I joined the Pod

I'm heading in to my third season of triathlons. When I first started researching this sport, I quickly learned that audio devices (we'll just call 'em iPods for the purposes of this post) are illegal in a race and you can get penalized if caught using them. I also quickly learned to train like you race.

So, because you can't listen to an iPod during your race, I didn't want to train using one because I didn't want it to throw me off come race day.

With it being so cold and my reluctance to venture outside increasing, I started going to the Y to hit the treadmill. As usual, it's difficult to go even a half mile before I begin to daydream about the belt malfunctioning and me fatally hitting my head.

This boredom presented a dilemma. Because I'm training for a half iron distance, I need to be putting in more mileage and if the treadmill's the most practical place to get it done, I needed to find a way to make it work.

I decided to revisit my iPod philosophy.

I've heard so many say how much easier it is to get through a treadmill run with an iPod. Despite my aforementioned reasons for not using one, I went to Best Buy and purchased an iPod Shuffle.

WOW! Why did I wait so long? The first time I used it, I found myself at mile three with the desire to go even further! The only reason I didn't is because I had to get ready for spin class.

What a gift! I feel like my training has a sense of renewal and I'm hopeful about keeping up my running mileage the remainder of the winter.

Maybe I'll ditch the iPod when I go back outside running, or just practice running without it a couple weeks before a race.

What I will do is never, ever head to the Y without this little buddy in my pocket to keep me company.

Thank you all you technology people!