OK we've all done it...There's no-one around...Earplugs in, Volume up, and you pound the streets to the Theme of Rocky or the Eye of the Tiger!!! Yes? No? Please don't say it's just me?
Whether it be Rocky or your own favourite tunes, there's no doubt about it (and scientific research backs it up) that running with Music can improve your performance and lift your mood. But are you blocking out listening to your body? Sports Psychologists call this 'dissociation' distracting yourself from what you are doing. Is that what we want when running, to distract ourselves?
What about the flip side. What about running listening to the birds singing, the wind rustling through the trees and listening to the tune of your body. A chance to think about things, to listen to the crowds encouragement at a race.
There are pro's and con's to both sides of the debate, Running can be a lonely sport and listening to Music or Podcast's can be a great comfort, but then again you can't hear traffic around you and could suffer an accident. So many positives and negatives to both options.
So I'm going to put it out to the great public vote. You are going out for a solo run. Do you put on the headphones or leave them at home?
Please vote below and feel welcome to leave a comment. Your participation is greatly appreciated.
I do most of my runs with music, because I used to run in the gym a lot. However, in a race, a really pretty place or even with people, I like to run without music because I don't need the distraction. :)
ReplyDeleteBoth. It depends on my mood that day.
ReplyDelete