After taking most of December off any type of regular training program, it has been a bit of a struggle to find my running legs. The little voice in my head screaming "I CAN'T!!!" has been quite loud on my runs as of late, and not surprisingly, it has been a self-fulfilling prophecy. Yesterday, I struggled through a 20 minute brick run (albeit in driving rain and a ridiculous amount of wind) and realized that by constantly beating myself up over being a shadow of my former running self, I was willing myself to be that way. If you think a run is going to hurt, it will. Even an inky-dinky little 20 minute run!
Moreover, I was totally fixated on pace. And again, not surprisingly, it bred disappointment. If you think you suck...then you suck.
It was time for drastic measures. Yes, it was time to gear down!
So sorry to disappoint though, this post is not about streaking. ;)
By gearing down, I don't actually mean running sans clothing. That would just be ug-ly! (and let me tell you, my running as of late has already been quite ugly enough, thank you very much)
What I mean by gearing down is getting rid of the gadget! My friend/enemy Garmin 310XT was silenced and tucked into my back pocket, out of sight. There was no goal time for the workout, no pre-ordained pace and no beeping for lap intervals. The rules of the naked game work such I was allowed to see the stats only after the run was over, but for the distance of the seawall was just me and my naked wrist.
And oh, how liberating it was not to be reminded of my pace, speed, heart rate, blood sugar, daily horoscope and all other kinds of minutia on a constant basis. I had almost forgotten how awesome it is to just run.
Get naked. I dare you. You'll be surprised at how liberating it is!
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