Post #1 Welcome to my blog!

Hi everyone!  My name is Tim Smith and I'm a teacher candidate studying at Brock University.

My goal for this blog is to familiarize myself with Blogger by coming up with a Genius Hour question, then measuring my weekly progress solving that question using blog posts.

My Genius Hour question is:  How and why does listening to music affect athletic performance in runners?

The reason I chose this question is that it marries two of my greatest passions: music and running.  I'm a career musician, and have been teaching guitar since 1996.  Meanwhile, purely as a hobby, I'm an avid runner, and have often found myself listening to music while I run.  I've certainly noticed the effect music has had on my performance, but I'm curious to explore any research and other opinions on the topic.