Do you ever feel overwhelmed by technology? I have a love/hate relationship with it. With all the great running gadgets out there it is easy for a nerd-o-file like myself to track exercise data for everything: pace, speed, mileage, elevation, heartrate, power songs, nike+, calories burned....I could go on and on and on. And don't get me wrong, for the most part, I love doing it. Minnie has totally changed how I think about running and I owe her superb pace tracking to the fact that my pace is faster than it was a year ago. But, I find myself often tied down to the technology. I have even been known to postpone a run because Minnie couldn't find the satellites. When I go out for runs, I'm thinking about everything all at once - my mileage, my pace goal, my mile splits, my halfway splits, my stride, my breathing. I have found that sometimes it clouds the purpose of those 6 miles in the first place: to just run and enjoy it.
So, I have made a pact with myself to add one day of "free" running to my weekly workouts. Technology is not allowed on these runs. It is just me and the road and pace be damned. Exact mileage be damned! If I run 4.68 miles..so what? If I run a fun, free run at a slow pace...so what? I think I need these runs to get back to running fundamentals and to just go out there and, well, do it. Running is fun and it's very easy to lose that aspect when surrounded by the pressures of training runs, upcoming races, stats, pace, strides, goals...all of it.
So, I'm off to run a fun and "free" 3 or 4 or 5, or maybe 6 miles. I don't know, and I don't care to know.
Today I Love: the cool weather we're FINALLY getting!!! It finally feels like FALL!
6 months ago