morning word: watchless

ICYMI- I'm trying a new thing where I write something based on a single word. My first one was yesterday and the word was read. Let me now introduce the next word..

Morning Word: Watchless

I did something yesterday I admittedly haven't done in years: ran without a watch. It's not that I'm obsessed with data so I can count quantity and mileage. Instead, it's been about low numbers—specifically, fast mile splits.

I don't know why, but I met someone when I moved to Colorado who told me her "comfy pace" was 8:00 min/mile. So I adopted that, too. And subsequently, hardly any of my training runs rose above 8 minute miles. Even when I was trying to take it easy, my watch still showed 7:xx as a way to remind myself "I am a true athlete." I know all of that is a bunch of bullshit, but there's still a part of me that clings to the dumb numbers.

So .. yesterday. I ran. And left the watch at home. And I simply tried to notice and be open to what I could gain without it.

What I gained was ultimately feeling fully alive. That simple act of being present, feeling my feet strike the road, seeing the dark mountains peppered with white snow against a cobalt sky, following the icy air run up my nose. Damn - I never actually felt those things fully with a watch on my wrist. 

Now, there's way more to unpack here, but these posts are supposed to be short. At the very least, this was a good reminder that when you unplug, you can truly and fully feel the world around you.