Monday, December 20, 2004

The Best iPod Playlist for Running an Ultra Marathon

Trail running is one of the few sports that allows (even encourages) the use of iPods or other personal music devices. But how do you choose the optimal playlist for a long trail run? I had some questions/comments about this from earlier posts, so I thought I would share my tactics.


(Photo for purchase from the amazing Don Charles Lundell)


Before I talk iPod, let me first say that my #1 choice of soundtrack for a trail run is nature itself. There are few things in life as peaceful as getting deep into the wilderness, left only with your breath, footsteps, and the scurrying of resident animals as you 'round the corner. Chill. Relax. Ooohhhmmm. Connect with nature.

Okay, back to the blog. ;oP Although nature's soundtrack is wonderful, it's not really the best pacing ally. Sometimes it's helpful to have some tunes to pull you along, particularly for the 20+ milers. But the choice of music is very important - you would be surprised at how much it can affect your pace, for good or bad. I've tried a few strategies in the last couple of months, and here are my tips. Please do comment if you have others.

1) Know what motivates you for each type of terrain. What kind of music puts a smile on your face? Helps you relax? Gets you pumped? In a long trail run, there's a spot for each. For climbs, I've found there's nothing like some agro rock (Metallica, Prodigy, Filter, Boom Boom Satellites, Soundgarden, etc.) to help pump you up and "attack" the hills (very t-zone, I admit). For the downhills, something a bit less edgy is good (REM, Beastie Boys, Seal), and preferrably with a melody now that you can sing along. For the flat stuff, I've found a good beat count can help you pace right, such as electronica or breakbeat funk (Tricky, Freq Nasty, ILS, Madonna, etc.). ILS Soul Trader is my "most played", so it must be a good one. Sometimes the right lyrics can get you going too - I've been surprised by how uplifting Michael Jackson "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" can be when you need a pick me up.

2) Map your playlist to your course. Check out the altitude map for your run, and do your best to organize your tunes based on the course layout. This can also help you pace the sections (ie, "I must be going fast since I've reached the hill and Enya is still playing" or "Michael Bolton is playing and I still haven't killed myself...something must be wrong"...just kidding).

3) Don't start too strong. If you're doing an ultra, one of the worst things you can do is go out too strong. In the Woodside 50k, I thought I should "pump myself up" with a little Prodigy to start, and covered the first 2 miles in 13 minutes....oops, so much for those 250 needed calories. Best to ease into your playlist if you can.

4) Reward yourself with some funny songs. It's great to throw in a non-pace song every hour or so, especially if they can get a good laugh. Tenacious D is perfect for this kind of thing, or perhaps a old ABBA favorite or clip of Chris Rock. It will raise your spirits. I see a lot of trail runners do this with food too, like stashing a Snickers to reward yourself for being half-way done.

5) Easy on the Echoplex near the end of your run. If you're ending your five hour run with songs full of reverb, echos, and Leslie rotating speakers, you are tempting fate, my friend. Jimi Hendrix "Are You Experienced?" and The Beatle's "Revolution #9" are nothing short of suicide-by-face-plant in the final miles.

6) Stop air guitaring when you see the cameraman. My fellow racers have found great humor in my subconscience antics. Just don't let it get captured on film. ;oP

Let me know if you have other tips or favorite songs. I would be happy to post my 5-hour playlist from the Woodside 50k if you're interested.

Chill,

SD

[Note - On 2/15/05, I posted my 8-hour playlist here]

21 comments:

  1. You are funny. I found good groove music for running at at www.webjay.org. Lots of mp3s.

    Try not to face plant.

    --> Tom

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  2. I'll keep these guidelines in mind. I'm planning to run my first ultra trailrun in the spring. The 50K Chubb Trail just south of St. Louis. I ran the 25K last year, it kicked my butt, but we'll see the difference a year can make.

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  3. Nice going, blogboy, there's even content. :) Dude, start listening to goa or psytrance or something, or even dj mixes of the same style. Something about fading songs together that fades the miles together too. Before you know it, you're done. :) Works to some extent (at least for me) with hip-hop or even certain free-form Bhangra type stuff. I know other's that feel the same about house or free-form jazz but I just can't seem to sustain an interest in it long enough. Then again, I've never ran 50k at once either, probably hard to maintain interest in much of anything at that point.

    M

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  4. That's blogMAN to you, M.

    You have links to the kind of music you're talking about?

    Thanks,

    SD

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  5. Scott - you were looking for wireless headphones... check this out:

    TEN Technology

    TEN Technology announced that it will be bundling its long-awaited naviPlay Bluetooth Adapter for iPod with Hewlett-Packard's Bluetooth Stereo Headphones with integrated wireless remote control. This bundle will be available starting February 1 from hpshopping.com for US$239.99. "The combination of HP's headphones and TEN's Bluetooth adapter allows iPod users to listen to their music completely wirelessly without compromising audio quality. The bundle combines the Bluetooth innovations of TEN and HP to let iPod users be totally untethered to their iPod for ultimate freedom."

