This morning I am going to do something radical, run seventeen miles without voices in my head. I am going to run naked; no music, no podcasts, just the sights and sounds of my surroundings, and my own thoughts and dreams running through my mind.
I was actually late to the running soundtrack party. I only started listening to music while running in 2009 when I bought my first I-Pod Shuffle, a fantastic and sadly very-short lived technology, but from 1993 - 2009 I never ran with music, or more recently, podcasts, and survived just fine. However, once I started, I cannonballed into the deep end, and never imagined I would need to or want to go back to quiet/naked running.
I LOVE listening to music at all times, but especially while running. The rhythm not only gets me, it moves me, too, and I find that very helpful when running for hours on end. Meanwhile, podcasts slow me down. A phenomenon that is suitable for long runs when speed is not the goal, or during mellow second or third runs of the day when my legs are heavy and my body feels like Gumby, listening to a soothing voice, or funny conversation helps ease the discomfort.
Today I want to lean into that discomfort.
I have not set any running goals for a while, well over a year or so, because after a handful of injuries and a scorching case of burn out, I honestly don’t know what I can still do?
Coaxing my high-hamstring back to health last April, (2020), with my amazing PT, Dr. Alanna Grey.
Revisiting the 2018 Boston Marathon race story last week was a valuable lesson in detachment, I felt so far away from the runner I was reading about, and it made me realize I don’t really understand the runner I am right now? So, I am going to go back to the good old days of running long with no distractions or catchy tunes in my ears; no beat to rely on, no inspiring conversation to cling to, but simply meditate with my thoughts, enjoy what my body can and was born to do, and spend time getting to know my *new* running self.
This book inspired today's naked run, and is incredible for teaching mindfulness and meditation.
The song and video choice today is a nod to the rhythm I mentioned earlier, Gloria Estefan’s hit, The Rhythm Is Gonna Get You.