Which is better - Running Question

Hello, so I have a question.

I have managed to master msot of the beats on the songs on my ipod. Alot of them dont even barely make me sweat anymore. But I have a few that can.

What would be the best option to do:

Use my warmup song for my main song for about 10 minutes then use the song that makes me perform to around my maximum endurance (i can keep this up, but i get tired alot quicker). Heart beat goes very fast and ofcourse im sweating, i can control my breathing for about 1500 meters then im a bit drained and anything i do after that will not be able to sustain any higher performance

Or

Use my warm up song as my main song, Go for more miles (can possibly do double or more). The warm up song gets my heartbeat up and yes it can make me sweat a little, Its still a fast song, maybe at about 65% of my energy on a consistant basis. But not nearly as much as my main song. But my heartbeat definitely gets raised to maybe 2x So i feel it could still be effective if using it efficiently

So really the question is: Use my current main warmup song until it becomes almost second nature to my heartrate and my airflow thinks its easy. This song doesnt drain me too much so I can go it for alot longer.

or continue to push myself using my current main song until i can sustain it for a further distance.

A 3rd option could be to go for an even faster song (yes there are some that i have that i cant keep up for over 90 seconds on without gasping for breath.

Thanks for your help! :)

I'd ditch the music for a while and train yourself to perform w/o it. Sounds to me like you are overly dependent on it.

Anyway, I would use my 'favorite' song or 'pump-up' song for the most intense part, unless I were preparing for a race, in which case I'd use it for the warm-up, since you usually can't listen to music during races.

Name a song or two out of your faster ones, that have videos on youtube. I'd like to check what the beat is, so I know what kind of cadence you are using.

My first impression is that your cadence is tied too much to the speed that you are running. Another way to say that is that your speed should be determined more by your stride length than by your cadence.

In my own experience, I've learned that using music with specific beats is beneficial as a way to learn faster cadences, and then that becomes your norm even when you don't have the music. You can practice higher cadences at moderate speeds (instead of only doing it when you run fast).

Its not that im overly dependant on it, its more of just because i only started running 2 months ago so im still very new to it. Music helps me to keep my timing steady, as soon as muic shuts off my breathing rythem turns a mess (deviated septum you see) so i use the music for breathing aswell as steps. My first month was basically me trying to get my endurance and stamina up, starting with alot slower songs just to get used to it. My last month has been about increasing the effort after i realised doing the slower ones (probably really slow for you guys) wasnt having the same effect it used to

Umm ok il show some songs I use(i actually posted them in another thread:

warm up song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvUVLQXpaUU

current song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYLjHhSOE7s

Song I would like to reach in the future:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk2al-UWnyY (i cant last about 2-3 mins in this song lol) the slow parts dont help too. But you get the general idea.

See I could be going about this the completely wrong way, im currently training my body to raise fitness levels i guess. With the idea that being able to perform at a higher level/pace means my heart health is improving and also improving my breathing too.

I could do slower songs and run for hours but the only thing that will happen is my legs will hurt and possibly get injured.

Im not a marathon runner, Im probably classed as a newbie :)

That is a great song by Metric. FYI, it is 178 beats per minute. If you are stepping to it, you are doing 89 strides per minute. That is really fast, and not usually achieved by beginning runners. So, kudos to you. 90 strides per minute is often mentioned as something to work towards, as it is turn out to be an efficient frequency for many people. Breathing in a 2-2 rhythm with your feet (in for two steps, out for two steps) makes for a reasonable rate of breathing/breaths as well.

My guess is that, when you don't have tunes, your cadence slows, even if your speed remains the same. That makes your breathing slower too and you don't get enough air unless you switch to a different "breath to step" ratio, and everything feels like it falls apart. Try just thinking of that same song, when you don't have your Ipod. That method works for me.

It sounds to me like you are on a track towards becoming a good runner. Keep it up.