Favorite Things Friday

This week's favorite thing: iPod shuffle + audio books
I know this is a hot topic in the running community, but I am definitely a pro-iPod runner.  I don't generally wear headphones during races (although I did for part of my first marathon) but I don't think I could survive training runs without them.  I especially love my shuffle since it's super easy to carry whether I have pockets or not.

Plus, it's pink!

Of course, if you're going to run with an iPod, you need something to listen to.  I occasionally listen to music if I'm doing a tempo run or interval workout (including lots of Britney) but most of the time, and especially on long runs, I go for audio books.  I have a monthly subscription to audible.com that lets me download two books a month -- had to upgrade from one a month during marathon training!

I should probably be embarrassed by this collection, but I'm not

For running, I usually go with young adult fiction series.  They're fast-paced enough to keep me entertained, but don't require a ton of concentration.  Some of my favorites:

• The Hunger Games trilogy
• Percy Jackson and the Olympians (finished this and starting on The Heroes of Olympus)
• The Kane Chronicles
• The Leviathan series (just discovered the third book has been released!)

Unfortunately, I'm running out of books in these series, so let me know -- what do you listen to while you run?  Do you have a favorite audio book I should check out?