no ipod, no sun, no problem

                   I decided at the last minute to enter the Morton Plant Mease Triathlon on Sunday, thinking I would find some good competition and a scenic race. Well, I woke up that morning to lighting, dark clouds, and eventually a torrential downpour. I sat in my car for a while after setting up transition in the hopes that I could keep my shoes dry if the race actually occurred. The rain stopped, but the lightning didn't; large bolts rocketed through the sky to the north, right behind the bridge that we were supposed to trek our bikes up later that day. After a 45 minute delay, I finally toed the line with the elite athletes and the other 15-19 year olds. However, they had a "special announcement" before starting the race. That can't be good. They decided to cancel the bike a do a "swim-run". To be honest, I can't believe they let us race at all. Rain-heavy clouds loomed behind us, and strikes were still falling from the sky. It was hard to stay mentally "locked-in", but I dashed into the water just as excited as I always am before a triathlon. I sprinted out of the water in just about 9 minutes, and struggled with my running shoes before gutting my way through a rain-soaked 5K. I felt cheated with just over a 34 minute workout.

             So, naturally, with the air temperature finally closer to 80 degrees than 90 degrees, I headed out for a run that afternoon. My ipod decided to stop working again, so this would be a quiet run. Wow, I'm glad I had no music. The trail was deserted as a result of the heavy rain, and the rain still leaked from the sky in misty drops. I felt a sense of serenity, of peace, and pure enjoyment of motion. It was the definition of flow. The run came to me without struggle; I felt like I was floating. My legs had apparently forgotten the hard 5K I ran that morning. The nature sounds lulled my mind to sleep; I thought about everything and nothing at the same time. It was the best run that I've had in a long time, and it lasted 10 miles...something I probably shouldn't have done, given my injury history :)

             When I first started running, I couldn't leave the house without my ipod. Now, I've come to enjoy my runs with no soundtrack. Don't get me wrong, I still love my ipod for tempo runs and those days when I'm short on motivation. But I encourage you to try and leave the tunes at home every once in a while. It's great to really sync yourself with the motion; not sync the motion with the music. You notice so much more even on the most mundane of routes, and you'll be surprised about the thoughts that pop into your head. I might have to get used to it, given the chances of Apple giving me another ipod.