alone, and for some reason just listening to something takes my mind off the exhaustion. There was this study that came out in Men’s Health, stated that listening to music somehow stimulates chemicals in the brain which block out pain. Not sure as to the veracity of that study, but I guess it works for me man!
Regards,
Luis
http://gingerbreadrunning.blogspot.com/
i2runner
on May 27th, 2009
@ 2:08 pm:
Hi Sam, First of all, you have an awesome website. Great design layout and easy to read format.
Number two… Runners wearing ipods reminds me of the 80’s when it was called Joggers with Walkmans. Now I see lots of really fast runners even elites like Ryan Hall wearing ipods during their training. Makes me think of using one as well.
daytripper
on May 27th, 2009
@ 3:53 pm:
Nice article!
I’ve started joining road races last March (Condura Run 5k) and in every race I always bring along my trusty black earphones (earmuffs? hehe) to connect to my nokia phone containing my playlist. It really keeps my mind off the race so it just lets me pace without really “thinking” about it. Kase nga distracted.
I remember the 1st time I practiced for a 10k run with my friend, he told me not to bring my music player kase kukwentuhan pa raw kami during the run. I wasn’t used to it so parang sooobrang pagod na pagod ako just thinking about maintaining my pace and finish the 10k distance. Kung may sounds siguro ako nun nalibang ako at di ganung nahirapan.
Pero onga ano? The podium finishers (elites) don’t wear music players. Hmmm, let me try in my next practice run if I can manage without my earmuffs.
Bong ortiz
on May 27th, 2009
@ 4:33 pm:
While organizers of major racing events prefer runners without wearing ipods or portable musical devices for safety reasons, the ruling, if there is one in a major race is really hard to enforce, what with thousands of runners participating. The Boston, New York or Chicago marathons for example with more than 30 thousand runners in each race, it would be an impossible task to uphold a ban on ipods. Personally, I’d rather enjoy my run with all my senses focused on my surroundings, talking with my running partner/group, listening to birds chirping,rustle of leaves, honk of a car (don’t wanna be run over), my heavy breathing, the sound of my feet pounding the ground.
Rod
on May 28th, 2009
@ 1:38 am:
I always listen to music whenever I run. Bet it on a race, alone, or lsd. Somehow, it keeps me focused. But it is always a challenge to listen to music & be wary of your surroundings at the same time.
nice layout, bro! =)
admin
on May 28th, 2009
@ 1:53 am:
Oh yeah you will need that, because no can run with you on a race most of the time*laughs*. But seriously, listening to music during race is a personal preference, some runners might see improvements on it but some might see it as distraction. And guess what, I just tried this morning training with music and it indeed help ignore the pain, however, my perspiration went inside my player and its not working now. It looks like im running “musicless” on SUnday!
admin
on May 28th, 2009
@ 1:56 am:
Hi Natz,
Thanks for the praise, although I did a little customization of its CSS format, credit should go to the developer(BizArtic) of this theme. You can check the original format by going into the link in the footer section of this website.
But Ryan is freaking Ryan Hall!! Hehehehe, but the winner in Boston last month didn’t have one
admin
on May 28th, 2009
@ 2:42 am:
Hi bong,
Thanks on your reply. I agree, talking with other runners during run can be fun. Especially us Filipinos, we are very social people.
admin
on May 28th, 2009
@ 2:46 am:
Hi Rod,
thanks for your feedback. Did some little customization on the layout but its not mine. You can check the link in my footer to see where I got this layout.
notsquare
on May 28th, 2009
@ 4:57 am:
I prefer to focus on my breathing…
marga
on May 30th, 2009
@ 3:49 am:
i find it difficult to function without music. is there such a thing such as music dependency? i guess. not just in running, but also when in the car, when working, or when traveling. i like attributing music with every sensation/experience.
it’s a matter of preference. as for me, i will go CRAZY if i don’t have my music. this applies to running, to traveling, and to working. there are some people like us who work better in that manner — people who are more inclined to be auditory than visual.
Jeff
on Aug 19th, 2009
@ 4:11 pm:
running is good for the heart…yan lagi ang sinasabi d2..
http://www.greenbodytalk.com/forums/gym-memberships-and-fitness-centers-b21.0/
benj
on Mar 22nd, 2010
@ 4:33 pm:
I ran my fourth road race yesterday and it was my first without earphones on. The venue was different but I was able to cut my PR in the 5km by over 4 mins - from 33x to 29x. I guess music does slow me down (?).