About iPods and running

Guardian – Project Marathon: The playlist
Miss604 post - The New iPod Shuffle Minimalism at a Whole New Level

These two links appeared within the last few days, so it was about time I posted about my music players and why I probably won’t run with one.

I purchased the iPod in 2005. Despite it being “refurbished”, I still use it as my primary player, simply because it has more space than my iPhone (20 GB vs 8 GB). And despite a multitude of iPods that Apple has thrown at us, I remain faithful to the old monochrome screen. Come on – who actually still has an operating black-and-white iPod? The nostalgic factor alone is what keeps me from hanging on to the bitter end.

Where the Guardian article and Miss604’s post converge for me is running with music. My iPod and iPhone are too bulky to be taken for a run, and the ubiquitous white earbuds won’t cut it. On my few jaunts on a treadmill, they’re liable to jiggle out of my ear, and if they manage to stay on, I couldn’t leave them there for prolonged periods; I fear I could ruin them my drenching them in sweat. Besides, I run on the street, and running on the street with my ears blocked is just asking for trouble.

That hasn’t stopped me from thinking of a fantasy playlist I could listen to as I run. I fell on a few songs that already have “run” in the title. Others seem suited for mid-run inspiration, or for the triumph of a finish. Here are a few that I would put in an iPod shuffle:

• Lenny Kravitz, “Always on the Run”
• Moby, “Run On”
• Cake, “The Distance”
• Sarah Slean, “So Many Miles”
• Flock of Seagulls, “I Ran”

And I want to try a 45:33 run, to coincide with the LCD Soundsystem album of the same name, just to see if it goes well with my running rhythm.

Does the Doctor belong on Space?

(A follow-up to “Journey’s End” for Doctor Who on CBC)

Tonight, Doctor Who shifts from the CBC to Space for the Canadian premiere of “The Next Doctor”. In the run-up to this airing, Space has probably given it more promotion than the CBC did for all of series 4, with the tagline “back where he belongs”. And it’s technically correct.