Running "Naked"

Further homage to Intergalactic De-lurking Week!

A recent post by Alison struck a chord with me. Over the last several months, I have been running my workouts mostly by the clock. Not the stopwatch, but the clock. Sometimes the one on the stove in the kitchen at home, other times the wall clock at the gym. I'm not usually wearing a watch*, nor a GPS device, nor a heart-rate monitor. I am running by feel.

It's me, my clothes, and my shoes out there with the cars (unfortunately). For whatever reason, this year, I seem to have seen less wildlife (in NJ, that seems to usually mean deer and racoons among the more exotic and squirrels among the common). I don't know if it's timing or what.

My feet have been generally better than in the last couple of years, even though I know a bout with plantar fasciitis may only be days away. My running style has gotten more onto the toes. I know my feet and lower legs are stronger. I FEEL more like a racer than in the past. (I don't think I'm meaningfully faster, but I feel faster, and I think there is something to be said for that.)

There is a purity to just running. I've stripped away the need for asking how fast am I moving. If I feel like I'm going fast, then I'm fast; feel slow, am slow. For me right now, I think slow may well be about 8:00 pace (per mile), but in my logs, it gets calculated at 8:30 pace, so I may be underestimating mileage. I don't care. There is a degree of joy in my running that was often lacking during the last several years.

I don't know if it is the "inner child." I'm more inclined to think it's the "inner animal." Whatever it is, it's good. I just hope my preparation for Boston doesn't drive it out.

*the whole truth - I am often wearing a pedometer that has a watch function, but virtually never check it.