Running with music--seeking advice/input/thoughts

[prncssjas]

Good morning RunDisney friends,

I am hoping you will share your thoughts/advice about music while running. For most training runs (except for those rare ones I do at night/in the dark with a headlamp), I typically listen to music. I enjoy the process in that way very much and find it relaxing. However, when I race (versus train), I am starting to question whether or not the music helps or hurts my performance. A few key points going through my head:

• During a race, assuming music is allowable, I keep the volume low enough for safety but loud enough to keep out the chatter of others, which I find distracting.
• I know that if I am listening to music, I cannot listen/hear my own breathing. This is not a good thing.
• On the other hand, when I hear songs I love, it gives me a little pep and helps me move faster.
• But, sometimes, when I am racing hard, the music can annoy me and takes me away from focusing...I often turn it off towards the tail end of the race.
• Now I am left wondering if a change is needed in terms of race strategy.

I ask because I am running the Bayshore Half Marathon this weekend and I am truly debating whether or not to even take my Airpods. I would love to hear your thoughts. Do you race with music? Do you like it? Avoid it?

Thank you so so much!

 

[Naomeri]

I use Shokz, so I can hear everything and listen to music. I also use the headphones for run/walk alerts, so I need them. Sometimes during Disney races, I pause my music to listen to the ambient park music, but still get my alerts. The handy thing with the Shokz is they have a button on the left speaker to pause/unpause, so I don’t need to pull out my phone at all.

 

[striker1064]

In the past, I only ever ran with music. There was a race - maybe it was a Disney race actually? - that suggested running the race without music both for the ambience of the race and so you have better awareness of what's going on around you. It took practice for me to get used to it, but I haven't run with music in several years. When I first stopped using headphones, I was amazed at how much I missed just running around home, and now I'm not sure I would be comfortable using music again.

Shokz are a good idea. I should try those someday. I had one of the first pairs and it gave me a massive headache, but there's a much bigger variety available now.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I use Shokz, so I can hear everything and listen to music. I also use the headphones for run/walk alerts, so I need them. Sometimes during Disney races, I pause my music to listen to the ambient park music, but still get my alerts. The handy thing with the Shokz is they have a button on the left speaker to pause/unpause, so I don’t need to pull out my phone at all.

This. All of it. I can pause my music from my watch as well.

But also:
I have curated my playlists for different cadences, and if I'm feeling good, I'll play one of the quicker ones, and if I just need to find a groove that I know I can turn my brain off during, I'll play a slightly slower one. This helps me maintain a much steadier pace through my run. I have music on during my runs 100% of the time unless I'm specifically running/talking with someone because the music keeps me from obsessing about things and thinking too much.

Having your airpods with you and choosing not to use them isn't really going to make a difference like something larger or bulky would. I put it in that category of "better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it."

 

[1lilspark]

Most races I listen to music in a low volume so I can be aware of my surroundings
Aside from most Disney races (most because I did put music on during the road miles of the SS 10M as I knew it would be a struggle mentally for me)

 

[prncssjas]

The handy thing with the Shokz is they have a button on the left speaker to pause/unpause, so I don’t need to pull out my phone at all.

This is quite handy!

 

[prncssjas]

When I first stopped using headphones, I was amazed at how much I missed just running around home, and now I'm not sure I would be comfortable using music again.

Thanks @striker1064 that's what I am thinking about now. How much am I missing by keeping music on? How much stronger could my run be without it? Or maybe worse? I just don't know!

 

[prncssjas]

Having your airpods with you and choosing not to use them isn't really going to make a difference like something larger or bulky would. I put it in that category of "better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it."

Excellent advice @Herding_Cats this might be need to be a game time decision. I am really on the fence here!

PS...BUT...totally looking forward to my cupcake flavored moomer's ice cream in a few short days...woooooot!!!!

 

[prncssjas]

Most races I listen to music in a low volume so I can be aware of my surroundings
Aside from most Disney races (most because I did put music on during the road miles of the SS 10M as I knew it would be a struggle mentally for me)

This makes sense @1lilspark Do you feel like music helps you when you are mentally struggling through a race? For me, when I am struggling, I find the music annoying at times, which is why I am considering turning it off.

 

[camaker]

I take a little different approach with music and running. During training runs I listen to audiobooks pretty much exclusively. When race day rolls around, I prefer to run without headphones at all so I can focus on being "in the moment" and monitor the real-time feedback I'm getting from my body. That being said, for longer races I will often take my Shokz with me and when I start to tire and the effort starts to creep up to discouraging levels, I'll put the headphones on and put on a high-energy playlist. That's usually good for a significant boost of both mood and energy that can usually carry me past the rough patch and sometimes all the way to the end of the race.

 

[prncssjas]

That being said, for longer races I will often take my Shokz with me

Thank you so much--this is helpful, too. How do you define longer runs for you @camaker ? A full? Half? Double digits? Only curious. I love hearing what others do and what works for them.

 

[camaker]

Thank you so much--this is helpful, too. How do you define longer runs for you @camaker ? A full? Half? Double digits? Only curious. I love hearing what others do and what works for them.

