Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Running Naked

Notice anything missing?


If you follow me on Instagram, Twitter, or read my blog occasionally, the answer probably stands out like a sore thumb.

I LOVE my Garmin 110 Forerunner. It was one of my very first purchases once I started running a little over two years ago - of course I bought it refurbished on eBay since I wasn't positive that I would stick with running and didn't want to drop too much money (but two years later it is still ticking away AND I AM STILL RUNNING).

TODAY I RAN NAKED!

Obviously I am still in the midst of marathon training (my very FIRST full marathon is in less than 40 days - eeks), so I couldn't run completely blind. I stuck with a loop that I knew was 5 miles, since I still needed to get my mileage in, but ran without my watch.

Remember those ducks people used to have on their porch that they would dress up? This stuffed bear I see on my runs is often wearing different outfits :) Today I decided to get a picture with him. He was sporting his Oceanside Woody tank. SUNS OUT GUNS OUT!

It is crazy to think how often I look at my watch - whether it is consciously or subconsciously. I mean, I guess I never really realized it before. I don't necessarily fixate on it - I would say that I look at it maybe once or twice a mile - but still it is something I feel is a "must have" when I go out for a run. It is so "bad" that when I stopped to snap the below picture I actually went for my wrist to pause my Garmin...


I am a NUMBERS girl! I love 'em! I entered college as a Math major (that was until I saw how many semesters of Calculus I had to take :) ). I really like seeing my pace - whether it is to see if I can continually get faster throughout my run (i.e. negative splits), making sure I am at my "race pace" for specific workouts, etc.

I guess I never realized how much "pressure" wearing my watch puts on myself. When I am running with my hubby, who has a slightly slower pace than I do, I don't focus on our pace. I don't care about how fast we are going, I just know that we are out running and running TOGETHER and that is all that matters. But when I am out on a training run, you better believe I am checking my watch. I wouldn't say it is a bad thing (especially since the only person I am trying to beat is the ME from the day before), but sometimes it is nice to just unplug, unwind, and run unrestricted. And knowing that I don't "need" to know my pace is extremely freeing as well!

5ish miles. I think they were probably around 8:30-8:45 minute miles. The reason I know is because I have my Road ID app send my hubby eCrumbs to let him know where I am. I started my timer for 55 minutes when I started and when I finished there were still 12 minutes left. Although I didn't run with my watch I guess I couldn't help but still estimate my speed...

Don't get me wrong, I probably won't convert to running watchless very often (especially during my current training schedule) - but it was still great to be able to just run, enjoy my surroundings, and get back to the basics!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Awesome! Cool way to be in the moment.