My friend and I decided to go on a one hour run over the weekend. As I was getting ready, I picked up my iPod and said, “Are we bringing iPods?” It is always a question I ask when I run with a friend. I’ve asked this to my friend Melissa, who trains and races with me. I’ve asked Meghann when she ran a race with me. I’ve asked my adorable baby brother when he ran with me in the Floridas! I never want insult a friend by bringing an iPod when they were planning on talking and catching up; at the same time, I don’t want to be the one without an iPod when they plan on rocking out to their own music!
So I always ask.
“My iPod’s not charged.”
Oh.
A plea:
“My new iPod plays music out loud! Look! We can both listen!” as I pressed play to Guster’s Amsterdam filling up the room.
A cheap attempt. Obviously the tiny tinny iPod sound wouldn’t hold up on the street with cars and other city sounds. We both knew I was grasping at straws. I had to admit defeat. No iPods would be used during this six-ish mile run.
Why was I nervous? Sure, I could run without music. I’d done it before. On our 11 mile training run, Melissa, Ashley and I ran the first nine miles with no music before deciding to pop in our earbuds and zone out for the final two.
But we had our iPods that day. We had the option of listening at any time. There’s a certain level of comfort in knowing I have my music, even if I don’t actually use it. At least I know it is there. The only other time I didn’t even bring my iPod was when I ran with my brother in the Floridas, but I was running a little less than four miles so it was what I consider a “short” run — anything under one hour. But this weekend, we planned to run for about an hour, making this a “long” run in my book. And the idea a long run without the option of my music made me a little nervous.
(On a “short run” race with friends — no music. See – I can still be happy!)
So we set out. For the first mile or so, I thought I might go insane. I kept thinking about how long this first mile was taking and how I would have to do about five more just like it and how would I get through it and would I have to give up? I remembered my reward at the end of the run: breakfast. And of course, how great I usually feel after a run — but would I still feel so great? I tried to focus on my breathing; in on the left foot, out on the right. And once that first mile I was done, I stopped missing my iPod. In fact, I stopped caring about it at all. The run was awesome!
I was not in pain. I was seeing new sights. I was weaving around people participating in an AIDS walk. I was talking to my friend. I was also not talking to my friend. My knee was not hurting. I was thinking a lot. I even had that Guster song Amsterdam stuck in my head, so I kind of had my own little soundtrack of one. Aaaaand now it is stuck in my head again. Great.
With all the novelty of the run — running with someone new, running in a different place, strategizing how to best dodge the AIDS walkers (and then dodging them as fast as possible!) — all helped make this one of the most non-boring runs I’ve ever even had.
Really, running with another person is always better than running alone for me just because someone else being there, going through the same thing at the same time, is entertaining in its own way. When I run with friends, the run flies by.I still like to run by myself a lot of the time and zone out to music and be on my own timetable, but in general I’ve found that my runs are much more interesting with a friend. Even if we don’t say much.
I’ve read a number of times that it is important to run without music sometimes. You can really just think without distraction, work things out, let your mind drift, listen to your own breathing, listen to your feet hit the ground, establish a rhythm and a stride that you might not have otherwise. And lots of races — especially marathons — frown upon or even straight out ban the use of headphones. In fact, my friend over at iRunnerBlog recently wrote a post about just that!
Of course, my thoughts are much more fun when I have my music since a lot of my running music is pretty ridiculous/humorous. And that is when I get the best ideas for blog posts. And when I think lots of funny thoughts that make me think I am a hilarious person, even if I might forget most of them as soon as I get home. Â I also look forward to my playlists — they really motivate me!
(But I really do love my music!)
That said, I think both sides have their strengths, though I do not agree with any decisions to ban headphones from a race. For a long race, I need all the motivation I can get. When I’m running with friends, on the other hand, that is all the motivation I need!
Do you like to run with a friend or by yourself? Do you ever ditch the iPod at home?