For race purposes, I would define it as a marathon or longer. One of my most successful uses of this technique was carrying the headphones with me during a full and putting them on around mile 21-22. I was able to use the boost to carry me to my first sub-4:00 finish. There's no need to define a distance for this technique, though. It should work for anything that an individual considers "longer" and needs a boost at the end of.

A word of warning, though. Be careful how you carry your Shokz with you. I made the mistake of tucking them into my hydration belt so the earpieces were free to bounce around during the race. They still mostly worked when I put them on at the end of the race, but the speaker pieces ended up jarring loose and I had to replace them. The race was very successful, but that success came at a high cost! Since then, I make sure they're secured in a pocket or similar manner so that the earpieces don't flop around.

 

[DopeyBadger]

So there's a theory called the Psychobiological Model of Endurance. It revolves around these principles:

The Psychobiological model is an effort-based decision model based on motivational intensity theory. The model states there are five factors that primarily determine regulation of pacing.

1) Perception of effort
2) Potential motivation
3) Knowledge of distance/time to cover
4) Knowledge of distance/time remaining
5) Previous experience/memory of perception of effort during exercise of varying intensity and duration

In a separate set of research it was shown that music can be a dampener in the perception of effort:

Music
Essentially, it has been shown in many studies that by having music that is enjoyed, self-selected, and has a high bpm the overall perception of effort is decreased. This decreased perception of effort was connected with increased ability when used during races below the anaerobic threshold. I believe this is because in a 5K the physical limitations are what they are and the dampening of effort is ineffective. However, prior to a 5K using amping up music works by raising self confidence and HR. So pump up the jams and you'll reduce your perception of effort. You can run faster listening to music you like that has a high beats per minute.

If you want to read more about the Psychobiological Model of Endurance look up Samuele Marcora. The research came from these two papers which I have linked for you. Looks like I last read these in 2016, so there could be some more recent research since these.

Music in the exercise domain: a review and synthesis (Part I and II). Costas I. Karageorghis* and David-Lee Priest. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology. Vol. 5, No. 1, March 2012, 44 66

So ultimately, find ways to dampen your perception of effort (whether that be music or not) and you can increase your performance. This post of mine from 2016 just briefly touched on these things and since that post some ideas have changed (Eureka! The Quintessential Running Post). For me, I run with music (mostly by Armin van Buuren).

 

[Naomeri]

Trust Billy to bring the science!

I just know that I’d get bored without music of some kind. I live out in the middle of nowhere, so I don’t have ambient city noise around me, and hearing nothing but birds, my breathing, and my footfalls while running would weird me out.

I keep adding to what I call my Disney playlist. It started as just songs from Disney animated movies (not the ballads, as much as I love them) and then I added songs from Disney Broadway shows (Newsies is a particular favorite—”Seize the Day” is a great encouragement song) and now I’ve branched into adding songs I like from the MCU (including most of the songs from Cosmic Rewind) so I’ve got a very eclectic mix that’s now up to 96 songs—5h 18m of music!

 

[mmm_texas]

I train with music, with my AirPods in transparency mode.

For runDisney races, I leave one AirPod in (for my periodic RunKeeper updates), but I typically won't start my music, just to soak up the experience.

For other races, if I were to ever enter one(!), especially if it's longer than a half, I'd probably listen to my music.

 

[Herding_Cats]

Excellent advice @Herding_Cats this might be need to be a game time decision. I am really on the fence here!

PS...BUT...totally looking forward to my cupcake flavored moomer's ice cream in a few short days...woooooot!!!!

I hope you have a great race! We are unexpectedly going to be at a meet all day Saturday since our boys track team qualified for the MiTCA state meet and I am making pies all day Sunday so I’m not going to be around for a moomers meetup

 

[nancipants]

I'm new to racing, but I wear my AirPod Pros in transparency mode with music and sometimes podcasts. I have a running playlist, and Spotify made me an EDM running playlist that I’m really loving. When I did the Princess 10k I turned off my music toward the end because I couldn’t hear it inside the parks. But for those highway stretches, I’ll probably always keep it on.

 

[prncssjas]

So ultimately, find ways to dampen your perception of effort (whether that be music or not) and you can increase your performance. This post of mine from 2016 just briefly touched on these things and since that post some ideas have changed (Eureka! The Quintessential Running Post). For me, I run with music (mostly by Armin van Buuren).

Thank you, as usual @DopeyBadger for the incredibly thorough and scientific response--super helpful. The question is whether or not my music will dampen the effort perception and I am inclined to say for racing, it does NOT so I think I have my answer. In training runs, it's totally different and I love it. So this really did help me decide--thanks again.

PS...your music taste is superb--love Armin van Buuren and the entire BPM playlist on Sirius XM.

 

[prncssjas]

We are unexpectedly going to be at a meet all day Saturday since our boys track team qualified for the MiTCA state meet and I am making pies all day Sunday so I’m not going to be around for a moomers meetup

Oh bummer!!! Well, I hope you have a wonderful state meet and pie baking day! We will just have to meet up at Disney some day. I do thank you immensely for the weather you have cooked up in TC for the weekend. It looks spectacular.

 

[prncssjas]

When I did the Princess 10k I turned off my music toward the end because I couldn’t hear it inside the parks. But for those highway stretches, I’ll probably always keep it on.

This makes sense--I would be the same too!