One of the best parts of the Ipod revolution has been, in my humble opinion, the proliferation of the podcast. I can absolutely assure you that regardless of what you are interested in, there is a podcast somewhere with your interest in mind. (For those that have been locked out of the internet for the last ten years, podcasts are essentially pre-recorded radio shows ranging in production value from crappy to completely professional.)
I became truly addicted to the podcast medium during my nearly two years as a professional commuter, during which I logged about ten hours on the road each and every week. I can't stand to listen to music for that long as it tends to put my brain to sleep, so I relied heavily on the thought-sparking podcast. That being said, my favorite podcast is a little on the goofy side, perhaps even bordering on the raucous.
The Mike Omeara Show originally began as a terrestrial radio show in Washington D.C. and was a spin-off of what was known as the Don and Mike Show. WJFK abruptly cancelled the show about two years ago and the cast decided to strike out on their own and record the show in Mike Omeara's living room. The show is basically four semi-interesting guys sitting around shooting the shit. It's brain candy but it's funny as hell. In truth though, you really need to give it a week to understand the dynamic; after a week, you'll be hooked.
In any case, I love the show and listen to it all the time, especially on long slow runs. I have discovered though, that when I listen to podcasts/talk radio while I run, I naturally slow down. I don't know whether or not it's because I am trying to listen intently or because I can't hear my footfall or breathing. Either way, I'm slower, so I can't listen if I'm not on a treadmill that FORCES me to run fast.
On the other hand, when I listen to music with some beat and lyrics, I jump on the gas. This isn't unique I'm sure; the nike+ will even select a "pump" song for you if you let it. When I throw the music on, I need to make sure I don't hit burn out. On the other hand, the problem I generally have is that I honestly don't know how fast I can go and for how long.
So the silly bit of trivia here is that I have to make my choice very carefully. I've tried to run fast with a podcast loaded and I had to shut it off. I've also tried to run slow to music and that didn't quite work either.
Put these two things together and I suppose you have a pretty good argument for me leaving my ipod at home, which has been the trend as of late.
2 comments:
When I was marathon training, I survived my long solo runs by listening to Adam Carolla's podcasts.
Ah you know what, I've done the same. Especially the all nighter I pulled while running for relay for life. 12-4am. Four straight episodes.
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