Deep breath.  Keep calm.  It’s true;

The more I run, the more I hate running with headphones.

Why?  I’m not entirely sure.  Well, no.  That’s not true.  But I can’t put my finger on any one specific reason.

Running without music – without buds in my ears – is oddly liberating.

When running, the wind picks up and noise sort of… disappears.  Not forcing music into my ears means that I’m running almost in silence.  My heart beat being the only constant sound.  The sound of my feet hitting the ground grabs my attention when the patterns change.

Running without music has taught me a lot about how I run.

Now, I can pay attention to what I’m doing.  My posture.  My breathing.  My pacing.  How I feel as I push myself harder.  Identifying when I need to slow down, or go easy on a hill.

Running with music is…