Oh yeah! It’s sleek. It’s svelte. It’s oh so cool. But I’m jumping the gun aren’t I? I’m giving you the conclusion at the beginning of the review (he said wiping the drool from the side of his mouth).
Now in the past I haven’t been the type to listen to music while running. In the era of the Walkman the notion seemed downright ridiculous. You might as well lug around a boom box on your shoulder pounding out the theme to Ghost Busters or some funky tunes from Run D.M.C.
Well, that era has come and gone and MP3 players have brought upon us the age of music in your pocket. I’ve known this for some time but for some reason or another, just carrying something extra, not wanting something on my ears, etc, etc, etc, I’ve never ran with one.
That has all changed, for good and for the better. I’m a previous iPod owner; I have an Apple 20 GB iPod U2 Special Edition (4th Generation) that my wife, friends and family surprised me with a couple of birthdays back. However, it is a little heavy and not well suited for running. So when I decided to take the plunge and start carrying my tunes “on the run” the obvious choice for me was another iPod. But you can choose any number of decent MP3 players out on the market these days. There are plenty of options. All I’m saying is… if you want to look cool then you should buy an iPod. 🙂
Anyway, there are plenty of reviews about the iPod’s interface and sound quality. There are probably just as many comparisons between it and various other players, so I will not focus on that. The point I will make is that it made my running… well… better. I’m a software engineer and I like to code to music. It gets me “in the zone” if you will. So I knew it had the potential to have a positive affect on my sport activities. I just didn’t know if it would be enough to overcome any irritations I might have with carrying something extra. Well, it was and I am never going back. With an hours worth of some decent trance, I set my feet on the pavement and was off. The beat was good and carried my pace onward and upward pushing me harder than I normally would have pushed myself. I had to consciously slow myself down a few times to catch my breath and then I was off again. I was able to keep up the quicker pace somehow though with the beat leading me on.
Now, you may prefer a different genre of music for your workouts. I’ve even thought that I may try something different out myself. I may try some hard rock or even some of my favorite podcasts to see if they are better or worse. I do know now that I like to run with something to listen to.
Oh and by the way… I ran four miles today. Go me!
So, how did I carry this new iPod nano you ask? Tune in next time to find out how! I’ll have another product review for the next edition of the Runner’s Log.