Decorating Time: Running With Music

PLUS: A mini gear review and shameless (but FREE!) merch offer.

I got heckled by a carload of teenagers on a run last week, and I liked it. What they shouted is immaterial, but I will share it anyway because it cracks me up. “Bro, you are pale!” And down the road they went, cackling into the distance as an ear-to-ear smile appeared on my sweaty mug.

It was the first hot day of the year, I had my shirt off, and the little turds were right. I was glowing, and not in the “radiating ethereal energy” sense. Winters are long, cold, and fully clothed in Montana. Spring reveals what lies beneath, and the sight is not for the faint of heart. But I digress.

Why didn’t I holler back or shake my fist at the rapscallions rolling deep in dad’s beige Buick? Because it was a joyful revelation to have heard them at all. For decades, music has accompanied me on my daily jog. Sound delivery devices have ranged from Sony Walkman-era, foam-padded headphones to smaller, in-ear “sports” models, and most recently, touch-sensitive Bluetooth buds.

Because I love running with music and sound quality matters, the tiny speakers have always sat in or over my ears, blocking the sounds of nature, traffic, and teenagers. That changed last week when I copped a set of Shokz bone-conduction headphones. I’ll give you my first impressions in a moment, but first, let’s clear the air.

To Jam or Not to Jam

Regular readers (hi, mom) might be thinking, “But Mike, aren’t you always going on about intuitive running, mind-body connection, flow state, and stuff like that? Doesn’t music interrupt the inner voice with… noise?” Maybe. If so, I’ve adapted.

I recall having this conversation on a long bike ride many years ago with two of my dad’s more hippie-leaning friends. “Don’t you want to hear your breath and footsteps while running?” they asked puritanically. No, not really.

I find own my lumbering footfall and heavy breathing bothersome. If I fixate, those sounds can even trigger anxiety spirals. The same is true of other peoples’ plodding and puffing in races. It throws me off my game. Makes the focus external.

That’s one reason I like running with music: It draws me inward. Not away from the run as distraction or dissociation, but deeper into it. Cliché alert, but I don’t listen to music while running so much as feel it, synch to it, and sink into it.

Second reason: My days—and if I’m honest, my personality—are built around precision and predictability. Here on the virtual page, I work through perfectionist tendencies. Out there, on the roads and trails, music helps me loosen my grip.

Third: Music changes my relationship with time. Dissolving into a favorite playlist is like painting time with a rich palette of indelible color. Less control, more coexistence. There are songs that can instantly transport me to the freest, lightest running moments I have ever experienced.

“If art is how we decorate spaces, music is how we decorate time.”

—Jean-Michel Basquiat

All that said, I have been thinking for a while about ditching my beloved tunes.

With age, I feel increasingly risk averse, and either I’m developing a case of stay-off-my-lawn syndrome, or drivers really are getting worse. There’s that, plus the fact that I often run in the mountains, and having all senses engaged for early detection of a bear, moose, or mountain lion just makes sense.

Because I don’t want to get flattened by an F-150 or consumed by a cat, I have known for a while it was time to let the earbuds go. Here’s where 2022 Western States winner and fellow Montana boy Adam Peterman enters the chat.

Shokz and Awe: A Mini-Review

Friends, I was influenced. Thirty seconds after seeing an Instagram post of Peterman rocking Shokz (affiliate link) while obliterating the Gorge Waterfalls 100k course record, I was shopping. Headphones are taboo in trail racing, and seeing these pics legitimized my long-time flouting of rules and social norms. Thanks, AP.

Spotting the base model OpenRun ($99) on a recent Costco jaunt, I impulse-bought. Here are my thoughts after a half-dozen runs.

• Fit/bounce: Shokz hang intuitively over your ears, and a gentle clamping pressure keeps them tight to the noggin. They stay put, but there is a discernible bounce from the weight of the band, especially downhill and at quicker paces. It kind of disappears unless I, you know… fixate.

• Controls: Power/volume on a rocker button on the right side, play/pause/skip with a single button on the left. Simple and easy to operate on the move. I like mechanical buttons because touch-sensitive ones can fail below freezing and are fussy with gloves or gel-gooped fingies.

• Sound: It’s aight. You can’t expect something that sits outside the ear to sound as good as something nestled against the eardrum. I find myself wanting to crank the volume, but that defeats the purpose. I hear the “Pro” model (affiliate link, on sale as of this writing!) has more dynamic range and richer bass.

• Battery Life: I charge them after every use and haven’t tested the advertised eight hours. They did survive a three-hour run with no issues.

• Tan Line: TBD. There exists a spectrum between Garmin watch tan lines (cool) and Coros armband heart rate monitor tan lines (what’s that from?). Shokz will most certainly fall to the Coros side, and perhaps slide off the chart into “yikes” territory. Subscribe for the latest.

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• VERDICT: Shokz offer a good compromise between having all the wonderful things music brings to running, without all the not-wonderful getting smushed or eaten. I’ll try the Pro model soon and keep the others as a backup.

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The Finish Line (+ FREE merch!)

With Shokz, I get to keep my music, but also have to hear the sometimes-ungraceful sounds of my body and the always-ungraceful sounds of the spring crop of new teen drivers. It’s taking some getting used to, but I am staying open to the experience. One thing I love about running is that we can continuously play and experiment.

So, you’ve read my reasons for bringing music along. What’s your take?

And, to continue our “music and running” theme, would you like a sticker celebrating endurance sports’ most infamous metal band? In 1984, the world got Spinal Tap. It’s taken 40 years, but now runners have our own fictional rockers. I give you…

No, really. I will GIVE YOU a high-quality 7” x 2” sticker, suitable for cars, coolers, water bottles, or anywhere you want to show your devotion to the legendary group named for the notorious biological byproduct. Here’s all you have to do…

1. Like this post (it’s for my ego)

2. Leave a Comment

3. Re-stack your favorite line from this article

4. DM your address, or email: mike@runninglightly.com

Run lightly,
-mike

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