Ok, so I wasn't totally naked. I did carry along my watch, and my Jeff Galloway interval timer. Other than that however, I was completely naked of technical devices. I guess I've been through a period of technical overload. It started with the best of intentions years ago with an innocent mp3 player to motivate me with music. That progressed to an iPod for Christmas a few years ago, with the Nike foot pod and tracking program. Earlier this year I progressed to an iPhone and the the cool GPS Nike program. I was crunching and collecting data faster than a NASA engineer with T -10 to go.. But then it happened: I just got tired of it all. Don't get me wrong, I continued to run, but I found no fun in keeping up with it all on the various running sites I had joined. I kept on running, but I just quit keeping track of it all.
My birthday was last week, and I wondered if using a running watch would put me back in the mood to track my runs. So, I did my research, and for the money I was willing to spend, I decided on the Garmin 305. It looked like the perfect device to get me back into the running logs: easy to use, very accurate, economical, and a fanatical wide following. And so I told my devoted family that if they would like to contribute to my "Garmin" fund, that is what I wanted for my birthday.
But then about a week after I made the announcement, it occurred to me: why would I spend money on another silly toy? ...Another silly toy in a line of previous silly toys which sat in a drawer somewhere...except for my iPhone, I still love the iPhone as a phone and computer, just not as a running/tracking device. So I asked my family to give me a gift of hope and life. I asked them if I could send my "Garmin Fund," instead to my Heroes fund for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. I have signed up again, to run as a St. Jude Hero in the St. Jude 1/2 Marathon later this year. Thankfully, they all said yes, and my Heroes fund is up to $200.00. It's a great start to my $2500.00 goal.
This brings me back to running naked. There's a wonderful freedom running naked -running without tracking devices, running without having to accurately document each and every mile. There's a wonderful freedom in hearing the wind rustling through the trees overhead; the laughter and giggling of families having parties or splashing away in pools on the other side of the fences as I run by- lawnmowers whirring and even a siren in the distance. I missed that while tethered to music. And there is a wonderful freedom in not worrying about what I want for my birthday, or even what new thing I need to make my running complete. I got just what I wanted for my birthday: my family showed their love for me, by sharing in the struggle with the kids and their families at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Together we helped lift a burden from them, if only for a short time. But in that time, together we all experienced the truest freedom possible -the freedom from the wants of this world, the freedom from pain and hopelessness; the freedom of pure joy in giving of ourselves to help others in need. And in that freedom, I'm running for a reason, how about you?
