There's an interesting "debate" on boston.com today about the use of headphones while running. I personally don't chose to listen to tunes, but I'm not against it. I prefer to zone out by getting into a rhythm with my breathing, observing random thoughts, repeating various mantras, etc.
What do you guys think? Should headphones be banned at races?
Check it out...
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2007/08/20/a_running_debate/
Monday, August 20, 2007
Phones home?
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6 comments:
I'm not a headphone runner. Running is an escape for me as it is and I like to listen to the ambient sound-scape. It's interesting because you hear things like birds and animals and sometimes nothing but the sound of your own breathing and the crunch of your feet on the road. You also hear cars and other things that pose a danger to your health because sometimes you hear them before you see them.
As far as earphones in races -- I'm with the guy who said he just wants to clue into the vibe of the race, and sound is a part of it. If you can't spend one hour alone with your thoughts, on the road, then there's something wrong in your life. Yeah, I'm being judgmental.
We moderns are afraid to be alone, afraid to be un/under-stimulated. Being outside running is plenty of stimulation for me -- if it doesn't work for you find another sport. If you're bored running, then you're boring, or you're root sucks.
A couple of interesting things in that article: they mention "run Easy." They also mention Pearl Izumi's ads that sort of mock the "joggers." I've also seen the PI ads mocked by runners who say "who the hell runs through deserted brown lots in blighted areas?" (There's another execution whose headline reads "Ever notice bodies are found by runners"). run easy and PI are not written by runners.
Another interesting thing in that article is the delineation between "joggers" and "hard core racers." I'm somewhere in the middle, tending towards joggers -- I'm a self-competitive-runner -- and I think that races should be open to all. The elites are at the front, the rest of us strung out behind. It makes it more fun to run the race, it gives greater appreciation of the elites' accomplishments and a good sense of where we stand int he universe.
The hardcore racers should remember that there are so many races because there are so many people out to test themselves against the clock and the terrain. I prefer to see people race without phones, but I'm all for all people in the race as long as they are honest about their pace. I got stuck behind an older couple in mile one at falmouth who were determinedly plodding along at a 10-11 minute mile. The got in via lottery, and have every right to be there -- as much as I -- but they need to be honest and put down a recent 10K time, not one they ran in 1977. At the very least they didn't have on headphones . . .
Man, you've always been so wishy-washy. How about getting an opinion for once?! ;) Obviously, I'm just kidding.
I agree that time alone is a luxury, one that is waaayyy undervalued in our hyper-speed society today. I do my best thinking on the roads.
One thing I think you miss is the fact that starting to run and keeping it up is hard work. Mrs. VTRunner pulls out the iPod on the days that are harder to motivate. If listening to tunes gets you out the door and helps you keep on chugging, I'm all for it.
Just pull the plugs if you run with me, and we're all good.
I was a campus ministry guy in high school, and during a program orientation with about 25 other guys I took part in an "ice breaker" that required us all to jot the answers to some personal questions on a lapel label and then use them to become acquianted with someone new.
Anyway, one of the questions was, "what is your greatest ambition?" I still remember the teacher/adult leader's answer: "To be silent." I remember this because, being just 16 years old, I found his response so curious and I wondered about it for a long time. At 35 it no longer perplexes me, I must say.
I can understand the iPod or whatever as a bit of motivation, as the last thing to push you out the door . . . my wishy-washy opinion however was more related to the people who say i could never run without it, or it eases the suffering, or the pain or makes running bearable . . .
As far as forceful opinions go, you know what they say about opinions . . . like a certain piece of our anatomy, everybody's got one . . .
I like that ambition, FA. I just wish I could live up to it.
I did not offer my story as a model for your behavior, opinions, ruminations, rants, etc, which I always enjoy.
I know you didn't, FA . . . but I need to find a way to be more silent.
This said as I currently rage through my work days tilting at windmills that I'll never change . . . ugh.
I've been in a particularly snarky mood for the past few weeks and this week has been especially difficult.
But I got a run in today.
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