Tuning Out

Last night, I really felt like running just for the sake of running. Lately, I've been using MapMyRun to track every aspect of my runs, and have been competing with myself for faster times and harder work and whatever else, in prep for the 5K on Sunday. It definitely paid off, but last night, I was ready to just shake everything out. So, I turned off the voice prompts on my app, tuned into the "Today's Country" station on Pandora (instead of my usual "Pop & Hip-hop Exercise" station), and let my feet lead the way.

C & I were going over to my parents' for dinner anyway, so I left my house with the intention of running to their house, taking whatever path I felt called do. I wanted to go slow and just feel it out. I followed the sidewalk, cruising in and out of courts and side streets, and turned the 1.5 mile trip to my parents' into 4 miles. I got lucky with Pandora, and some great songs came on - a few of my favorites, a few new ones, a variety of tempos. The weather was awesome - we were on the verge of a thunderstorm that never actually came, but the wind was blowing, the clouds were rolling, and the temperature was just about perfect. I didn't look at my pace or my time or my distance one single time while I ran, I just let it all go. I tuned out and listened to the words of the songs I was hearing instead of the Voice in my head app telling me to do better. It was peaceful.

I figured I was doing about 10:15/mile - instead, here's what came up when I got done:

I am better than I think I am. I am improving. I am learning things about myself as a runner. And I'm enjoying it.

~~~

Unrelated - we've been eating delicious food lately. Lots of grilling and summer foods. Yum.

Sides: potatoes and zucchini

Pork tenderloin, peas, and potato salad

Best dessert ever: pudding, lady fingers, fresh summer berries. I die.

Baking from scratch

Courtesy of Qdoba. Every bite was delicious.

Oh P.S. - there might just be an update to the Races page. Yes, already. Check it out!