Tune In, Turn Off, Don't Drop Out

As I ran my regular 3mile loop around Prospect Park in Brooklyn today, I did a count of the number of those wearing headphones against those without. Of the 82 runners I came across, 67 of them wear wearing headphones. Over 80%.

We tell our runners with Team In Training to not run with headphones. But we are all adults. And as our runs lengthen, we often end up running on our own, and having headphones is understandable.

There are the obvious safety reasons for not wearing headphones. You cannot hear safety instructions from officials or police during races, cannot hear people coming up behind you, whether other athletes or potential assailants.

There are the obvious reasons to wear headphones.... I do myself on my midweek recovery runs... it is wonderfully motivating to hear upbeat or favorite music while you are working out.

However, if you are an avid headphone wearer, obvious stuff aside, there are two major reasons to at least run some of the time without headphones. This can be either whole runs, or just portions of runs.
i) In April this year, the US Track and Field association (USATF) upgraded their ruling from recommending, to explicitly banning headphones from their accredited races:
USATF Rule 144.3(b):
The visible possession or use by athletes of video or audio cassette recorders or players, TVs, CD or DVD players, radio transmitters or receivers, mobile phones, computers, or any similar devices in the competition area shall not be permitted.

Numerous races have already adopted the rule, including Grandma's Marathon. Previously, race directors had been reluctant to adopt the USATF recommendation, but since it has now been upgraded to a mandatory ruling, you will find many more races adopting it. The Chicago marathon have ruled that headphones are prohibited on the course.
So.... get used to running without headphones.

ii) Association: It is important to 'check in with yourself' every now and again during a run. Listen to how your breathing is going, listen to your body, concentrate on how your arms are swinging, concentrate on your cadence, concentrate on how it changes uphill and downhill. This is called association, internalizing how you are running. Concentrating on your body as you run, can really help you improve your performance, since your body is your very best feedback. Disassociation, where you pay more attention to your surroundings or to the beat of the music tends to dictate your run pace and upset your rhythm. I personally find it extremely difficult to breath steady and keep the same pace from one upbeat song to the next.

So.... during your training, please put at least some of your training miles in without headphones... or perhaps just 'check in with yourself' every mile or so, to listen to how you are doing. And expect to not have your headphones during your race event itself.

regards,
Coach David.