THIS JUST IN:

I didn't know this was possible until just recently: you CAN run without tons of fancy equipment and miniature laptops on your wrist. In fact, You can run with almost nothing, like a caveman might.

I’ve had this conversation with a buddy of mine – we’ll call him Craig Grouper to protect his identity. He's a longtime supporter of this barbaric style of running. I, on the other hand, have been the longtime proponent of running with a heart-rate monitor, GPS, iPod, Camelbak fanny-pack etc..., And I just suffered a huge loss: my Forerunner 305 died. (*tear) This was easily one of my saddest experiences to date. I didn't know what to do with myself. I thought for sure I'd have to just throw in the towel and hang up my running shoes. But just when I thought all hope was gone, I remembered that conversation with Greg, err...Craig, and how he said that you can run with nothing but the shoes on your feet and a pair of embarassingly short shorts.

Believe it or not, it worked. I ran without knowing my heart rate, pace, average pace, lap pace and distance. And you know what? I had a pretty great run. Granted, I imagined myself a paleolithic hunter chasing down a woolly mammoth, but that just added to the fun! And since then, (it seems like it's been years, but it's really just been weeks), I've been having a darn good time running like this.

So here's my two cents: if you don't have a fancy watch or a GPS or a robot that does the running for you, just go out and run. Run according to your exertion level where 10 means you're about to puke or pass out and 1 means your sitting on the couch eating cheesy poofs. Run at about a 5, throw in some level 8 or 9 sprints, and then finish up running at 5 again. Piece of cake. And it's fun. (And cheap.)

For extra credit, try to catch a woolly mammoth. ;~)