iRun ...

On 10/24/11 Mrs Cindie commented “I often wonder how the music we choose to listen to effects or ability to push ourselves or how quickly it changes the cadence as we move... Have you any thoughts on music choices? Of course these must be catered to our own personal music tastes, and at times I wish I was more musically inclined so as to better understand what beats/ rhythms work best for pushing a newbie such as myself... But what say you?” on my article Strides Intervals Walking Cadence.

I am having technical difficulties answering the comment directly so I will post my answer here instead.

Tunes will have a Beats per Minute (BPM), the tempo of the song.  Just like you have a tendency to tap to the music your body will have a tendency to want to hit the ground at that tempo when you run to music.  That tempo will generally not be the same as your body's cadence so listening to a fast song will have a tendency to wreck havoc on your regularity.  On the other hand listen to a song that's "too slow" and you will find it harder to "get in the grove".  My personal experience I find pop music fit pretty good my cadence.  Techno works for more focused run and most Metallica songs' will make for a sublime fast albeit shorter run.  I enjoy listening to "cyanide" and "unforgiven I, II or III" when I run.  Rap doesn't work at all, I don't know why the beat seems just out of sync with running.  A notable exception to this is Niky Minage which makes for an excellent hill climbing background lol.  When you choose a playlist for running the most important is to find music of similar tempo so that the music helps your cadence stay the same thru your run.  Don't use "random" feature on your master library files as it could mix and match fast, slow songs and songs that just don't work with running.  Advanced runners use apps such as "Cadence DJ".  The app scans the cadence of your target library.  Knowing what cadence you wanna run at then you can choose song that will support more consistent cadence.  I never used the app myself but I downloaded it and I am messing with now :) I know that for example for extreme races such as marathon some runners will build their playlist very specifically, targeting inspiring songs at those key miles they expect they'll need it most.  The key to choosing music at your level is finding music that will make the run "fun".  Other thing to consider a "neutral" bpm that is, that will promote your body running not "so fast nor to slow" which will promote your aerobic workout (60 - 70% max heart rate to loose weight, 70 - 80% to to increase heart and lung capacity). Why don't you put list of candidate songs and run once with it ... Then pick 2 or 3 you felt worked best, then refine a new playlist that includes similar artists/songs.  Experiment and find what works for you !  Create a slower playing for distance and a faster playlist for speed and a happy running running playlist for well ... just fun runs ... Let me know how what you playlist end up being like.  Sharing them can inspire other runners.  Happy Running Ms. Cindie !