156 is my magic number

 (No, that’s not me on the treadmill - that guy’s not bathed in sweat like I am when I run….)

As I posted a week or so ago, my current goal is to run a 5K with a pace of an 11-minute mile or less, and also run a total of 35 miles by September 20th. I’m at 6.83 miles so far, or 20% of my goal, so that one’s definitely on track. I’ve had some issue with making the 11-minute mile, however - All of my times have been coming in around 11:15, which is close but not quite.

I’ve been using a crutch of sorts to help me keep my pace, and that crutch is PodRunner, a podcast found on iTunes or at DJSteveBoy’s website. Go to the Podrunner Archives section of the website, and you’ll see a list of music mixes, each with their own specific beats-per-minute. The music isn’t anything you’ll know - it’s primarily techno or house music, and DJ SteveBoy has done a great job of providing lots of variety in the mixes. In the past, I’ve stayed in the 145-150 range, as I could maintain that rate without feeling too winded or hitting a wall. I’ve been gradually increasing that rate, and for the past two runs I’ve been at 156 bpm, using the ‘Running to Elysium’ mix to keep pace. On Sunday, I was down to an 11:01 minutes-per-mile rate, and by lengthening my strides on today’s run, I completed a 2.26-mile run at a 10:26 minutes-per-mile pace! Knowing that I can actually get under 11:00 minutes is a great feeling, but I’ll now need to increase my mileage while maintaining the same pace, so I can finish the 5K under (or at) my goal pace.  Each mix is about an hour long, so at 11:00-minute pace, I could run over 5 miles and not run out of music.

So the question for today - if you run, do you use any assistance to keep pace, or what is your favorite music to run to?