Did you know that running with a watch is optional?

There are tons of articles and books that tell runners to try and run without your watch at least once in your running career. The only times that I've actually done that is when I knew EXACTLY how far I was running and my overall intensity (and even then it was only a mile every time). I will be the first one to admit that I run with my watch all the time. It started out with me checking my pace and wanting to achieve a certain time goal. Then I switched to checking my heart rate and trying to stay within a certain range. Recently it's been about keeping an eye on how many calories I burn and what my distance is exactly. 

But after running with my daughter (without my watch) within our housing division to help get her in shape for volleyball tryouts, I started to see the benefit of ditching the gadget. There are a couple of good ole' loops that I run regularly around my neighborhood and pretty much know the distance without having to check my watch. In fact I can pretty much run in any direction from my house and know how many miles I ran whether it's a loop or a go out and come back run. 

So the other day I thought it would be a good idea to try and run without my watch and here are the things that I discovered:

1. No GPS waiting - It was such a relief to not have to stand outside for five minutes and wait for my GPS to start up. Even when I turn my watch on while I'm getting my gear together inside, it still takes a while for my GPS to start up. I literally locked the door behind me and started running. Crazy!
2. Checking out my surroundings - This is something that I already do because I pay very close attention to what's going on around me. I don't listen to music when I run so I can have all my senses attuned to everything around me. But because I had no watch with me I was able to really just observe what was going on rather than use it as a distraction to not look at my watch.
3. Pace shmace - Okay I will say that for the first couple of miles I was wondering what my overall pace was, but after a certain point I stopped thinking about it. I tend to push myself during my runs. I essentially treat every run as if it were a temp run, unless I'm running with my little one in the jogger and then it's just about survival. This time I kept a comfortable pace and just enjoyed running.
4. Less anxious run equals a less anxious mind - My thoughts are so random during a run that at times I wonder how I even got to the thought I'm thinking of. When I wear my watch, regardless of where my mind drifts off to, the buzz of the mile marker always brings me back to pace. I may say that I don't want to check my pace for the split that I just did but I always end up checking my watch. This time my thoughts were much less scattered and a bit more present on enjoying the scenery.
5. I like running - This may sound crazy cause if I didn't like running then why would I be doing it. But once the watch is gone and there isn't anything to monitor or constantly check it forced me to really pay attention to my actual running. As it turns out, I really like running!