Counter-intuitive

I learned two things while running today, both of which are counter-intuitive.

1. Running without music causes me to run faster. I think this is probably because of my history of being in marching band in High School - when there's music playing, I feel like my feet must hit the ground in time with the beat. So unless I play music with a fast tempo, which apparently I don't, listening to music actually slows me down a bit. (Discovered this because my iPhone battery was dead when it was time to leave for my run today.) I also learned that there's something nice about running in silence (not that running to music isn't great, too...but there was just something rhythmic and lovely about the only sounds (in addition to birds, wind, other outdoor sounds) being the slapping of my feet on pavement.

2. Running faster is actually slightly easier than running slower. (Although I have to admit that it's entirely possible that the reason it felt that way has more to do with my body getting used to - and better at - running in general than it has to do with my running speed. Besides, I also have to admit that I'm still not running what most people would consider fast!)