Once in college, I had the chance to meet legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden. He must have been in his 80s or 90s during our meeting, which was right before he died. Of course, at his age, everyone considered John Wooden a basketball fundamentalist–including himself. Coach Wooden talked about how slam dunks had ruined the game and stripped it of so many important fundamentals like the lay-up. When I think about running with or without music, I am reminded of my meeting with Coach Wooden.
On one hand, a running fundamentalist mentality would suggest music distracts from the meditative quality running can have. But, one imagines, where would basketball be without Michael “Air” Jordan and the 360 dunk? Much like basketball and the slam dunk, running with music is also a new development. For those of us who have always known a Walkman, jogging headphones, or an iPod, it’s hard to imagine any other way.
Whether music adds to or distracts from your running experience probably comes down to whether you are a running purist or not. Newer generations are always plugged into some kind of electronics, social media, etc. It would make perfect sense to this person to run with music–why else do you have the iPod, right? If you’re more of a John Wooden type, Facebook, iPods, cell phones, and so on probably just seem like nuisances. To some people the slam dunk ruined the game; to others it put the game on the map–just like running with music. Either way, on your next run, switch it up. If you always run plugged in, go “au natural.” If you never run plugged in, see what all the fuss is and give it a try.
Regardless of what you’re used to, the tracks at MP3Running.com will be something new to you. Read more to check out why!

Box drills are an excellent addition to any runner’s regimen—especially for anyone desiring a quick burst of speed. Some gyms are starting to put out boxes in the free weight area, which shows their up-and-coming popularity. For those unfamiliar with box drills, the “boxes” are simply very sturdy elevated platforms. Generally there are a series of boxes—small, medium, and large.
If you are working on speed, try standing on top of the box and allowing yourself to “fall” (on your feet) to the ground. When you reach the ground, you pounce off as quickly as possible landing back on top of the box. Resting or re-balancing is done on top of the box for this drill. You’ll do 3-4 sets of 6-12 reps. You can add light ankle weights or dumb bells. You don’t really want to add any heavy weights to a “burst-of-speed” drill like this one.
If you are more interested in using the box drills for strength training, you can add a weight bar over your shoulders, a backpack, heavier ankle weights and dumb bells. For strength training, you’ll base your movements from the ground and work on jumping up (rather than starting on top of the box and hopping down). You can jump two-footed or one-footed. If you are trying one-footed jumps, this will not only improve strength but also balance and core strength. For your first one-footed jumps, try the smallest box available first without weights. You can also work on lateral movements with a small box. Rather than hopping up and down on the box, you’ll simply hop from side to side. This can be both a strength and speed drill.
Don’t forget that cross training is an important part of becoming a stellar runner. Plus, you’ll need time to listen to your other workout music than just your MP3 running tracks!

Any long-distance runner is no doubt aware of the importance of eating an optimal pre-competition meal. Your pre-competition meal has three purposes: to keep you from feeling hungry during your race, to keep your muscles fueled, and to maintain your blood sugar.
Ideally, you should eat about 3 hours before you compete. You do not want to compete on a completely full or completely empty stomach. If your race starts in the early morning, be sure to eat your pre-competition meal for dinner the night before and have only a snack or light meal for breakfast. If you’re competing in the afternoon, eat your pre-competition meal for breakfast and have a light but carb-rich lunch. For evening events, eat your pre-competition meal for lunch (but have a hearty breakfast as well), then have a light snack for dinner.
You’re going to focus your meal on complex carbohydrates. Where simple sugar is just “empty” calories, complex carbohydrates provide the energy of sugar plus important nutrients. Some examples of complex carbohydrates are whole wheat bread, grains (oatmeal, cereal), and beans. Although you want to eat complex carb-heavy, you still want to ensure that you’re getting a balanced meal—limit your carbs to just 60% of your pre-race meal. Also, the two most important things to avoid before you compete are caffeine and sugar, which will actually make you feel fatigued in the “long run” (ha ha!). You should also note that protein-rich foods can actually increase your need to urinate during competition and take longer to digest.
Don’t forget to hydrate as well. You’ll know when you are properly hydrated when your urine is a very pale, almost clear yellow. With a proper pre-competition meal and hydration, you’ll take full advantage of the expert coaching your received from your MP3 running tracks on race day.

Once you decide to embark on a running path after graduation from school, you face some interesting decisions. While running is probably the most solitary sport possible and you are no doubt already used to pushing and motivating yourself, will you need a coach? Will you benefit from a running club? Does your schedule, lifestyle, or geographical location prevent you from doing these things? That is where MP3Running.com comes in handy!
Joining a running club can be expensive–if there are even running clubs available in your area. Despite this, even the most “lone wolf” runner can benefit from having a team to lean on for race information, training tips, workout ideas, and so on. Since running clubs are set-up differently, it is hard to say what you might expect in your area. Some clubs require sponsorship or qualification while others are all-ages, come-one-come-all.
MP3 running tracks can be a great alternative if running clubs do not interest you or are not available to you (or can be used in combination with participation in a running club). The MP3 running tracks offer many of the benefits of a running club, but you can workout around your schedule and lifestyle without paying any membership dues. The running tracks offer integrated coaching tips and help you pace your workouts properly. Much like you can set a treadmill to a hill workout and then just get on and go, the MP3 running tracks are pre-timed for when to warm-up, cool down, sprint, jog, and so on. It is also convenient to have warm-up music during the warm-up portion of the run and sprinting music during the sprinting portion of the run–many runners feel this can mimic the atmosphere of running with the old cross-country crew or having the old coach standing on the sidelines with his whistle and clipboard.
While running clubs have created many amazing runners, MP3 running tracks are the newest idea in the running community. Give them a try and see what you’ve been missing.

