“And while the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department.” – Andrew Carnegie

I like to compete.  I compete in every single aspect of my life, which is great in terms of holding myself to a high standard, but also borderline neurotic…  As evidenced in my afternoon workout.  I set out for my lunchtime workout realizing I forgot my tunes.  No biggie, I like listening to nature now and then.  But when I realized I did not have my stop watch, my entire workout plan went out the window and I felt a bit of panic come over me.

Maybe not so much panic as annoyance, but I was most definitely flustered.  The thing is, I am very much attached to the timing of my workouts.  I like to know exactly how long it takes me to run 3 miles, and I want to beat my time from yesterday.  If I am running hills, I literally time each sprint and hope to beat the previous sprint or at least hit the same time every time.  I even play with my stride, shorter versus longer strides to see which is faster (normally it’s shorter but I always give the longer a shot).

So as I took off running aimlessly with no route in mind.  I settled on running about a mile to a hill that I knew of where I could complete 10 hill sprints  and then run back.  To my delight the hills flew by!  I wasn’t timing every single sprint, and I simply felt fast.  It was like I was reconnecting with the road and my stride, not worrying about how fast I was getting somewhere because it simply felt good to be moving.  It was this in this moment that I stopped, looked and the sunlight and remembered how lucky I am to be able to run everyday whenever I want, wherever I want.  Sure the gadgets are nice, but sometimes it’s a good idea to disconnect with all your toys, and reconnect with the world’s origin playground, the ground.

OMG I love her… go visit her blog! Now. Quill and Couture