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Comment by ak217 | Hacker News Reader

You're entitled to your opinion, but music is what pushes me to go hard and keeps me motivated in my runs. I literally run 25%+ faster with music on. Not only that, but it's just not nearly as enjoyable without the music (and the scenery).

If you listen to music, just wear good earbuds that don't block ambient noise, and don't crank it too loud.

Stretching: By now most runners know not to static stretch from cold start, but not stretching at all is a bad idea. In my experience static stretching after the run works great, and so does dynamic stretching after a substantial (1mi) warmup. Also, most runners don't know how to stretch their upper body. In my experience it's really important to stretch your back.

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You can run with headphones, but at least try and minimize their dangers. Don't use ones with high isolation, like in-ear canal earphones, because you'll hear very little of the outside world. Plus, a lot of models produce lots of microphonics (cable noise), which will drive you positively batty during a run. Turn the volume down so that you can at least hear a car horn. And be sure to run on the left side of the road, where you'll be able to see cars coming towards you and move out of the way if there's ever any danger. You aren't a bicycle trying to fit in with traffic.

A lot of people prefer to run with music. That's fine, and not a problem in a park or similar area. But you need to be extra careful on public roads when you're willfully dampening one of your senses.

Ha. As someone who used to walk a mile to work along a very busy street, I wish I could find in-ear-canal earphones that actually blocked out the outside world. I heard every car no matter how ridiculously loud my volume was. People talking on phones often don't hear cars but I think this is because they aren't paying attention (note this can be a problem even with no headphones at all.)

What do you listen to? Do you choose specific songs to match your target cadence?

That's obviously a personal preference, I listen to a mix of stuff that you might hear on A State of Trance, as well as Hans Zimmer and Two Steps From Hell, among other things.

I don't do cadence matching, I just fast forward through the playlist :)

One other thing that has made a big difference for me recently is a latest generation Garmin GPS running watch hooked up to Strava. The end effect is that you have your running log pushed effortlessly to Strava over bluetooth once you're done with the run, and there your friends can see it and vice versa. The motivation of seeing your friends' training logs is more awesome than I ever expected.

> wear good earbuds

Is there such a thing as "good earbuds"?

Earbuds, as anything else, quickly accumulate dirt.

I do not like the idea of sticking dirty things inside of my ears.

The earbuds that Apple ships with their newer devices are very high quality. I think they've set a new standard with those.

By the way, I'm talking about earbuds, not in-ear-canal earphones. I don't like those and I agree they get gross. They also block out far too much ambient noise to be safe when running.

How do you prevent it from falling off? I am on a quest to find something that is comfortable (ideally around the ear) and won't slip out. I would also like something thing so I can put on a headband and cover my ears in cooler weather without crushing the bands into my skull.

Which is more important to you: "going hard" or being safe and considerate to those around you?

ETA: good point about stretching before vs. stretching after, though. I should have mentioned that, and so should the OP.

It's not an all-or-nothing decision. I run with music but I keep the volume low enough that I can hear what's around me.

It's not all or nothing, but the two do often come into conflict. I'll bet hardly anybody reading this runs only by themselves on empty roads or trails. When such contention does occur, I think it's pretty clear that safety and consideration have to take priority. Isolating and distracting yourself with audio, even at low volume, is contrary to that. Also, I seriously doubt that anyone who uses music to "pump it up" and "go hard" is staying at low volume.

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