I have been running of late, in terms of my ears that is, stark naked! I've jettisoned the headphones and music for the delights of nature and traffic noises entertaining my ear drums. However, this has it's downside and I've only discovered what it is.....
Running is very mental isn't it? (Not, "It's totally mental dude!" kind of thing - I mean it's psycholgical). Recently my runs haven't been as "successful" as I'd like owing to the fact that I have started to think too far ahead and thereby convincing myself "I'll never go THAT far!" This has lead me to end up walking for periods when I used to run non stop with Laura purring in my ear, cooing at me that I was a running God and I could do anything! (well you know what I mean..?!)
So this very morning I downloaded a podcast discussing various scientific stories. One was about how humans find it difficult to digest milk because of the enzyme in our bodies that stops working after we've been weaned as babies. Then there was an interview with a scientist from Qatar talking about research in Middle Eastern Universities. Then finally an interview with another scientist who has discovered a way of measuring the temperature of the inside of cells in nano degrees!!!! THESE STORIES WERE SOOOOOOOOOO BORING I forgot about feeling tired or how long I'd run. I was listening with jaw dropping amazement about how disinterested I was in these subjects that I ended up running 6K!!!!! Bloody amazing!
So now I'm going to trawl iTunes for more paralysingly boring podcasts to run to. Perhaps a discussion about the population census of Mexico in 1967, or an in depth discussion about gnats and their sex drive!!
Can't wait! Thanks for reading guys. You rock!
Dan
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danzargo
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Haha, what a great idea! I also think too far ahead and as I'm listening to the same music, I know approximately which track will mean I'm nearly finished. I was really impressed while reading your blog Dan and thinking 'how intelligent', then I got to the 'sooooooooooooooo boring' bit! I would like to learn Spanish. Do you think it is possible to learn a foreign language whilst running? Has anyone else tried a similar thing? If it works, then students could revise whilst running etc. Multi tasking on the hoof!
Yeah our Dan's back and full of mischief as always, loved it. When your searching iTunes see if you can find any research on why the Scottish Midge bites human beings will you please? If you find and answer and better still a prevention I'll share the monies we will make with you
Happy running Dan, good to see you have put your clothes back on
Dan, I think you might consider downloading something about the igNobel prizes (igNobel/ignoble -- get it?). A couple of years ago the science prize went to an academic who decided to research whether you get wetter when rain falls from the left or when it falls from the right and stuff like that; another guy researched the difference in the taste of tea depending on whether you put in the milk before the tea or vice versa. That should bore the pants off you for a ew K!
A good few years ago there was a question at the back of New Scientist asking if you get wetter if you run or walk through the rain (the back page has several questions each week and the replies are printed when they receive a fair number). It sparked a fair bit of discussion at work until Garnet (Welsh chap) pointed out that you generally got wetter when the rain was coming at you horizontally whether you walked or ran!
I run 'naked' these days, the beat to the music makes me run too fast and I'm not really too into music in my ears anyway, doing the c25k+ podcasts with Laura the music is really annoying. I used to listen to audiobooks but have stopped that as well, when the wind whistles past I can't hear the book due to the sound of the wind and when any cars go past they drown out the sound as well. It's all OK missing 10 seconds of your music track every so often but 10 seconds of a murder mystery could be crucial! Once it gets cold and I start wearing a hat I can pull down over my ears I'll probably go back to them as that seems to cut a lot of the background noise out.
In the meantime it's just me and the birds, wasps, bees etc. It's not stopping me though.....
I also run "naked" (not voluntarily but due to technical issues) but think of listening to the podcasts of a radio show when I get a new mp3-player. When I'm doing my chores at home, I use to listen to a kind of call-in show (ordinary people call and seek advice for their problems/tell funny things etc). One podcast is exactly one hour long and each person speaks for an average of 12 minutes. It's not as crucial to miss a few seconds with this podcast as it is for an audiobook and if one misses too much, there will be another topic/caller soon. I won't run all the podcast (at least not on a regular basis as it is too long) but 3 of the callers are about 36 minutes plus warm up and cool down. Perhaps a radio show like this would be an alternative to your audiobooks? My mp3-player broke about 3 weeks ago and it's really starts to be boring without anything to listen to (except my panting).
I can't sleep so came on the computer, I have downloaded 4 episodes of The Navy Lark and 4 of Just a Minute, as well as a Doctor Who story from the local library. That should keep me going for the week, let's hope I don't fall over laughing when I'm running.
Argh, a tiny rememberance comes back to my mind. I once saw something in the news about a nude runners club... I definitely didn't like the "moving pictures" in this moment... Btw, Christmas will be soon, so let's sing: Jingle bells, jingle bells.....
Silky Steve is the man on Audiofuel ( it's what ive called him!) . He helps me along, but I have to say I do parkrun 'naked' now as I like chatting to my mate and hearing all the sounds etc...
It was one of those paralysingly boring days. Even the babies were fast asleep and I was reduced to reading a paper on whether a certain enzyme would boost a person's sex drive. Dear Reader, I was BORED!
I'm sure someone can improve on that but I wanted to maintain the 'boring' theme!
Brlliant post! I have thought about audio books, but like crime thrillers, so thought i'd end up missing pertinent points. Like the idea of trying a language though. Can't imagine going 'naked' and just listening to the sounds of me
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CR8..longest run (just!) 💥🦌🤩
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Consolidation run 1 Really not in the mood - a boring post.
