Planet of Sound

Planet of Sound


Hello, everyone!

A quick look at my stats for 2015 tells me that so far this year I've spent nearly 200 hours running. This, in a year when injuries and other considerations have meant I've been out far less than in a normal running year. But even so, when you look at it in terms of time spent on my feet, pounding the streets, it's a long time. So what in God's name is going on in my head for all that time?

Not much, to be honest, and certainly nothing too revelatory. After the first few miles, when I'm shaking myself out of my natural tendency to lethargy, monitoring any signs of niggles and/or downright pain, and starting to deal with the physical and mental shock of settling into a decent pace, I relax into a sort of relieved sense of calm, resigned/committed to the workout ahead.

Of course, and especially when I'm going round the city - which is most of the time - I focus on negotiating kerbs and the various urban obstacles, and on generally avoiding getting myself killed. Every now and then I check my form, that I'm not leaning too far over to one side, and try to ensure that all my bodily movements (shoulders, arms, hips, legs, feet) are going in a forward direction. It sounds easier than it is, I can tell you.

In running, as in politics, I lean to the left...

I also plan out my route as I go, and make decisions based on the distance I'm aiming to do. I often have to be strict with myself and not listen to any voices in my head telling (begging) me to take the shortest, easiest way home.

I don't really ever think about non-running issues, i.e. Real Life, as I'm going along, although thoughts of breakfast and lunch do creep in, and they serve to motivate me to keep going - Something A Little Bit Tasty will be the short-term reward for all this dashing about all over the place.

I very rarely run with anyone. Running is something I've always preferred to do alone. It's really difficult to find anyone to run with regularly, anyway - not only due to different daily routines, but also because quite simply no-one ever runs at the same level, or has the same objectives, as you.

I have run with people, on occasion, of course - I'm not that unsociable - but while it does break up the monotony of training and can make the miles go by in a more pleasant way, it's never really that satisfactory. So when a friend of mine suggested we go out last Sunday and do 8-9 miles (14-15kms), I agreed, but with a bit of a sigh to myself.

This friend started running a couple of years ago, and to be honest has a lot going for him as a runner, in that he's considerably shorter and lighter than me. However, his initial enthusiasm, and delight, at his rapid progress led him to try and smash every session as hard as possible. He did get some good results in a few races, including a half marathon where he actually beat me, something which of course, I was - secretly - absolutely gutted about! Over time I tried, unsuccessfully, to warn him to take things a bit easier, but inevitably he ended up getting injured, and was benched for some months.

His injury woes having relented since then, we went out in bright sunshine on Sunday. It was fine, we chatted for a while, and we did a fairly uneventful 9 miles, (me trying to hold onto the pace in between hacking coughs, by the way) but what I want to remark upon is this: as we set off, I immediately noticed a strange but pleasing sensation, that of the wind rushing in my ears, as we tripped along. Why hadn't I noticed this before? I soon realised what it was: this was the first time for ages - months, probably -  that I hadn't been wearing my headphones.

When I started running, and then for the first few years, I never listened to anything, just the sound of my feet tapping along with every stride, but then as I increased my mileage, I got to realising there were many occasions on which the runs were not done for the sheer enjoyment of it all, but purely to get those extra miles in. And, just as they talk about the loneliness of the long-distance runner, so it dawned on me that I needed the motivation of some company to while away all those hours on the streets. So I did some research, and soon bought myself an MP3 player.

At first, I just listened to music, and built up playlists of my favourite sounds. and more particularly, of those tunes which inspired me onto greater efforts. I soon found that certain songs were more conducive to running faster than others, and I made sure they were playing while I did interval and speed training. It wasn't just in my head, either: I did empirical tests with a variety of music and found that doing kilometre reps with something like this on repeat gained me 10-15 seconds per kilometre! But while I have something like 2,000 tracks on my MP3, with time you do find yourself listening to the same old stuff over and over again. I needed more, but of what?

Then I discovered the wonderful world of podcasts, and to this day it's been a real joy. Music can sometimes even be an unwelcome distraction, but I find the spoken word never is. Over time I've got the heads-up on a number of podcasts, and now I have a regular listening routine which fits in perfectly with my running schedule.

I know it's all a matter of personal taste, so apologies if this is all a bit tedious, but on Tuesdays it's the always-excellent Football Weekly from the Guardian, Wednesdays is The Football Ramble, Thursdays I opt for Documentaries from the BBC and Fridays is Football Weekly Extra. On Saturdays I listen to an often-hilarious podcast hosted by elite Canadian marathon runner, Rob Watson, and the Sunday long run wouldn't be the same without the brilliant and inspiring Marathon Talk, which deals with the various aspects of of the running world and is in fact a whole community which I now feel part of. It's full of training tips, listeners' shared experiences, motivational challenges and information on upcoming events. Best of all are the interviews with a whole range of people, from elite athletes to coaches to "normal" runners with some amazing stories of overcoming illness, disability and personal setbacks. In short, it's unmissable. So, I owe a big thank-you to Tom Williams and Martin Yelling for their unstintingly brilliant work.

With Martin Yelling at the London Marathon Expo in 2013

Having said all this, on race days I never use my headphones. I don't - or at least shouldn't - need any other motivation than the event itself, and I don't want anything to take away from my concentrating on the job in hand. In the bigger races, with plenty of crowd support, there is so much going on that it seems to me to be defeating the object of taking part to block everything out by listening to music or anything else. Hearing the the cheers and shouts of encouragement is more than enough, and for me is the highlight of any race outside of my own performance in it.

Also, if you wear headphones in a race you are a hindrance and possibly even a danger to others. With hundreds and sometimes thousands of other runners around you, you need to be fully aware of everything that's going on, and that includes any instructions from the race officials. Many's the time I've come up behind a runner in a race and nearly taken a tumble because they're totally oblivious to what's going on around them. So don't do it, people!

With last Sunday's run I clocked up 28.3 miles (45.7kms), so the mileage is getting to where I want and need it to be at this stage. 40 miles per week by Christmas seems to be a reasonable goal, and my body is playing along so far, too. So, real good, then, as they say.

Oh, before I go, I should also say that my flights to London for the weekend of the Brighton Marathon are now booked and paid for, so nothing can stop me now.

Can it?

Thanks very much for reading, and stay safe until next time! 


Planet of Sound