According to Wikipedia, the first line of iPods were introduced in 2001. Of course my wife had one, she likes to get all that techie stuff as soon as she can. Being somewhat challenged by new technology on all levels, I couldn?t be bothered at the time.

It wasn?t until 2005, while on a trip to Cancun, sitting by the pool, I asked Kim if I could try out her iPod.

The world changed for me.

?This is unbelievable? I thought???how cool, she is definitely not getting this back.?

It was so cool however, that she had to take it away from me because I kept blurting out the chorus of songs loudly and randomly???.like ?Roxanne?..you have to put the red light? in my off key falsetto singing voice. I was embarrassing, everyone was staring.

Of course, shortly after that trip I had to buy one and activities like relaxing at the beach just took on a different dimension for me.

Then one day I put my iPod on and started running. And like Forest Gump, I just kept on running. I quickly learned that running with music reduced my stress and increased the overall joy of the experience and seemed to improve my performance.

I also quickly learned that you sometimes can?t hear ?on your left? from the bikers on the W&OD bike trail. I had more than a few bikers yelling not nice things at me.

A few weeks back Active.com had a post referencing a recent study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research which looked at the effect of music on 5K running times.

http://www.active.com/running/Articles/Music-to-My-Muscles-The-Pros-and-Cons-of-Running-with-Music.htm?cmp=291&memberid=146844725&lyrisid=44263305

From the Active.com post

They discovered that when the runners listened to music of 110 to 150 beats per minute prior to the 5K run, they tended to run the first two laps of the time trial faster than they did without music. They also found that when runners listened to both fast and slow motivational music during the time trial, they were on average a little more than 30 seconds faster than when they ran with no music. Interestingly, they also identified benefits to listening to slower music of 95 to 110 beats per minute after running, as the runners’ heart rates returned to normal more quickly than they did without music.

http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=9000&issue=00000&article=97288&type=Abstract

So there you go, its cool and supported by research.

But I still look silly when I burst out in song as I blissfully move down the trail or road, zoned out and lost in Zac Brown?s ?Chicken Fried.?

And, you still have to be careful. Angry bikers, other runners, walkers, cars, trucks whatever. You?ve got to watch it man! You can get hurt! Or hurt somebody else! Distracted exerciser!

And many races restrict you from using headphones or earphones during a race so pay attention to the rules. During the Bottle and Cork 10 miler in Dewey Beach last month, it was announced after the race that someone wearing headphones/earphones had collided with one of the lead runners at a point where the course doubled back. Everyone was okay, but see, it does happen.

This is a busy weekend for runners in the Washington DC area.

Kim and I will be running the Spartan Spooktacular 5K at Broad Run High School tomorrow to benefit the wrestling team. On line is closed but you can register in the morning. See Potomac River Running website for info.

And Sunday is the Monster Mash Dash 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run in McLean VA. We will not be running this one because this race is one of the Sport and Spine Rehab sponsored events the SSR gang (including me) will be working the event. So come see us if you are there. See also the PRR website for info.

And last by not least Sunday is the Marine Corps Marathon. Good luck to all those participating in that event especially my buddy Jim. I endured a lot of Marine Corps stories running the Reston 10 Miler with Jim back in the spring (I could have used some headphones!). So good running Jim and Semper Fi. And hey I was kidding about the headphones, the Marine stories were great!

So in honor of all those Marines and ex Marines and service people everywhere, here is a little bit of ?Chicken Fried.? Feel free to sing it loudly.

I thank God for my life

And for the stars and stripes

May freedom forever fly, let it ring.

Salute the ones who died

The ones that give their lives

So we don’t have to sacrifice

All the things we love.

Have a great weekend!

Curt Christiansen
Chief Operating Officer
Sport and Spine Rehab
[email protected]