There are always lessons to be learned in running. And this past week, the lesson learned is that all runs are not created equal. The first week of summer training, by far, has been one of the top five worst weeks of running in my life. Shocked aren’t you? Well so am I! But hey, it’s a good thing, because you can’t expect that just because it is an easy no frills week that there will be no pain. Battling the heat, nagging hunger pains, running after being on the precious legs all day…there will be pain. For those of you who think I’m made from granite….I’m not, I can easily break just like the next runner.

Another lesson learned when having a tough week, is that music will not always pull you through. I don’t really endorse running with music only because you miss out on everything that’s going on around you. (You can’t race with music, so therefore I try to leave it for the gym or dreaded treadmill) But if you love running with music then by all means keep doing it.

But if you’re a competitive runner you might want to ditch the tunes every now and then and here’s why: When I painfully ran with music, I felt the same. I felt every sore muscle in my quad and then on top of that my pace was all off because I was going along with the beat of the music. Instead of having a nice relaxing run, it was a run still filled with annoying muscle soreness and a pace that was nothing close to being consistent. When you don’t have music you are in tune with everything. You know the cadence of your breath, the noise of your foot striking the pavement and the sounds of nature. The better you know yourself and how it operates, the better runner you will become.

I challenge some of you music clingers to ditch it and just appreciate the run for what it is. It’s a beautiful thing; happy running.

Miles logged to date: 40 (including today) just 860 miles to go...

Your Running Enthusiast,

Kendyl Seawright