No Earbuds Week 3

Day 15: You've probably noticed by now I don't run every day. I had intentions of running today except for my body really wasn't having any of it and I decided to rest. 

Day 16: It's the end of March and we desperately want Spring. I want the sun to be a warm sun and feel betrayed when I step outside to have the wind chill me and the shadows still piled with snow. Bill asked if I had time for a run and there was no way I was going to turn that offer down. We haven't gone for a run together in a long time. It was great to be with him.

Hello, sunshine!

Day 17: Rest day/grocery day/Audrey came home for supper

Day 18: The trails around here are starting to dry out but not quite enough so Melinda and I hit the gravel once again. We took a new route around here and had quite a bit of fun for Iowa gravel roads. She's reading a long biography about The Beatles and I just finished a book about the 1936 Olympic gold medal men's rowing team titled The Boys in the Boat. This book unexpectedly resonated with me and will stay with me for quite some time. 

With delirium setting in after 15 miles, we called him the lucky caterpillar

If you haven't seen hay bale creations, have you even run Iowa gravel roads? 

Day 19: It was race day for the boys, so I recovered by walking trail and standing for nearly all day watching them race.

Day 20: An easy three miles with Anne turned into an easy 4 because we had parenting things to work out. We solved approximately none of our problems.



Day 21: My plan was to go for a run but my body is begging for me to take care of it.

Body- You should take care of me today. Instead of going for a run, how about you do a bit of yoga, hit the foam roller, maybe a bath and definitely work on a callous or two.

Me- Nah, I'm good. I haven't really been training for anything so I'm fine.

Body- No, you're not fine. That weird thing on the bottom of your right foot hurts even when you stand on it. Both of your hip flexors cramp up when you sit sometimes and your lower back is tight.

Me- Listen, I just switched to a 50k plan and I want to knock out the first day.

Body-You're not going to knock it out if you're injured.

Me- I'm fine. 

Body- TAKE CARE OF ME!

Me- Fine! You don't have to yell. Sheesh. 

No Earbuds Week 2

Day 8: off

Day 9: Aach! This weather! The past days of rain plus warming temps are thawing everything out which is great. We have to get to Spring somehow. But it is a grey and dirty mess to get there. Very similar to my mop water (dog, boys, dirt bikes). Which is what I decided I would do when I got home- mop while I was still in my running clothes. 

Day 10: off

Day 11: Went for a run with a friend on the Neil Smith Trail since the dirt trails are thawing and drying out. I love being able to run with my friends to begin with but as I practice this time of silence, shared run are really highlighted. 

Day 12: I am a little sore from yesterday's run so I took Kaci on a quiet walk. Normally I catch up on a short podcast or two when taking her out but it was nothing for our mile and a half walk. I'm starting to enjoy to decluttering of my mind. 

Day 13: Today, I took care of Anne's dogs and spent the rest of my run thinking up a story from the dogs to text her while she and her family are on vacation. The real backstory is that yesterday they escaped and I had to chase them down. Today they hadn't eaten their food from yesterday so this is what I came up with.

Today we protested with a hunger strike. We've tasted freedom and we want it. We're inspired by Alexander Hamilton and Lafayette, the famous Frenchman, and so our cry is "Freedom for America! Freedom for dogs!"

On the day of their capture, they expressed no remorse, declaring this the best Spring Break ever

Day 14: "Can you go for a run at 10:00?" Yes! And so we talked, ran, walked and got some feelings out, both of us feeling a little less crazy at the end of it all. 

No Earbuds for 40 Days

I have decided to give up listening to anything on my runs for the next 40 days. It's time for a break from this habit for a little while. I do this often, particularly after a big race when I go out to quiet myself and ground myself to what I'm about and to reflect on where I've been.  

I mostly listen to podcasts during my runs in the winter and in the summer I listen to music. It’s kind of a weird thing I’ve noticed about myself. Perhaps its the stories that get me through winter and the motivation of the music that moves me in the summer. And I don’t listen to anything while racing. I’ve tried before only to find myself more engaged with the race than whatever is pumping into my ears. I used to run without listening to anything when I first started trail running. I was very busy learning how to run on a new surface. Now I'm revisiting this practice and bringing you along. 

So excited, can't you tell?

Day 1: I didn't run today. Crushing this goal.

Day 2: I jumped on the treadmill with Spotify pulsing through my earbuds. What the heck? First day and I’ve already blown it? I’m not even disappointed with myself. Because it was snowing again and I needed to run. A combination of listening to James Bay, watching Bill workout and some dirt bike video he was watching got me through. 

This is the best view I've had in a while. 

Day 3: Today’s run was outside.The weather has cleared for a brief time before more precipitation tomorrow. Out I went, sans headphones. I did notice right away it streamlined my prepping and leaving for my run. I didn’t have to untangle a mess of cords or thread them through my clothes. I didn’t have to debate which podcast to listen to and wait for it to download. I simply stuffed my phone in my pocket and that was it. I cannot say I had any lightbulb moments. I thought about a lot of things, as I normally do, even though as I write this now it feels more like a shower moment where you’ve had something brilliant come up and then can’t remember it five minutes later. 

Day 4: Treadmill time again. This time I was determined to not listen to anything but instead of being a quick transition out to the garage where I will stare at the same pull-up bar that taunts me, I was thorough with my running prep and did a few odd tasks around the house before finally getting going. Procrastination is real. With my workout on a post-it, I got started and once pass the warm-up, I found I was involved enough in each part of the plan, I could get through an pretty intense workout without music. Plus, I paid attention to the tension in my body as I pushed the pace, working to let it go while keeping my form in check.

Duct tape formally used to attach iPad to console but also workout sticky notes. Workout sticky notes because math.

Day 5: When Sunday night kinda goes to crap and Monday turns out sunny and dry and you get a text from a friend needing a long run, you go for a long run. You listen, you talk, you  get a little sunburned. 

Day 6: I thought of everything today and was amazed at the space my brain needed to wander. I spotted a Cardinal tucked back into the woods, catching only a flash of red. As I was wondering how I saw him, my ears picked up a call that started singularly but turned into to stereo the closer I got. I thought maybe it was some sort of electrical pinging or kind of construction noise. I stopped and listened to the stereo performance, first my left ear and then to my right. Carefully I scanned the trees, trying to locate what my ears had found. By luck, I came to rest on a Blue Jay. I could have missed his performance.

Day 7: No run today. 

I’m willing to let my mind and spirit wander where it needs to go. I’m curious to see what happens in the upcoming days.