Going Unplugged

Today was a good day.  My husband had the day off from work so I was able to run outside, in the morning, on a weekday!  [It should be noted, my outside running is usually limited to weekends with weekday workouts happening at the gym after BigBro and BigSis get on the bus.]

The air was perfectly cool and crisp and most of the trees had started to show their colors -- all in all, an idyllic fall morning.  Instead of lacing up and cranking up some of my favorite jams, I decided to take this run unplugged -- no music, no GPS.  At first, it was rather bothersome to only have my own thoughts, my breathing and my footfalls to listen to but after settling into my pace I began to take stock of my situation. 

Mindfulness is a buzz word nowadays and I've been intrigued enough to do some reading up on it.  The biggest factor in being mindful is not necessarily being in a zen-like state all the time but really focusing on being present in whatever it is that you are doing.  When you have distracting thoughts, you acknowledge them but don't dwell on them.  You focus your brain on your breath, a mantra, your body and how it feels -- things that integrate seamlessly with running.

I'll admit, large chunks of my run were occupied by the song "Sunshine in my Pocket" that was stuck in my head but when I used my lack of electronics to focus in on how I was feeling and the status of my run I began to notice little things.  I noticed how my left hip tightened up as I ran uphill.  I took care to control my breathing on a particularly tough part of my route.  I felt the slight sting of the cooler air on my legs as I cruised downhill.  I took in the kaleidoscope of colors that the trees painted across the sky and left scattered on the sidewalk.  Essentially, I was an active participant in the environment and mechanics of my run instead of being an observer.

I haven't truly tried being mindful during a treadmill run as I imagine that to be much more difficult but I'd encourage you to take some time each day to "unplug" in whatever way you can but especially during your next run!