Thursday, August 13, 2009

i don't need no stinkin' headphones

I don't know when it happened. I don't know when I stopped relying on it. I don't know why I like not using it. I'm talking about my iPod. I realized the other day that not only have I stopped using it but I've enjoyed not using it.

Someone asked me, "What do you DO when you run for over an hour?!" At one time, I may have said something about a playlist I'd created that had the perfect number of the right kind of songs...but instead, I answered, "I pray, I spend time talking to God. I think about my girls. I think about my ministry, what topics I may want to teach on, what series we may want to do next. Things like that."

I also try to spend some time not thinking. Let the day play over in my head, things I noticed or something a friend said. I look at my surroundings and notice how different the world looks in the summer compared to the spring compared to fall and winter. I wonder about what I'm going to have for dinner. :) There is so much to think about and not think about, I would just be too distracted wearing my iPod. (There is a safety benefit here too...when not using my iPod, I can hear bikers/cars/etc coming up behind me and can scoot close to the edge so as not to die.)

Last night as I went out for a run in a brand new neighborhood, I thought how great it was that I didn't have to rely on music anymore. I enjoyed the sights and sounds (and smells, pwww!) of a rural area; coming up over a hill and seeing fields and more hills stretching out before me just beyond an old stone wall, a warning sign for cow crossing (not kidding here), trees trees and more trees...I also saw a dead snake on the side of the road and hoped I would not see a real one! That's all the upside of running in a new place, seeing things you wouldn't normally see. The downside is, I didn't really know where I was going... I mapped out a 6.5mi run but missed a turn and got back to the house after only 4mi, whoops! Not to worry, dear reader, I realized I needed another 2mi and completed them after a few swigs of ice cold Gatorade. :)

Tonight I'm back on the Minuteman Path for 12mi. I have a good feeling about getting all 12 in since it's only 70deg today instead of 90deg! Wish me luck!

3 comments:

Becky said...

Hope you were able to complete all 12! Run, run, run!!

Katrina said...

Good for you! I'm so hooked on my music...I did start to listen to sermons from GC on my iPod while running...of course I haven't run since I got the puppy (April). UGH.

Erin said...

Wow, 12 miles... amazing! Your post reminded me of that movie... "We could talk and not talk for hours." Or in your case think :)