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  6. Crystal Method rules. THAT'S THE NAME OF THE GAME!!!

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  7. would be interested in your playlist...just starting my first one and pacing really difficult. Dana

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  8. I pump build-up trance/dance beats that gradually increase and have them timed so I know where I should be in my run - at the end of a race my favourite is "Scooter - Win the Race" it's great... I have been known to 'air-guitar' ever so happily over the finish line, I love it.

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  9. For me, personally, I have found the Grateful Dead to be a really good running band. I was at mile 15 during the Death Valley 30K and found that when "Race is On" came on, I was flying, singing, laughing and having a great time. I have found about 15 references to running in tunes of the Dead and they range from all out jamming, to bluegrass to ballads and everything in between...

    I am getting my playlist in order for the Bulldog 50K!

    Joe
    joe@ashland-designs.com

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  10. As a fellow runner, any advice on the best headphones for the iPod when running. I find the standard issue ear buds drop out my ears after about 1km and I'm using just too much energy fiddling with them. I've tried the Sony model that wraps, supposedly, around the ear but they didn't stay in either. I may have to resort to duct tape !!!

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  11. Regarding headphones, I use Bang and Olufsen since the hook onto your ears. Don't drop 'em though, they are spendeee!

    BTW, someone pointed me to jogtunes.com which lists out some good playlists organized by bpm. That's another good way to go.

    SD

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  12. You can search a large database of songs for those that exactly match your personal running pace at http://www.bestworkoutmusic.com - this way you can create a playlist of all the songs you like where the tempo of all the tracks match your running pace.

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  13. I am an OLDER runner and woul dlike to know if anyone has or knows where I can look at an OLDIES playlist. I have an 18 miler on Saturday - 6 loops of a 3 mile course, would be nice to listen to music- like Blue Moon, Beach boys, etc. By the way, Scott- I love your blog :)

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  14. Grateful Dead...
    I agree, I always start out with China Cat Sunflower/I Know You Rider. I used to run the Golden Gate Bridge with these playing and it became a habit. Now it's like Pavlov's dogs, it causes a physical reaction in me, it gets me going.

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  15. Thanks for some different ideas...I'm a novice runner and I am short and not so fast - my pace is about 10 minute miles. That said, I look for songs that help me to pace myself since I tend to overdo it too quickly. My favorites are Ah-ha: Take on me; Andre3000: Hey ya (I play this over and over because I can kill a couple of miles before I get tired of it); Queen: Don't stop me now (this song to me is what MJ's Don't stop til you get enough is to you); Phish: Back on the train; and my favorite off-beat song is Prince: Kiss.

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  16. I use the word "smilage" when referring to how long I can run while smiling. Choosing the right music directly effects my smilage.

    Some of my favorites are BNL, Le Tigre, Agent Orange, Elvis Presley, Joan Jett and The Magnetic Fields.

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  17. Just wanted to let you know of a new website launched yesterday www.run2rhythm.com that you’ll be interested in.

    Runners/Joggers can download music specifically designed for their running requirements in 15, 30, 45 or 60 minute lots, and at certain beats per minute. So no changing of songs, breaks or beat disruptions. It is not commercial music, so you can't hear it on the radio or buy it in the stores, however because a number of different genres are included there is sure to be something to cater for everyone’s tastes from country and funk, to techno and hiphop.

    It is best to listen to the samples via headphones, as the sound is truly amazing and clear. Simply listening via your computer does not do it justice.

    Would be interested in your comments and feedback. And please feel free to spread the word to your jogging friends and colleagues.

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  18. Re: Post on Headphones- I like the old fashioned kind that fit like a headband. Sony makes a lightweight Grey colored one for $10. I use it 5 x/wk (30-35mil/wk/avg) and have to replace it about once a year. I constantly fiddled with earwraps. The only drawback to headband style is if you wear a head/ear wrap in cold weather.

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  19. ...or you could just enjoy running without the iPod: http://lowtechtimes.com/2008/02/28/running-with-an-ipod/

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  20. if you run to the same music your brain will relase endorphines sooner and sustain them longer....so it may be good to get a good track (or at least a few songs) then train them into yourself, i was doing a psych exsperiment for school and found that people could eventually get worked up and not need a warm up jog if they had the same music, their bidys knew it was time to run.....i did it on the track team and now they swear by it
    -Psyc runner

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  21. view this blog to see which ipod is best for you.. http://bestipod4u.blogspot.com/

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