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Running with the iPod

I love running with my iPod; I’ve had it for quite some time now, and with a few minor exceptions (to be described below) everything has been perfect. In this post, I’ll detail some of my experience with the iPod - hopefully it’ll be of help to those of you considering adding one to your running gear. A proviso before I begin, however: the following is merely what I’ve seen and in no way, shape, or form represents Apple’s claims for the device. Your mileage may vary (both literally and figuratively).

For those of you who don’t know, the iPod is an MP3 player. Mine stores 15 GB; they also come in 20 and 40 GB sizes, and there’s a Mini version that has 4 GB of memory. As far as I know, they’re all pretty similar featurewise, with the exception of the Mini’s noticeably smaller and lighter frame.

While running, I keep my ‘pod in a DLO Action Jacket (now with armband action!). I originally tried placing it on my bicep, but due to a variety of issues (it was harder to secure, the controls were more difficult to access, etc.) I generally leave it on the upper portion of my forearm.

One of the most important factors to consider when running with an iPod (unlike many MP3 players) is stability. The iPod is a hard drive-based player; common sense will tell you that the impacts running produces don’t play well with finely-adjusted moving parts, so it is very important that you minimize the jarring the iPod experiences when you run. If you don’t, then you’re very likely to run into some bad skipping problems as the iPod’s memory buffer is filled and exceeded. Some people have had success minimizing the jarring holding the ‘pod in one hand or attaching it to their waists; I’ve gotten my bests results from the forearm placement I mentioned earlier (and in fact, the only skip I’ve run into was while it was fastened a bit too loosely on my upper arm).

There does seem to be another way to get around the skipping problem, though - by minimizing the size of the files that you’re playing. The iPod’s buffer will generally hold about 20 minutes of music encoded at 128 kbps; if you rip your songs at a higher bitrate, however, the buffer will be less effective. Conversely, if you could rip at a lower bitrate, the buffer should be more effective (though the quality of the music would of course suffer).

My preferred method for increasing the effectiveness of the buffer is to avoid music entirely (not such a great loss, as listening to music isn’t very distracting for me anyway - and distraction is what I’m looking for on a run). Instead, I listen to audiobooks. Through the magic of proprietary technology, Audible’s filesizes are tiny - which means that they should work better within the buffer on the iPod. Add in the super-cool ‘bookmark’ (the iPod remembers where you left off in an Audible file, unlike in an MP3) and ‘chapters’ (when fast-forwarding an Audible file, you can skip to pre-set markers in the audio), and you’ve got a listening/running experience that’s hard to beat.

Hmmm. I guess that about does it for the positives - there is one other negative, though. The earphones that come with the iPod are less than useless for any real activity; they just won’t stay in the ear. I ended up replacing them with a cheap over-the-ear pair that work just fine while I’m on the run.

To sum up: I love running with mine, and with a little careful planning (to avoid the known issues), you could love running with one, too. That’s about it for this quickie review. If there’s something in particular you want to know about the iPod, let me know and I’ll do my best (I’m by no means an expert, though).