Sarah Jo Austin

Over at the Runner’s Lounge this week, the Take-It-and-Run Thursday subject is music and podcasts. I’m posting a few days late, but Thursday was busy at work and it was Valentine’s Day. Oh yeah, and I have the head cold from Hades, so thinking is sketchy.

I haven’t run with music for very long. I started this fall when my gal pal Heather lent me her iPod to listen to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on my long runs. It was just after Linden moved to Germany and I was adjusting to doing my long runs alone.

Chris got me an iPod Shuffle for Christmas, and I started running with it after the New Year. I have random music that pops up for my shorter runs, but I’ve found that I don’t prefer music on my long runs. I actually like listening to the spoken word better.

Harry Potter did it for me last fall, and on my most recent long runs, sermons from Mark Driscoll, pastor at Mars Hill Church (Seattle) have kept me moving. Listening to someone else talk is almost like having a friend running alongside me, and I even find myself making comments back to the speaker as I run. Driscoll’s sermons are each an hour-plus, so they’re perfect for running a long time. And Driscoll’s has a unique mix of dry humor, sarcasm, facts, and Scripture to keep his sermons both Spirit-filled and entertaining.

I’m still listening to music on my shorter runs, and I’ve already found a handful of favorites for speedwork, but I haven’t finalized a list of those songs quite yet (but let’s just say there’s a number of Bon Jovi songs I can’t get enough of). In the coming months, I’ll put together a few playlists for my specific runs. Stay tuned!