Week Seven: City Headphones

I usually don't wear headphones when I run; it feels more like a distraction then anything else. I instead prefer to engage with world around me, mainly because I don't want police to find my car battered body next to an ipod with "Ultimate Dance Party: Volume 27" playing. But I can't say that running without headphones doesn't come with a few surprising city consistencies . I decided to catagorize the sounds of an average 3 mile run, writing the sound and the number of times I heard it to better understand the phenomenon of the "City Headphone."

Cars moving: (infinite)

Car honk: 7

Truck screech: 9

People laughing: 8

Men arguing: 3

People yelling: 10

Baby's crying: 2

Bums asking me for money: 1

Dogs barking: 4

Music playing (businesses/homes/boom-box): 10

Drunk women/men speaking incoherently: 2

Douche Bag Long Islanders making fun of my running shorts: 1

Foreign accents: 3

Ambulance: 1

Construction:1

Water shooting from hydrant: 1

Sports activities: 8

Running to the beat of the NY streets: Priceless

I guess it can be a little annoying to run in the city, but I'm used to it at this point. Next time I go out maybe I'll listen to some of these "Running" songs for inspiration.

Born to Run- Bruce Springsteen

Run Run Run- The Velvet Underground

Running Down a Dream- Tom Petty

Run Like Hell- Pink Floyd

Runnin' Away- Bob Marley

The Road- Tom Jones (just had to get him in there)

I ran 12 miles sans headphones and am ready for a half marathon next week.