A Marathon Playlist, BioSport Headphones & Hanging Out with Me This Weekend

With the marathon right around the corner, Boston is BUZZING. I live a couple blocks from the finish line, and as cliché as it sounds, you can feel the excitement in the air. Even as a non-marathoner, it’s one of my favorite weekends in the city (a day off from work, friends, roof decks, beer—yes, please!).

Although I’m not running it, I thought it’d be fun to share some of my current favorite workout music in case any of you marathoners need some inspiration for your race-day playlist. I go back and forth between using Spotify and SoundCloud, so I’ve included both (with different music on each). I actually prefer SoundCloud because you can find crazy good remixes, but they’ve started playing ads so I can’t use it while teaching class. What a bummer!

First up, some jams for all you SoundCloud users:

Next up, some jams for all my Spotify peeps:

Intel x SMS Audio BioSport Headphones

Speaking of music, I’m working with Intel and SMS Audio on a fun project for their new BioSport headphones (spoiler alert: I get to give away a couple sets to you guys!). These headphones, which have an in-ear heart rate monitor, are the lovechild of Intel’s technology and SMS Audio’s studio-quality sound.

For all you techies: They use a built-in optical sensor that continuously and accurately measures your heart rate while simultaneously removing noise signals caused by your body’s motion during your workout. The earbud shape allows it to sit deeper in the ear canal for consistent data collection, and the headphones are sweat and water-resistant.

The headphones also have a self-charging system (it’ll draw power from your smartphone) so no batteries are required. It won’t drain the battery life though—it uses the same amount of power as any set of headphones with a built-in mic.

For all the rest of us: 50 Cent—or as I like to call him, Fiddy—is the CEO of SMS Audio. So yeah, if the man who made the soundtrack to my high school years stands behind these headphones, count me in, too. (Anyone else jam out to Hate It or Love It at high school parties??)

The in-ear heart rate monitor wires directly to your smartphone and syncs with the RunKeeper app. I’ve been playing around with it the last couple days, and it’s pretty cool!

Also, it’s worth noting that I’m super picky about earbuds (usually I don’t like having something stuffed in my ear), but the part that goes inside is actually pretty narrow on these. I think they’re comfortable–and that’s saying a lot! I’ll be giving away two sets of these headphones (they retail at $150 so it’s a pretty kickass prize!) in the coming weeks on the blog.

Come Hang Out with Me This Weekend!

As part of this project, I’ll be at the SMS Audio booth at the Boston Marathon Sports & Fitness Expo this weekend. If you’re local or will be in town to run, I’d love for you to swing by and say hi! I’ll be there Saturday from 3 to 3:30PM. The expo is open to the public, so you don’t have to be running the marathon to check out all the exhibits. It’s at Hynes Convention Center and you can check out a full list of the exhibitors/where their booths are located HERE. I’ll be at booth #2735 and hope to see some of you there!

Are you running Boston this year? Let me know if you’ll be by the expo!

What workout songs are currently on repeat for you? Side note: You can enter to win a pair of the BioSport headphones by sharing your top workout songs on Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #IntelxBioSport. The contest is open until April 19^th so hop on it! Terms and conditions

Enjoy your weekend!

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Intel. Although I was compensated, all opinions—as always!—are my own.