Running: a Right or a Left Brain Activity?

Hi Athletes and Triathletes!

I have been running a lot more.  How much more?  I am now running 15-20+ miles a week, lame compared to my 35 - 45 mile weeks back when my hair was full and dark but... 20 is good for me now at age 55.

Three months ago I got a smart phone.  Before that I was running and listening to podcasts on an old inherited iPod, with Ted Talks, The Moth Radio Hour and  Wait Wait Don't Tell me among my favorites.

When I ran in the late 70's in high school, as a boy on the cross country team, we would occasionally discuss what songs we would sing along (in our head only) as we ran.  Songs by KISS and other hard rock bands would be mentioned.

So jump ahead some 35+ years and I started thinking about running and the brain.  When I am listening to a TED Talk when I run it's generally for enlightenment.  It's like really good food for the brain.  And that is absolutely appealing to the LEFT- logic part of the brain.

What about running?  I think running is more of a right brain activity.  The right brain of passion, creativity, feelings, intuition, etc.  I paired this hunch up with what I was playing on my phone when I ran.  Now when I hear ZZ Top, Lenny Cravitz, or Tom Petty, a few things happened.

The first thing was I felt cooler.  This is no small feat since running 9-10 minute miles at age 55 is about as glamorous as cleaning the toilet.  And by cooler, I also felt more coordinated.  That lasted about 10 days.  Then I found that my favorite rock-n-roll could give me a boost in power and speed and that is currently what I am still experiencing.  For me to finish off a 5 or 6 mile run, and finish faster the last mile than the first, I need AC/DC, and not an interesting podcast on parenting or medical technology. I need to tap passion and energy.


I save the music for later in runs.  For those first 10-15 minutes when the run is slow and laborious it's fine to listen to NPR, but when I want to kick it up a notch it's blues, rock and who knows, maybe the frenetic pace of techno!

In swimming laps, what works best for me is to think about a family or work problem and problem solve when in the pool.  My friend has somewhat successfully listened to music while swimming laps but there are still kinks involved in that technology.

When running, gone are the days of paying full attention to your breathing and pace.  I still do some of that in races, preferring to talk to fellow runners to relax but in racing I am not there to just run, but I am there to run a certain time.

So what works for you?  Drop me a note below in the comments box and happy running, riding, swimming, hiking, and what not!  It's all good.