Baby Steps

I ran last night. I didn't over-think it, I just did it. It was Wednesday - my regular runpub day - and the weather was beautiful.

My new Lulu running capris were still sitting in the bag with the tags on. They were almost begging me to put them on.

For inspiration, I wore the Tri-It vest that C sent me. As I left the house I grabbed the one hat that was hanging by the door: my finisher's hat from Ironman Canada in 2006 - a reminder that this is something I do, something that is part of me.

I ran without a plan. S suggested a route, and I was fine with that. I've done the route before, so I know it is 6K (3K out, 3K back). I didn't wear a Garmin, or even turn on the chrono on my watch. I was running, and I didn't want to focus on how far or how fast I was going (because that would be a bit too much like "training"). Of course, in the back of my mind, I knew that S was wearing a watch and J (our other running partner) was wearing a Garmin.

When we finished our run, S asked me how long we'd run, as he'd forgotten to turn on his watch. I said that I hadn't, either, but that J was wearing her Garmin. Turns out that her battery had died, so she didn't have the time for our run, either. Perfect!

I really did enjoy the run last night: I was with friends, I felt good (not sluggish like I had the day before), and best of all I felt no pressure. I think I will carry on with this approach for the next few weeks: just run when the mood strikes me, go as far/fast as I feel like going at the time. No Garmin, no watch, no log. I always have a sense of how far/long I've run - partly because I know the distance of a lot of the routes I typically run, partly because I have a built-in clock that's pretty accurate. But I'm not going to officially track anything and just enjoy running for the time being.