The transition to winter has lead to a slight decrease in writing and running related thoughts. Blame it on the cold, a busy schedule, or the fact that I am just now beginning to focus on the 2014 season. If I have learned one thing over the years, it is that a period of rest and unplugged fitness is pertinent to building anticipation towards new and greater goals. What do I mean by unplugged? Well, like most athletes, I use various instruments to track, gauge, and log each step of my fitness progress throughout a season. Many runs are dictated by mile splits, overall time, distance or vertical incline/decline. In a world of never-ending innovation and marketing towards technology, it is exceedingly easy to track every metric imaginable during a workout. For the most part, I think this is great! However, like a day off from running, a relief from gadgets is terrific. I urge you to try running naked for a few weeks (technology wise). Here are a couple things it has provided me.
Training / 2014 Update:
In the last couple of months, I have been lucky enough to enjoy short stints of running in Boulder and Bozeman on 3 occasions over the weekend. As most struggling Midwest athletes, my easy days have been spent cautiously running through the ice, snow and cold early in the morning or late at night. Unlike last year, I have put in 2 sessions per week on the treadmill, allowing for faster sub-6 minute miles and more defined "hill" workouts based on incline % for a set amount of time. I plan to travel to San Francisco in February to vacation and race the Golden Gate 50k as a "tune-up" before Spring.
- Renewed interest: I run trails for many reasons, but one major reason is that I love physically and visually exploring new places, taking in all of the surroundings that a run offers. Running without anything electronic restored my ability to simply connect with my surroundings. I enjoyed numerous wildlife encounters, felt more in-tune with the outdoors, and simply ran for enjoyment, not split times.
- Increased Awareness: Acute personal awareness can be drowned by device overload. Eventually, it is pertinent to refocus attention towards what your body is telling you during each workout. After a month's absence, I feel much more aware of my bodies response to different perceived workloads.
- Increased Reflection: I found that when I don't need to track metrics, I have a greater ability to reflect upon the day, think creatively, and simply utilize my time spent running for self reflection. In the end, its amazing what you can solve while actively enjoying the outdoors. In a world of constant bombardment, running has often become my break from the "typical."
Training / 2014 Update:
In the last couple of months, I have been lucky enough to enjoy short stints of running in Boulder and Bozeman on 3 occasions over the weekend. As most struggling Midwest athletes, my easy days have been spent cautiously running through the ice, snow and cold early in the morning or late at night. Unlike last year, I have put in 2 sessions per week on the treadmill, allowing for faster sub-6 minute miles and more defined "hill" workouts based on incline % for a set amount of time. I plan to travel to San Francisco in February to vacation and race the Golden Gate 50k as a "tune-up" before Spring.
Additionally, and more excitingly, I was granted the opportunity to become a Hammer Nutrition supported athlete for 2014! I couldn't be more excited to have the opportunity to extend my ambassador network with my first and only choice for endurance fuel. For those of you not familiar with Hammer, I encourage you to look at their robust selection of products for endurance endeavors. Hammer makes many natural, low-sugar, vegetarian/vegan based solutions for racing, recovery and every-day health. Throughout the season, I hope to provide detailed reviews of some of their products. Stay tuned!