Running hydration packs are one of the neater running innovations of the last few years. The market is swamped with different models, sizes, colors, types, and prices. The original design of the first Camelbak is essentially still the norm for these hydration packs. A hydration pack is essentially a aerodynamic water bladder “backpack” with a hose you can position near your mouth for hands-free drinking during a run.
A running hydration pack will generally run you $50 and up, depending on how much water you want to carry and the brand and type. When deciding which hydration pack is right for you, begin by experimenting with how much weight you are comfortable carrying on your back for your particular event. Ask yourself how much water you would like to have during that event. With hydration packs, bigger is not always better. If you get a hydration system with more water than you need, you can easily get cramps, side aches, and need additional bathroom breaks. Also, consider that you will only be able to monitor your water intake by feel since you won’t be able to see the water inside the bladder on your back.
Consider any of these top-rated running hydration packs (available from Amazon.com):
Nathan HPL #020 Race Vest, $58.86
Nathan Endurance Race Vest, $74.93
Nathan Water Bottles X-Ceed Hydration Pack, $57.91
If you are looking for a lowest price, a hand-held water bottle holder is anywhere from $10-$25. They are essentially an elastic band connecting your water bottle to your hand so you don’t have to grip it to keep a hold of it. Another lower-priced option is the waist water bottle holder. These are basically fanny packs with a secure places to store water bottles, allowing for easy removal and insertion. The prices for this type of hydration solution range from $25-$40.
In addition to hydration, don’t forget to bring MP3 running tracks with you on your next run. To get started with some of our coaching tracks, go to: http://www.mp3running.com/running-music.

Barefoot running is one of the newest—and oldest–running crazes. Runner’s World recently ran an article featuring commentary from leading voices in the field entitled, “Barefoot Running: Two Sides of a Very Hot Topic.” On one side, where (realistically) are you going to run without your shoes on in today’s world safely? Back and forth around the local high school football field for an hour? Street and presumably treadmill running, the two most popular forms, would obviously be out.
On the other side, you can connect with the ground, carry less weight, save money, strengthen your foot, and—let’s be serious—have a little fun doing something unconventional. A study done by Daniel Lieberman of Harvard University found that barefoot running reduced the impact on your heel 960 times! Apparently, wearing cushioned shoes does not allow runners to fully feel how painful their heel strikes are. Unfortunately, the damage to the heel still occurs.
Nature magazine found that barefoot runners tend to land on the balls of their feet or flat on their feet. WebMD reports that running barefoot causes less collision force to your feet. Dr. Madhusudhan Venkadesan says that when running barefoot, people point their toes right before impact with the ground. This significantly decreases the jolt and shock the foot experiences. This type of toe-pointing motion is not really possible in a traditional running shoe. Remember that the foot was really designed to function in a wheel motion—fluid, springing, smooth. As Leonardo da Vinci pointed out, “The human foot is a work of art and a masterpiece of engineering.” Putting shoes on this “wheel masterpiece” is, in a way, like trying to drive with one of those metal tire boots the New York City police use to immobilize vehicles.
Whether running barefoot or soled, don’t leave home without your MP3 running tracks!

The first basic tip of marathon training is to inform yourself. Remember knowledge is power. Research the course you plan to run, marathon nutrition, marathon injury prevention, and other issues you feel are relevant to your upcoming race. Reading this blog post is a good start. Plan and evaluate how you’re going to run the marathon. What will your pre-race meal be? How will you hydrate? Will you run with or without your knee brace? Make sure that you know exactly what to expect on race day—don’t leave any decisions to the last minute.
The second marathon tip is to determine the gear you will compete in: running shoes, clothing, water bottle carrier or hydration system, socks, watch, sweatband, jewelry or no jewelry, sunscreen that won’t run in your eyes when you break a sweat. Will you need gloves or sunglasses? Start running and training using this gear now. Not everything that looks good in the store, online, in the catalog, or on your fellow marathoners will work for you. Maybe the single most important marathon tip is not to try any new equipment on the big day.
Another helpful basic marathon training tip is to keep meticulous records. Each workout leading up to the marathon should be documented. More than just your run distances and times, record your pulse. If your pulse is dangerously high, consult your doctor. If you aren’t sure how you should train leading up to the marathon, google marathon training regimens to get some ideas. The general rule of thumb is to start slow and build up steadily. And don’t forget to rest!
Good luck with your marathon from MP3Running.com.

