Running Naked

It’s not what you think. You are wearing clothes. People tend to get caught up in performance tracking. I ran 5 miles Tuesday in 45 minutes. Today I ran the same distance in 46 minutes. What’s wrong?  Nothing, but that type of thing can get frustrating. It may even cause you to give up. Of course it’s fun to track improvement. But at 51 years old and 5 years of running there is just not consistent improvement anymore.  So once a week or so I free my mind and appreciate what I have.

That’s why I run  naked. To the runner, that means running without knowing how fast or how far you are going.  Don’t get me wrong, information and feedback can tell you a lot.  Every once in a while, though, you should just appreciate the freedom of being able to walk or run for an hour.

I had one of those runs last week in Wyalusing, Penn. They had me empty early in the morning. Dispatch would not be in the office for at least  an hour. I set the alarm on my phone for 35 minutes. I always start out walking for 5 minutes or so. These old bones and joints need some warm-up. Then I started running. A few minutes later there was a road with a bridge with a 13’ height and 6 ton weight limit . That kind of thing is like a magnet to me. The old iron bridge crosses Wyalusing Creek. It was a narrow one lane bridge, but it did not matter this little country lane had no cars on it. Running through the woods I saw a beautiful waterfall.

When the alarm went off I turned around and headed back. Then I saw a waterfall that I missed on the way out. I actually did see one car and a short school bus on the way back. No problem I just stepped off to the side and let them pass with a wave. I cruised back across the bridge. When I got to the point where I had started running I slowed to a walk and strolled back to my truck.  Running naked, what a great way to start the day.