Skip the Gadgetry!

When it comes to running, I am a minimalist. Just a MIO Pulse watch; no phone, musical device, water bottle, or pedometer. On some regular routes, I have driven it by car to get an estimate of the distance. Others, including some that go off-road, I "guess-timate" by how long the run takes me. I judge my intensity and effort by how long that particular day's runs took, versus all the the other times I had traversed the same route. I also check my watch at various points during the run, to make sure I am keeping pace. Even though at home I constantly have the radio on, I enjoy the quiet of an early-morning run, or the typical sounds of a suburban afternoon (school buses squeaking to a halt, dogs barking in the distance) as I travel my regular routes. I do a lot of my best thinking on a run, and always end up in a better frame of mind than when I started. In the couple times I tried, I failed with a music player - either I couldn't keep the bud in my ear, or the receiver kept loosening up and falling of my arm. As far as a chest strap, I find them uncomfortable, plus, I guess there's a part of me that doesn't want to know how close to a heart attack I may be! A recent article by Ben Opipari, syndicated by the Washington Post, verified my thoughts on running accessories. First, carrying something in your hand changes your biomechanics, slows you down, and can even lead to injury! The article points out how important the upper body is in the running process, using the example of how the handcuffed criminals never get far from the police when they try to run away! If you hold onto something, even if it's light, it creates tension and imbalance in the upper body, alters your form, and causes you to exert more energy and tire more quickly. I know this myself from the annual PBA "Torch Run." During my leg of this benefit for the N.J. Special Olympics, I carry an unlit torch that probably weighs about six or seven pounds. Despite the adrenaline of the event (traffic is blocked on busy Route 202 in Somerset County as we go through), the run is considerably more draining because I'm holding the torch! The article explains that when you're holding something ("iPod arms") one arm has less motion that the other, so one stride is than shorter than the other as well. Quoting Jonathan Cane, author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Weight training,"What happens above the waist impacts hat happens below." Holding something in your hand creates form imbalance, which ends up putting more stress than usual on a muscle group, which multiplied by thousands of strides over the course of a run, can lead to injury. Listen to the birds chirp, hear the car horns honk, stay safe and injury-free. Leave the gadgetry at home and enjoy your run!