why do you run? i've been asked that so many times and my answer is pretty much the same. i run because i can. i recently ran a half marathon/marathon with some friends. one of them was a marathon virgin, the other was a half marathon virgin. it was great to share such an event with others. sometimes you have things so good in life you don't even know. 6 of us, running the full or half because we chose to. everyday in different cities all around the world, people are running. some from enemies, some from danger, some from fear, some from themselves. how fortunate we are to run for ourselves and because we chose. to.
i started running in around 2006 when i adopted by dog brewster. i mainly did it because i saw so many other folks running with their dogs that i thought it was what i was supposed to do. my first run ever lasted about 15 minutes. there i was a 22 year old healthy somewhat athletic male and i couldn't run 15 minutes. interesting. each day was another challenge. i started buying clothing that was more suited for runners, i switched from nike to asics because i thought it would make me more of a runner too. somewhere between my shoe switch and clothing purchases i started running with music. i enjoy music and i enjoy running, plus everyone else was running with music so i thought that's how you're supposed to do it. i started with music i liked... that was a bad idea. when you have an eclectic taste in music like i do you should think twice about putting your favorite songs as your playlist. i'm a rythmn runner (didn't know that back then) but i also love music. one minute biggie smalls is on an i'm crushing miles (and by crushing i was probably running a 9 min pace back then), the next minute pink floyd is on and i'm at a slow "yog" at best (had to put a plug in for my news team runners). it wasn't that i dabbled into triathlons that next fall that i ditched the headphones and never looked back.
i had taken a liking into a mentors activities. triathlons. wow, so cool i had thought. most (like 99.99%) of triathlons don't allow media players. it poses as a safety risk for the cyclist and for the runners (especially on longer courses). between that and getting sick of dealing with ear buds etc i just dropped the music from my running less than a year into running. it has been one of the best things for me. nothing has helped improve my running more than ditching the music. perhaps it was my mind doing something that my body already wanted, which is ironic because endurance events/running etc is the body doing what the mind wants.
the key here is the "want" part of the equation. with music you tend to run because you have to. the music assists you in your running. do you really love it? do you really "want" to do it? if so, why do you need the help? i challenge you to challenge your mind. running without music is a beautiful thing. you'd be amazed at what you hear, what you think and what you feel. all of a sudden the way your feet hit the ground gives you that youthful energy, that desire to push that next step at a better cadence, strike the ground the way your body was meant to strike it. people are always talking about living in the moment and running without music is truly one way to do it.
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