Running alone (but not naked)

I thought about calling this Running Naked. If that's not a thing, it should be! Of course I don't mean naked, naked. That would just be gross (in my case). So I opted for Alone... even though that doesn't tell the whole story...

It seems lately I've had more and more people asking me what I listen to when I run, or what I think about, or, simply, "what do you do all that time??" 

Personally, when I'm running that is literally ALL I am doing. No phone, no music, no talk radio... just me and my shoes, shorts and, if necessary, a shirt. I guess I do wear a gps watch - I generally need to know how long I've been out or how far I've went. But I don't go out for a run to accomplish something else. Running is what I do.

The next question I inevitably get is, "So what do you think about?" This is a little more involved, but it's also probably not what you think. I'm not solving problems, imagining discussions in my mind, or hashing through issues of any kind.

Here is a list of what I'm thinking:

• Is my back straight?
• Is the back of my neck elongated? 
• Is my face relaxed?
• Are my shoulders down and relaxed?
• Are my arms bent at least 90 degrees?
• Am I swinging my elbows (instead of my arms)?
• Are my arms relaxed?
• Are my hands relaxed?
• Is my pelvis level?
• Is my core engaged?
• Am I swiveling from high enough on my waist (the bottom of my ribs)?
• Are my hips relaxed?
• Am I making sure my thighs/knees don't go forward from my waist?
• Am I bending my knees with my feet moving to the back?
• Am I picking up my feet, rather than pushing off with them?
• Are my legs relaxed?
• Are my ankles relaxed?
• Are my feet relaxed and am I landing across the entire foot?
• Am I making a circular motion with my feet over my ankles (like Wile E. Coyote)?
• Am I swiveling my pelvis?
• Is the swivel from my legs going backward or am I trying to force it?
• Are my steps short enough?
• Am I running like a child (I should be)?
• Am I breathing deep into my lungs (is my stomach going out when I inhale and in when I exhale)?
• Is my breathing rhythm steady at 3-out;2-in, or 4-out; 3-in?
• Is my lean good? 
• Is there a straight line from my ankle to my hip to my shoulder?
  
• Am I smiling/enjoying myself?
  
• Are my shoulders relaxed and down?
• Is my core engaged?
• Am I...

And so on and so forth and over and over it goes. This is what is running through my mind while I am running on my feet. Sure, sometimes I will think about whether it's a good run or bad one, whether I'll be able to finish or if I'm feeling good, but I try not to. I like to think of it as meditation. I'm actually doing a body scan, so to speak. Also, I am focusing my mind on what I am doing. I find it extremely therapeutic.

Quite often people will say, "I can't believe you don't think about anything!"  To which I usually just smile. It's far from it. I think that being in the moment is what I love most about running. It's as much mental and spiritual exercise as it is physical.

So, there ya have it. Being naked might interfere with all that (I'm sure there would be cops involved and all), so I guess I'll just keep it at 'alone.'

***

Proverbs 4:25

"Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you."