A Week Without my Watch

After NOLA I decided to take at least a week of easy workouts without a watch/HRM/GPS, etc. (I heard the collective gasp from all of you Type-A, super fit, competitive athletes. Yes, it is possible to work out without your techy gizmos. In fact, I highly recommend it from time to time.)

I went for a few runs in my Vibrams and a bike ride with no bike computer. I do don't know how far, how fast, or how long I was out. But I do know it was fun. I have to say, this has been one of the best recovery weeks ever.

On Saturday in particular, I quite possibly had one of my favorite runs ever. MO and I had planned on easy recovery ride for late morning. With rain in the forecast, I suggested instead we run to a nearby park, kick off our shoes and run around barefoot for a while. Not long after we hit the road, the rain started. It was a good day to be on foot and not on bikes.

I wore my Vibrams, so we were plodding along pretty slowly. Soft rain and a conversational pace made for a perfect morning run. We put our shoes in a tree and made a few laps through the soft, wet grass of the park. Enjoying the child-like pleasure of mud between my toes, we grabbed our shoes and kept going. We ran in the street barefoot for a while until the tenderfeet got the best of us. Re-shod we started winding our way through the quaint neighborhoods we're lucky enough to live in.

We had only intended on running 4 miles or less, but after 30 minutes I just didn't want to go home. The rain kept coming, which meant quiet streets and empty sidewalks. We wandered some more and eventually turned towards our respective houses. We ran for about an hour, and if I didn't have to go to the bathroom, I could have kept running for another hour at least. With no goals or schedules or times, it's been a good week to remember why I love doing this so much.