Sometimes switching off isn’t just about the work phone...
I’m quite an analytical person so when I go running I’m always checking my pace, heart rate and km splits for each route, to see where I was a bit lazy and should improve next time - all the while trying to ignore the fact that I’m no spring chicken now. And yes, I do keep a spreadsheet ;)
As such I was quite dismayed when I got to my usual Hazelwood Parkrun this morning to realise that (unlike in the above photo) I’d left my Garmin at home! How was I going to monitor my heart rate and check my splits to see if I was ahead of my average pace goal?
With no way to check my progress I decided to just go out at a slightly uncomfortable pace and run based on how my breathing and legs felt.
It turns out this isn’t a bad thing to do and, despite my time being slightly below my PB, I had a strong run coming in 11th overall and with a 68% age effort score (a rough sort of worldwide ranking for your gender and age).
More to the point - despite crossing the line doing a fair impression of a pressure cooker - I actually enjoyed the run, feeling more involved somehow, and taking in more of the surroundings, thereby feeling more at ease with the people I needed to catch and pass.
These things are neither new nor rocket science, but if I’d been asked if I wanted to run free of my usual tech it would have been a real challenge to get me to agree.
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So if you’re of a similar mind to me when you are doing your thing away from work, whatever that may be, try leaving your tech behind next time and see how you enjoy your down time.
That also goes for listening to music, when you could be connecting with your environment and listening to the birds chatter.
Modernisation and Replacement Sales Consultant at Kone United Kingdom
5 个月Looking good Simon, all ok otherwise
PhD @ UCL Department for Risk and Disaster Reduction (RDR); Published operational and academic researcher; Founder of a travel business with a focus on sustainability; GA pilot; Humanitarian
6 个月Lovely read Simon, and wholeheartedly agree - it's the simple things! I've caught myself thinking about what to listen to and then decided instead to tune into my environment. That makes all the difference :)
Principal Vertical Transportation design consultant at H|M, cyclist, mountaineer. Active travel priest. Opinions expressed here are solely mine and not those of my employer.
6 个月You are seasoned runner, you do not need a watch to tell you what to do! :-)) enjoy!