NOW Running
It is so cool to run and be conscious of all the details of a
run! Barefoot running gives me the ability to not go into what I call a
"blackout run". Blackout runs are characterized by running from point A to point
B and not remembering a thing about the run because I am so caught up in my own
mind. Maybe we have all done this a time or two. I would even do this when I had
to drive somewhere and I was caught up. I would be so preoccupied with a
situation or person or thing or event in my mind, I wouldn't even realize that I
had driven in a totally spaced out frame of mind. (I think talking on a cell
phone while I am driving does a similar job on my mind ... I really don't like
driving and talking on the phone!).
Maybe that is one reason many runners I pass look so distant in thought! And,
with that distance, they do not exude an impression of fun, serenity, or
happiness. I guess when people are planning, thinking, pondering all the
situations of their lives while they run, they are apt to project either how
they have responded or reacted to those situations, or people, or things or how
they will respond to these things in the future.
Personally, I need to stay in "today". I did plenty of "mindless" running in
shoes where I could just put my legs on auto pilot and think and worry about
anything I so desired. Today, I choose to be in the "NOW" -- to experience what
I am feeling on the soles of my feet and also what I am exuding to others. No
more blackout running for me ... I want to remember and savor all the feelings
of every barefoot run!