Nature’s Music vs. Pop Music

By Karen McNew
WSLS10 Anchor
Published: February 15, 2008

It’s Friday and before work I decided to go for a run… The weather is mild and a 6 mile trek is just what I needed to get geared up for the last day of the work week.  I enjoy running near my house because the views are great and it is a bit rural so the roads don’t have a lot of traffic. 

Typically, music is essential for me when I exercise.  Matt got me an iPod shuffle for our anniversary last year and I love it.  I download a lot of upbeat popular music.  Some old hits some news ones that I can’t understand the lyrics for but enjoy the fast beat of the tune.  I got a new sports watch for Valentines Day so I was also eager to try that out.

I start running my mind wanders… After the power outage I had to throw a bunch of food out so I starting thinking about what I need to buy at the grocery store tonmorrow… also what phone calls I need to make when I get into the new room… I have found when your mind wanders the run goes by faster and is more productive. 

So I get about halfway through the run and feel the breeze pick up a little.. I put my hood over my head and all of the sudden the music in my headphones gets a strong echo to it… I switch to the next song… same hollow sounding echo… I think..what is going on here?  I have to have music to finish this run… I have couple of miles left and become increasingly perplexed… I turn the shuffle off and back on… same problem… I started to think I was having some sort of attack but didn’t feel dizzy or ill… so I decided to just wrap the thing up and put it in my pocket and continue the 6 mile loop I set out to finish.

I looked down at my watch and calculated I had about 25 minutes left to go… it couldn’t be that bad right? 

It was actually wonderful!!!  It was a pleasant reminder of why I love this area.  At first I could hear some birds chirping off in the distance… it reminded me that spring is right around the corner and soon leaves will be blooming and we will have 50 and 60 degreee temperatures regularly… Then, I could hear leaves crunching.. as if someone was walking through the woods.. at first it startled me and made me a little nervous… so I glanced in the direction of the noise and what did I see but a very large TURKEY!!  It was so cool… just taking it’s time swaggering through the woods… I tried to take a picture with my cell phone but couldn’t get close enough… I smiled and thought about my headphones that were on the blink and that I didn’t really mind now…

As I got closer to home as always I start to feel great because I am almost finished… the thing about exercise is that it isn’t always that fun while you are doing it but I always feel better afterwards.

And I figured out what was wrong and where the echo was coming from.. I must have worn out the ear phones in the last year… Matt didn’t want the ones that came with his shuffle so I found them tucked neatly in a drawer.. plugged them into my shuffle and the music was crystal clear.. still not sure if I will opt for the pop music or nature’s tunes on the next run.