What music do you listen to?

If you are the type of runner that runs listening to music, do you have a preference of what type of music you listen to?

I bring this up because if you own an iPod and use the Nike+ that measures miles or minutes that you run, you will notice that it allows for a 'Power Song'. I'm assuming that this is a song that you would use to get you motivated.

I do have one pick out – 'Taking Care of Business' by Bachman Turner Overdrive. I do have to say, though, I've never hit the 'Play Power Song' once in the three years that I've used the Nike+.

It seems silly to me to push the button. I mean, really, - what race, what run, what effort, would a person make that one song would accomplish the task? If any of you have found a need for this, please email me and let me know.

I've found that there are three 'types' of music that I listen to. For long walks or short easy runs, I listen to audio books. No need to focus on the speed, distance, heart rate, etc. Just listen and let it flow. The second is what I call 'Tempo running' music. This is music that can come from a favorite 'live' album (Frampton, Seger, Zeppelin, etc.) or a new album that you've just added to your iTunes, or really any groups of songs that won't detract from you being able to keep a steady pace.

The last type of music that I have on my iPod is music that actually 'motivates' me to run fast. I created a playlist for this music. In my iTunes library, I have rated all my music from one to five stars. I have on both my iTunes library and my Nano, and iPod iTouch a playlist that contains all of my 5 star music. This is what I play on my Nano when I doing speed workouts or running a 10K race or shorter. Any longer distance and any 3, 4 rated songs will do (yes, I do have a playlist that includes all 3, 4 and 5 rated songs for running 10 milers, Half-Marathons, and Marathons).

So what do you listen to? Write me at MarathonMadman@gmail.com and let me know. I will also putting together a blog post that will contain the Top 10 running songs and would you know what use to motivate your running.