I am okay with them being deluded…

If you run with music blasting in your ears then you are missing half of the experience.

I used to run with Wu Tang in my ears because almost every song has that magical 178-182 cadence…so.I would run to the beat. Then one day, my batteries in my mp3 player died (yeah I’m that old) while at the turnaround on a 14 mile out and back. I didn’t have the beat of music to guide me. I didn’t have the volume of the music to ignore my pain. My cadence fell apart. My breathing got ragged. I started to FEEL that run on the way back…is was ugly and wonderful all at the same time.

The next time I went out, I didn’t have the music, and I found out that I my mental was more connected to my physical. Rather than ignore the pain…I EMBRACED it and dealt with it. I paid more attention to my breathing, found my own cadence, regulated my arm swing, was more aware of the birds, the wind, the trees, the cars, etc. And it was liberating. I had the best runners high ever

That was years ago…now I only use music for speedwork.