I’m joining Courtney, Mar and Cynthia again for the Friday Five, and this week’s theme is “5 Things I Love about….”

So I want to highlight some benefits of running tech-free – aka running “naked.”  During  the past coupe of weeks I have been really struggling with my pacing. I’ve been getting most of my mileage in, but every time I look down at my Garmin during a run I’ve been feeling very defeated as the number staring back at me has not been close to what I was aiming for – cue the negative self-talk!

So at Coach Bennett’s suggestion, I’ve put the watch away for a bit and am running by effort. I’ve actually taken it a step further this week and left the headphones behind as well – no devices of any kind (except my phone in my belt in case my kids needed me!).

Travel Light — There’s definitely something to be said for feeling lighter without all the tech stuff. No cords to manage, no satellites to find.

Less Anxiety — Knowing that I wasn’t going to have my pace reflected back at me, immediately took the pressure out of the run. I don’t think I realized how much having a number (pace) hanging over my head was upping my anxiety level.

Letting My Body Lead — There are lots of variables that can affect a run on any given day (sleep, nutrition, the previous day’s workout, etc.). Running by feel vs. my watch gives my body a better chance to adjust to those variables.

Listening to My Feet — No music means I can tune into my footfall. Is it soft and light? Am I scuffing my feet? When I hear scuffing, I know my form’s starting to fall apart.

Enjoy My Surroundings — Running tech-free not only gives me the chance to tune into my body, but to tune into my surroundings as well.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not ready to give up my running gadgets – they do provide a lot of useful feedback and motivation. But more and more I’m seeing the importance of taking a tech-break.

Do you ever run naked?