Pump Up the Volume...

So yesterday I took my first run using one of "DJ Steve's Boyett's" podrunner mp3's with me. If you're not familiar with DJ Steve, he makes one hour mixes at different beats per minute... you find your personal pace/beat, and it's like a custom soundtrack for your run.

Some thoughts:
1) I'm not interested in the music/no music debate. Some days I want it. Some days I don't. I've raced without music. I've raced with it. Aside from the fact that I make the assumption that I'm faster than people who use music in 5k races, I hold no iPod stereotypes.

2) I'm really not a dance music fan, per se, or EDM as Steve calls it.... if DJ Steve's mix came on when I was driving, I would change the channel. HOWEVER, when I try to play the music that I do like when I'm running, that doesn't work out, either... rare is the ballad that makes for a good tempo run. Likewise, Charlie Robison is perfect with a six pack, not a six miler.

3) So using DJ Steve's mix as a tool - a way to pass the time and motivate myself a bit - I found it to be very effective. I'm a fan.

4) The real beauty of what Steve's doing is that you can find the tempo that's perfect for you. Yesterday, I took along a 161 bpm... for me, it seemed just a hair too slow. Today, I'm going to take a 170... AND I'm running a bit harder. I've found that when my effort is stronger, my patience for music is thinner, so DJ Steve will have his work cut out for him.

5) Did I mention this stuff is free? Hey, Runner's World: hire this guy, already!

Comments

  1. Anonymous12:18 PM

    re: #1 - completely agree. I generally race w/o music, but my training runs are either with or without, depending on my mood. More often than not, if I'm running on the treadmill at my local rec center, I run so I'm less bored and don't have to listen to the chatter around me.

    re: #2/3 - I'm not an electronica fan either, but I find dj steve's stuff helpful when I don't want to disassociate/not concentrate so much on what my body's doing. In other words, I like it for its intended purpose, but would never listen to it when I was wasn't running or I was trying to 'tune in' to my running.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous12:20 PM

    uggh. "I run so I'm less bored" should be "I run w/music so I'm less bored". Bad typing/thinking day.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unknown6:26 AM

    Anyone who trains via treadmill at all is a hero in my book... would definitely need the music there. :)

    ReplyDelete

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