I’ve been doing most of my walking without my iPod. Every time I pick it up, I hear Deb Skinner talking about how she forbid walkmans and cd players on her cross country team. She used to run and coach. Her concern is that listening to music while you run makes you less aware of your surroundings. You don’t hear cars and you don’t hear your body. It is easier to ignore an injury if you are rocking out, apparently.
Since I’m doing a lot of walking in the city, um… since I’m only walking in the city, it seems important to me to be aware of my surroundings and aware of my body.
Tonight I did a 3 mile tour through Rogers Park and Edgewater. When I started out, I was really aware of the bones in my feet. They hurt. I walked 18 miles over the weekend and took a bike ride that I probably didn’t need. And my feet hurt. Even though I’m sore, I feel good about doing this training and about being able to do it.
When I was headed south from North Shore towards Devon I realized that it is impossible for me to hate my body and do this walks. My body and I, we go way back. We haven’t always had a good relationship. We’ve tried, but I’ve spent a lot of time out of my body.
Not in a woo-woo energy way, but resigned, indifferent, angry, sad… that this shell of mine is not perfect.