Running With No Headphones

I've never been a fan of running with headphones.

During the beginnings with Coach Sark, headphones were unheard of. Wear 'em and you'd likely be murdered. Once upon a time, my friend Kevin wore sunglasses during a race. Shortly after the finish line, he got chewed out big time. Sark was old school.

Anyway, I see many runners on the street w/ a lil' something in their ears. Naturally I'm intrigued. I decide they must be onto something so I give it a go... I see the appeal. I do. Folks tell me the music motivates them, or at least distracts them from any sort of pain. It pushes them. I see that, too.

But I enjoy running because it's an opportunity to overcome that pain on your own. It gives me an opportunity to conquer my own self and using music as an added boost feels a lil' like cheating. I don't want to finish up a run and feel as if it was The Roots or Kanye West who carried me through. I'd rather it be just me.

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Cory, Skyline's Spanish teacher, and I shared a conversation this morning - in Spanish, naturally. We shared our weekends and I talked about my gorgeous run along SF's embarcadero and she asks when I'd be running my next marathon. IDK, I say.

I like that these races provide motivation to pursue longer distances, but I hope to always run regardless.

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In the end - no marathons, no races, no headphones - at the core, quite simply, I love running.

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There was absolutely no point to this point - outside of the fact that I'd like to maintain my propensity to write and I'd like my fingers to keep typing away.