I've said it before, and I'll say it, again. I don't understand people who like to train naked. Sure, there's some amount of freedom. There are no worries about what to wear. There are no concerns about things being too loose or too tight. And there are no funky tan lines to explain.
But that's outweighed by the self-consciousness about what ISN'T there. It just FEELS wrong. Plus, there isn't anywhere to keep things that might be needed, later. And there's just no telling what people might think as they watch you train. "What is that lunatic doing?" "Wouldn't he be better off with the proper attire?"
But sometimes, things get left at home. And when that happens, there are two choices. Go home and call it a day. Or train naked.
That's what happened to me, this weekend. I got to the YMCA on Saturday and realized that I had left not one, but both watches at home. I was wearing my dress watch, but it's fairly useless in terms of swimming and running. So, I was free of personal timing devices.
That changed the swim plans. I use my watch to track laps and sets. Without that, it is too difficult to work through and later recall the actual workout. So I looked at the clock, started at a convenient time, and completed a half-IM swim. Well, 2100 yards, but I think I could have made the last 12 yards in a race. Using the highly accurate timing device, that took 46 minutes. Then again, I wasn't wearing my glasses, and the clock is 30 yards away. It could have been anywhere from 45 to 50 minutes. When you're naked, you have to sacrifice accuracy for convenience.
After the swim, I headed to the track to run. Some co-workers scheduled some training, and my plan was to get about 45 minutes of running in before they arrived, then finish when they did. As the last paragraph mentioned, sometimes plans change. By the time they were 30 minutes "late," I figured things must have come up, so I decided to put the time to good use and complete the half-IM run, as well. I added a half-mile for good measure, as I was having to count laps and then mark them down on paper every 30 laps. Remember, I still didn't have my watch. I used a stop-watch function on my cell phone to time the run. Just short of two hours later, I had completed just over 13.6 miles.
Two-thirds of a half-IM. Naked. Well, almost naked. I did wear shorts and a tri-top. But no watch. And that may as well be naked.
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