Run: iPOD Shuffle

Before triathlon, I trained as an ultrarunner. My brother, a dedicated weight-lifter, could never understand how I would turn out repeated 60-80 mile weeks without the aid of musical assistance. Such was the extent to which his befuddlement reached, he even offered to give me his iPOD Nano. But I valued the meditative nature of running and continued running with the company of my thoughts.

Then my girlfriend-now-wife bought me an iPOD Shuffle and my world changed forever.

I had resisted the iPOD movement, citing a disinterest in conforming because 'everyone has one.' Well, they have one for good reason. This little guy is awesome. Sampling and purchasing music on iTunes is a snap, and the little unit recharges rapidly when plugged in by USB to your laptop. But beyond the easy ownership, it's all about performance.

The lightweight unit clips unnoticeably to my running shorts. The cord of my Sony wrap-around-the-ear style headphones is routed through my shirt and I never realize they're there. It's literally like every song is playing inside of my head. Songs can be played randomly or in consecutive order, and the playlist on the unit can be managed on your computer.

As far as the effect, well, I find myself running harder for longer as my favorite or most inspiring music pulls (or pushes, depending on the day) me along

Given the relatively low cost (considering Apple's tradition of being rather expensive, 2 GB units come in at $60 and 4GB units come in at $80), effortless ownership, and excellent performance, I highly recommend fellow runners and triathletes look into the iPOD shuffle.