WEEK 11: No Audio Running

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 Here is Week 11 recap: 


Lent began this week on Ash Wednesday. In the Catholic Church, it is a season marked by fasting, almsgiving, and prayer. Traditionally, many people associate Lent with giving something up with the goal of focusing more on worshiping God and reflecting on one’s own spiritual condition and relationship with Him.


Alright, so great theology lesson, but where does running fit into this? This year, for the next 40 days, I decided to give up listening to anything during my runs. It might not seem like much, and for some it might be a nonpoint, but I almost always put in my earbuds when I go for a run—whether it's a long run, a short run, easy effort, or a tempo run. I listen to a wide variety of audio from audiobooks, music, or lectures on a particular topic. Most often it is something enriching—last training cycle, I started a philosophy course, and this time around, I’ve been going through some art history. I’ve listened to recordings of the trapist monk Thomas Merton and polished off the books my kids are reading in class so we can talk about them later. It’s not that what I listen to is bad; in fact, it’s usually quite valuable. But I realized that my brain is constantly filled with information, and I wanted to see what it would be like to experience a little less outside stimulus.


What I found this week is that running without the audio allowed my other senses to become more attuned to my surroundings. I felt like I could smell things like the terrible scent of McDonalds Breakfast meals more distinctly,  and most of all, and what is abundantly obvious is I could hear my environment better. So when the blustery 20 mile per hour winds were hollering out of the Northwest, I could note the way that the tone of windchimes filled neighborhoods and think distance the sound of a train whistle can carry.


It will be interesting to see how this lack of audio impacts my running in the weeks ahead. 


In other news, as I alluded to last week, I have an art project that I’ve been working on over the past few years that is finally becoming a reality. I will be exhibiting GPS art at my local YMCA in a few weeks. I make a dedicated video to the project soon, but here is a sneak peak. Remember - Forward is progress. 


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