Maybe you’ve been a devout jogger for years. Maybe you just joined the track team for the first time. Regardless of who you are or what brought you to reading this, there is one thing all runners need to continually study—proper running form. This is a crucial element for preventing injury and reaching new levels with your running goals.

Image provided by competitor.com

What is proper running form? To start from the head and work down, your eyes should be looking straight forward about 20-30 feet in front of you. Your chin, therefore, should not be angled up or down—your chin should be perpendicular to the ground, “level headed” as they say. The muscles in your face (your cheeks, your lips) should be relaxed. They should be so relaxed in fact that at times you may feel a flopping or slapping of your cheeks and lips as you run. We often see the tense, strained face at the end of a race as a runner kicks it into 5th gear, which is fine under that circumstance, but it’s not correct for the duration of a race of any length.
Moving down to your arms. The proper running form is to have your elbows bent at a 90 degree angle and your hands loosely clasped in a semi-fist. As with your facial muscles, your hands should not be in a stiff, straight-fingered position or a white-knuckled fist. By relaxing your face and torso muscles, you allow your body to use all of its energy where you need it—in your legs. Your arms should pump from shoulder-height to hip as you run, without crossing in front of your chest.
Finally, the proper running form for your lower body is crucial. Each stride should be long, strong, and straight-forward. The higher you bring your knees up, the longer you can stretch out your strides—every inch counts. While the motion of your legs will mostly take care of itself, do pay conscious attention to how your feet strike the ground—the foot should roll off the ground like a wheel, never flatly slapping the ground. At slower speeds, your heel strikes the ground first then rolls upward towards your toes, where you give a final push-off. At sprinting speeds, the same wheel motion applies but your heel will not touch the ground.
If you need to see what all of this looks like in motion, watch the movie “Forrest Gump”—he could be the poster child for proper running form!

In this day and age, with the advent of iPods, MP3s, earbuds, and instant music downloading, music has become more accessible to everyone. People have music on their phones, in their cars, and, of course, during their runs. For younger runners, it is hard to imagine a time when running and music did not go together. For older runners, the concept of running with music may seem really foreign.

The power of music is truly amazing. Music is used at sporting events to motivate crowds, pump up the energy, or set a desired mood. Think about what the Jaws film would be without that do-dooop-do-dooop-do-dooop music in the background? Just a mechanical fish coming at you. The music changes everything!

 
Working out in general has always gone well with loud, motivating music. However, a runner needs warm-up music section to get the energy cranked up, good running music for the main training section and a cool down music section to celebrate a good workout and turn the energy level back down. Because running is a solitary activity, not a team sport, and often not a coached sport, the music becomes even more important for a runner. At basketball practice, for example, your focus is on team camaraderie, communication between players, and alertly listening to the sounds of the game. With running, however, musical accompaniment can help turn a lonely, one-dimensional environment into a “basketball practice”—especially with MP3Running.com’s pre-arranged coached music sessions.
With our music training sessions, you won’t cheat your warm-up because the music provides a time guideline, you don’t have to worry about Celine Dion popping into your “random play” mix during your final sprint, or skipping your cool down. Much like a pre-programmed hill workout on a treadmill, our music will get you warmed up, keep you motivated, then let you know when to put it back in first gear again—all with appropriate times for runners and coaching. Visit our downloads page to try out one of our popular tracks tailored for the runner.

We scoured the web and assembled the most popular running songs. While these songs will help you get energize and motivated, these songs are actually not suited to run in sync with the music. If you like to lock step with music while running, you want to look for music tempos of 160 – 180 beats per minute – tempos used for MP3 Running Songs.

• Eye of the Tiger, Survivor. Every runner needs this classic in their collection, if not all of the Rocky soundtracks.
• Lose Yourself and ‘Til I Collapse, Eminem. These are newer favorites from the Eight Mile soundtrack that inspire on and off the track.
• The Final Countdown, Europe. This song is also from the Rocky series and transports you to the boxing ring alongside the famous fighter.
• Gonna Fly Now, Bill Conti. This one is the official Rocky theme.
• Welcome to the Jungle, Guns ‘N Roses. A necessity for a crowded road race!
• You’re the Best Around, Joe Esposito. Re-live motivating Karate Kid memories with this one.
• Mama Said Knock You Out, LL Cool J. OK, sorunning isn’t technically a contact sport, but you can still make the competition “pay the price,” as LL Cool J says.
• Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, Daft Punk Infectious beats and motivating words—can’t beat that.
• We Are the Champions and Another One Bites the Dust, Queen. These rockin’ jams are great for visualizing upcoming victories.

If you like to get in the visualization zone while sitting in traffic or in your cubicle, try these songs that actually discuss running:

• Marathon, Rush
• The Distance, Cake
• Break My Stride, Matthew Wilder
• Running With The Devil, Van Halen
• Born To Run, Bruce Springsteen
• Long May You Run, Neil Young
• Run, Run, Run, Velvet Underground
• Run Like Hell, Pink Floyd
• Run, Gnarls Barkley
• It Keeps You Runnin’, Doobie Brothers
• Run, Air